AP US history - unit 1 terms pt.1

Unit 1

bartolome de Las casas

Spanish missionary and historian who advocated for the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, criticizing the encomienda system and promoting reforms.

Encomienda System

A labor system instituted by the Spanish crown in the Americas, allowing colonists to demand tribute and forced labor from Indigenous peoples.

Asiento System

A system established by the Spanish crown granting the right to import enslaved Africans to the Americas, often linked to the transatlantic slave trade.

Columbian exchange

The exchange of goods, ideas, diseases, and populations between the New World and the Old World that began after Christopher Columbus's voyages. It significantly impacted agriculture, culture, and demographics on both sides of the Atlantic.

Joint stock companies

Businesses formed to fund colonization and trade ventures, sharing risks and profits among investors.

virgina company

A joint stock company established to fund the English colonization of North America, notably the settlement of Jamestown in 1607.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607 by the Virginia Company.

John Smith

An English soldier and explorer who played a crucial role in the establishment of Jamestown, serving as its leader and helping to ensure its survival.

powhatan

A Confederation of Native American tribes located in Virginia, known for their interactions with the Jamestown settlers, particularly Chief Powhatan.

John Rolfe

An early English settler in Jamestown, known for introducing tobacco cultivation, which became a profitable cash crop and ensured the colony's economic success. He is also credited with marrying Pocahontas, which improved relations between the settlers and Native Americans.

Pocahontas

A Native American woman of the Powhatan tribe who is known for her association with John Smith and for marrying John Rolfe, which established a period of peace between the settlers and her people.

starving time

The winter of 1609-1610 in Jamestown, where colonists faced severe food shortages, leading to widespread starvation and death among settlers.

indentured servants

Laborers who agreed to work for a set number of years in exchange for passage to America and the promise of land or money after their service.

headright system

A land grant policy established in the colonies to encourage settlement by giving settlers a certain amount of land for each person they brought with them, including indentured servants.

house of burgesses

The first legislative assembly in the American colonies, established in 1619 in Virginia, allowing colonists to make local laws and elect representatives.

FFV’s

Refers to the "First Families of Virginia," a group of elite planter families who played a significant role in the early political and social life of the Virginia colony.

separists/pilgrims

A religious group that sought to separate from the Church of England and sought freedom to practice their faith, famously settling in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

mayflower compact

An agreement reached by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620, establishing a civil government and body politic for the Plymouth Colony.

William Bradford

The governor of Plymouth Colony and a leading figure among the Pilgrims, Bradford helped organize the Mayflower voyage and authored several histories of the colony.

Massachussets bay colony/city upon a hill

A Puritan settlement established in 1630, it served as a model of Christian charity and civic responsibility, envisioned as a "city upon a hill" for the rest of the world.

puritans

A group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of its Catholic practices, ultimately leading to the establishment of new colonies in America.

John Winthrop

The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop played a key role in the Puritan migration to America and is known for his leadership and vision of the colony as a "city upon a hill."

predestination

A theological doctrine, especially prominent in Calvinism and among Puritans, which states that God has foreordained all events, particularly the salvation or damnation of individual souls, before their birth or any actions they may take.

congregational church

a church system in which each local church served as the center of its own community

visible saints

the Puritan belief that only those who could demonstrate a conversion experience and lead a sanctified life were considered among the "elect" and worthy of church membership

roger Williams

significant for founding Rhode Island and advocating for the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and fair treatment of Native Americans.

Anne Hutchinson

challenged the Puritan authorities by holding religious meetings where she preached a doctrine of salvation by grace alone and criticized the ministers for focusing on "good works".

Thomas Hooker

best known for leading a group of colonists from Massachusetts to establish the Connecticut Colony and for his advocacy of democratic principles in government, which influenced the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.