APUSH Period 1 Chapter 1

Canadian Shield

first part of the North American landmass to emerge above sea level

Incas

a former sophisticated civilization located in modern day Peru

Mayans

a former sophisticated civilization located in Central America

Aztecs

a former sophisticated civilization located in modern day Mexico

nation-states

a politically organized and recognized territory composed of a group of people who consider themselves to be a nation

Cahokia

a Mississippian settlement near present-day East St. Louis

three-sister farming

a Indigenous agricultural practice of companion planting corn, beans, and squash together

caravel

a ship that could sail more closely into the wind

plantation

a type of large-scale commercial farming of one particular crop grown for markets often distant from the plantation

Columbian Exchange

the exchange of goods and ideas between the Americas, Europe, and Africa that began after Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492

Treaty of Tordesillas

a dividing line between Spain and Portugal in the “heathen lands” of the New World

encomienda

a grant used by Spain in its American colonies that gave them the right to demand forced work and goods from a specific group of native people

noche triste (sad night)

when the Aztecs drove the Spanish down the causeways from Techchtitlan in a frantic, bloody retreat

capitalism

an economic system where private individuals and corporations own the means of production and run them for profit

mestizos

people of mixed Indigenous and European heritage

conquistadores

Spanish conquerors who lead military expeditions in the Americans, conquering native civilizations, claiming land for Spain, and fueling the Age of Discovery

Battle of Acoma

a brutal three day battle that lead a victorious Spanish to sentence young Native American survivors to 20 years servitude and severed one foot of males over 25

Pueblo Revolt

a Native American uprising that destroyed every Catholic Church in the province and killed a score of priests and hundreds of Spanish settlers

Black Legend

held that the heartless conquerors tortured and butchered Native peoples, stole their gold, infected them with smallpox, and left little but misery behind

Ferdinand of Aragon

married Queen Isabella I to unify Spain, funded Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage to the Americas, and launched the Spanish Inquisition

Isabella of Castile

helped unite Spain by marrying Ferdinand of Aragon, finished the conquest of Granada, paid for Christopher Columbus to sail across the ocean, and started the strict Spanish Inquisition

Christopher Columbus

known for his 1492 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, reached the Caribbean, started sustained contact between Europe and the Americas and paving the way for colonization

Francisco Cororado

a Spanish explorer who led amassive 1540–1542 expedition through the American Southwest and Great Plains in a failed search for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold

Francisco Pizarro

a Spanish soldier and explorer who led the conquest of the Inca Empire in South America with a small group of men

Bartolome de Las Casas

a Spanish lawyer, clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as a historian and social reformer

Hernan Cortes

led a military expedition that overthrew the Aztec Empire and claimed large parts of mainland Mexico for the Spain

Malinche (Dona Marina)

serving as the primary translator, guide, and advisor for Hernán Cortés

Montezuma

the ruler of the Aztec Empire during Hernan Cortes’s expedition

Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot)

Italian explorer and navigator funded by King Henry VII of England on his voyage to North America

Robert de La Salle

explorer who navigated the Mississippi River to its mouth and claimed the entire river basin for France

Father Junipero Serra

a pioneer of European settlement in the American West, spreading Catholicism to indigenous populations