Age of Exploration

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to the Age of Exploration.

Smallpox

Opened door for conquest to Europeans, Known as the 'invisible warrior'

Ottoman Empire

Disrupted European trade to the east, controlled eastern portion of Mediterranean Sea, forced Europeans to seek new water routes to east.

Magellan

Circumnavigated the world proving it was round, sailed for Spain, died before the end of the journey

Zheng He

Chinese explorer during Ming Dynasty, had huge ships, sailed to Africa & Middle East to show off China's supremacy.

India and China

Abundant in silk and spices, this is where Europeans were trying to get to in the early stages of exploration.

Columbian Exchange

Global transfer of plants, animals, food, people & diseases between the old world and new world.

Mercantilism

Economic system of the Age of Exploration, colonies exist to benefit their mother countries & act as a new market to sell their goods.

Middle Passage

The name of the terrible journey from Africa to the Americas, slaves chained down, 1/3 of Africans died on journey, packed into tight areas.

Columbus

Sailed west to try and get to the east. Miscalculated how big the earth was and by accident found the new world, called natives Indians

Conquistadors

Spanish explorers like Cortes and Pizarro who also exploited & killed the natives and took their land.

Colonies

European countries raced to the new world to establish these, the more of them a European country had the stronger & wealthier they became.

Slave trade

Native American dying from disease caused this to happen, Europeans needed cheap labor to replace the natives.

Reconquista

Brutal campaign begun by Christians in Spain to recapture Spain from Muslims & Jewish people, Launched by King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella

Vasco de gama

Portuguese sailor who went completely around Africa to reach India and establish trade.

Encomienda System

System in Spanish colonies in the new world that allowed Spanish to use Native Americans as forced laborers (slaves) & obtain tribute from them.

Plantations

This is where most slaves were put to work once reaching the Americas, they were large estates where sugar, tobacco, and cotton were grown.

Triangular trade

Trade that involved Europe, Africa, and the Americas was sometimes referred to as this.

Weaponry Technology

One of the main reason that the Aztecs & Incas were unable to stop the Spanish, natives were fighting with bows & arrows.

The 3 G's

Main reasons for exploration, spread Christianity, to obtain wealth in the form of gold, to be looked up to with a great deal of admiration & respect

Spain

Along with Portugal became the leaders of this time period, Put together a large empire that stretched from Florida to California and into Mexico