Key Terms: Period 1 APUSH (1491-1607)

Horticulture

a form of agriculture in which people work small plots of land with simple tools

The Three Sisters

Native American agricultural practice of beneficially planting corn, beans, and squash together, resulting in higher yields and a healthy diet

Maize Cultivation

the growing of corn, a staple of many Native American diets, leading many nomadic tribes to settle and develop great civilizations

West Africa

Coast of Africa that became center of European slave trade

Cultural autonomy

Freedom of a group to express one's own culture without outside control i.g. The colonization of the natives took away their Cultural autonomy

Spanish exploration

Colonization of the Americas by the conquistadors in search for god, glory and gold

White superiority

The European idea they were superior to other cultures/ races and needed to enforce European culture/religion on them

Portuguese exploration

Advancements in sailing technology allowed the Portuguese to sail down the coast of Africa and open trade of gold and slaves, settle and make plantations and eventually find the way around Africa to the Indies

Aztec

Spanish term for the Mexica, an indigenous people and empire of same name, compromised of network of city-states in present-day Mexico between 14th-16th centuries. Empire collapsed following arrival of Spaniards

Tenochtitián

Capital city of Aztec empire (14th century), island city surrounded by artificial islands (chinampas) and canals. Taken over in 1521 by Hernan de Cortes, place of modern Mexico City

Incas

Andean people who built complex bureaucratic empire ruled by aristocrats centuries prior to arrival of Spaniards. Relied on a variety of domesticated animals and diverse farming techniques, reached height of power in 15th century, controlling roughly 16 million

Maya

People and civilization that established large cities on Yucatán peninsula w/ strong irrigration + agricultural techniques, astronomical knowledge, math + writing systems. First emerges in 1500 B.C.E., peaked between 300-800 C.E., before swiftly declining

Pueblo

Native American peoples in present-day New Mexico/Arizona, share common religious + agricultural practices. Pueblo, Spanish word for village, used to refer to them, built permanent dwellings in Southwest

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages

Requerimiento

A pseudo-legal decree read to natives by Spaniards in the early period of exploration and conquest, commanding them to submit to the Christian God and the King of Spain or else be warred upon

Renaissance

Cultural + intellectual movement beginning in 15th century Italy, in which European rulers pushed for greater political unification. Contributed to changes in art, knowledge, and question old forms of authority

Mission system

The colonial system devised by the Spanish to control the Native American populations, forcing them to convert to Catholicism and work the land

Hunter-gatherer economy

A nomadic way of life with no agriculture focused on following food sources including animals and wild plants

Plantation-based agriculture

Production system based on a large estate owned by an individual, family, or corporation and organized to produce a cash crop via slave labor

Great Basin

The area between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas. Dry desert, mostly

Encomienda System

System in Spanish America that gave settlers the right to tax local Native Americans or to demand their labor in exchange for protecting them and teaching them skills

Great Plains

vast grassland between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains

Slave Labor

labor that is coerced and inadequately rewarded, or the people who perform such labor

Western Hemisphere

North and South America

Capitalism

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state

Agricultural Economy

an economy based on farming, or earning most of its money from farming

Empire Building

The Spanish increasing their empire through grafting their culture onto the natives and taking over the land

Atlantic World

The social, intellectual, economic, and biological interactions among the peoples, plants, and animals bordering the Atlantic Ocean, mainly Africa, the Americas, and Western Europe, beginning in the late fifteenth century

Permanent villages

Due to the cultivation of maize in the Americas hunter-gatherer societies were able to move from a nomadic lifestyle to a more stable lifestyle. People were able to settle down in one spot and create communities because of this surplus of food

aristocrat

Member of highest class of society, typically nobility who inherited ranks and titles

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

astrolabe

conquistador

Spanish name for conqueror, applies to Spanish + Portuguese military leaders who invaded + conquered lands of Native Americans in Central + South America

caste system

Spanish system developed in 16th century that defined status of diverse populations based on racial hierarchy that privileged Europeans