Historical Globalization and Its Legacies Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the historical globalization unit, including key explorers, leaders, economic systems, and colonial legacices.

Historical Globalization

The period from the 15th century to the early 20th century when European powers expanded through exploration, colonization, and trade.

The 3 G’s

The primary goals of European exploration beginning in the late 15th century: Gold, Glory, and God.

Christopher Columbus

Spanish-funded explorer who reached the Caribbean in 1492 while seeking a trade route to Asia.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in South America.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese sailor who found a sea route to India by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope.

Robert Clive

British official who established trade control in India for Britain.

Samuel de Champlain

Explorer who founded Quebec and mapped parts of the St. Lawrence River.

Tecumseh

Shawnee leader who united Indigenous nations to resist British expansion in the early 1800s.

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala

Inca nobleman who documented Spanish abuses in Peru and defended Indigenous rights.

Sacagawea

Indigenous woman who guided Lewis and Clark across North America to ensure peaceful contact.

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Former enslaved man who led the successful Haitian Revolution against French colonial rule.

The Columbian Exchange

The massive global exchange of crops, animals, and diseases (such as smallpox and measles) between Europe and the Americas.

Terra Nullius

A legal concept meaning 'land belonging to no one,' used by European powers to justify claiming Indigenous lands.

Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)

Company founded in 1670 that dominated trade around Hudson Bay and relied on Indigenous trappers for furs.

Capitalism

An economic system where private individuals own and control production and trade for profit.

Triangular Trade

A trade system where Europe sent manufactured goods to Africa, Africa supplied enslaved people to the Americas, and the Americas sent raw materials (sugar, tobacco, cotton) to Europe.

Industrialization

The shift from manual labour to machine-based production, which began in Britain and was fueled by colonial resources.

Eurocentrism

The belief that European culture and race are superior to all others, often used to justify slavery and colonization.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a nation’s power by dominating other territories.

Berlin Conference (1884–85)

A meeting where European powers divided Africa among themselves without any African input.

Residential Schools

Institutions in Canada (1870s–1996) that sought to intentionally assimilate Indigenous children and separate them from their culture.

Indian Act (1876)

Canadian legislation that restricted Indigenous governance and culture and allowed the government to decide who is considered 'Indian'.

Mahatma Gandhi

Indian leader who used non-violent resistance to fight British rule and promoted self-sufficiency.

Apartheid

A system of legalized racial segregation enforced by the South African government from 1948 to 1994.

Nelson Mandela

Leader in the African National Congress (ANC) who was imprisoned for 27 years and later became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.

The Raj

The period of direct British rule in India from 1858 to 1947 after the removal of the British East India Company.

Satyagraha

A principle developed by Gandhi meaning 'Truth Force,' which refers to non-violent resistance.

Swadeshi

A movement meaning 'self-rule,' where Indians were encouraged to spin their own cloth and buy locally grown food to reduce dependence on the British.

Partition of India (1947)

The division of British India into two independent nations: India (mostly Hindu) and Pakistan (mostly Muslim).

King Leopold II

Monarch of Belgium who privately owned the Congo Free State and oversaw extreme atrocities during rubber extraction.

Force Publique

The military force under King Leopold II used to punish Congolese communities for failing to meet rubber collection quotas.

Olaudah Equiano

A former enslaved person who published an autobiography describing the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to support abolition.