Native American Tribes and European Colonization Impact

Pueblo

Southwestern tribe that farmed with irrigation and lived in adobe homes. → Shows how farming (especially maize) helped form permanent villages in dry areas.

Navajo

Southwestern tribe that farmed, herded, and later raised sheep. → Adapted to desert life by using mixed farming and herding to survive.

Sioux

Nomadic Great Plains tribe that hunted buffalo and lived in teepees. → Followed buffalo for food and tools, showing how tribes adapted by staying mobile.

Apache

Southwestern group that hunted, gathered, and moved often. → Lived in dry, harsh land and stayed flexible with a semi-nomadic lifestyle.

Iroquois

Northeastern tribe that farmed the "three sisters" and also hunted. → Used farming and hunting to support villages and form strong alliances.

Cherokee

Southeastern tribe that farmed and hunted in fertile land. → Built big villages by using both farming and nature, showing adaptation.

Chinook

Northwestern tribe that lived in wooden houses and fished. → Lived off rich ocean resources without farming, showing a settled lifestyle.

Nez Perce

Northwestern tribe that fished in rivers and moved seasonally. → Used rivers and seasons to support themselves without full farming.

3 Gs: Gold, God, and Glory

Europeans explored for wealth, to spread Christianity, and for national pride. → These goals pushed countries to compete in exploring and colonizing the Americas.

Founding of St. Augustine

First permanent European settlement in Florida (Spanish). → Shows how Spain competed with others for control and spread religion.

Corn, potatoes, tomatoes → Europe

American crops that became major European foods. → Fed more people, helped population grow, and supported economic changes.

Growth of European nation-states

Strong governments formed as wealth from trade increased. → Trade and colonies gave monarchs more power and shifted Europe to capitalism.

Caravel

Fast ship that made ocean travel easier. → Helped Europeans explore and trade over long distances, changing economies.

Joint-stock company

Investors shared costs and profits of exploration. → Made it easier to fund colonies and grow capitalist economies.

Smallpox

Deadly disease from Europe that killed many Native Americans. → Weakened Native communities and made conquest easier for Spain.

Horses, rice, wheat, oxen → Americas

New animals and crops brought from Europe. → Horses changed Native travel, and crops improved trade and farming.

Sugar plantations

Large farms using Native and African slave labor to grow sugar. → Showed how Spain used forced labor for profit under the encomienda system.

Silver mines

Native workers forced to mine silver in harsh conditions. → Made Spain rich but hurt Native populations through exploitation.

Middle Passage

Horrific ocean trip enslaved Africans endured to reach the Americas. → Central part of slave trade that shaped economies and hurt millions.

Line of Demarcation

Spain and Portugal split the Americas to avoid conflict (1494). → Showed how Europe divided and competed for control and resources.

Mestizo

Person with both Native and European ancestry. → Part of a social hierarchy in Spanish colonies based on mixed heritage.

Zambo

Person with African and Native American ancestry. → Shows racial mixing and how Spain ranked people in its colonies.

African religious traditions + Christianity

Enslaved Africans mixed their beliefs with Christianity (e.g., Voodoo). → Showed how Africans kept parts of their culture while adapting to new ones.

Maroon communities

Escaped slave groups that formed independent villages. → Proved resistance to slavery and mixing of African and Native cultures.

Spanish mission system

Religious settlements trying to convert Natives to Christianity. → Tried to replace Native traditions, but many resisted or adapted.

Acoma War (1599)

Brutal Spanish attack on Pueblo after Native resistance. → Showed that Natives fought to protect land and culture.

Juan de Sepúlveda

Scholar who argued natives were naturally inferior and justified slavery. → Used religion and race to justify harsh treatment of Natives.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Priest who defended Native rights and believed they were human. → Sparked debates in Europe over whether Natives should be enslaved.