unit 1 stuff

Algonquin

Native American group in the Northeast known for their alliances with the French and use of agriculture and hunting.

Aztecs

Powerful Mesoamerican civilization in central Mexico conquered by Hernán Cortés in 1521.

Bartolome de las Casas

Spanish priest who spoke out against the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and advocated for their rights.

Chattel Slavery

A system in which individuals are treated as property to be bought, sold, and inherited.

Chinook

Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest known for totem poles and fishing-based economy.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator who sailed for Spain; his 1492 voyage opened the Americas to European colonization.

Columbian Exchange

The global transfer of people, crops, animals, and diseases between the Old World and New World after 1492.

Conquistadors

Spanish soldiers and explorers who conquered lands in the Americas, including the Aztec and Inca empires.

Encomienda

A Spanish labor system where colonists were granted land and native laborers in exchange for Christianizing them.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in present-day Peru.

Henry Hudson

English explorer who searched for the Northwest Passage and explored parts of present-day Canada and New York.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Incas

A vast and powerful civilization in the Andes Mountains conquered by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

Iroquois

A powerful confederation of northeastern Native American tribes known for their sophisticated political and military organization.

Iroquois Confederation

An alliance of six Native American nations that formed a representative government and resisted European colonization.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who mapped the St. Lawrence River and laid France’s claim to Canada.

John Cabot

English explorer who claimed parts of North America for England in 1497.

Joint-stock companies

Business entities where investors pooled money to fund colonization with shared risk and profit (e.g., Virginia Company).

Juan de Oñate

Spanish conquistador who brutally suppressed the Pueblo people in the Southwest during early colonization.

Juan de Sepúlveda

Spanish humanist who justified Spanish conquest and enslavement of Indigenous peoples.

Juan Ponce de León

Spanish explorer who searched for the Fountain of Youth and claimed Florida for Spain.

Maroons

Communities of escaped African slaves who established independent settlements in the Americas.

Pueblo

Native American group in the Southwest known for their adobe dwellings and resistance (e.g., Pueblo Revolt).

Roanoke

The 'Lost Colony'; England’s first attempt at colonization in the New World, which mysteriously disappeared.

Samuel de Champlain

French explorer who founded Quebec and strengthened France’s foothold in North America.

Sextant

Navigational instrument used to measure the angle between celestial objects and the horizon, aiding exploration.

Smallpox

A deadly disease brought by Europeans that decimated Indigenous populations in the Americas.

Spanish Mission

Religious and military outposts aimed at converting and controlling Indigenous peoples in the Americas.

St. Augustine

Founded in 1565 by Spain, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in the U.S.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing the New World along a meridian for colonization.

Vodun

A syncretic religion combining West African beliefs with Christianity, practiced among enslaved Africans in the Americas.

Walter Raleigh

English explorer who sponsored the failed Roanoke Colony and promoted colonization in the New World.

Zambo

A term for people of mixed African and Indigenous descent, common in colonial Latin America’s caste system.