period 1

Aztec (Mexica)

Located in Central America/Mesoamerica with a capital at Tenochtitlan and a population of 300,000 at its peak.

Maya

Located on the Yucatán Peninsula, known for complex irrigation and water storage systems, and giant stone temples for rulers believed to be descended from the gods.

Inca

Located in the Andes Mountains along the Pacific coast (modern-day Peru), ruled 16 million at its height, and cultivated fertile mountain valleys with elaborate irrigation systems.

Maize

A corn-like crop that supported economic development, settlement of peoples, advanced irrigation, and social diversification among societies.

Pueblo

Lived in present-day New Mexico and Arizona, built adobe and masonry homes, and had a highly organized society.

Ute

Nomadic peoples who lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle in small egalitarian kinship-based bands; Great Basin

Chinook

Lived by the sea in fishing villages and made use of cedar trees to construct giant plank houses; pacific northwest

Chumash

Present-day California hunter-gatherers who settled in one location where vegetation and game were plentiful.

Hopewell

Lived in towns of 4,000 to 6,000 and traded extensively.

Cahokia

Largest settlement in the Mississippi River Valley with a population of upwards of ten to thirty thousand people.

Iroquois

Lived in villages, grew maize, squash, and beans, and lived in longhouses.

Reasons for Exploration

Population increase after the Black Plague, political unification resulting in centralized government, and desire for luxury goods.

Portugal/Prince Henry the Navigator

Established trading posts in Africa, leading to Portuguese control of Indian Ocean trade and developed new navigation technology.

Trading-Post Empire

Imperial dominance based on control of trade rather than on control of subject peoples.

Caravels

Nimble ships dedicated only to trade.

Columbus

Italian sailor who sailed west in 1492 to find a route to Asia and mistakenly landed in the Caribbean.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of food, animals, minerals, people, and diseases between Africa, Europe, and the Americas that transformed societies and economies.

Aztecs/Mexica

• capital Tenochititalan

• 400,000 population

• Conquered by Hernan Cortes with only 1000 men

Smallpox

Disease that ravaged native peoples and helped Cortes conquer Tenochtitlan.

Impact on Europe

The influx of wealth from the New World hastened the end of feudalism and brought rise to capitalism.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Africans were captured, sold, and forced to endure the Middle Passage, many dying before arrival.

Mercantilism

An economic system driven by heavy governmental direction and intervention, dominant in Europe during the time of Spanish colonization.

African Slave Trade

Europeans traded goods for enslaved people, viewing them as inferior and not human beings.

Encomienda System

System where encomenderos were granted land and natives were subject to labor for farming, mining, or boats.

Requerimiento

Document issued by Ferdinand and Isabella granting Spanish monarchs authority to claim lands in the Americas and convert natives.

Spanish Caste System

Social hierarchy established in Spanish America based on race and origin.

Peninsulares

Born in Spain on the Iberian Peninsula

Criollos

Spanish, but born in the Americas

Mestizos

Spanish and Native American ancestry

Mulattoes

Spanish and African ancestry

Africans

Individuals of African descent

Native Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

Hegemony

The domination of one nation or group by another nation or group

Missionaries/Mission System

Spanish sent missionaries to convert the natives to Christianity

Natives and Religion

Largely pantheist and animist (natural world filled with spirits)

Spanish and Religion

were Catholic

Trade between groups

Native Americans were eager to get their hands on the metal tools being traded by the Europeans

Divergent Worldviews

clashing perspectives on religion, family, land between European and Indians

Pueblo

The Pueblo brought Christ into their pantheon of Gods and worshipped him along with the other gods

Pueblo Revolt

Came as a response to priests wanting singular devotion to Christ from the native peoples

Bartolome De Las Casas

One of the chief voices of views that defended the dignity of the Indians

Encomienda systems

A labor system that rewarded Spanish colonists with the labor of particular groups of native people