Unit 1 Review: Period 1 (1491-1607) - Native Societies, European Exploration, and Consequences

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from Unit 1 Review, Period 1 (1491-1607), including Native American societies, European exploration, and the impact of the Columbian Exchange and Spanish conquest.

Pueblo (farmers)

Native American sedentary population in New Mexico-Arizona region who farmed maize, beans, and squash; built adobe and masonry homes.

Three Sister Farming

Agricultural technique used by groups like the Iroquois, cultivating maize, squash, and beans together.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of people, animals, food, minerals (gold, silver), diseases (like smallpox), and crops between Africa, Europe, and the Americas after 1492.

Feudalism

A social and economic system in Europe where peasants lived and worked on a noble's land in exchange for armed protection.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system that forced Native Americans into labor for agricultural purposes and mining, often in exchange for 'protection' and Christian teachings.

Casta System

A Spanish-designed social hierarchy based on racial blood purity, affecting taxation and social status in the Americas.

Maize

A nutritious crop (corn) cultivated by Native Americans, which fostered economic development and complex political systems, particularly in Central and South America.

Aztec

A major Mesoamerican civilization (Mexica) known for its large urban centers and complex political systems.

Inca

A major South American civilization known for its complex political systems and organized society.

Ute

A Native American group in the north, known for hunter-gatherer lifestyles.

Cahokia

A large Native American settlement in Illinois (10-30k people) led by powerful chieftains.

Iroquois

A Native American confederacy in the northeast that utilized three sister farming and lived in longhouses.

Prince Henry The Navigator

A Portuguese royal who sponsored voyages around Africa to find a sea route to Asia.

Caravels

Advanced trading ships used by European explorers, particularly the Portuguese.

Isabella & Ferdinand

The monarchs of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyages, desiring to spread Christianity.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian explorer who, sponsored by Spain, sailed west to the Americas (landing in San Salvador) believing he had reached the Indies.

Tenochtitlan

The capital of the Aztec Empire, a large urban center with a population of 200,000-400,000 people, which fell due to disease and Spanish conquest.

Hernan Cortes

A Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire, aided significantly by European diseases like smallpox.

Capitalism

An economic system where individuals own businesses and make money from goods and services, evolving from feudalism in Europe.

Middle Passage

The transatlantic sea route that forcibly transported enslaved Africans to the Americas, notorious for high mortality rates due to disease and starvation.

Mercantilism

An economic policy prevalent in 16th to 18th century Europe, characterized by heavy government intervention to maximize exports and accumulate wealth for the nation.

Encomenderos

Spanish men granted land for farming purposes under the encomienda system, along with control over the native laborers living on that land.

Requerimiento

A Spanish declaration demanding that natives accept Spanish rule and Christianity, allowing conversion of anyone found on claimed land.