Period 1 Flashcards (1491 - 1607)

Why 1491 - 1607 was chosen as the dates for period 1?

1491 is one year prior to the arrival of Columbus and Europeans, and 1607 is the year England established a permanent settlement at Jamestown

Maize

Corn; Cultivated in present-day Mexico and spread to the SW portion of the US. Native American societies were built around maize.

Great Plains and Great Basin

Located in the central/western portion of the US; a lack of natural resources led Natives to live a nomadic lifestyle in these regions.

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of goods, ideas, diseases, and people between the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Each region was significantly impacted as a result of trade and contact.

Role of the Spanish and Portuguese traders

Settled heavily in South America, reached West Africa and contributed to the development of the African Slave Trade.

Encomienda System

Spanish system of granting land to colonists in the new world. Exploited natives and resources. Eventually, Natives were replaced with African slave labor.

European goods that transformed Native life

Horses - improved hunting and warfare for Natives (especially in the Great Plains and Basin), weapons and alcohol helped increase the destructiveness of warfare

American goods that transformed European life

Maize, potatoes, and other crops - helped increase European population and the shift from feudalism to capitalism

Technologies that allowed for increased trade and contact

Sextant - helped determine longitude and latitude

How did Europeans justify the subjugation of Africans and Natives?

White racial superiority, bible, view of groups as "savages"

Examples of Africans seeking to preserve autonomy

Autonomy means independent or to have some form of self-government. Africans ran away and formed maroon communities, and combined elements of Christianity and African religions