AMSCO Unit 1

Columbus's First Voyage

1492 expedition funded by Spain's Ferdinand and Isabella that reached the Caribbean (Bahamas), initiating continuous European contact, exploitation, and colonization in the Americas.

Encomienda System Established

1503 royal decree by Spain formalizing a labor grant system that forced Native Americans into hard labor and tribute under Spanish landowners in exchange for forced Christian conversion.

Enrique's Rebellion

1519–1533 armed uprising in Hispaniola led by Taíno leader Enrique against Spanish rule, resulting in one of the first peace treaties granting native autonomy in the Caribbean.

Establishment of the Council of the Indies

1524 creation of the supreme administrative body by King Charles V to manage all civil, military, and religious affairs in Spain's American colonies.

Cabezas de Vaca's Journey

1528–1536 survival trek across the Gulf Coast and American Southwest by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca after a shipwreck, resulting in early European accounts of native cultures.

De Soto Expedition

1539–1543 violent Spanish exploratory journey across the American Southeast led by Hernando de Soto, spreading fatal Old World diseases among indigenous populations along the Mississippi River.

Coronado Expedition

1540–1542 Spanish exploration across the American Southwest led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold (Cíbola).

Chichimeca War

1550–1590 prolonged conflict between Spanish forces and nomadic native tribes in Northern Mexico, concluding with Spain offering food and supplies ("peace by purchase") instead of military force.

Treaty of Cochecho

1600 non-aggression agreement between early English settlers and local Native American leaders in coastal New England prior to major permanent colonization attempts.

San Gabriel Settlement

1598 establishment of the first permanent Spanish settlement in New Mexico by Juan de Oñate near San Juan Pueblo, marking the start of direct Spanish control over the Southwest.

The Reconquista

1492 victory where Spanish Christians under Ferdinand and Isabella conquered the last Moorish (Muslim) stronghold in Granada, unifying Spain and inspiring Catholic zeal for overseas colonization.

Protestant Reformation

Early 1500s movement initiated by European Christians revolting against papal authority, leading to religious wars and driving Catholic and Protestant nations to compete for converts in the New World.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement brokered by the Pope dividing non-Christian lands between Spain and Portugal via a line of demarcation, securing Portugal's claim to Brazil and Spain's to the rest of the Americas.

Fall of Tenochtitlán

1521 event where Hernán Cortés and native allies defeated the Aztec Empire, claiming its territories for Spain as "New Spain."

Conquest of the Inca Empire

1532–1539 campaign led by Francisco Pizarro, who captured and executed Incan ruler Atahualpa despite receiving a massive room-filling ransom of gold and silver.

Oztoticpac Lands Map

1540 Aztec-drawn map on amatl paper used in Spanish courts to resolve land claims after executing an Aztec ruler, illustrating the complex legal and cultural mixture of early colonial Mexico.

New Laws of 1542

Spanish laws persuaded by Bartolomé de Las Casas that officially ended Native American slavery and halted forced labor, though heavily resisted and partially repealed by Spanish colonists.

Discovery of Potosí

1545 discovery of massive silver deposits in Bolivia that utilized the mita system for conscripted indigenous labor, single-handedly funding Spanish imperialism for decades.

Valladolid Debate

1550–1551 formal Spanish debate between Bartolomé de Las Casas (arguing Native Americans were equals) and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (arguing Native Americans were naturally inferior and benefited from slavery).

Founding of St. Augustine

1565 establishment of a Spanish fort in Florida, creating the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in North America.

Roanoke Island Settlement

1587 attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to establish the first permanent English colony off North Carolina, which mysteriously disappeared and failed.

The Acoma War

1599 conflict where Spanish forces under Juan de Oñate brutally crushed the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, cutting off one foot of surviving male warriors to enforce Spanish authority.

1491

The year before Christopher Columbus arrived, representing the pre-contact state of diverse Native American cultures.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer whose 1492 voyage funded by Spain initiated permanent transatlantic contact between Europe and the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and technology between the Old World and New World following 1492.

Aztec Empire

Powerful Mesoamerican empire centered in Tenochtitlán with advanced agriculture, social stratification, and maize cultivation.

Inca Empire

Vast South American empire located in Peru, renowned for complex road networks, terrace farming, and potato cultivation.

Maya Civilization

Mesoamerican civilization in the Yucatán Peninsula known for written language, architecture, and advanced astronomical calendars.

Iroquois Confederation

Political alliance of five Northeast tribes in New York that utilized longhouses and maintained strong military dominance.

Encomienda System

Spanish colonial labor arrangement granting landholders rights to forced Native American labor in exchange for Christianization.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spanish priest who advocated for Native American rights and opposed harsh mistreatment under the encomienda system.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 papal agreement dividing non-Christian lands in the Americas between Spain and Portugal.

John Cabot

Italian explorer sailing for England in 1497 who established early English territorial claims along the Newfoundland coast.

Samuel de Champlain

French explorer known as the "Father of New France" who founded the permanent settlement of Quebec in 1608.

Henry Hudson

English explorer hired by the Dutch in 1609 whose river exploration established claims for New Amsterdam (New York).

Valladolid Debate

Formal 1550–1551 debate in Spain over the ethical treatment, morality, and human rights of Native Americans.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century European religious split that fueled intense geopolitical competition and overseas imperial expansion.

New Laws of 1542

Spanish royal legislation intended to end Native American slavery and reform the encomienda system, heavily resisted by colonists.

Roanoke Island

England's first attempted colony off North Carolina (1587), which mysteriously disappeared and became known as the "Lost Colony."

Enslaved Africans

Labor force forcibly transported to the Americas via the Atlantic slave trade to replace declining Native American populations.

Maize Cultivation

The spread of corn agriculture northward from Mexico that supported permanent settlement, population growth, and social development.

Pueblos and Anasazi

Southwestern Native American societies that developed complex irrigation systems to farm in arid climates and lived in cliff dwellings.

Great Plains Nomadic Tribes

Mobile Native American groups, such as the Lakota Sioux, who relied on buffalo hunting in tepees and later adopted horses.

Cahokia

Major pre-Columbian Mississippian mound-building settlement near modern St. Louis that housed thousands of inhabitants.

Asiento System

Spanish legal tax structure requiring colonial landholders to pay a royal fee on each imported enslaved African worker.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Spanish scholar who argued during the Valladolid Debate that Native Americans were naturally inferior and suited for subjugation.

St. Augustine (1565)

The oldest continuously inhabited city founded by Europeans in the United States, built by Spain to defend Florida.

Caravel

A small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese that allowed long-distance oceanic trade.

Sailing Compass

A navigational tool adopted from Arab merchants that enabled European sailors to navigate open ocean waters accurately.

Conquistadores

Spanish explorers and military conquerors who seized native empires in Central and South America for gold, glory, and God.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in central Mexico in 1521.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in Peru in 1532.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who sponsored early exploratory voyages down the West African coast, pioneering sea route trade.

Mesoamerica

The historical region extending from central Mexico through Central America, home to complex pre-Columbian societies.

Algonquian

One of the largest Native American language families in North America, predominantly spoken along the Northeast and Atlantic Seaboard.

Siouan

Major Native American language family associated primarily with the nomadic and farming tribes of the Great Plains.

Nation-State

A political unit where the population shares a common government, language, and culture, driving centralized European colonization effort.

Maroons

Communities of formerly enslaved Africans who escaped captivity and established self-governing settlements in the Americas.

Joint-Stock Company

A business entity where investors pool capital to fund colonial ventures and share economic risks and rewards.

Mercantilism

Economic philosophy promoting national wealth accumulation by maintaining a positive balance of trade and acquiring colonies for raw materials.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who navigated the St. Lawrence River between 1534 and 1542, laying early territorial claims for France.

Sir Walter Raleigh

English courtier who sponsored the ill-fated Roanoke settlement in an effort to challenge Spanish authority in North America.

Sovereignty

Supreme power or authority held by a governing body, contested between European monarchs and Native American nations.

Castas System

A rigid social hierarchy established by Spain in its colonies based on racial heritage and blood purity.

Ferdinand and Isabella

Monarchs whose marriage united Spain and who sponsored Christopher Columbus's 1492 transatlantic voyage.

Smallpox

European epidemic disease introduced to the Americas that wiped out vast majorities of Native American populations lacking immunity.

Metis

People of mixed Native American and French descent who played key roles in the North American fur trading network.