Chapters 1-5 ALL Key Terms APUSH

Canadian Shield

Geologically ancient region in NE North America; limited farming, shaped early French exploration and fur trade in APUSH Unit 1.

Incas

Advanced South American empire; centralized economy, terrace farming, exemplifies sophisticated Native civilizations before European contact.

Aztecs

Mexican empire conquered by Hernan Cortes; demonstrates wealth, human sacrifice, and influence of Europeans (Unit 1 contact/conquest).

Pueblo

Native peoples of SW US; built adobe villages, resisted Spanish colonization (Pueblo Revolt).

Maize/corn

Central crop of Native Americans; supported large populations and complex societies (e.g., Cahokia, Three-sister farming).

Nation-states

Centralized European political units (Spain, Portugal, France, England) that funded exploration and colonization (Unit 1 context).

Cahokia

Pre-Columbian Native city in Mississippi Valley; shows complexity of indigenous societies.

Three-sister farming

Native technique of growing corn, beans, squash together; supported dense populations in SE North America.

Iroquois Confederacy

Powerful Native alliance in NE; influenced colonial diplomacy and conflicts.

Caravel

Small, maneuverable ship; enabled European exploration and transatlantic voyages.

Plantation

Large agricultural estate; foundation of cash-crop economies and slavery in Americas (Unit 2 economic theme).

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer; opened sea route to India, exemplifying European maritime expansion.

Ferdinand of Aragon

Spanish monarch who funded Columbus; part of unified Spain promoting exploration.

Isabella of Castile

Spanish queen; partnered with Ferdinand, funded voyages, supported colonization.

Christopher Columbus

1492 voyage; “discovery” of Americas, began Columbian Exchange and European colonization.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, disease, ideas between Old and New Worlds; reshaped societies and economies.

Smallpox

Disease brought by Europeans; devastated Native populations, facilitating conquest.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 division of New World between Spain and Portugal; shows European competition for colonies.

Encomienda system

Spanish labor system exploiting Native Americans; early colonial labor model, tied to conquest.

Hernan Cortes

Conquistador who conquered Aztecs; shows European military advantage and colonization methods.

Moctezuma

Aztec emperor; defeated by Cortes, highlighting European impact on indigenous empires.

Noche triste

“The sad night” when Aztecs temporarily drove out Cortes; example of resistance to colonization.

Capitalism

Economic system promoted by colonies and trade; underpinned plantation and mercantile systems.

Mestizos

Mixed Spanish-Native population; example of social hierarchy in Spanish America.

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors; key agents of colonization, wealth extraction, and empire building.

Vasco Nunez Balboa

Explored Panama, first European to see Pacific from Americas; expands understanding of geography.

Ferdinand Magellan

First to circumnavigate globe; illustrates global European exploration.

Juan Ponce de Leon

Explored Florida seeking gold/fountain of youth; early Spanish colonization in North America.

Francisco Coronado

Explored SW US looking for cities of gold; highlights Spanish exploration and Native encounters.

Hernando de Soto

Explored SE US; brutal interactions with Native populations.

John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto)

English explorer; claimed Newfoundland for England, early step in colonization.

Battle of Acoma

Spanish fight against Pueblo in NM; example of violent colonization.

Pueblo Revolt/Pope’s Rebellion

1680 uprising; successful Native resistance to Spanish forced conversion.

Robert de LaSalle

French explorer of Mississippi River; expands French influence and trade networks.

Black Legend

Idea that Spanish were uniquely cruel; used to justify other European colonization (English, Dutch, French).

Huguenots

French Protestants; religious persecution led to migration to North America.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer; claimed Canada, laid foundation for New France.

Edict of Nantes

1598 granted Huguenots religious tolerance; relates to European religious conflicts affecting colonization.

King Louis XIV

French absolute monarch; promoted New France colonization and mercantilism.

Samuel de Champlain

“Father of New France”; founded Quebec, allied with Native Americans.

French relations with Native Americans

Focused on trade/fur alliances, less on conquest than Spanish/English.

New France

French colony in Canada; fur-based economy, alliances with Native Americans.

Coureurs de bois

“Runners of the woods”; independent French fur traders, integrated with Native networks.

Voyageurs

French fur trade workers; facilitated trade and colonization in North America.

Antoine Cadillac

Founded Detroit; French expansion in Great Lakes region.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century religious reform movement; led to migration for religious freedom (Pilgrims, Puritans).

Elizabeth I

English queen; sponsored exploration and challenged Spanish dominance.

Sir Francis Drake

English privateer; disrupted Spanish ships, helped England’s colonial ambitions.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Sponsored Roanoke; early English colonization attempts.

Roanoke Island

“Lost Colony”; early English failure in North America.

Philip II

Spanish king; defender of Catholicism, involved in Spanish Armada.

Spanish Armada

1588 naval defeat; weakened Spain, opened Atlantic for English colonization.

Enclosing/enclosure

English land privatization; displaced farmers, encouraged migration to colonies.

Primogeniture

Law favoring eldest son; younger sons sought wealth in colonies.

Joint stock company

Investors pooled funds for colonies; example: Virginia Company.

Virginia Company

Joint-stock company that founded Jamestown; early capitalism in colonies.

Charter

Official permit to colonize; legal basis for English settlement.

Jamestown

1607 Virginia settlement; first permanent English colony, tobacco economy.

Captain John Smith

Leader at Jamestown; helped colony survive through leadership.

Chief Powhatan

Native leader near Jamestown; early English-Native relations.

Pocahontas

Native woman; mediated English-Native tensions at Jamestown.

Lord De La Warr

Governor; enforced military action in First Anglo-Powhatan War.

First Anglo-Powhatan War

1610–1614 conflict; early English-Native hostilities.

John Rolfe

Introduced tobacco to Virginia; economic foundation, married Pocahontas easing relations.

Second Anglo-Powhatan War

1622–1632 conflict; led to Native removal and enduring English dominance.

British relations with Native Americans

Shifted from trade to displacement, reflecting colonial expansionist goals.

New Netherland

Dutch colony; fur trade, diverse population, precursor to New York.

Dutch East India Company

Trading company; shows European mercantile/colonial efforts.

Henry Hudson

Explored NY region for Dutch; basis for New Netherland.

New Amsterdam

Dutch colonial capital; later became New York, multicultural trade hub.

Peter Stuyvesant

Last Dutch governor; surrendered New Amsterdam to England.

Duke of York

Received New Netherland from England; expanded English colonies.

Iroquois Confederacy

Native alliance in NE; crucial in colonial diplomacy, trade, and conflict.

John Rolfe

Tobacco planter; represents cash-crop economy in Chesapeake.

Tobacco

Cash crop; fueled Chesapeake economy and indentured/slave labor.

House of Burgesses

1619; first representative assembly in colonies, foundation of self-government.

James I

English king; opposed tobacco, clashed with Virginia, asserted royal authority.

Lord Baltimore

Catholic proprietor of Maryland; promoted religious toleration via Act of Toleration.

Act of Toleration

1649 Maryland law; granted religious freedom to Christians, early religious pluralism.

Sugar cane

Caribbean cash crop; linked to African slavery and plantation economy.

Barbados Slave Code

Legal foundation for chattel slavery in colonies.

Charles I

English king; tension with Parliament, backdrop for English Civil War.

English Civil War

1642–1651; weakened monarchy, affected colonial policies.

Carolina

Founded for economic profit and buffer; plantation economy, slavery-based.

Savannah Indians

Native group allied/conflicted with Carolinas; example of European-Native alliances.

Squatters

Colonists without legal land; show settlement pressures and expansion.

Tuscarora War

1711-1715 conflict in NC; resulted in Tuscarora migration to Iroquois.

Yamasee Indians

South Carolina group; defeated in war, opened land for European settlement.

Georgia (buffer)

Colony for debtors and defense against Spain; social experiment.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia; envisioned humanitarian and military colony.

Slavery in colonies

Essential labor system for plantations; entrenched social/economic hierarchies.

Martin Luther/Protestant Reformation

German reformer; influenced Puritan migration to America.

John Calvin/Calvinism

Religious doctrine; emphasized predestination, shaped New England religious culture.

Predestination

Calvinist belief; justified strict moral codes in colonies.

Conversion

Personal religious experience; proof of “visible saint” status in Puritanism.

Separatists (Pilgrims)

Puritan sect seeking to separate from Church of England; founded Plymouth Colony.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement; early self-government example.

William Bradford

Plymouth leader; chronicler of Pilgrim experiences.

Puritans

English reformers; founded Massachusetts Bay Colony, shaped culture and governance.

“Visible saints”

Puritan concept; determined church membership, social hierarchy.