APUSH Unit 1 Vocabulary Flashcards: Native Americans, Europeans, and the Columbian Exchange

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, and concepts from APUSH Unit 1 notes (Native Societies, European exploration, and the Columbian Exchange).

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old World and the Americas after 1492, reshaping global populations and economies.

Maize (corn)

A staple crop from the Americas whose adoption in Europe supported population growth and altered agricultural practices.

Potatoes

A New World crop introduced to Europe that became a staple and contributed to population growth.

Tomatoes

A New World crop that spread to Europe and other regions, impacting cuisine and agriculture.

Smallpox

A deadly disease brought by Europeans to the Americas, devastating Native populations.

Repartimiento system

A Spanish labor system that forced Indigenous people to work for colonial authorities and enterprises with varying protections.

Asiento system

A license granted by the Spanish crown to import enslaved Africans to the Americas as part of the slave trade.

Encomienda system

A Spanish policy granting colonists the right to extract labor from Indigenous communities in exchange for Christianization and protection; widely abused.

Slavery (Transatlantic Slave Trade)

The forced transport and enslavement of Africans to the Americas, forming the basis of colonial labor systems.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea voyage that transported enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas.

Land-bridge (Bering Land Bridge)

The land connection that allowed migration from Asia into North America during the last Ice Age.

Adena-Hopewell

Mound-building cultures in the Eastern Woodlands known for earthworks and trade networks.

Hohokam

Ancestral Southwest culture famous for extensive irrigation canals in the American Southwest.

Anasazi

Ancient Puebloan people known for cliff dwellings and sophisticated communities in the Four Corners region.

Pueblo

Southwestern Native American communities known for adobe dwelling structures and communal living.

Woodland

Eastern North American cultural region noted for mound-building and horticulture.

Mound Builders

Prehistoric cultures (e.g., Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian) that constructed earthen mounds in North America.

Lakota Sioux

A major Sioux group of the Great Plains, known for mobility and horse-based culture after contact.

Maya

Mesoamerican civilization known for mathematics, astronomy, and monumental architecture in parts of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

Inca

Largest pre-Columbian empire in South America, famed for roads, terraces, and centralized governance.

Aztec

Central Mexican empire centered in Tenochtitlan, known for tribute networks and military power.

Conquistadors

Spanish explorers and soldiers who conquered vast areas of the Americas, often through force.

New Laws of 1542

Spanish royal decrees aimed at reforming encomienda abuses and protecting Indigenous peoples.

Roanoke

Failed English colony established on Roanoke Island; disappeared mysteriously by 1590.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing non-European lands along a north-south line.

Printing press

Technological advance that facilitated rapid dissemination of information about exploration and religion.

Compass

navigational instrument enabling long-distance sea travel and aiding the Age of Exploration.

Nation-state

Sovereign political entity formed by centralized government; a rising European concept influencing global ambition.

Algonquian

A Native American language family and associated peoples in the Northeast and Atlantic regions.

Siouan

A Native American language family in the Great Plains and surrounding areas.

Iroquois Confederacy

A powerful alliance of Northeastern Native American nations that shaped diplomacy and warfare in the region.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century religious movement challenging papal authority, reshaping European religion and politics.

Longhouses

Multi-family wooden dwellings used by Iroquois and other Northeastern tribes.

Valladolid Debate

1550s Spanish public debate over the rights and treatment of Indigenous peoples, featuring Las Casas and Sepúlveda.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Dominican friar who argued against the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and promoted reform.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Spanish scholar who argued Indigenous peoples were natural slaves and justified conquest.

Queen Elizabeth I

English monarch who supported exploration and colonization through sponsorship and policy.

Richard Hakluyt

English writer and promoter of exploration who published accounts encouraging overseas expansion.

Christopher Columbus

Genoese navigator sponsored by Spain who reached the Americas in 1492, initiating sustained contact.

Ferdinand and Isabella

Catholic monarchs whose sponsorship of Columbus enabled Spanish exploration and empire-building.

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who advanced exploration and navigation, funding early voyages.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who claimed parts of Canada along the St. Lawrence River for France.

Samuel de Champlain

French explorer who founded Quebec and established a lasting French presence in North America.

Henry Hudson

English navigator employed by the Dutch who explored the Hudson River region.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who toppled the Aztec Empire and opened central Mexico to settlement.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in Peru.