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Joint stock company
A company made up of a group of shareholders. Each shareholder contributes money to the company for part ownership and receives some share of the company's profits and debts. Joint-stock companies facilitated exploration by reducing financial risks for investors interested in sponsoring exploration.
Samuel de Champlain
French explorer who established the first permanent settlement in Canada at Quebec. Worked to protect his settlement by making alliances with the Hurons and other Native American tribes.
Hernan Cortes
Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the conquest of Aztec Mexico in 1519-1521 for Spain.
Francisco Pizarro
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in the Andes mountains using advanced weaponry, horses, and, unwittingly, smallpox.
Atahualpa
The last ruling Inca emperor who was captured by Spanish conquistadors led by Pizarro. He ascended to the throne after forces loyal to him defeated forces loyal to his brother in the Inca Civil War.
Christopher Columbus
An Italian navigator who was funded by the investors associated with the Spanish royal court to find a western water passage to Asia. He is given credit for discovering the "New World," even though at his death he believed he had made it to India. He made four voyages to the "New World." The first sighting of land was on October 12, 1492, and made three other journeys until the time of his death in 1503.
Conquistadors
Military adventurers who were mostly responsible for the initial Spanish colonization of the Americas, including present-day Mexico, Central America, and Peru.
John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto)
Italian sailor sent by England to search for the Northwest Passage, a sea route to Asia across, who in turn claimed land in what is today Canada for the English.
Henry Hudson
An English explorer who explored for the Dutch. He notably claimed the river that empties into the Atlantic Ocean around present day New York and called it New Netherlands.
double-entry bookkeeping
A system of recording and classifying business transactions in two places (debit and credit) so the lists of transactions can be checked against the other for accuracy. Pioneered by Italian merchants in the Middle Ages based largely on Arab models, this system enabled complex businesses to operate over long distances, perfect for colonization.
Johannes Gutenberg
German printer who was the first in Europe to print using movable type and the first to use such a press. Development of his press increased access to information and improved literacy over time.
Jacques Cartier
French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence river that connects the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean. He laid claim to the region for France in what is present-day Canada.
Protestant Reformation
Religious reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church beginning in 1519. It split the Church and resulted in the 'protesters' forming many new Christian denominations, including the Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican Churches. The movement generated decades of warfare and competition among adherents to different denominations.
Moctezuma II
The Aztec ruler from 1502 to 1520, he expanded the empire to its largest extent through warfare and diplomacy. His rule was undermined by the arrival of Hernan Cortés and his conquistadors, who at first lived as guests of the Aztec leader at Tenochtitlan. He was later taken prisoner and killed during battle with the Spanish army, who had also instigated rebellions against the Aztecs among tribes previously conquered by the powerful empire.
