COLLIDING CULTURES: EUROPEAN COLONIZATION OF THE AMERICAS

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on European colonization of the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The transatlantic transfer of crops, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the Old World that reshaped both continents.

New diseases

European-origin diseases that devastated Native American populations after contact.

Nutrient-rich foods

Foods exchanged between continents that improved nutrition and supported population growth in Europe and the Americas.

Spain benefited most

Early conquests in the Americas yielded substantial gains for the Spanish Crown and settlers.

Economic opportunities

Motives to colonize focused on wealth creation, trade, and resource extraction.

Religious expansion and conversion

Efforts to spread Christianity and build religious institutions as part of colonization.

Escape from social and economic pressures

Colonization offered a way to alleviate overcrowding, poverty, and social strain in Europe.

Competition between European powers

Rivalries among Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England spurred expansion.

Desire to challenge Spanish dominance

Other European powers sought to limit or overturn Spain’s authority in the Americas.

Encomienda system

A Spanish labor system granting colonists control over indigenous labor and tribute.

Missions

Religious outposts aimed at converting Indigenous peoples and integrating them into colonial society.

France’s approach to colonization

A strategy prioritizing trade, cooperative relations with Native Americans, and missionary activity.

Middle ground

A conceptual space of cultural interaction and coexistence between Europeans and Native Americans.

Fur trading networks

Extensive trade systems focused on beaver pelts and exchange with Native peoples.

Jesuit missionaries

Catholic missionaries who lived among Native communities to convert and educate them.

Dutch West India Company

A Dutch chartered company funding colonial ventures and trade in the Americas.

Patroon system

Dutch land-grant system designed to attract settlers and organize settlement.

Importing enslaved Africans

Early Dutch involvement in enslaved labor contributing to plantation economies.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in Virginia (founded 1607), facing hardship and growth.

Tobacco as economic lifeline

A cash crop that sustained early English colonies and drove expansion.

Puritans

Religious group seeking to build a virtuous, model Christian community in New England.

City on a Hill

Puritan vision of a morally exemplary society serving as a beacon to the world.

Role of religion in colonization

Religious beliefs shaped land acquisition, settlement, and justifications for actions.

Native American impacts

Population losses, displacement, alliances, resistance, and adaptation under colonial pressure.

Emergence of slavery

Shift from non-racial servitude to a rigid, racialized system central to colonial economies.

Cultural collision and transformation

Columbian Exchange created new identities, mixed-race populations, and upheaval of Indigenous societies.

Joint-stock companies

Investors pooled capital to fund exploration and colonization efforts.

Privateering

State-sanctioned piracy used to augment wealth and strategic power.

Reformation tensions

Religious splits in Europe influenced colonization and missionary strategies.

Technological and biological exchanges

Introduction of new crops, animals, and technologies, plus disease transfer, between worlds.

Legacy of early colonization

Lasting effects on national identities, global economies, and social hierarchies.

Reflection: A complex historical moment

Recognition of multiple perspectives and ongoing impacts of colonial encounters.