UNIT 1 - Period 1 (1491-1607): European Encounters and Native American Societies

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from Unit 1, Period 1 notes (1491–1607).

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Old World and the New World after Columbus’s voyages, transforming populations and diets on both sides of the Atlantic.

Encomienda

A Spanish labor system granting conquerors the right to extract labor and tribute from Indigenous peoples on a tract of land in return for supposed “care” by the encomenderos.

Asiento

A license issued by the Spanish Crown to import enslaved Africans into the Americas; part of the Atlantic slave trade in the Spanish colonies.

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors who led military campaigns against Indigenous empires, such as Cortés against the Aztecs and Pizarro against the Incas.

Balboa

Who crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean.

Magellan

His expedition completed the first circumnavigation of the globe (he died before finishing the voyage).

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in Peru.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator sponsored by Spain whose 1492 voyage opened sustained contact between Europe and the Americas.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607 in Virginia.

Roanoke Island

Early English attempt (1587) to establish a colony that ultimately failed.

New Amsterdam

Dutch colonial settlement on Manhattan Island, later New York.

Plymouth

English settlement established by the Pilgrims in 1620 in present-day Massachusetts.

St. Augustine

Spanish settlement in Florida, established in 1565; oldest continuously inhabited European city in the U.S.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing new lands outside Europe along a meridian.

Line of Demarcation

Papal division (1493) of the non-European world between Spain (west) and Portugal (east).

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who sponsored early Atlantic exploration along Africa’s coast.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer who reached India by sea (1498), opening a sea route to Asia.

Renaissance

European revival of classical learning and innovations that spurred scientific and technological advances aiding exploration.

Gunpowder

Explosive weaponry adopted by Europeans, contributing to military advantages in conquest.

Sailing compass

Navigational instrument refined in Europe, aiding long-distance sea travel.

Printing press

Invention that facilitated rapid spread of knowledge, aiding exploration and communication.

Isabella and Ferdinand

Catholic Monarchs of Spain who sponsored Columbus’s voyage and unified Spain’s kingdoms.

Protestant Reformation

16th‑century religious reform movement challenging papal authority, fueling religious wars and overseas colonization.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership and investment, expanding trade and wealth creation.

Joint-stock company

Business venture owned by many investors; reduced individual risk and funded expensive voyages.

Iroquois Confederation (Haudenosaunee)

A powerful alliance of Northeastern Native American tribes (e.g., Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk).

Algonquian

Major Native American language family in the Northeast.

Siouan

Language family spoken by tribes on the Great Plains.

Athabaskan

Language family in the Southwest and Alaska, including groups like the Navajo and Apache.

Hohokam

Southwest culture noted for irrigation systems in present-day Arizona.

Anasazi

Ancestral Puebloan culture of the Southwest, known for multi-story cliff dwellings.

Pueblos

Southwestern communities built with mud-brick (adobe) housing; part of the Anasazi/Pueblo cultures.

Adena-Hopewell

Mississippian-era cultures in the Ohio Valley known for large earthworks.

Cahokia

Major Mississippian urban center near modern Cahokia, Illinois, with extensive mound construction.

Maya

Mesoamerican civilization in the Yucatán; known for calendars, urban centers, maize farming.

Aztecs

Central Mexican empire with Tenochtitlán as a major city; powerful urban civilization.

Incas

Andean empire in western South America, Peru, with vast roads and administrative organization.

Maize (corn)

Domesticated staple crop in the Americas that supported large, settled populations.

Middle Passage

Forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas; brutally harsh conditions.

Las Casas

Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spanish priest who argued Indians were fully human and urged better treatment; helped push New Laws (1542).

Sepúlveda

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Spanish theologian who argued Indians were inferior and suited for servitude.

Valladolid Debate

1550–1551 formal debate in Spain over the status and rights of Indians in the colonies.

Caste system (Spanish colonies)

Social hierarchy based on race and ancestry (European, Indigenous, African) in colonial America.

Slavery

System of forced labor; in the Americas, included Indigenous and African slavery and later the transatlantic slave trade.

Enslaved Africans

Africans forcibly transported to the Americas to labor on plantations and mines; central to colonial economies.