European Expansion and the Columbian Exchange

Flashcards covering key concepts related to European overseas expansion, the Columbian Exchange, labor systems, and Indigenous societies.

Columbian Exchange

Widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World and the Old World.

Encomienda System

A Spanish colonial labor system in the Americas where Indigenous people were forced into labor, resembling slavery.

Mercantilism

An economic system that provided the mother country with wealth and raw materials from its colonies.

Triangular Trade

A three-legged trade system involving manufactured goods from Europe to Africa, enslaved Africans to the Americas, and raw materials back to Europe.

Maternal society

A societal structure where lineage and inheritance are traced through the mother's line.

Tribal Society

A society organized around kinship groups or clans without centralized government, unlike European nation-states.

Middle Passage

The horrific sea route taken by enslaved Africans being transported to the Americas.

Indigenous Societies (1491)

Pre-Columbian societies characterized by matrilineal structures, communal land ownership, and significant role of women in power.

Cultural Disruption

The conflicts and misunderstandings between Indigenous cultures and European settlers due to differing gender roles and land ownership practices.