Chapter 2: Early Globalization—The Atlantic World, 1492-1650 (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key explorers, settlements, labor systems, mercantilism, and the Columbian Exchange from the lecture notes.

Roanoke

England’s early attempted colony on Roanoke Island (1585–1587); known as the Lost Colony due to disappearance of settlers.

Sir Walter Raleigh

English explorer and courtier who received a charter to colonize North America and organized the Roanoke expeditions.

Lost Colony

The Roanoke settlement whose settlers vanished; fate remains unknown.

Cuttyhunk Island

Site of a 1602 English settlement attempt as part of early colonization efforts.

London Company

Virginia Company of London; joint-stock company formed in 1606 to fund English settlements in Virginia (e.g., Jamestown).

Plymouth Company

Joint-stock company established in 1606 to fund colonization; its efforts included early attempts near New England.

Popham Colony

1607 English settlement on the Kennebec River in Maine; abandoned after about a year.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 along the James River, Virginia.

Pilgrims

Puritan Separatists who established Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Verrazano

Italian-born explorer (Giovanni da Verrazzano) hired by France to explore the Atlantic coast (Florida to Newfoundland).

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who made voyages to Canada, explored the St. Lawrence River, and attempted settlement at Quebec (1541).

Quebec City

Site of Cartier’s attempted permanent French settlement in 1541, later abandoned.

Parris Island

Location in South Carolina where French troops were left in 1562 and abandoned after a year due to lack of resupply.

Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Dutch trading company with a 21-year monopoly on the spice trade; established early North American presence.

Castle Island

Earliest Dutch settlement in North America (circa 1613) near present-day Albany, New York.

Albany

Permanent Dutch settlement established along the Hudson River in 1617 as part of New Netherland.

New Netherland

Dutch colonial province in North America; seized by the English in 1664.

1664 English seizure

English takeover of New Netherland from the Dutch, leading to Dutch renaming of settlements (e.g., New Amsterdam to New York).

Indentured servant

Labor system where individuals work for a fixed term in exchange for passage to the colonies; could be bought or sold.

First Africans in Jamestown (1619)

The arrival of Africans in Virginia; initially treated as indentured laborers, foreshadowing the shift to racial slavery.

Encomienda

Spanish labor system granting conquerors the right to extract native labor (Indios) in a given area.

Indios

Native peoples in the Spanish colonies of the Americas.

Mercantilism

European economic theory that a finite wealth (gold/silver) should be accumulated by maximizing exports and minimizing imports; influenced colonial policy.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of crops, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds after 1492 (e.g., potatoes, corn, tomatoes, tobacco; horses, cattle; smallpox, syphilis).