Key Terms from Unit 4: Exploration and Colonization

Primogeniture laws

These laws gave all of each estate to the eldest son.

Omani-European rivalry

One reason for Christopher Columbus's search for a new route to India; Europeans faced competition from Middle Eastern traders based on kingdoms such as Oman.

Cartography

Map making.

Astronomical chart

Any map of the stars and galaxies.

Maritime empires

Extensive trade transformed Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France, and Holland into maritime empires based on sea travel.

Mercantilism

Europeans generally measured wealth of a country in how much gold and silver it had accumulated; countries set policies designed to sell as many goods as they could to other countries to maximize the amount of gold and silver coming into the country.

Trading post empire

An empire based on small ports; Portugal was one of these.

Manila

Became a Spanish commercial center in the area, attracting Chinese merchants and others.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Became the first European monarch to sponsor seafaring expeditions, to search for an all water route to the east as well as for African gold.

Galleons

A large multi-decked sailing ship that was used primarily from the 16th to the 18th centuries, known for its role in trade and warfare.

Christopher Columbus

Gained support of the Spanish monarchs for his voyages across the Atlantic; his journeys helped increase the interest in discovery.

Bartholomew Diaz

Sailed around the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, in 1488, into waters his crew did not know.

Vasco Da Gama

Sailed farther east than Diaz, landing in India in 1498.

Portuguese ports in India

A key step in expanding Portugal's trade in the Indian Ocean and with points farther east.

Ferdinand Magellan

His ship circumcised the globe and proved that the earth could be circumnavigated.

Northwest passage

A route through or around North America that would lead to East Asia and the precious trade in spices and luxury goods.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who sailed from the Atlantic Ocean into the St. Lawrence River at today's northern U.S. border.

Samuel de Champlain

Realized there were more valuable goods and rich resources available in the Americas, so there was no need to go beyond to Asia.

John Cabot

Sent by English King in 1497 to Americas to find a northwest passage and claimed lands from Newfoundland south to the Chesapeake Bay.

Henry Hudson

In 1609, the Dutch sent Henry Hudson to explore the East Coast of North America and sailed up what became known as the Hudson River.

New Amsterdam

A community settled by the Dutch on the tip of Manhattan Island, which today is known as New York City.

Quebec

Established in 1608 as a town and trading post by the French, rich in furs and other natural resources.

New France

French colony in North America with a population of 70,000.

Jamestown

Built in 1607 by about one hundred English colonists, it was England's first successful colony in the Americas.

Smallpox

Disease brought by Francisco Pizarro and Herman Cortes that killed many native people in America.

Indigenous population decline

Fell more than 50% due to disease, one of the greatest population disasters in human history.

Horse

Domesticated animal brought to the Americas by Europeans that transformed the culture of the American Indians living in the Plains region.

Buffalo hunting

Indians could hunt buffalo on horseback so efficiently that they had a surplus of food.

Cultural transformation

The efficiency of horse riding gave American Indians more time for other pursuits such as art and spirituality.

Tribal competition

Increased among tribes, with those having the most horses having the most power.

Conquistadors

Spanish soldiers

Maize

Corn

Cacao

Chocolate plant

Okra

Africans brought this crop to America

Rice

Africans brought this crop to the Americas

Sugarcane

Brazil had the perfect climate to grow this crop

Creole

West Africans managed to combine European colonizers' languages with parts of their West African languages and grammatical patterns to create new languages known broadly as creole.

Gumbo

Popular in the southern United States, has roots in African cooking

Columbian Exchange

The Eastern and Western Hemispheres became linked in a new way sharing disease, foods, and animals.

Transatlantic slave trade

Sugar's profitability in European markets dramatically increased the number of Africans captured and sold through the transatlantic slave trade.

Engehos

Sugar plantations were referred to as this because of the amount of sugar they would produce and sell.

Cash crop

Cash crops are grown for sale rather than subsistence.

African Diaspora

Dispersion of Africans out of Africa.

Asante Empire

The expansion of maritime trading networks supported the growth of some African states including the Asante Empire.

Kingdom of the Kongo

Portuguese explorers, traders, and missionaries made inroads into the Kongo.

Ming Dynasty

After the voyages of Zheng He in the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty tried to limit outside influence on China by restricting trade.

Aztec Empire

Include 10-15 million people; the spread of European diseases caused their populations to plummet.

Inca Empire

Include 10-15 million people; the spread of European diseases caused their populations to plummet.

New Spain

The colony of New Spain was established when Cortes's forces overthrew the Aztecs by 1521.

Mexico City

The Spaniards destroyed Tenochtitlan and built their own capital, Mexico City, on its ruins.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish soldier who brought smallpox with him and attacked the Inca, capturing their ruler, Atahualpa.

Atahualpa

The Inca ruler who was captured by Francisco Pizarro and was offered release in exchange for gold.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement where Spain and Portugal divided the Americas between them.

Hispaniola

The island now occupied by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where Columbus sought gold.

conquistadores

Early-sixteenth-century Spanish adventurers who conquered Mexico, Central America, and Peru.

Silver

The discovery of silver in Mexico and Peru revived economic fortunes for both individuals and Spain as a whole.

mercury

Used to separate silver from its ore, increasing the profitability of silver mining.

Zacatecas

A thriving center for trade in the silver industry located in Mexico.

Potosi

A thriving center for trade in the silver industry located in the Andes Mountains in modern-day Bolivia.

mit'a system

The traditional Incan labor obligation system transformed into a coerced labor system by Spanish authorities in Peru.

Cortes

Led forces that overthrew the Aztecs and established the colony of New Spain.

Tainos

Indigenous peoples kidnapped by Columbus and his crew and taken to Spain.

Great Wall

Began reconstruction during the Ming Dynasty as part of a broader pattern of conservatism.

Confucianism

Reemphasized during the Ming Dynasty as part of their efforts to limit outside influence.

traditional exam system

Reinvigorated during the Ming Dynasty to reinforce Confucian values.

mercantilism

An economic system that increased government control of the economy through high tariffs and the establishment of colonies.

colonies

Claims lands settled by immigrants from home country.

Indentured servitude

The system consisted of the arrangements through which servants contracted to work for a specified period of years in exchange for passage.

chattel slavery

In the system, individuals were considered as property to be bought and sold.

encomienda

The goal of the system was to gain access to gold and other resources of the Americas.

encomenderos

Aka Land owners; they compelled indigenous people to work for them in exchange for food and shelter.

coercive labor system

This labor system was notorious for its brutality.

hacienda system

The hacienda system arose when landowners developed agriculture on their lands.

mit'a system

Spanish authorities in Peru transformed the traditional Incan mit'a system of labor obligation into a coerced labor system.

Middle Passage

The grueling journey across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage.

Fronde

Many social, economic, and political groups resisted state expansion through a variety of challenges.

Metacom's War

Aka King Philip's war, in result of English colonists using underhanded tactics in their continuing pressure to control Native American lands.

Ana Nzinga

Became ruler of Ndongo in south-central Africa and incited a rebellion in Ndongo, allied with the Dutch.

Capital

Material wealth available to produce more wealth.

Commercial Revolution

The transformation to a trade-based economy using gold and silver is known as the Commercial Revolution.

Population growth

Crops (potatoes) that were spread throughout the Columbian Exchange increased populations, especially in Africa.

Price revolution

Caused by more people investing, leading to increased prices and inflation.

Joint-stock companies

Created a lot of wealth because more people were gaining more money from one business.

Limited liability

States that an investor is not responsible for a company's debts or other liabilities beyond the amount of an investment.

East India Company

British joint stock company that significantly altered trade patterns by creating direct trade routes between Europe and Asia.

Dutch East India Company

Dutch joint stock economy that revolutionized global trade patterns by establishing a monopoly over lucrative spice routes.

Rebellion at sea

Many captives attempted rebellion at sea, but most uprisings were crushed.

Voyage duration

The voyage took about 6 weeks.

Mortality rate

Up to half of the ship's captives might die.

African captives mortality

10-15% of all African captives perished before reaching the Americas.

Public works projects

Young men were required to devote a certain amount of labor to public works projects.

Columbian Exchange

The revolution that had to do with everybody trading with each other through the Columbian Exchange.

Economic growth

More people invested, causing more economic growth.

Consumer demand

Boosted Britain's economy and sparked consumer demand across Europe.

Spice market

Dutch East India Company dominated the spice market and outmaneuvered competitors like Portugal and England.

Monopoly

Monopolies granted certain merchants-usually though a joint stock company- or the government itself the exclusive right to trade.

Black Market

There was def black market stuff, but if they were caught and reported to the king, they would be shut down.

Characteristics of Monopoly

A single company supplying a good or service, a lack of competition within the market, and no similar substitutes for the product being sold.

Syncretism

The combining of different religious beliefs and practices.

Santeria

Means 'the way of the saints.' Originally an African faith, it became popular in Cuba and then traveled throughout Latin America and to North America.