13 Colonies Vocab

cash crop

A crop grown primarily to be sold for profit rather than for personal use. A few examples of cash crops are tobacco, indigo, and rice.

charter

A legal document from the king that gave colonists the right to settle land and establish a colony.

chattel slavery

Enslaved people were owned and treated; like property, children born of an enslaved mother were born into ownership of the slave master.

democratic

A system of government in which people participate in making decisions and electing representatives.

heterogeneous

Diversity in culture

homogeneous

Same or similar culture

mercantilism

An economic policy in which nations tried to control wealth and establish colonies.

Puritan

Puritans are separatists and pilgrims who sailed to America on the Mayflower. They were escaping religious persecution from the Church of England.

triangular trade

A trade network connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas. 

• Colonies sent raw materials to England

• England sent manufactured goods to Africa. 

• Enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas.