Atlantic World, Colonies, and Slavery - Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering major people, events, and concepts from the lecture notes on colonial America, warfare, religion, slavery, and cross-Atlantic exchange.

Atlantic consumer revolution

A broad exchange where Native Americans and Europeans shared goods and commercial practices, shaping economies and daily life along the Atlantic rim.

Pequot War (1636–1637)

Conflict between Puritan settlers and the Pequot over land and trade in the Connecticut River Valley, culminating in heavy Pequot losses and the near-dissolution of the Pequot nation.

Treaty of Hartford (1638)

Agreement that effectively dissolved the Pequot Nation after the Pequot War and redefined regional power in New England.

King Philip’s War (Metacom’s War) (1675–1678)

Widespread conflict between English settlers and a coalition of Indigenous peoples led by Metacom (King Philip), marked by brutal warfare and significant destruction.

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley’s policies toward Native Americans and frontier defense, ending with violence and consolidation of colonial authority.

Virginia slave codes of 1705

Legislation that codified slavery, defined enslaved status for life, restricted rights, and prohibited interracial marriage in Virginia.

Columbian Exchange

Transatlantic exchange of crops, animals, people, and ideas between Europe, Africa, and the Americas that reshaped global populations and economies.

Indentured servant

A laborer who contracted to work for a set period in exchange for passage and basic sustenance; many eventually gained freedom dues or land.

Enslaved Africans in the Atlantic world

Africans forcibly brought to the Americas through the slave trade; by 1700 a growing enslaved population and the start of race-based slavery.

Self-sustainment of enslaved populations

Enslaved communities increasingly able to reproduce and sustain themselves locally, reducing dependence on continued importation.

Racialized discourse / whiteness

The emergence and consolidation of race as a category, with whiteness becoming a social and political currency that justified slavery and social hierarchy.

Slavery in New England vs the South

Slavery existed in both regions but was more central and profitable in the slave-intensive South, while New England slavery tended to be urban and less widespread.

Atlantic slave trade map (global participation)

A visualization showing the range of European, African, and American involvement in the transatlantic slave trade from 1514–1866.

New Amsterdam / New York

Dutch colony that practiced some religious pluralism; captured by the English in 1664 and renamed New York.

Revolt of the Long Swede (Marcus Jackson)

Swedish settlers’ uprisings in the mid-17th century in the Delaware/Delaware River region, later suppressed by English authorities.

Pennsylvania (1681)

Colony founded by William Penn; noted for relative religious and ethnic mixing and a more tolerant political culture.

Quakers (Society of Friends)

Religious dissenters who faced persecution in some colonies; later played a key role in early religious toleration and reform.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan dissenter banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for challenging Puritan authorities and preaching antinomian ideas.

Salem Witch Trials (1692–1693)

Mass hysteria and legal proceedings accusing people of witchcraft in Massachusetts, leading to executions, imprisonments, and social panic.

Tituba

Enslaved woman from Barbados who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem trials and played a pivotal role in the outbreak.

Canterbury / Church of England in the colonies

Religious authority from England; colonial practice fluctuated between conformity to Canterbury and local religious experimentation.

Puritans and religious reform

English religious movement seeking to purify the Church of England; influenced colony governance and social norms in New England.

“Plantation of religion” (John Higginson)

Concept describing New England as rooted in religious development and community discipline rather than commerce.

Giles Corey

Wealthy Massachusetts settler pressed to death during the Salem witch trials for refusing to plead.

Maryland and Rhode Island toleration

Colonial policies that used toleration as a means to foster conformity, sometimes suppressing dissent—especially in more heterogeneous societies.

Frontier violence and race

Patterns of conflict at the colonial frontiers that blended Native, European, and African actors and contributed to evolving racial hierarchies.