American history unit 1 vocab

Massachusetts bay

a City upon a hill meaning it would be an example of a Christian Society.

Puritans

People who wanted to purify the Anglican Church

John Winthrop

Puritan governor of the Massachusetts bay colony

Enlightenment

movement that emphasized logic, reason, and new ideas about government.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher known for his ideas on natural rights and the relationship between the government and its people

Great Awakening

Time period of Religious revival in the english colonies in the 1700’s

Zenger trial

a newspaper editor was found not guilty for writing against the New York government making a precedent for freedom of the press.

Agricultural Revolution

This describes when early Americans learned to plant and raise crops, making the rise of complex civilizations possible.

King Philips War

Conflictt between Native Americans and Colonists in Plymouth

William Penn

Quaker who made a colony where there was freedom of religion and Native Americans were treated well

Indentured Servants

English people who agreed to work for 4-7 years

Bacons rebellion

poor Virginia farmers fought wealthy planters and Jamestown was burned to the ground

Hernan Cortes

Spaniard who defeated the Aztecs in what is now Mexico

Triangular trade

trade between the caribbean (west indies), Africa, and the American colonies

Joint-stock company

people pooled their money together to pay for large projects

Headright system

the Virginia Company encouraged settlement by offering 50 acres of land for each settler and their servants

Proprietary colony

The type of colony run by an individual, not by the King or English government.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in America

Plymouth

Colony established by pilgrims (separatists) in New England in 1620

Iroquois Confederacy

Alliance of Native Americans formed in what is now western New York in order to provide peace and security.

Conquistador

Spanish men who led expeditions to conquer the Americas.

Encomienda

Spaniards converted Native Americans to Christianity but also treated them as slaves.

Roger Williams

banished from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritan churches and helped found Rhode Island as a place of religious freedom

Mercantilism

caused countries to seek gold and silver and try to export more than they import

Navigation acts

Series of laws England passed to ensure that the American colonies increased the wealth of England.