Western Hemisphere Colonization Test

IB History of the Americas(HL)

Christopher Columbus

Genoese sailor, sponsored by Spain (1492). Sparked Columbian Exchange.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Spanish friar; first supported conquest, then defended Indigenous rights; shaped Black Legend.

Hernando Cortés

Conquered Aztecs (1519–1521); alliances with enemies of Aztecs.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquered Inca Empire (1530s).

Encomienda

Crown gave Spaniards right to Indigenous labor in exchange for “protection.” Basically slavery.

Repartimiento

After encomienda, forced Indigenous labor but limited by law.

Debt peonage

Workers trapped by debt, passed on for generations.

Caste system

Racial hierarchy: Spaniards on top, then Creoles, mestizos, Indigenous, enslaved Africans.

Creole

Spaniards born in Americas (vs. peninsulares born in Spain). Resented Spanish-born officials.

Mestizo

Mixed Indigenous + Spanish heritage; central in Latin American identity.

Race mixing / transculturation

Blending of cultures (language, food, religion, etc.).

Mission

Religious outposts by Spanish (esp. Franciscans/Jesuits) to convert Indigenous people.

Iberian

Relating to Spain/Portugal; Iberian traditions shaped colonization.

Moors

Muslim inhabitants of Spain before 1492; expulsion shaped Spanish obsession with religious “purity.”

Inquisition

Catholic church court enforcing orthodoxy; carried into Americas.

Mercantilism

Economic system: colonies exist to enrich mother country. Basis for trade laws.

Hegemony

Rule by cultural domination; Indigenous/enslaved adopted dominant religion/language while preserving elements.

Honor system

Iberian value system: family reputation, purity of blood, gender roles.

Fully-sedentary (Aztecs, Incas: big cities, farming).

Semi-sedentary (seasonal farming, smaller communities).

Non-sedentary (nomadic, like some North American tribes).

Roanoke

First English colony (failed, “Lost Colony”).

Jamestown (1607)

First permanent English colony; struggled until tobacco saved economy.

John Smith

Leader in Jamestown; “he who does not work shall not eat.”

John Rolfe

Introduced profitable tobacco crop; married Pocahontas.

Powhatan & Pocahontas

Indigenous leader + daughter; central to Jamestown survival.

Headright system

Land grants (50 acres) to settlers who paid passage → boosted immigration.

Indentured servitude

Labor for passage; before slavery dominated.

Middle Passage

Harsh Atlantic voyage enslaved Africans endured.

Triangular Trade

Trade between Europe (goods), Africa (slaves), Americas (cash crops).

Slave Codes

Laws defining slavery as racial and permanent.

Puritans

English Protestants; strict religious communities.

Plymouth (1620)

Pilgrims’ colony; Mayflower Compact (early self-government).

Mayflower Compact

Agreement among Pilgrims to govern collectively.

Miles Standish

Military leader at Plymouth.

William Bradford

Governor of Plymouth.

Massachusetts Bay

Puritan colony, led by John Winthrop (“city on a hill”).

Anne Hutchinson

Challenged Puritan ministers → banished; religious dissent.

Roger Williams

Advocated separation of church/state; founded Rhode Island.

Thomas Hooker

Founder of Connecticut; expanded voting rights.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Early written constitution.

Salem

Witch trials (1692), showed tension in Puritan society.

Rhode Island

Haven for religious freedom, founded by Roger Williams.

Maryland Act of Toleration (1649)

Protected Christians (esp. Catholics) but not non-Christians.

Great Awakening

Religious revival (1730s–40s); emotional preaching, challenged hierarchy.

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement; reason, science, natural rights → influenced revolution.

Restoration Colonies

Colonies founded after English monarchy restoration (e.g., Carolinas, New York, Pennsylvania).

New Netherlands / New Sweden

Dutch/Swedish colonies in North America; later taken by English.

Peter Stuyvesant

Last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam (NY).

William Penn

Founded Pennsylvania; Quaker values, religious tolerance.

Charleston

Key southern port city; slavery hub.

Boston

Puritan hub; later revolutionary center.

Black Legend

Idea that Spanish were uniquely cruel to Indigenous people; used by rivals like England to justify their own colonization.