APUSH Exploration and Colonization Review

A collection of vocabulary flashcards derived from notes on the exploration and colonization period in American history, covering key terms, people, and concepts.

Maize

The Indian word for corn.

Conquistadores

Spanish word for 'conqueror'; these explorers claimed much of America for Spain, slaughtering millions of natives.

Encomienda

A euphemism for slavery in which Indians were given to colonists to be 'Christianized.'

Día de la Raza

Spanish for Columbus Day.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Treaty that settled Spanish and Portuguese differences in the Americas; Portugal got Brazil, Spain got the rest.

Popé’s Rebellion

A revolt in which Indians took over New Mexico and held control for nearly half a century (also called the Pueblo Revolt of 1680).

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of foods, plants, animals, and diseases between the Europeans and the Native Americans.

Iroquois Confederacy

A powerful group of Native Americans in the northeastern woodlands of the United States.

House of Burgesses

The first representative assembly in America, established in Virginia in 1619.

Joint-stock company

A business entity where different stocks can be bought and owned by shareholders; used to fund colonization.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement established by the Pilgrims in 1620 to create a government that would follow majority rule.

Puritanism

A religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century, seeking to purify it.

Half-Way Covenant

A form of partial church membership created by New England Congregationalists; allowed for unconverted children of church members to be baptized.

Salem Witch Trials

A series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.

Great Awakening

A religious revival in the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized individual piety and a personal relationship with God.

French and Indian War

The North American theater of the Seven Years' War fought between the British and French empires, along with their respective allies.

Join or Die

A political cartoon published by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 to encourage the colonies to unite against French threats.

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over land expansion in the Great Lakes region.

Indentured Servants

Individuals who signed a contract to work for a certain number of years in exchange for passage to America.

Cajun

A cultural group descended from Acadian exiles in Louisiana who developed their own distinct customs and dialect.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.