Video Notes: United States History AP — Period 1 (1491–1607) Flashcards

A set of 100 practice flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on context, Native American societies, European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, and early colonial interactions (1491–1607).

What event in 1492 marked a turning point in world history by initiating lasting contact between the Old World and the Americas?

Columbus’s first voyage, sponsored by Isabella and Ferdinand.

In what year and where was the first permanent English colony established?

1607, Jamestown, Virginia.

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The transatlantic transfer of plants, animals, and germs between Europe and the Americas that began after 1492.

Name three crops originally from the Americas that transformed European diets.

Corn (maize), potatoes, tomatoes.

What happened to Native American populations within a century of European contact due to disease?

They typically declined by about 90 percent.

What labor system granted land to Spaniards and required Native labor in the Americas?

The encomienda system.

What was the asiento in the Spanish colonies?

A system requiring taxes or licenses on enslaved Africans imported to the Americas.

What did the Line of Demarcation establish?

A papal boundary dividing the New World between Spain (west) and Portugal (east).

What treaty moved the line west and divided Spanish and Portuguese claims?

The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494).

Who sponsored Columbus’s voyages and helped unite Spain?

Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon.

Which Portuguese prince promoted navigation and exploration along the African coast?

Henry the Navigator.

Name two Renaissance innovations that aided European exploration.

Advances in mapmaking (cartography) and shipbuilding, plus improvements in gunpowder and the compass.

What is a joint-stock company?

A business entity owned by many investors who share profits and risks to fund voyages.

Which empire grew wealthy from silver mines in the 16th–17th centuries?

The Spanish Empire.

Name the three major pre-Columbian civilizations in Central and South America.

Maya, Aztec, and Inca.

What southwestern groups evolved irrigation systems and built multi-story structures?

The Hohokam, Anasazi, and Pueblos.

Which region produced the Maya, Aztec, and their calendars and agriculture?

Mesoamerica.

Which region north of Mexico included Algonquian, Siouan, and Athabaskan language families?

Native North America.

What is Cahokia best known for?

A large Mississippian settlement with up to 30,000 inhabitants and extensive earthen mounds.

What was the Iroquois Confederation (Haudenosaunee)?

A powerful alliance of five (later six) Northeast tribes that battled rivals and Europeans.

Which Native American region concentrated in the Atlantic Seaboard, such as the Cherokee and Lumbee?

Atlantic Seaboard settlements.

What type of dwellings and cultural artifacts were characteristic of Northwest Coast peoples?

Permanent longhouses and totem poles.

Which region in North America was known for nomadic buffalo hunters and tepees?

Great Plains.

What major trade route did Columbus’s contact help open, altering global exchange?

The Columbian Exchange.

How did the Columbian Exchange affect the Americas demographically in the first century after contact?

Native populations declined dramatically due to disease; Europeans and others benefited from new crops and animals.

What two staples did Europeans gain from the Americas that transformed diets?

Corn (maize) and potatoes.

What was a major consequence of European diseases in the Americas?

Massive population decline among Native peoples (e.g., smallpox, measles).

Which African labor system expanded in the Americas as European plantations grew?

The enslaved African labor system (transatlantic slave trade).

What caused European colonial economies to rely on Native labor and enslaved Africans?

Labor needs for mining and agriculture (esp. in Spain’s colonies).

What were silver mines in Mexico and Peru used to finance?

Wealth for the Spanish empire and its European rivals.

Name a key conquest in the Americas by a Spanish conquistador.

Hernán Cortés’s conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico.

Name a key conquest in the Americas by a Spanish conquistador.

Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru.

What city was the Aztec capital, with a population around 200,000?

Tenochtitlán.

Which Indian civilization of the Andes developed a vast empire?

The Inca (Incas).

What capital city is associated with the Maya civilization?

Cities in the Yucatán Peninsula region (Maya civilization).

Which early Native American culture is famous for mound-building in Ohio?

Adena-Hopewell.

Which region is Cahokia located in?

Midwest, near present-day East St. Louis, Illinois.

What Native American region used longhouses and formed complex political alliances in the Northeast?

Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) region.

Which language families were among the largest in North America?

Algonquian, Siouan, and Athabaskan (plus many others).

Which technology did Europeans adopt from Arab and Chinese sources to aid navigation?

The compass and improved navigation instruments.

What role did the printing press play in European exploration?

Helped spread geographic knowledge and accounts of new lands.

What did Columbus’s voyages symbolize beyond discovery (in broad terms)?

A turning point in world history, linking the Old and New Worlds.

Which two groups did Columbus think he would could access by sailing west?

Asia (the Indies) and its riches.

What is the difference between the Northwest and Southwest Native American adaptations?

Northwest had permanent housing and totem poles; Southwest practiced irrigation and multi-story dwellings.

What is the significance of Balboa’s crossing of the Isthmus of Panama?

He reached the Pacific Ocean, confirming a westward ocean route from the Americas.

Which explorer sponsored by France explored the St. Lawrence River?

Jacques Cartier.

Which Italian explorer explored parts of the New World under French sponsorship and sought a northwest passage?

Giovanni da Verrazzano.

Which English explorer reached Newfoundland in 1497?

John Cabot.

Why did England delay colonization in the 16th century?

Religious conflicts (e.g., Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church) and other domestic concerns.

What caused English interest in distant colonies to increase in the late 16th century?

Rising national competition and exploration inspired by sponsors like Elizabeth I.

What is Roanoke Island known for in 1587–1589?

An unsuccessful English attempt at establishing a colony; the “Lost Colony.”

What was the major motive for early European exploration tied to religious conflict in Europe?

Religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants spurred expansion and missionary aims.

What major Portuguese route opened in 1498 that connected Europe to India?

Vasco da Gama’s voyage around the Cape of Good Hope.

What sparked the European desire to find a direct sea route to Asia?

The Ottoman capture of Constantinople disrupted overland routes; sea routes were sought.

What two forms of wealth motivated exploration in addition to religious aims?

Gold and silver, plus new trade networks.

What economic development in Europe helped finance long voyages and reduce risk?

The rise of capitalism and joint-stock companies.

What is the term for families intermarrying with locals in the Spanish colonies and the resulting social hierarchy?

The caste system in the Spanish colonies.

What does Las Casas advocate for in the Valladolid Debate?

Better treatment of Native Americans; urging reforms of the encomienda.

Who argued that Indians were morally equal to Europeans in the Valladolid Debate?

Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Who argued that Indians were biologically inferior and suited for servitude in the Valladolid Debate?

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda.

What was the New Laws of 1542 intended to do?

End Indian slavery, halt forced labor, and begin to end the encomienda system.

What is the significance of Coronado’s 1542 travels to Quivira?

They illustrated the search for wealth and resources; Coronado found little gold.

Which major crop from the Americas contributed to global population growth due to increased food supply?

Maize (corn) and potatoes.

What disease-related impact did the Columbian Exchange have on the Americas?

Introduction of smallpox and other diseases that decimated indigenous populations.

What is the Middle Passage?

The brutal transatlantic voyage that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas.

What is the approximate range of the number of enslaved Africans transported to the Americas before the 1800s?

Between 10 and 15 million.

What crop became a major staple in the American South due to African agricultural knowledge?

Rice.

What instrument did Africans contribute to American music that influenced later genres?

Rhythms and the banjo.

What area did the French prioritize for fur trading in North America?

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region.

Which European power sought to control the fur trade by establishing trading posts in the St. Lawrence Valley and along the Mississippi?

France.

What is the significance of the Iroquois Confederation in early American history?

A major political and military power that influenced colonial dynamics.

What major Native American civilizations flourished in Central America before European contact?

Maya, Aztec, and Inca.

What was the political result of the Protestant Reformation in Europe in terms of exploration?

Catholic and Protestant powers competed to spread their faith globally, including to the Americas.

What European country established St. Augustine in Florida, 1565?

Spain.

Which explorer’s voyage led to the first circumnavigation of the globe (completed by his crew after his death)?

Ferdinand Magellan (the voyage began in 1519; Magellan died mid-route).

Which two Spanish leaders are associated with the early consolidation of the Spanish Empire in the Americas?

Ferdinand and Isabella.

Which event completed the Reconquista and set the stage for Columbus’s voyage?

The conquest of Granada in 1492.

What role did the European system of capitalism and joint-stock companies play in exploration?

They funded long voyages by spreading financial risk among many investors.

What impact did European crops and animals have on Africa and Asia as part of the Columbian Exchange?

New crops and livestock reshaped agriculture and diets; exchanges altered economies.

What was the demographic impact of European contact on the native populations of Mexico and Peru?

Population declined drastically due to disease and disruption—e.g., from about 22 million to around 4 million in Mexico.

Which Spanish explorer is associated with the conquest of the Aztecs?

Hernán Cortés.

Which Spanish explorer is associated with the conquest of the Incas?

Francisco Pizarro.

What was the major purpose of early English exploration under Elizabeth I?

To challenge Spanish power and pursue colonization, trade, and religious motives.

Why did the English establish no immediate long-term colonies after Cabot’s 1497 voyage?

England was preoccupied with internal religious conflict and other issues in the 16th century.

What was Roanoke Island’s significance in the history of English colonization?

An early but failed attempt at establishing a permanent English settlement.

Which two nations were mapped with major claims in North America by the 1600s?

Spain and France, followed by England and the Netherlands.

What did the term

Cultural interactions between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans involve varying worldviews, conflict, and exchange.

What is the purpose of analyzing primary and secondary sources in history?

To evaluate evidence, understand biases, and reconstruct past events.

What key environmental factor contributed to the distinct Native American cultures prior to 1492?

Variation in geography and climate across the continents.

What is the main thematic category for the cultural interactions topic?

Cultural Interactions in the Americas.

Which Native group is associated with the creation of totem poles and longhouses along the Northwest Coast?

Natives of the Northwest Coast (e.g., Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida, etc.).

Which term describes the race to establish colonies and exploit resources in the Americas by various European powers?

Colonial competition or colonization.

What role did Columbus's voyages play in world history?

They initiated sustained transatlantic contact between peoples on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Which continent’s crops and animals were introduced to Europe via the Columbian Exchange?

Americas (crops like maize, potatoes; animals like horses and pigs).

What change in Europe helped finance exploration through safer investment?

The rise of capitalism and joint-stock enterprises.

Which crop from the Old World became a staple in Europe and Asia after exchange?

Sugar cane.

What method did the Spanish use to extract labor from Indigenous people in the Americas?

Encomienda (and later reforms like the New Laws).

What two major religious groups clashed in 16th-century Europe influencing exploration?

Catholics and Protestants (Protestant Reformation).

Name a major English navigator who challenged Spanish shipping in the late 16th century.

Sir Francis Drake.

What effect did the Columbian Exchange have on the global population balance?

It aided population growth in Europe, Africa, and Asia, but caused depopulation in the Americas.