Unit 1 APUSH

Columbus’s Intent vs Impact

Columbus aimed to find a lucrative trade route to Asia but instead triggered mass biological and cultural interchange.

The Columbian Exchange

The permanent transatlantic transfer of plants, animals, and germs between the Americas and Europe.

Demographic Shifts

New food from the Columbian Exchange transformed diets, causing rapid population growth in Eurasia and West Africa while decimating Native American populations.

Capitalism

An economic system that emerged as wealth from trade eroded European feudalism, shifting power from landowners to merchants.

Joint-Stock Companies

Businesses owned by multiple investors that spread financial risk and encouraged investment and trade voyages.

The Encomienda System

A system where Spain granted colonists control over Native Americans for labor in exchange for protection and conversion to Christianity.

Transition to African Labor

As disease and harsh treatment decreased Native American populations, Spain increasingly relied on enslaved Africans for labor.

The Middle Passage

The journey from Africa to the Americas characterized by overcrowding, disease, and high mortality rates among enslaved Africans.

African Resistance

Africans resisted oppression through various means, including running away and organizing revolts.

The Spanish Casta System

A rigid social hierarchy in colonial Spain based on ancestry that created social inequality.

Bartolome de las Casas

A Spanish priest advocating for the just treatment of Native Americans, influencing reform in laws.

Valladolid Debate

A debate over the moral and legal status of Native Americans reflecting differing views on their treatment.

English Policy toward Native Americans

The English settled with families, claimed land for farming, and forced tribes inland, leading to conflict.

French Policy toward Native Americans

Focused on the fur trade, maintaining alliances, and establishing trading posts with Indigenous peoples.

African Contributions

Africans introduced various cultural practices and agricultural techniques that shaped colonial society.

Motives for Exploration

Wealth, new trade routes, Christianity spread, and navigational advances drove European exploration.

Historical Causation

The recognition that historical events are usually the result of multiple causes rather than a single factor.