AMSCO Unit 4 Vocabulary Study Guide (1450–1750)

This flashcard set covers essential vocabulary and concepts from the AMSCO Unit 4 Study Guide regarding global interactions and labor systems between $$1450$$ and $$1750$$.

Ndongo (Angola)

Central African kingdom ruled by Queen Nzinga; resisted Portuguese slave raids and later became Angola under Portuguese control. Significance: African resistance to colonization. Memory Trick: Ndongo → Nzinga → Never gives up.

Trading Post Empire

Portuguese network of fortified posts along coasts (e.g., Goa, Malacca, Hormuz) to control trade routes. Significance: Start of European dominance in Indian Ocean trade. Memory Trick: 'Posts, not places.'

Columbian Exchange

Global transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases post-$1492$. Significance: Connected hemispheres, caused population booms, and led to Indigenous decline. Memory Trick: 'C → Change the world.'

Cash Crops

Crops grown for sale such as sugar, tobacco, coffee, and cotton. These drove plantation slavery and colonial economies. Memory Trick: 'Cash crops = crops for cash, not for chow.'

Types of Slavery

System including Chattel (permanent), Indentured (temporary), and Debt (until repaid) labor. Memory Trick: CID → Chattel, Indentured, Debt.

Kongo

Central African Christian kingdom where King Afonso I allied with Portugal but later protested the slave trade; eventually weakened by exploitation. Memory Trick: 'Kongo → King converts → crushed by colonizers.'

Swahili Coast

East African trading cities including Kilwa, Mombasa, and Zanzibar that traded gold, ivory, and slaves. This area featured a blended African-Arab culture and was weakened by Portuguese attacks. Memory Trick: 'Swahili = sea trade.'

Portugal

The nation that led the Age of Exploration as pioneers of sea trade with Africa and Asia and controlled the early Atlantic slave trade. Memory Trick: 'Portugal → Pioneers of the sea.'

Mercantilism

Economic policy where wealth is measured in gold and silver, and colonies exist to serve the mother country. Memory Trick: 'Money for the Motherland.'

Chattel Slavery

A racialized system used on American plantations where people are treated as property and status is hereditary. Memory Trick: 'Chattel = cattle (treated as property).'