Lecture Notes: Colonial America and the Atlantic World (1491-18th Century)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, events, and concepts from the notes on Native peoples, exploration, colonization, slavery, religion, and Enlightenment-era developments in the Atlantic world.

Iroquois Confederacy

Northeast Native American alliance known for longhouses and a powerful political/military network.

Longhouse

A large rectangular dwelling used by the Iroquois; symbol of their social and clan system.

Creek

Southeast Native American group known for complex settlements in the Southeastern U.S.

Pueblo

Southwestern Native American peoples known for multi‑story adobe villages; distinct cultures in present-day New Mexico.

Cahokia

Largest pre‑Columbian city in North America, near present-day St. Louis, famous for mound-building.

Caravel

A small, agile Portuguese sailing vessel that enabled longer ocean voyages.

Sextant

Navigational instrument used to determine latitude and longitude at sea.

Joint‑Stock Company

Investment model where many investors pool capital to fund voyages and settlements.

Feudalism

Medieval system where lords grant land in exchange for loyalty and military/service duties.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that emphasizes accumulating wealth through trade and colonies supplying raw materials.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of crops, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds.

Line of Demarcation

1493 treaty dividing Spanish and Portuguese lands in the Americas.

Encomienda System

Spanish policy granting colonists authority over indigenous labor in exchange for protection and Christianization; often exploited.

Middle Passage

Forced transatlantic voyage of Africans to the Americas as part of slavery.

Spanish Mission System

Network of religious outposts aimed at converting indigenous peoples to Catholicism.

Acoma Massacre (1599)

Onate's brutal attack on the Acoma Pueblo; hundreds killed or enslaved.

Encomienda (Plan vs Reality)

Plan: protect and Christianize natives; Reality: forced labor and land seizure.

Syncretic Religions

Religious practices that blend Indigenous/African beliefs with Christianity.

Maroon Communities

Escaped enslaved people who formed independent communities (notably in Brazil and the Caribbean).

Peninsulares

Spaniards born in Spain who held top colonial administrative positions.

Creoles

People of European descent born in the Americas; often elites.

Mestizo

People of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry.

Mulatto

People of mixed European and African ancestry.

Valladolid Debate (1550)

Debate over indigenous treatment between Bartolomé de Las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Advocated humane treatment of natives and conversion through persuasion, not force.

Juan de Sepúlveda

Argued natives were barbarians who required forced Christianization.

Encomienda Laws

Laws limiting the encomienda system and regulating indigenous labor.

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

Successful Pueblo uprising in present-day New Mexico against Spanish rule.

Quebec (New France)

French colony in Canada focused on fur trade; less permanent settlements; Metis as translators.

Metis

People of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry who served as translators and intermediaries.

Colonies of England – Types

Royal, Charter, and Proprietary colonies under different governance models.

Push Factors

Conditions driving migration: lack of land, persecution, revolution, poverty, starvation.

Pull Factors

Attractions drawing settlers: wealth, freedom, family, adventure.

Beaver Wars

1609–1701 conflicts involving the Iroquois over fur trade and regional power.

Chickasaw Wars

1721–1763 conflicts; English support for Chickasaw vs. French-backed Choctaw; control of eastern lands.

House of Burgesses

First representative colonial government in Jamestown, Virginia (est. 1691).

John Rolfe

Introduced tobacco as a cash crop, helping to stabilize Virginia’s economy.

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Rebellion by frontier settlers against colonial government; highlighted frontier tensions and shifting labor needs.

Headright System

Land grant (50 acres) to settlers, plus land for bringing indentured servants; encouraged migration.

Maryland Toleration Act (1649)

Protected religious freedom for Trinitarian Christians in Maryland.

Puritans

English religious reformers seeking to purify the Church of England; founded colonies in New England.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

Pledge to self-govern and follow agreed laws for the common good.

City Upon a Hill

John Winthrop’s vision of Massachusetts as a moral model for the world.

Harvard

First major college in New England (founded 1636) for theological training.

Yale

Columbia University’s fellow colonial college (founded 1701) to train ministers.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritan colony with town-meeting democracy and emphasis on education; central to New England identity.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Early constitution creating a framework for representative government.

Rhode Island (Roger Williams)

Founded on religious liberty and separation of church and state.

Antinomian Controversy

1636–1638 dispute over salvation by grace vs. works and church authority.

Anne Hutchinson

Banished Puritan leader who claimed divine messages; challenged colonial religious authority.

Pequot War

1637 conflict leading to the destruction of the Pequot in New England.

King Philip’s War

1675–1678 major Native–colonial war in New England; disrupted native power and reshaped settlement patterns.

Middle Colonies

Ethnically diverse region (formerly New Netherland/New Sweden) with religious toleration and the 'breadbasket' economy; key cities include Philadelphia and New York.

Delaware

Originally part of New Sweden; later closely tied with Pennsylvania; later became a separate colony.

New Netherlands

Dutch colony centered on trade; later seized by the English and renamed New York.

New Sweden

Swedish colony along the Delaware River; eventually overtaken by Dutch/English.

William Penn

Founder of Pennsylvania; Quaker ideals; promoted religious tolerance and fair treatment of Native peoples.

Philadelphia

Major Middle Colony port and cultural center; site of early political and economic growth.

New York City (New Amsterdam)

Key harbor city; former Dutch capital (New Amsterdam) that became a flagship English colony.

Barbados (1627)

Caribbean sugar colony; heavily reliant on enslaved African labor; codes regulated slavery.

Barbados Codes (1661)

Slave laws codifying hierarchy and control over enslaved people.

Sugar Plantations

Caribbean agricultural system using plantation slavery to produce sugar for export.

Georgia (1732)

Founded by James Oglethorpe as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the Carolinas; focused on rice and other crops.

Rice Plantations

Key crop in Georgia’s Lowcountry; required enslaved labor and distinct slave culture.

Portugal–Brazil Slavery

Portugal sent a large proportion of enslaved Africans to Brazil, which had a vast slave population.

Gullah

Creole language and culture among enslaved Africans in the American Southeast and Caribbean.

Syncretic Slavery Religion

Blended African religious practices with Christianity among enslaved communities.

Runaway Slaves/Maroon Communities

Escaped enslaved people who formed independent communities.

Stono Rebellion

1739 uprising of enslaved Africans in South Carolina; led to harsher slave codes.

Chattel Slavery

System where enslaved people are treated as property and can be bred or bought/sold.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of lax enforcement of trade laws in the colonies before 1763.

Navigation Acts

Mercantilist laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and merchants.

Woolen Act (1699)

Regulation restricting the colonial wool trade to protect English industry.

Molasses Act (1733)

Tax on molasses imported from non‑British sources to curb colonial trade with rivals.

Dominion of New England

Crown attempt (1686–89) to centralize governance and enforce trade laws; ended with the Glorious Revolution.

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement emphasizing reason, natural rights, social contract; key philosophers include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau.

Thomas Hobbes

Philosopher of Leviathan; argued for a strong central authority and social contract.

John Locke

Philosopher of Two Treatises; natural rights and government by consent.

Jean‑Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher who argued for the general will and social contract principles.

The First Great Awakening

Religious revival in British America; emotion-driven preaching; creation ofNew Light vs Old Light denominations.

Jonathan Edwards

Minister known for fiery sermons like Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God; pivotal in the Great Awakening.

George Whitefield

Popular revival preacher who spread evangelical fervor across the colonies.

New Light vs Old Light

New Light: revivalist, inclusive spiritual revival; Old Light: traditional clergy cautious of revival.

93 Denominations

Diverse Protestant denominations that emerged or grew during the Great Awakening.

Anglicization

Adoption of English culture, governance, religion, and print culture in the American colonies; often linked to republican ideals.

French and Indian War/Seven Year War

between French & native vs British & native

• past conflicts between Britain & France

• British want to expand west

• Ohio River Valley

French-Indian Result

• Treaty of Paris

• British cross Appalachian Mountains

  • conflict w/ tribes in Ohio River Valley

  • Pontiacs Rebellion

Treaty of Paris

1763, all French territory to British

Pontiacs Rebellion

• following seven year war

• Ohio Valley

• led by Ottowa leader Pontiac, united tribes against British

• British treated natives like conquered, French treated them like allies

• ended with Royal Proclamation of 1763

Royal Proclamation/Proclamation Line of 1763

all land west of Appalachians for natives

Sugar Act of 1764

taxes on sugar sales in colonies

Currency Act of 1764

banned colony currency

Stamp Act of 1765

expensive stamps on every newspaper and legal doc

Quartering Act of 1765

colonists required to house British soldiers (food, resources)

Declaratory Act of 1766

right of British Parliament to legislate colonies

Committee of Correspondence (1764)

• by Samuel Adams for secret web of communication among colonists to resist British taxes

• The Sons of Liberty

Townshed Acts

1767, legalized “general search warrants” to assist officers in arresting smugglers (lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea)

12 Letters from a Farmer in PA (1767-178)

John Dickinson - Britain has power to regulate trade but not raise taxes, led to boycotting & protesting storm

Boston Massacre - causes

• March 5th, 1770

• British occupation for Townshed Acts

• killing of 11 year old Christopher Seirder on Fed 22nd, 1770

• five colonists killed, Cripus Attucks

Boston Massacre - aftermath

• major trial w/ John Adams defending British

• 6 soldiers not guilty, 2 guilty of manslaughter but got a slap on the wrist