Period of Contact & Early English Colonies Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Introduction, Period of Contact, and Early English Colonies test study guide.

Indigenous

Original.

Colonize

When a country exerts control over an independent land (a colony is the result of colonization).

Assimilation

A process where a dominant culture overtakes a physically weaker culture, usually forced, forcing the weaker culture to become like the dominant culture.

Plantation

A very large farm that required a significant number of workers and only grew crops for cash.

Diversity

A wide variety of differences.

Theocracy

A form of government based upon a religious text (Koran, Bible, etc.).

Age of Exploration

A European historical time period from around the 1400s through the 1700s defined by Europeans exploring and conquering large swaths of land in Africa, Asia, and especially South America and North America.

Age of Invasion

The label that many Native People might use to describe the Age of Exploration.

Pow Wow

An event in which Indigenous communities come together in order to re-learn and celebrate their language and culture; an attempt to reverse assimilation.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer whose 1492 discovery is generally considered the beginning of the Age of Exploration.

John Cabot

Explorer whose exploration allowed for Britain to lay claim to the coast of what eventually became North America.

Period of Contact

The neutral term that many social scientists use today to describe the Age of Exploration.

Puritans (Broad Goal)

To "purify" the Church of England from Catholic practices.

Puritans (Specific Goal in New England)

To create a model Christian community.

Mason-Dixon Line

Separates the cultural North from the cultural South today.

The Original 13 Colonies

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Middle Colonies

Colonial region known as "The Melting Pot" due to its non-English beginnings, focus on trade, and high religious and ethnic diversity.

New England Colonies

Colonial region where the primary focus of life was religion, ranging from promoting religious freedom to establishing a theocratic state.

Southern Colonies

Colonial region that, despite a difficult beginning, became relatively wealthy through slavery and the plantation system.

Bacon's Rebellion (Cause)

Occurred because Nathaniel Bacon thought the Virginia colony government was too lenient towards Native Peoples and would not sufficiently protect settlers from Native attacks.

Bacon's Rebellion (Main Long-Lasting Effect)

Southern landowners began exclusively using Blacks as slaves to work on their plantations to prevent a united racial front and future rebellions against their power.

Pennsylvania

The colony founded by William Penn that was most closely associated with Quakerism.

Pilgrims

The type of Puritans who were Separatists.

Massachusetts

The colony that was the perfect example of Puritanism during the colonial period and came to epitomize New England culture.

New York

The colony that came to epitomize the culture of the Middle Colonies region.

Virginia

The colony that came to epitomize the culture of the Southern Colonies region.

Puritanism

A religious worldview holding that humans exist only to glorify God, morality and all life are determined by the Bible, and having a slave avoids the work the Lord put upon you.

William Penn

The founder of the colony of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia

A city founded by William Penn whose name translates to "City of Brotherly Love".

Quakerism

A belief system characterized by rejecting any oath or allegiance, rejecting all forms of alcohol, and living and dressing plainly.