The Collision of Cultures

Vocabulary flashcards covering early American population, European exploration motives, the Columbian Exchange, and Spanish colonial practices.

Bering Strait (Beringia)

The land/water passage over which humans crossed to populate the Americas.

Clovis People

The first people to farm and settle in the Americas, who moved northeast and evolved into current Native Americans.

Mercantilism

An economic drive during the pre-Columbian and Renaissance era where European countries sought power.

Henry the Navigator

The first royal leader to invest money into schools for navigators.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of goods, plants, animals, diseases, and other items from the Old World to the New World and vice versa.

Old World

The geographic region encompassing Europe, Asia, and Africa.

New World

The geographic region encompassing the Americas.

Smallpox

A disease that spread faster than people, causing deaths among Native Americans that Europeans interpreted as God giving them the land.

The Ordinances of Discovery (1570)

An order issued by the Pope stating that the Spanish could not treat Native Americans so badly, which slowed down the mistreatment without ending it.

Bartolomé de las Casas

A Spanish priest who spoke out against the harsh treatment of Native Americans by the Spanish, stating it was not right.