Chapter 9: The Confluence of World Cultures

Flashcards covering the motives, key figures, and cultural impacts of European exploration as discussed in Chapter 9.

Conquistadors

Spanish explorers, known as "conquerors," who followed the path opened by Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

Arawak tribe

An indigenous tribe located in the Caribbean that had millions of members when Columbus arrived, but was gone by $1555$ due to the slave trade.

Tenochtitlan

The capital city of the Aztec Empire, now known as Mexico City, where Emperor Montezuma ruled.

Emperor Montezuma

The ruler of the Aztecs who believed the explorer Cortes was a god, fulfilling ancient prophecies in Aztec culture.

Franciscan missionaries

Religious workers sent to convert Pueblo natives to Catholicism, often using force and forbidding native masks, kivas, and dances.

Kivas

Ancient Pueblo pit houses used for community and ceremonial purposes.

Slipped pottery

A type of pottery created by the Pueblo people that was particularly well-suited for cooking.

San Miguel Mission Chapel

A mission chapel built in $1628$ using a simple post-and-lintel style that has survived because it has been in continuous use since the $17\text{th}$ century.

King Atahualpa

The leader of the Incas in Peru who was captured by Pizarro, offered $24$ tons of gold as ransom, and was eventually sentenced to die.

The Great Dying

A period within $100$ years of European arrival during which 90\text{%} of the native population died from disease.

British East India Company

A company that established a monopoly of trade through the Indian Ocean and meddled in Indian politics to improve profits before Britain took direct control.

Francis Xavier

A Jesuit priest who arrived in Japan in $1549$ to found a successful Christian mission, leading to the eventual expulsion of Christians in $1639$.

Basketmaker culture

A sedentary culture of the American Southwest (Pueblo people) that lived off corn, beans, and squash rather than game hunting.

Post-and-lintel

A simple building style used in Franciscan mission churches that relied on local native builders and materials rather than Roman arches or domes.