APUSH Unit I: A New World of Many Cultures, 1491-1607

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from APUSH Unit I notes.

Three sisters

The intercropping system of maize, beans, and squash grown together to maximize yields and soil health.

Terrace farming (Incas)

Stepped terraces built on mountain slopes to create arable land and prevent erosion for crops.

Chinampas (Aztecs)

Floating or man-made gardens on lake beds used to enlarge agricultural space in the Valley of Mexico.

Encomienda system

Spanish colonial labor system granting settlers the right to extract forced labor from Indigenous peoples in exchange for protection and Christianization.

Asiento system

Spanish permission system allowing other nations to supply enslaved Africans to Spanish America.

Slavery

The practice of owning and exploiting people as property for labor or services.

Adena-Hopewell

Pre-Columbian mound-building cultures of the Ohio Valley known for earthworks and large burial mounds.

Hohokam, Anasazi, and Pueblos

Southwestern Native cultures known for irrigation (Hohokam) and cliff dwellings (Anasazi) and multi-storied pueblos.

Lakota Sioux

A major Sioux group of the Great Plains known for horse culture and warrior societies.

Mound Builders

Ancient North American cultures (e.g., Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian) building earthen mounds for ceremonial and burial purposes.

Cahokia

Largest pre-Columbian Mississippian city near modern St. Louis, famous for massive earthen mounds.

Iroquois Confederation

A powerful alliance of five (later six) Iroquoian nations united under the Great Law of Peace.

Longhouses

Elongated wooden houses used by Iroquois and other Northeast tribes, housing extended families.

Incas

Andean civilization known for terrace farming, road system, and centralized empire with capital at Cusco.

Aztecs

Mesoamerican empire centered in Tenochtitlan, known for engineering, markets, and human sacrifice.

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors who explored and claimed territories in the Americas.

Hernán Cortés

Conquistador who toppled the Aztec Empire (1519–1521) through alliances, disease, and siege.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquistador who toppled the Inca Empire (1532–1533) in Peru.

New Laws of 1542

Spanish laws aimed at reforming encomienda abuses and protecting Indigenous peoples, though often resisted.

Walter Raleigh

English noble who sponsored colonization attempts at Roanoke Island (1580s) in present-day North Carolina.

Francis Drake

English privateer who circumnavigated the globe and attacked Spanish ships.

Roanoke Island

Site of England's early failed colony in 1585–1587, often called the Lost Colony.

Giovanni da Verrazzano

Italian explorer who charted the Atlantic coast of North America for France (1524).

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who navigated the St. Lawrence River and laid claim to parts of Canada (1534–1535).

Samuel de Champlain

French explorer who founded Quebec City and established French presence in North America (early 1600s).

Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette

French explorers who explored and mapped the Mississippi River (1673).

Robert de La Salle

French explorer who claimed the Mississippi Basin for France and named it Louisiana (1682).

Henry Hudson

Explorer who sailed for the Dutch (Hudson River/Bay) seeking a northwest passage (1609–1610).

Caravels

Small, fast sailing ships used by Portuguese and Spanish explorers during the Age of Discovery.

Carracks

Large sailing ships used by Europeans for long ocean voyages.

Cartography

The science or practice of mapmaking and charting geography.

Ferdinand and Isabella

The Catholic Monarchs of Spain who financed Columbus's voyages and the early Spanish exploration.

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who promoted early exploration and navigation schools along the Atlantic coast.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator who reached the Americas in 1492 under Spanish sponsorship.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing the non-Christian world along a line in the Atlantic.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spanish Dominican priest who argued against the inhumane treatment of Indigenous peoples and promoted their rights.

Valladolid Debate

Debate (1550–1551) in Spain on the treatment and status of Indigenous peoples, featuring Las Casas and Sepúlveda.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Spanish philosopher who argued Indigenous peoples were inherently inferior and suitable for slavery.

Jesuits

Catholic religious order (Society of Jesus) active in missions and education in the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and culture between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Spanish explorer who crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean (1513).

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo

Portuguese explorer who explored the California coast for Spain (1542–1543).

Pedro Álvares Cabral

Portuguese explorer who claimed Brazil for Portugal (1500).

Samuel de Champlain

French explorer who founded Quebec City and established French Canada (repeated entry).

Bartholomew Columbus

Christopher Columbus's brother, who participated in early exploration.

Juan Ponce de León

Spanish explorer who searched for the Fountain of Youth and explored Florida (early 1500s).

Francisco de Coronado

Spanish expedition (1540–1542) seeking Seven Cities of Gold across the American Southwest.

Hernando de Soto

Spanish explorer who traversed the Southeastern U.S. and the Mississippi River (1539–1542).

Spanish Casta System

Social hierarchy in New Spain classifying people by race and ethnicity.

Peninsulares

Spaniards born in Spain who held highest offices in the colonies.

Mestizos

People of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry.

Creoles

People of European descent born in the Americas.

Hacienda system vs plantation system

Two colonial economic structures: haciendas (Spanish estates with peon labor) and plantations (large farms often with enslaved labor).

Compass

Navigational instrument used to determine direction at sea.