Ap World - Chapter 12

Doña Marina

A remarkable young woman who played a pivotal role in the Spanish conquest of Mexico, also known as Malintzin or La Malinche.

Malintzin

An indigenous woman who was a key translator and negotiator for Hernán Cortés during the conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire.

Tenochtitlan

The capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco.

Atlantic World

The term historians use to describe the interconnections of western Europe, west Africa, and the Americas.

Encomienda

A labor system in Spanish colonies where encomenderos were granted the labor of indigenous people in exchange for their protection and Christianization.

Mita system

An Andean labor system that required indigenous communities to provide labor for Spanish mines and agriculture.

Casta System

Social hierarchy in colonial Spanish America that classified individuals based on their racial heritage.

Peninsulares

Spanish-born individuals who were at the top of the social hierarchy in colonial Spanish America.

Mestizo

Individuals of mixed Spanish and Indigenous ancestry.

Columbus's Voyages

The series of explorations by Christopher Columbus that established lasting contact between the Americas and Europe.

Manila galleon trade

The trade route established by the Spanish between Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco in Mexico, used for exchanging goods across the Pacific.

Sugar plantations

Large agricultural estates where sugarcane was grown, relied heavily on enslaved African labor in the Americas.

Silver mining

The primary economic activity in Spanish America that fueled the global economy in the early modern period.

Smallpox

A devastating disease that significantly reduced Indigenous populations in the Americas after contact with Europeans.

Guam

An island in the Pacific that became the center of Spanish control in the Pacific Ocean.

The Taíno

The Indigenous people of the Caribbean who encountered Spanish explorers and suffered severe population decline due to disease and exploitation.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that emphasizes the importance of profitable trading and was the dominant economic policy of European nations during the age of exploration.

Fur trade

The economic activity in North America where European traders exchanged goods for fur with Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous religions

Traditional beliefs and practices of Native American peoples that often blended with Christianity following European conquest.

Virgin of Guadalupe

A Catholic symbol in Mexico representing the syncretism of Spanish and Indigenous beliefs, associated with a vision of the Virgin Mary.