APUSH - Period 1 ID Terms

stratification

the state of division into rigid social classes

syncretism

the combination of different forms of belief or practice

mercantilism

an economic system developed to increase the power and monetary wealth of a nation

imperial

of, relating to, befitting, or suggestive of an empire; describes a nation that exerts authority over another by militaric, economic, or diplomatic means

context

the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs

hierarchy

the classification of a group of people according to ability or to economic, social, or professional standing

refute

to prove wrong by argument or evidence

papal

of or relating to a pope or to the Roman Catholic Church

encomienda

a system that allowed for the enslavement of natives and the acquisition of land

incentive

something that incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action

assimilate

to absorb into the cultural tradition of a population or group

Columbian Exchange

the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World  and the Old World in the late 15th and following centuries

patriarchal

of, relating to, or being a social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line

caste

a division of society based on differences of wealth, inherited rank or privilege, profession, occupation, or race

Bartolome De Las Casas

a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as a historian and social reformer; advocated for the Catholic conversion of the Native Americans instead of conquest

Maya

a Native American civilization located in Mesoamerica that is noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system

Tenochtitlan

the capital of the Aztec empire established in 1325 on Lake Texcoco; now known as Mexico City

Meso-America

the region extending from modern northwestern Mexico approximately to El Salvador that was occupied during pre-Columbian times by peoples such as the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs with shared cultural features

Cahokia

the largest city ever built north of Mexico before Columbus and boasted 120 earthen mounds; built by Native Americans of the Mississippi Valley culture

genocide

the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

matriarchal

of, relating to, or being a social organization governed by a female leader in which descent and inheritance are traced through the female line

Mestizo

a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry

conquistador

a leader in the Spanish conquest of America and especially of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century; valued gold above all else and were unafraid to die for their country

Iroquois Confederacy

a confederacy of Indigenous peoples originally of New York consisting of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca tribes

sequence

a continuous or connected series

pacify

to reduce the anger or agitation of; to make peaceful

Montezuma II

the ninth and final emperor of the Aztec empire

Inca

the largest empire in pre-Columbian America that was located in the Andes Mountains in modern-day Peru; known for its extensive trade network and roads

synthesis

compares the connection between the thesis or argument with a similar development in another era, area, or situation

bureaucracy

an administrative policy-making group made up of non-elected officials