APUSH - Eras 1/2 Vocabulary

Columbian Exchange

Global exchange of living things (people, animals, plants diseases) between the Old World, and New World.

Encomienda System

System established by the Spanish crown that rewarded prominent men with land and native slaves.

Caste System

Defines the status of people in New Spain based on race and ethnicity.

Black Legend

A negative portrayal of Spanish colonization in the Americas, highlighting cruelty, exploitation, and mistreatment of indigenous peoples by Spanish conquistadors and settlers.

Joint-Stock Corporation

Investors pooled assets to fund English colonies; investors were then part "owners" of the colony.

Indentured Servants

Workers who agreed to work (without wages) for a specific period of time in exchange for passage to the New World.

Headright System​

System of land distribution that granted land (50 acres) to anyone who paid for the journey of another to the New World.

Puritans

Dissenters from the church of England who wanted a full reform rather than the partial reform sought by Henry VIII. Emphasized the importance of a relationship with god through bible study, & prayer.

House of Burgesses

Organ of government in colonial Virginia made up of an assembly of representatives elected by the colony's inhabitants.

Royal Colony

A colony charted by the crown of England. The colony's governor was appointed by the crown and served according to instructions from the Board of Trade.

Toleration

The allowance of different religious practices. Granted all Christians the right to follow their beliefs and hold church services.

Proprietary Colony

A colony created through the grant of land from the English monarch to an individual or group who then set up a form of government largely independent from royal control.

Quakers

Believed that God spoke directly to each individual through an "inner light" and that neither the Bible nor ministers were essential to discovering God's word.

Holy Experiment

The founding and establishment of the Pennsylvania colony in the late 17th century. Often used to describe Penn's vision of a colony with religious tolerance and freedom.

Dominion of New England

A royal province created by King James II in 1686 that would have absorbed all NE colonies into one colony eliminating their charted rights. The plan was cancelled when James was removed.

Glorious Revolution

A quick, and nearly bloodless coup in 1688 where members of Parliament overthrew King James II and required the new King & Queen to accept the Bill of Rights.

Mayflower Compact

First written frame of government in what would be the United States.

The Great Migration

Mass movement of Puritans from England to Massachusetts Bay in 1630.

Constitutional Monarchy

A monarchy limited in its rule by a constitution. In England's case, the Declaration of Rights (1689), which formally limited the King's power.

Mercantilism

Economic theory stating that wealth, or gold and silver had a direct correlation with the amount of power you have. In order to gain gold, countries were required to export more than they import.

Triangular Trade

Trade system between Europe, Africa, and the Americas exchanging goods such as raw materials, finished goods, and slaves.

Salutary Neglect

Term used to describe British policy during the reigns of George I & II. Relaxed supervision of colonial affairs, the policy inadvertently assisted in the rise of self-govt in North America.

Navigation Acts

English laws passed beginning in the 1650s requiring that certain English colonial goods be shipped through English ports on English ships manned by Englishmen, to benefit English people.

King Phillip's War

Also known as Metacom's War, involved Native Americans led by Wampanoag leader Metacom against the New England colonies in 1675-1676. The colonists won, but 12,000 were killed.

Pueblo Revolt

In 1680, Native American Pueblos rebelled against mistreatment from Spaniards. The Pueblos won, and Spaniards were driven out of Mexico until 1690.

Bacon's Rebellion

Rebellion in Virginia from 1675-1676 when vigilante colonists began to fight natives in the area. When the Virgina Govt. refused to support them, they stormed, and burned the capital, Jamestown

Covenant Chain

The alliance of the Iroquois, first with the colony of New York, then with the British Empire and it's other colonies. Served as a model for how relations between British and Natives should be.

South Atlantic System

A new agricultural and commercial order that produced sugar, tobacco, rice, and other tropical and subtropical products for an international market.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea voyage that carried about 12.5 million Africans to the Americas to be enslaved. Around 1.8 million died during the voyage, before even reaching the Americas.

Sonto Rebellion

Slave uprising in 1739 along the Sonto River in South Carolina when a group of slaves armed themselves, raided 6 plantations, and killed 25 whites. Colonists quickly suppressed the rebellion.

Redemptioner

Type of indentured servant in the Middle Colonies in the 18th century who did not sign a contract before leaving Europe, but instead negotiated employment after arriving in America.

Enlightenment

18th-century movement that emphasized the use of reason to reevaluate previously accepted doctrines, traditions, and the power of reason to understand and shape the world.

Natural Rights

The rights to life, liberty, and property. John Locke argued that political authority was not given by God to monarchs but instead derived from social compacts that preserved citizen's natural rights.