AP world test

Three Gs

Motivations for Exploration: Gold, God, Glory.

Gold

The desire for wealth through spices, precious metals like gold and silver, and expanded trade opportunities.

God

The ambition to spread Christianity, particularly Catholicism, to new lands and peoples.

Glory

The pursuit of fame, national pride, and expanded influence for both kings and explorers.

Northwest Passage

A sea route through North America to Asia, though it doesn't truly exist.

Caravel

A fast, small ship capable of sailing against the wind.

Astrolabe

An instrument used to navigate using the stars.

Compass

A tool to determine direction.

Cartography

Improved mapmaking skills.

Treaty of Tordesillas

A treaty from 1494 that divided the world between Spain and Portugal, mediated by the Pope.

Mercantilism

An economic theory stating that colonies exist to enrich the mother country.

Encomienda System

A Spanish system granting settlers land and the labor of Native Americans living on that land.

Peninsulares

People born in Spain.

Creoles

People of Spanish descent but born in the Americas.

Mestizos/Mulattoes

People of mixed European and Indigenous or African descent.

Natives and Africans

People at the bottom of the social hierarchy, often enslaved or forced into labor.

Columbian Exchange

The extensive exchange of plants, animals, people, diseases, and culture between the Old World and the New World.

Consequences of the Exchange

Economic: Increased food supply in Europe led to a population boom; Social: Native populations suffered due to diseases; Slavery: High demand for labor on plantations led to the expansion of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

The trade where European colonies needed cheap labor and turned to enslaving Africans.

Triangle Trade

A trade system where Europe sent goods to Africa, Africa sent enslaved people to the Americas, and the Americas sent sugar, tobacco, etc., to Europe.

Impact on Africa

Coastal empires became wealthy by selling captives; long-term effects included wars, instability, and depopulation.

Zheng He

A Chinese explorer in the early 1400s who led giant treasure ships across the Indian Ocean.

China's Trade Policy

Limited trade to specific ports like Canton to control foreign influence.

Japan's Reaction to Europe

Initially open to trade but later closed off almost entirely after witnessing the chaos of colonization.