The Columbian Exchange and Maritime Expansion

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts from the lecture on the Columbian Exchange, including maritime technology, economic shifts, and the biological and mineral transfers between the Old and New Worlds.

Maritime

A term meaning sea-based or of the sea.

Portuguese Caravel

A new kind of ship built for trade that was very fast and highly navigable.

Lateen sail

A triangular wind catcher that allowed ships to take wind from both sides rather than just from behind.

Magnetic compass

A device adopted by Europeans to help navigators reckon direction.

Astrolabe

A navigational tool that gave sailors an accurate reckoning of lines of latitude.

Joint stock company

A limited liability business often chartered by the state and funded by a group of investors to share the risks and profits of exploration.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of diseases, plants, animals, minerals, and people between the Old World and the New World.

Old World

A term referring to the part of the world comprising Afro-Eurasia.

New World

A term referring to the Americas.

Smallpox

A devastating disease introduced by the Spanish to the Caribbean in $1518$ that killed approximately $90\%$ of the indigenous population on Hispaniola.

Taino

The indigenous people of Hispaniola who suffered a death rate of approximately $90\%$ following the introduction of smallpox.

The Great Dying

The name given by indigenous Americans to the catastrophic population loss caused by the introduction of European diseases like smallpox and measles.

New World Crops

Plants transferred to Europe such as maize, potatoes, and manioc.

The Horse

An animal introduced to the Americas by Europeans that fundamentally altered the way of life for Great Plains groups like the Apaches, Comanches, and Kiowas.

Potosi

A mountain in southern Bolivia packed with silver that was extracted by the Spanish using the labor of enslaved indigenous people.

Price Revolution

An economic event characterized by a steady rise in prices for European goods for about a century and a half, caused by the influx of silver.

Feudalism

A social and economic arrangement involving a closed system focused primarily on land ownership.

Capitalism

An open economic system that focuses on manufacturing and trade, which was hastened by the economic changes of the Columbian Exchange.