Exploration, Columbian Exchange, & Colonization

Age of Exploration

A period during the 1400s–1600s when European nations explored overseas territories.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer who sailed for Spain in 1492 and reached the Americas.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire.

John Cabot

Explorer who sailed for England and explored parts of North America.

Conquistadors

Spanish soldiers and explorers who conquered indigenous civilizations in the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas between the Old World and New World after 1492.

Middle Passage

The brutal voyage transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean.

Triangular Trade

A trade network connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

The forced transportation of millions of Africans to the Americas for labor.

Mercantilism

An economic theory where nations increase wealth through trade and colonies.

Cash Crops

Crops grown mainly for sale and profit such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton.

Plantation

A large farm using enslaved labor to grow cash crops.

Indentured Servants

Workers who exchanged years of labor for passage to the Americas.

Smallpox

A disease brought by Europeans that devastated indigenous populations in the Americas.

Colonization

The establishment of settlements and political control over foreign territories.

Imperialism

A policy in which powerful nations dominate weaker territories politically, economically, or militarily.