Time Period 1 (1491-1607)

Christopher Columbus

an Italian explore credited with opening up the Americas to European colonization after his 1492 voyage

God, Glory, Gold

encapsulates the main motivations behind European exploration and colonization during the Age of Discovery; to spread Christianity, desire for national prestige, and quest for wealth

Hernan Cortes

a Spanish conquistador best known for his expedition that led to the fall of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century; set the stage for further Spanish conquests and the establishment of a colonial presence in Mexico

Francisco Pizarro

a Spanish conquistador known for leading the expedition that resulted in the fall of the Inca Empire in the early 16th century

Columbian Exchange

a period of rapid exchange of plants, animals, ideas, technology, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres

encomienda system

a Spanish labor system that granted colonists the right to demand tribute and forced labor from Indigenous peoples in the Americas; facilitate the exploitation of native populations for agricultural and mining purposes

indentured servants

individuals who signed a contract agreeing to work for a specific number of years in exchange for passage to the new World (early colonial America)

conquistadors

Spanish explorers who played a pivotal role in the conquest of large parts of the Americas

Bartolome de Las Casas

a Spanish missionary who became an advocate for the rights of Native Americans during the early colonial period; his writing highlighted the brutal treatment of the indigenous peoples by Spanish colonizers

mercantilism

an economic theory that emphasizes the importance of accumulating wealth, primarily gold and silver, through a favorable balance of trade

Protestant Reformation

a religious movement that aimed to reform the Catholic Church, caused various Protestant denominations; started by Martin Luther

Treaty of Tordesillas

created a demarcation line; Spain got the west (New World), Portugal got the east (Old World)

Middle Passage

the sea voyage that transported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade; characterized by inhumane conditions, high mortality rates + highlighted the cruelty of slavery

Juan Sepulveda

a Spanish colonizer who argued for the treatment of natives as slaves, he believed that they were barbaric and inhumane and compared them to criminals against nature and God

Valladolid Debate

held in Valladolid, Spain in 1550-1551 to question the morality of Spani’s treatment of indigenous peoples during colonization; Bartolome de las Casas vs. Juan Gines de Sepulveda

smallpox

a highly contagious and deadly disease; introduction to the Americas had profound impacts on Native American populations

new France

a French colonial territory in North America that existed from the early 16th century until 1763; characterized by the mix of fur trading, Jesuit missions, and alliances with Native American tribes (crucial role in the European competition for territory in North America)

new Netherlands

a 17th century Dutch colony on the East Coast; colony established for its quick profit fur trade