AP World History Vocabulary: Unit 4 Topics 4.1-4.4

Primogeniture laws

a system of inheritance in which the eldest son inherits the entire family estate

cartography

the art and science of making maps and charts

Mercantilism

a state-driven economic system that emphasizes the buildup of mineral wealth (gold and silver) by maintaining a favorable balance of trade

trading post empire

a maritime empire established by a state or company to control trade routes through a network of fortified trading posts, rather than through territorial conquest

Prince Henry

a Portuguese prince who sponsored voyages of discovery along the coast of West Africa and into the Atlantic Ocean

Vasco da Gama

a Portuguese explorer known for being the first European to reach India by sea, linking Europe and Asia via the ocean

Ferdinand Magellan

a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe

Jacques Cartier

a French explorer known for his voyages to North America during which he explored the St. Lawrence River and Gulf and claimed Canada for France

Henry Hudson

an English explorer known for his voyages to find a Northwest Passage to Asia

Samuel de Champlain

a French explorer, cartographer, and navigator known as the "Father of New France" who founded Quebec City, establishing the first permanent French settlement in North America

conquistadors

Spanish soldier-explorers who conquered the Americas, driven by the pursuit of wealth, glory, and the spread of Christianity

Columbian Exchange

the widespread transfer of plants, animals, cultures, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World after 1492

cash crops

agricultural products grown primarily for sale and profit rather than for personal consumption

creoles

those born in America of Spanish origin

Asante Empire

a powerful West African state in modern-day Ghana that played a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade

Treaty of Tordisilla

an agreement between Spain and Portugal to divide the newly discovered lands outside of Europe along an imaginary vertical line

Encomienda system

a system of forced labor the Spaniards instituted in the Americas where the Spanish had the right to demand labor and tribute from Indigenous peoples in exchange for providing them with protection and religious instruction

Hacienda system

a large estate system in colonial Latin America, where landowners used coerced labor from indigenous people and others to work the land

Mita system

a mandatory labor system in the Inca Empire where communities provided a set number of workers for state projects

galleons

a large, multi-decked sailing ship used by Europeans for both warfare and trade