A New World: The First Americans and European Encounters

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms, definitions, and concepts from the lecture on the First Americans and early European encounters, focusing on cultural, societal, and historical aspects.

Bering Strait

The land bridge that connected Asia to North America, through which the first Americans migrated.

Aztec Empire

A powerful civilization in present-day Mexico, centered in Tenochtitlán, with a population of about 250,000.

Animism

The belief in spiritual power existing in living and non-living things, prominent in Native American religions.

Matrilineal

A societal system where lineage and inheritance are traced through the mother's line, common among some Native American tribes.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World after Columbus's voyages.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system that granted colonists authority over indigenous people for labor, leading to exploitation.

Pueblo Revolt

An uprising of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonizers in 1680, aimed at restoring native autonomy and culture.

Marriages between French men and native women

Practices in New France indicating good relationships with Native Americans based on trade and cultural integration.

Joint Stock Company

A business entity where shares are sold to investors to finance colonial ventures, widely used by the Dutch.

Half-freedom

A condition in New Netherland where enslaved Africans could work for pay and own property but remained bound to the Dutch West India Company.

Japanese Isolation

The policy used by Japan during the Edo period to limit contact with European powers, influencing international trade.

Great League of Peace

A coalition of the Iroquois tribes formed for mutual defense and conciliation among the tribes of Eastern North America.