AP World History: Modern - Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections

Great vocabulary practice for Unit 4 of AP World History!

Lateen Sail

Lateen Sail

Triangular shaped sail used on boats & ships

Compass

An instrument containing a magnetized pointer which shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it

Caravel

Ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish for quick, long-distance trips primarily from the 15th to 17th centuries

Carrack

Large ship used by the Portuguese for trade primarily between the 14th and 17th centuries

Fluyt

Small ship used by the Dutch for trade primarily from the 16th to 17th centuries

Trading Post

A store or small settlement established for trading, typically in a remote place

Transoceanic Travel

Travel across oceans

Columbian Exchange

Refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food, crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas in 1492

Endemic

A disease that is always present in a population within a geographic area, typically year-round (e.g., malaria in certain tropical regions)

Staple Crops

A crop that dominates the major part of a diet and supplies a major proportion of energy and nutrient needs

Cash Crops

Agricultural crops that are planted for the purpose of selling on the market or for export to make profit, as distinguished from subsistence crops planted for the purpose of self-supply of the farmer

Coerced Labor

Work a person does for another person (or for the state) under compulsion, receiving little or no recompense (they are tricked)

Domestication

The process of taming an animal and keeping it as a pet or on a farm

Okra

A plant of the mallow family with long ridged seedpods, native to the Old World tropics

Ming Dynasty

First Chinese dynasty after the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty) left the region; brought back the civil service exam, bureaucracy, and reestablished the importance of Confucianism

Tokugawa Japan

Japan under its final traditional period (also known as the Edo period); lasted from the 17th to 19th centuries

Maritime Empires

State-centered empires with rule over colonies, conquered territories, trade posts, and military outposts overseas

Asante

Ethnic group in modern-day Ghana known for their wealth in gold and powerful empire that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries through trade, especially of slaves

Kingdom of Kongo

Kingdom in west-central Africa based in modern-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; profited from the trans-Atlantic slave trade with European powers but eventually resisted due to fear of significant population loss

Merchant

A person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially one dealing with foreign countries or supplying merchandise to a particular trade

Incan Mit’a

A type of tribute to the Inca government in the form of labor for public works projects; was exploited by the Spanish for silver mining (they claimed it was a public works project)

Chattel Slavery

System of slavery where the slave is legally rendered the personal property (chattel) of the slave owner; was the main type of slavery in the United States

Indentured Servitude

A form of labor in which an individual is under contract to work without a salary to repay a loan

Encomienda System

Legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the indigenous population; used especially for supplying labor for silver mines

Hacienda System

Entrenched a feudal-like system where peons and indigenous people worked under often oppressive conditions, tied to the land through debt peonage or obligation and doing agricultural work

Plantation Economy

An economy based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few cash crops, grown on large farms worked by laborers or slaves

Mercantilism

An economic system of trade (c. 16th century to c. 18th century) based on the idea that a nation’s wealth in gold & silver and power were best served by increasing exports & trade

Joint-stock Companies

A business owned by its investors

Silver

A precious shiny grayish-white metal

Atlantic Trading System

The network of trade routes and economic exchanges that developed across the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th to the 19th centuries, primarily involving Europe, Africa, and the Americas

European Monopoly Companies

Trading organizations granted exclusive rights by a government to conduct commerce in specific regions, especially during the age of exploration and colonialism

Cultural Synthesis

The process where aspects of different cultures blend to create a new, unified culture, often resulting in innovative traditions or practices