APUSH CONCEPTS

Encomienda

a Spanish form of slavery in which Native Americans were “given” to certain colonists in “exchange” to try to Christianize them.

maize

- The Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs' advanced agricultural practices were based on the cultivation of maize (Indian corn) and fed large populations.

- Hunter-gatherers in highland Mexico developed wild grass into the staple crop of corn; this cultivation of corn was fundamental and spread across the Americas from Mexico. Nomadic hunters would settle to become agricultural villagers.

• The Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs' advanced agricultural practices were based on the cultivation of maize (Indian corn) and fed large populations.

• Hunter-gatherers in highland Mexico developed wild grass into the staple crop of corn; this cultivation of corn was fundamental and spread across the Americas from Mexico. Nomadic hunters would settle to become agricultural villagers.

Treaty of Tordesillas

divided the land of the New World between Portugal and Spain. Spain got the largest amount of land while Portugal received compensating territory in Africa and Asia, as well as land that would eventually be known as Brazil.

Mercantilism

an economic system that was prevalent between the late 1500s and late 1700s; focuses on the trading of goods to create wealth and depends on heavy governmental intervention. Prioritizes exports over imports.

Joint-Stock Companies

legal entities usually made by religious charters that allowed investors to pool resources to share both profits and risks among many individuals and businesses.

most famous ones were the British East India Company, the Dutch East India Company, and later, the Virginia Company, which settled Jamestown.

Federalism

the division and sharing of power between the national and state governments.

Head-right system

employed by Maryland and Virginia to encourage the importation of servant workers; it stated whoever paid the passage of a laborer would receive the right to get fifty acres of land.

Slave codes (chattel)

began in Virginia in 1662; made Black enslaved people and their children the property, or “chattels,” for life of their white enslavers.

Mercantilism

an economic system that was prevalent between the late 1500s and late 1700s; focuses on the trading of goods to create wealth and depends on heavy governmental intervention. Prioritizes exports over imports.

Virtual representation

theory stating that each member (in Parliament) represented the entire empire.

Writs of assistance

used by the British to combat smuggling, they were general search warrants that gave customs officials the right to search anywhere they chose for smuggled products.

• 1761

lawyer James Otis states that the writs were destructive to English liberty, and that Parliament had no right to authorize them.