APUSH: Unit 1 Key Terms - The American Colonies

Columbian Exchange

(1492) transfer of goods, crops, and diseases between the new world and old world

Encomienda System

(1512) Spanish government policy to commend or give natives to certain colonists in exchange to Christianize them

Pope's Rebellion/Pueblo Revolt

(1680) native rebellion which drove Spanish settlers from New Mexico

Black Legend

(16th century) false notion that Spanish conquerors did little but butcher the Indians and steal their gold in the name of Christ

Capitalism

(17th cent-ish) a system of economic production based on the private ownership of property and contractual exchange of profit of goods, labor and money

Atlantic World

(1492) the interactions among the people and empires bordering the Atlantic ocean

Epidemics

(16th cent) deadly epidemics brought by Europeans that wiped out a large majority of natives(ex: smallpox, influenza, measles, etc)

Primogeniture

(1600ish) a legal principle that the oldest son inherits all the family property/land/estates

Joint-stock Company

(1606) economic arrangement by which a number of investors pool their capital for investment; provided the financial means

Jamestown

(1607) 1st permanent British colony in the new world; founded by Virginia Company; eventually gifted a Great Charter

Powahatan Natives

natives who lived on modern day eastern Virginia

Maryland Act of Toleration

(1649) an act that guaranteed toleration to Christians, not those who didn't believe in the divinity of Jesus (wasn't very tolerant)

Iroquois Conderacy

(1600ish) most powerful tribe in Ohio Valley; was able to keep away from British and French. Consisted of 5 native nations; were able to maintain autonomy by avoiding close relationships with settlers while still being able to trade with them

Chesapeake Colonies

term for the colonies of Maryland and Virginia

Dutch Colonization

Dutch colonists who appeared off Jamestown in modern day New York and traded with natives

French Colonization

France wanted to trade for fur(fashion trend); befriended the natives

Predestination

(1619ish) Calvinist doctrine that God has foreordained some people to be saved and some to be damned; good work could not save those who predestined to be marked for the infernal fires/hell

Puritans and Separatists

puritans; wanted to purify themselves of the traditions of the catholic church, didn't break away from the Anglican church

separatists; group of dedicated puritans who vowed to break away entirely from the Church of England

Mayflower Compact

(1620) the first document to establish a self government in the new world by people who immigrated from England during the Great Migration

Great Migration

(1620s) about 70k refugees that left England to go to the Americas

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

(1639) first written constitution in America; established a representative government made up of a legislature elected by the people and a governor chosen by the legislature

Peqout Natives

a native tribe in Connecticut; a war in 1636 with settlers; the English killed 700+ members(bloodiest war-fare)

King Philip's War

(1675-1676) a series of conflicts between natives and settlers who wanted more land/territory

Navigation Acts

(1651-1660) laws that governed trade between England and its colonies; colonists were required to ship certain products only to England

Salutary Neglect

(1600s-1700s) an unofficial British policy of non-enforcement of trade regulations on American colonies; its purpose was to maximize economic output amongst the colonists to maintain some control

John Winthrop

Massachusetts Bay Colony's first governor; famous for his "City Upon a Hill" speech (1630)

Anne Hutchinson

influential puritan spiritual leader; she criticized the church and church officials

Roger Williams

founder of Rhode Island(became a beacon for religious freedom); he believed that the Boston church wasn't separated enough from the Church of England; abolished Massachusetts Bay Colony(1636)

William Penn

(1682) a Quaker that founded Pennsylvania to establish a place where his people and others could live in peace and be free from persecution

Indentured Servents

(1619) people who couldn't afford passage and signed contracts to work in exchange for people to pay the passage for them

Headright System

(1618) system set up by London Company that gave acres of land to colonists who paid indentured servants their way to Virginia, or who freed indentured servants

Bacon's Rebellion

(1676) a rebellion formed after Governor Berkeley tried to appease natives after attacking settlers; rebels attacked natives, burned Jamestown, and drove Governor Berkeley out of town. By the end of the rebellion, indentured servants were no more and racism within slavery started

Middle Passage

journey of slaves from Africa to the Americas; located in the middle portion of triangular trade route

New York Slave Revolt

(1712) an uprising of approx. 2 dozen enslaved Africans that resulted in the death of 9 whites and a brutal execution of 21 participating slaves

Stono Rebellion

(1739) an uprising of slaves in South Carolina, leading to the tightening of already harsh slave laws

Half-Way Covenant

(1662) agreement that allowed partial membership rights to people not yet converted into the Puritan church

Salem Witch Trials

(1692-1693) a series of hearing of people(mainly women) accused of witch craft

Atlantic Slave Trade

(1500s-1800s) a highly profitable industry; an exchange of slaves, goods and raw materials

African Chattel (Slavery)

(1619ish) system of bondage in which a slave has the legal status of property and therefor can be bought/sold like property