Unit 1: Native Americans and European Exploration

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering Native American societies, European exploration motives, the Columbian Exchange, and Spanish colonial social and labor structures.

Pueblo Indians

Native American group in the dry Southwest who used irrigation systems to grow maize and lived in stable, permanent settlements.

Apache and Cheyenne Indians

Groups in the Great Plains and Great Basin who led nomadic lifestyles following resources such as the buffalo; they later became dependent on the horse.

Iroquois

Northeast American group that lived in LongHouses with several generations and formed early alliances with Europeans.

Chinook Indians

Northwest American group with rigid social structures who lived in permanent settlements supported by hunting, fishing, and vast ocean resources.

Maize cultivation

The spread of corn farming from present-day Mexico northward, which supported economic development, advanced irrigation, and social diversification.

Algonquian

Native groups along the Atlantic Coast who lived in permanent settlements and practiced a mix of hunting, fishing, and agriculture.

God, Glory, and Gold

The three primary motives for European exploration: spreading Christianity, competing for national power/wealth, and finding new sources of gold and silver.

Mission System

A Spanish strategy developed to convert Native Americans to Catholicism as part of religious competition between Catholics and Protestants.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of goods, animals, ideas, and diseases between Europe and the Americas following contact in 1492.

Feudalism

An economic system where only nobility owned land and others worked it for protection; this shifted toward capitalism due to wealth from the New World.

Capitalism

An economic system that grew as land in America was viewed as open for ownership and mineral wealth facilitated a shift away from feudalism.

Sextant

A maritime technology that improved navigation, allowing ships to travel farther and faster.

Caravel

A small ship designed for maneuverability and long-distance travel.

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail that allowed ships to sail upwind.

Joint Stock Company

An investment company where people buy stock to fund the establishment of colonies and trade.

Smallpox

A devastating European disease that significantly reduced Native American populations, making conquest easier for the Spanish.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system where conquistadors were granted land and Native American laborers to work in plantations and mines.

Caste System

A social class system developed in Spanish America that separated and defined people based on their race.

Mestizo

A person of mixed Spanish and Native American blood within the Spanish caste system.

Matrilineal

A social structure found in many Native American cultures where family lineage and property are based on the mother’s family.

Pueblo Revolt

A major act of military resistance by Native Americans that forced the Spanish out of their territory for 12 years.

Sepulveda

A Spanish figure who defended the right to enslave Native Americans, arguing they were unfit to govern themselves.

Las Casas

A Spanish advocate for Native American rights who sought to abolish the Encomienda System.

Political Sovereignty

The ability of Native Americans to maintain their own freedom and land despite European encroachments.

New Laws of 1542

Spanish legislation that called for the good treatment of Native Americans and the temporary end of the Encomienda System.