Pre-Columbian America and European Contact

Flashcards testing knowledge on early human habitation, pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, European expansion, the Columbian Exchange, and early English and Spanish colonization.

According to evidence cited in the transcript, to what date does human settlement across Beringia trace back?

35,000 BC

What distinctive point technology was used by Paleo-Indian hunters?

Clovis point

What surface mineral deposit was notably absent in pre-Columbian America, limiting advanced metals technology?

Iron

Which major Mesoamerican group was associated with the city of Tenochtitlan?

Mexica/Nahuatl/Aztecs

Why were spices such as pepper, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves highly valued in Europe during the Crusades era?

They helped cover the taste of spoiled meat.

What three navigational tools made travel along the African coast possible for Portuguese explorers in the early fifteenth century?

Caravelle, compass, and quadrant

In what year did Vasco da Gama sail to India, establishing a vast trading empire for Portugal?

1498

Which monarchs provided financial support for Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage?

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain

Between which years did Amerigo Vespucci sail along the coast of South America, leading to the New World being named America?

1498 and 1502

In what year did Hernán Cortés encounter the Aztecs?

1519

Which New World food crop had the greatest long-term global impact according to the Columbian Exchange notes?

Potato

What labor system in New Spain was replaced by repartimiento and hacienda?

Encomienda

Which 1542 laws forbade the enslavement of Native Americans following the writings of Bartolomé de Las Casas?

New Laws

What concept, influenced in part by Las Casas's writings, depicted Spain as a uniquely brutal and exploitative colonizer?

Black Legend

Which ruler governed Spain in the first half of the 16th century while dominating Europe and the Americas?

Charles V

Which explorer explored Newfoundland and the northeastern coast for England in 1497 and 1498?

John Cabot

Where did Jacques Cartier explore for France in 1534?

Up the St. Lawrence River as far as present-day Montreal

In what year did Martin Luther start the Protestant Reformation?

1517

What event in 1542 reasserted Catholic Church supremacy and initiated the Counter-Reformation?

The Council of Trent

Why did Henry VIII break England away from Rome in 1534?

He wanted his marriage annulled in search of a male heir, but the Pope refused.

Which English privateer was supported by Queen Elizabeth I to prey on Spanish shipping?

Sir Francis Drake

Who sponsored the first English settlement attempt on Roanoke Island in 1585?

Sir Walter Raleigh

What event in 1588 delayed English resupply ships from returning to Roanoke Island until 1590?

The attack of the Spanish Armada