APUSH Period 1 Key Terms

Incas of Peru

built elaborate cities

Mayans in Central America

talented mathematicians

Aztecs of Mexico

offered human sacrifices & formed a powerful empire

Native Americans in East

Iroquois, Powhatans, & Cherokee lived in farming villages

Native Americans in Central Plaines

Sioux & Cheyenne hunted buffalo using “jump-kill” technique

Corn

transformed nomadic hunting bands into settled agricultural villages

3-Sister Farming

corns + beans + squash = maximized yields when grown together → large, dense populations

Age of Exploration

the desire for new trade routes to Asia during the Renaissance

Christopher Columbus

discovered American in 1472 & transformed the future of Europe & Native Americans

Technologies that Enabled Exploration

compass, globe, rudder, improved ship design, maps from foreign countries, gunpowder weapons, etc.

Treaty of Tordesillas

means by which Spain secured a claim to Columbus’ discovery by dividing the “heathen lands” with Portugal

Encomienda System

system used by the Spanish government to give Indians to certain colonists (to farm cash crops) in return for the promise to Christianize them

The Columbian Exchange

America → Europe= corn, tomato, turkey, tobacco

Europe → America= grains, livestock, disease

*smallpox killed 90% of Native population

Spanish Conquistadores

conquerors in service and search of the 3 G’s: god, gold, & glory, to increase the wealth and power of Spain

Mission System

In 1769, Spanish missionaries led by Father Junipero Serra founded San Diego & aimed to Christianize native Californians.

Viceroys

royal governors that were sent by the King of Spain to strictly govern the Spanish colonies

Hernan Cortes

most famous conquistador who was determined to achieve power and wealth in Spain, feuded with Cuba, & had a personally funded expedition to Mexico

Noche Triste

On June, 30th 1520- the night the Aztec empire attacked Cortes & lost → Cortes land siege

Mestizos

mixed Spanish & native American (result of three centuries of intermarriage)

Dona Maria

the Native American women who became a guide, and interpreter to Hernán Cortés during his conquest of Mexico

Don Juan de Onate

colonized New Mexico & cruelty abused the Pueblo people (cut hands & legs) but was later banished for reducing the amount of workers

Pope’s Rebellion/ Pueblo Revolt

the rise of Native Americans against missionaries, where they kicked out the Spanish for 10 years

French Settlement in Canada

Quebec at Lawrence River, befriended Huron Indian tribes, single males came wanting to make money

Coureur de Bois

beavers = valuable resource → established fur trading posts & recruited Indians

Jesuits

French missionaries that did not forcibly covert Indians