Exploration of the 'New' World & Colonial Settlement (1491-1763) Key Terms

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on Unit I lecture terms covering exploration, native resistance, early English settlements, and colonial development from 1491 to 1763.

Columbian Exchange

A series of interactions and adaptations among societies across the Atlantic resulting from European overseas expansion.

Iroquois Confederacy

A alliance among Native American tribes in North America that developed complex political and social structures.

Pueblo Revolt

An instance of Native resistance against Spanish colonial rule and conquest in North America.

King Philip's War

A major conflict representing Native resistance against English colonial expansion in New England.

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors involved in early European contact, exploration, and subjugation of native populations in North America.

Encomienda

A system employed by the Spanish for regulating and exploiting Native American labor during early colonization.

Joint-Stock Company

A business entity used by English investors to pool financial resources for funding early colonial settlements.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, whose economy was heavily dependent on tobacco production.

Pilgrims/Separatists

A group of English settlers who completely severed ties with the Church of England and established the Plymouth colony.

Mayflower Compact

An early agreement signed by the Pilgrims establishing a rudimentary framework for self-government in New England.

Puritan

English religious reformers who sought to purify the Church of England and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

House of Burgesses

The first representative legislative assembly established in colonial Virginia.

Indentured Servants

Laborers who bound themselves to work for a specified period of years in exchange for passage to the Chesapeake colonies.

Anne Hutchinson

A Puritan dissenter in New England who challenged religious orthodoxy and traditional gender roles in Massachusetts Bay.

Roger Williams

A Puritan dissenter who advocated for religious freedom and the separation of church and state, eventually founding Rhode Island.

head-right system

A land allocation system used in the Chesapeake colonies to encourage the importation of indentured servants by granting land to those who paid for passage.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

An armed 1676 uprising of frontier settlers against the tidewater Virginia political establishment.

half-way covenant

A Puritan church policy that granted partial membership to unbaptized descendants of church members to maintain societal influence.

Salem Witch Trials

A period of colonial religious and social hysteria in Massachusetts marked by accusations of witchcraft.

Great Awakening

A major religious revival across the British North American colonies that challenged traditional church authority and fostered a shared colonial experience.

Zenger case

A landmark legal case in colonial New York that laid early groundwork for freedom of the press.

Albany Congress (1754)

A 1754 conference of colonial representatives aimed at fostering intercolonial cooperation and alliance with Native tribes prior to the French & Indian War.

French & Indian War (Seven Years War)

A major colonial conflict between Great Britain and France (with their respective Native allies) for imperial dominance in North America.

Proclamation of 1763

A British royal decree issued after the French & Indian War prohibiting colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Stono Rebellion

A major rebellion by enslaved Africans in colonial South Carolina that led to stricter slave codes.