Unit 1 Key Terms

Agricultural Revolution

This describes when early Americans learned to plant and raise crops, making the rise of complex civilizations possible.

Mesoamerica

Region in present-day southern Mexico and Central America where major civilizations grew following the agricultural revolution.

Iroquois Confederacy

Alliance of Native Americans formed in what is now western New York in order to provide peace and security.

Columbian Exchange

Term for the transfer of New World and Old World animals, plants, diseases, etc. that occurred after Columbus discovered America.

Conquistador

Spanish men who led expeditions to conquer the Americas.

Encomienda

System in which Spaniards converted Native Americans to Christianity but also treated them as slaves.

Henry the Navigator

His school and innovations accelerated European exploration.

Hernan Cortes

Spaniard who defeated the Aztecs in what is now Mexico.

Joint-Stock Company

Business venture in which many people pooled their money together to fund expensive projects.

Headright

System in which the Virginia Company encouraged settlement by offering 50 acres of land for each settler and their servants.

Proprietary Colony

Type of colony run by an individual, not by the king or English government.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in America.

Plymouth

Colony established by Pilgrims (Separatists) in New England in 1620.

Massachusetts Bay

Colony formed with the expectation of being a "city upon a hill," meaning it would be an example of a Christian society.

Puritans

People who wanted to "purify" the Anglican Church.

John Winthrop

Puritan governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Powhatan Confederacy

Collection of Indians that initially traded with the Jamestown colonists before their relationship soured.

Roger Williams

Young minister who was banished from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritan churches and helped found Rhode Island as a place of religious freedom.

Anne Hutchinson

She was banished from Puritan society after challenging the religious authorities.

King Philip's War

Conflict that broke out between Native Americans and colonists in Plymouth.

Henry Hudson

Explorer who discovered the area that later became New York.

William Penn

Quaker who established a colony where there was freedom of religion and Native Americans were treated well.

Indentured Servants

English people who agreed to work for 4-7 years in exchange for transportation to America.

Bacon's Rebellion

Conflict in which poor Virginia farmers fought wealthy planters and Jamestown was burned to the ground.

Town Meetings

Describes when New England colonists met to discuss local issues and make decisions.

Triangular Trade

Network of trade that occurred between the Caribbean (West Indies), Africa, and the American colonies.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that caused countries to seek gold and silver and to try to export more than they import.

Navigation Acts

Series of laws England passed to ensure that the American colonies increased the wealth of England.

Slave Codes

Laws passed to help control slaves and keep them as a lower class in society.

Stono Rebellion

Event in 1739 in which slaves attacked and killed several whites and attempted to escape to Spanish Florida.

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement that emphasized logic, reason, and new ideas about government.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher known for his ideas on natural rights and the relationship between the government and its people.

Baron Montesquieu

Enlightenment thinker whose ideas of separation of powers influenced the eventual structure of the United States government.

Great Awakening

Time period of religious revival in the English colonies in the 1700s.

Zenger Trial

Incident in which a newspaper editor was found not guilty for writing against the New York government, establishing a precedent for freedom of the press.