Age of Exploration and Colonial America

Iroquois Confederacy

A union of five tribes: Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca, Onondaga, and Mohawk connected by geography along the St. Lawrence River in present-day New York and Canada.

Prince Henry of Portugal

A leader in navigation known for promoting early explorations.

Christopher Columbus

Skilled navigator from Genoa, Italy, who studied geography and concluded that trading cities in Asia were 2400 miles west of Europe.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

The Spanish monarchs who sponsored Columbus' expedition, conditioned on the spread of Catholicism.

Ponce de Leon

First European to step foot in the U.S., established a settlement in Puerto Rico, came to Florida in 1513.

Pedro Menendez

Founded St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in the United States, and led massacres in French Fort Caroline.

St. Augustine

Established in 1565, it is the oldest permanent settlement in the U.S. and was burned by Sir Francis Drake in 1586.

Santa Fe

Established in 1610 as the second oldest permanent settlement in the United States.

Historiography

The study of how historical events are interpreted and how interpretations can change.

John Wycliffe

Translated the Bible from Latin to English, known as the 'Morning Star' of the Reformation.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement focusing on belief in God and reforming the Church, involving Pilgrims and Puritans.

King Henry VIII

King of England who started the Protestant Church after being denied a divorce.

Spanish Armada

A fleet sent by King Philip of Spain to invade England, leading to significant losses.

Jamestown

Founded in 1607 by a joint stock company, known for its challenges and for John Smith's leadership.

Pocahontas

Daughter of Powhatan who saved John Smith, has been romanticized in Disney adaptations.

Separatists/Pilgrims

Those who separated from the Catholic Church and formed Plymouth Colony.

Mayflower and Mayflower Compact

The ship that transported Pilgrims in 1620 and the agreement signed to establish a new colony.

Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Colony

Groups that arrived in America and founded a colony centered around their religious beliefs.

John Winthrop and 'City on a Hill'

Prominent leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who preached about the community striving to be closer to God.

Roger Williams

An ordained minister who proposed radical ideas about religious freedom and land ownership, leading to his banishment.

Anne Hutchinson

Banished from Massachusetts for her challenges to Puritan leadership and her support for religious freedom.

Thomas Hooker

Founder of Connecticut who helped write the Fundamental Orders, an important early constitution.

Fundamental Orders

Considered the first written constitution in America, established in 1639.

King Philip’s Deadly War

Conflict from 1675-1678 between Native Leader Metacom (King Philip) and the colonists.

Henry Hudson

An English sea explorer known for discovering the Hudson River and Hudson Bay.

New Amsterdam

A Dutch colony at the mouth of the Hudson River, later taken by the English and renamed New York.

William Penn

Founder of Pennsylvania, a Quaker who believed in equality, religious tolerance, and good relations with Native Americans.

Triangular Trade

The trade system that operated between America, Europe, and Africa, exchanging goods including enslaved people.

Middle Passage

The brutal voyage endured by enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

John Punch

An African servant in Virginia, the first recorded person sentenced to slavery for life in 1640.