New World Beginnings & the Planting of English America (Chs. 1-3) – Vocabulary Review

Key vocabulary terms from Chapters 1-3 covering early Native America, European contact, and the founding of the Southern, New England, and Middle colonies.

Pangaea

Ancient supercontinent that began breaking apart about 225 million years ago, forming today’s separate landmasses.

Canadian Shield

Vast zone of ancient, hard rock that formed North America’s geological core and first part to rise above sea level.

Great Ice Age

Period beginning about 2 million years ago when glaciers shaped North America’s terrain and created land bridges for human migration.

Bering Land Bridge

Exposed strip of land between Siberia and Alaska used by Asian hunters to people the Americas during lowered sea levels.

Incas

Highly advanced civilization of Peru that cultivated maize and built complex society before Spanish conquest.

Mayans

Civilization of the Yucatán/Central America noted for hieroglyphic writing, astronomy, and maize-based agriculture.

Aztecs

Powerful Mexican empire whose capital Tenochtitlán dazzled Europeans; practiced large-scale human sacrifice.

Pueblo Culture

Southwestern Native American society that used intricate irrigation to grow corn and built multi-storied adobe dwellings.

Cahokia

Mississippian mound-builder city near present-day St. Louis that once housed up to 25,000 inhabitants.

Three-Sister Farming

Agricultural system where maize, beans, and squash were grown together, boosting yields and population density.

Iroquois Confederacy

Alliance of five (later six) northeastern tribes led by Hiawatha that created a formidable political and military power.

Columbian Exchange

Widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

Encomienda

Spanish labor system granting colonists the right to demand tribute and labor from Indigenous people in return for Christianizing them.

Conquistadores

Spanish “conquerors” who subdued the Aztec and Inca empires and claimed vast American territories for Spain.

Mestizos

People of mixed European and Native American ancestry resulting from Spanish intermarriage in the New World.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Papal-sanctioned agreement dividing New World lands between Spain (west) and Portugal (east).

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec empire (1519-1521).

Moctezuma

Aztec emperor who initially welcomed Cortés but was later overthrown during Spanish conquest.

Noche Triste (1520)

“Sad night” when Aztecs drove Spaniards out of Tenochtitlán, leading to Cortés’s siege and ultimate victory.

Capitalism

Economic system stimulated in Europe by the influx of New World gold and silver, emphasizing private trade and profit.

Black Legend

Exaggerated notion that Spanish conquerors only brought torture, disease, and misery to the New World.

Popé’s Rebellion (1680)

Pueblo uprising in New Mexico that destroyed Catholic missions and kept Spaniards out for nearly 50 years.

Joint-Stock Company

Early investment corporation that pooled capital for colonial ventures, spreading risk among many investors.

Virginia Company

London joint-stock company that founded Jamestown in 1607 under a charter guaranteeing English rights to colonists.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America (1607), located on Virginia’s James River.

Captain John Smith

Leader who saved Jamestown with his rule “He that will not work shall not eat.”

Powhatan

Algonquian chief who dominated tribes near Jamestown and interacted with early Virginians.

House of Burgesses

Representative assembly established in Virginia in 1619, first of many mini-parliaments in America.

Act of Toleration (1649)

Maryland law guaranteeing freedom of worship to all Christians but decreeing death for denying Christ’s divinity.

Barbados Slave Code (1661)

Harsh West Indian statute giving masters complete control over enslaved Africans; model for later mainland codes.

Squatters

Frontier farmers in North Carolina without legal title to land, noted for independence and resistance to authority.

Tuscarora War (1711-1713)

North Carolina conflict resulting in defeat and enslavement of Tuscarora Indians, who later joined the Iroquois.

Yamasee War (1715-1716)

South Carolina fight that devastated the last coastal tribes in the southern colonies.

Buffer Colony

Strategic colony (e.g., Georgia) meant to protect more valuable colonies from Spanish or French threats.

Protestant Reformation

Religious movement begun by Martin Luther (1517) challenging Catholicism and shaping English colonization motives.

Puritans

English Calvinists seeking to purify the Church of England of Catholic elements; many settled New England.

Separatists

Radical Puritans who broke from the Church of England; Pilgrims at Plymouth were Separatists.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

Agreement to form a self-governing Plymouth colony based on majority rule.

Great English Migration (1630s)

Exodus of about 70,000 English, mainly Puritans, to Massachusetts and especially the Caribbean.

John Winthrop

First governor of Massachusetts Bay; envisioned colony as a “city upon a hill.”

Antinomianism

Anne Hutchinson’s doctrine that the ‘elect’ need not obey God’s or man’s laws—a heresy to Puritans.

Roger Williams

Salem minister banished for challenging Puritans; founded Rhode Island on religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Fundamental Orders (1639)

Connecticut River valley constitution establishing a democratic government controlled by “substantial” citizens.

Pequot War (1637)

Brutal conflict where New England colonists and Indian allies annihilated the Pequot tribe in Connecticut.

King Philip’s War (1675-1676)

Metacom’s alliance attacked New England settlements, slowing colonial expansion but crushing native resistance.

New England Confederation (1643)

First colonial union (MA & CT colonies) formed for defense and intercolonial issues.

Dominion of New England (1686-1689)

London-imposed union of colonies under Sir Edmund Andros to enforce Navigation Acts and strengthen defense.

Navigation Laws

English mercantilist regulations limiting colonial trade to English ships and ports.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

Overthrow of King James II, leading colonists to depose Andros and inspiring “salutary neglect.”

Salutary Neglect

Period after 1688 when England relaxed enforcement of Navigation Acts, allowing colonial autonomy.

Patroonship

Large Dutch land grants on the Hudson River given to promoters who settled 50 people on them.

Quakers (Society of Friends)

Pacifist Protestant sect advocating inner light, equality, and religious tolerance; founded Pennsylvania.

William Penn

Quaker proprietor who established liberal, tolerant Pennsylvania in 1681 as a “holy experiment.”

Blue Laws

Quaker statutes (e.g., in Pennsylvania) prohibiting “ungodly” activities like dice, cards, and stage plays.

Middle Colonies

New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania—known for fertile soil, ethnic diversity, and grain exports.