WC Unit 06 Discovery, Conquest & Absolutism

Moluccas

Island chain in present-day Indonesia; chief source of spices in the 1400s

Prince Henry The Navigator

Portuguese prince who sponsored technology and mapmaking to send Portuguese mariners around Africa and to Asia

cartographer

a map maker

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese navigator; first to sail around Africa and then to Asia

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator; sponsored by Spanish monarchs to sail west across the Atlantic; explored what became the Americas

Line of Demarcation

line drawn by the pope dividing the non-European world into two zones split between Spain and Portugal

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 treaty in which Spain and Portugal officially agreed to the Line of Demarcation

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese nobleman; his crew were first to circumnavigate the globe in 1522

circumnavigate

to sail around the world

Montezuma

Aztec emperor at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico

Aztecs

advanced native civilization in what is now Mexico

Hernán Cortés

Spaniard conquistador who conquered the Aztecs

Francisco Pizarro

Spaniard conquistador who conquered the Incas

Incas

advanced native civilization in what is now Peru

quipu

string-based communication device developed by the Incas

viceroy

a representative of the king who ruled in his name

Encomienda System

the right given to colonists in the Americas by the Spanish government to demand labor or tribute from Native Americans

Bartolomé de Las Casas

a bold Spanish priest who spoke out against the evils of the encomienda system and pleaded with the king to end the abuse

peon

a worker forced to labor for a landlord to pay off a debt

Peninsular

member of the highest class in Spain's colonies in the Americas

Creole

an American-born descendant of Spanish settlers in Spain's colonies in the Americas

Mestizo

a person of Native American and European descent in Spain's colonies in the Americas

Mulatto

a person of African and European descent in Spain's colonies in the Americas

privateer

a pirate who operated with the approval of European governments

New France

French possession in present-day Canada from the 1500s to 1763

revenue

income

Pilgrims

English Protestants who rejected the Church of England

compact

an agreement among people

Mayflower Compact

agreement signed by the first pilgrims while on the Mayflower

cash crop

a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower

French and Indian War

a war between France and England that erupted in 1754 in North America and ended in 1763

Treaty of Paris 1763

the agreement that officially ended the French and Indian War as well as other fighting between France and England, and ensured British dominance in North America

Columbian Exchange

a vast global exchange of goods, people, plants, and animals that began with Columbus and profoundly affected the world

inflation

a rise in prices that is linked to a sharp increase in the amount of money available

Price Revolution

the period in European history during the 1500s when inflation rose rapidly

Capitalism

an economic system in which most businesses are owned privately

entrepreneur

a person who takes on financial risks to make profits

Mercantilism

an economic policy in which it was believed that a nation must export more goods than it imports to build its supply of gold and silver

tariff

a tax on an imported good

Divine Right

the belief that a ruler's authority comes directly from God

Louis XIV

French king who went on to rule with absolute power, saying, "I am the state"

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Louis XIV's finance minister, who imposed mercantilist policies to bolster France's economy

Versailles

royal French residence and seat of government established by King Louis XIV

James I

the first Stuart monarch, who repeatedly clashed with Parliament

Puritans

a group of dissenters who sought to "purify" the church of Catholic practices

Oliver Cromwell

leader of the supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War, who went on to lead the short-lived Commonwealth between 1649 and 1658

Glorious Revolution

peaceful overthrow of James II in Britain

English Bill Of Rights

several acts of Parliament that limited the power of the monarchy and restated the rights of English citizens

Constitutional Government

a government whose power is defined and limited by law

Prussia

a strong military state that emerged in central Europe in the late 1600s

Frederick William I

a Prussian ruler who came to power in 1713 and gained the loyalty of the Prussian nobles to increase his control of the state

Peter The Great

a Russian tsar who took control of government in 1689 and used his power to modernize Russia

westernization

the adaptation of Western ideas, technology, and culture

Catherine The Great

Russian empress as of 1762 who embraced Western ideas and ruled as an absolute monarch

1492

Columbus discovered the Americas

1494

Treaty of Tordesillas

1500

Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil

1763

End of French and Indian War; signing of the Treaty of Paris

Portolan

Maps with lines radiating from compasses that showed routes to important ports

astrolabe

An ancient device adapted for finding latitude and telling time

caravel

A new, lighter, fast ship that could travel long distances

magnetic compass

Instrument first used by the Chinese; showed direction

Bartolomeu Dias

sailed along the western coast of Africa and discovered a way to cross the Cape of Good Hope.

Vasco da Gama

sailed around Africa, past the Cape of Good Hope, and all the way to India.

Christopher Columbus

sailed west in search of India but landed in the Caribbean

Ferdinand Magellan

sailed southwest around the tip of South America, then northwest to the Moluccas. Only one of his ships made it back to Spain.

Hernán Cortés

went to Mexico and conquered the Aztecs.

Francisco Pizarro

went to Peru and conquered the Incas.

peninsulares

People born in Spain

creoles

American-born descendants of

Spanish settlers

mestizos and mulattoes

Those of Native American and European descent and people of African and European descent, respectively

Native American and African

Those whose heritage did not include Europeans