Hist 125 Expanded Key Terms Midterm

Vast Early America

• Definition: A modern framework for understanding North America before the U.S. formed, emphasizing the vast, interconnected Native, African, and European worlds before 1800.

• Approx. Date: Pre-Columbian era to the early 1800s.

• Significance: Broadens early American history beyond the 13 colonies — includes Indigenous nations, African diasporas, and European empires shaping the continent.

Mississippians

• Definition: A mound-building Native civilization centered in the Mississippi River Valley known for large cities, trade networks, and complex societies.

• Approx. Date: c. 800–1600 CE.

• Significance: Demonstrates advanced pre-Columbian urbanization and agriculture in North America before European contact.

Cahokia

• Definition: The largest Mississippian city near present-day St. Louis, with massive earthen mounds and a population of up to 20,000.

• Approx. Date: c. 1050–1350 CE.

• Significance: The most complex urban center in pre-Columbian North America; shows Indigenous political and cultural sophistication.

Tenochtitlan

• Definition: The Aztec capital city built on an island in Lake Texcoco (modern Mexico City).

• Approx. Date: Founded c. 1325, conquered by Spain in 1521.

• Significance: One of the world’s largest cities at the time; its conquest marked the fall of the Aztec Empire and start of Spanish dominance in the Americas.

Bartolome de las Casas

• Definition: A Spanish priest and missionary who advocated for the rights of Indigenous peoples under Spanish colonial rule.

• Approx. Date: 1484–1566.

• Significance: His writings exposed abuses of the encomienda system and influenced early human rights debates.

Reconquista

• Definition: The centuries-long campaign by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule.

• Approx. Date: 711–1492 CE.

• Significance: The military and religious zeal from this conquest carried into Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Potosi

• Definition: A major silver-mining city in modern Bolivia, controlled by Spain.

• Approx. Date: Discovered in 1545.

• Significance: Its massive silver output fueled the Spanish Empire and global trade but relied on brutal Indigenous labor systems (mita).

Atlantic Slave Trade

• Definition: Forced transport of Africans to the Americas as part of the triangular trade system.

• Approx. Date: 1500s–1800s.

• Significance: Enslaved labor became central to the Atlantic economy; caused immense human suffering and reshaped demographics across continents.

Columbian Exchange

• Definition: The global transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

• Approx. Date: Began after Columbus’s voyage, late 1400s onward.

• Significance: Revolutionized diets, economies, and populations globally — both positive (new crops) and catastrophic (disease spread).

Fur Trade

• Definition: Economic exchange where Europeans traded goods with Native Americans for animal furs (especially beaver).

• Approx. Date: 1500s–1800s.

• Significance: Drove exploration and alliances in North America; shaped French, Dutch, and English colonial strategies.

Atlantic History

• Definition: A historical approach viewing Europe, Africa, and the Americas as part of a shared Atlantic world connected by trade, migration, and empire.

• Approx. Date: 1500s–1800s.

• Significance: Highlights transnational connections and the shared consequences of colonization and exchange.

Powhatan Confederacy

• Definition: A powerful alliance of Algonquian-speaking tribes in Virginia led by Chief Powhatan.

• Approx. Date: Early 1600s.

• Significance: Controlled much of coastal Virginia during Jamestown’s founding; early conflicts defined English–Native relations.

Jamestown

• Definition: First permanent English settlement in North America, founded by the Virginia Company.

• Approx. Date: 1607.

• Significance: Survival depended on tobacco cultivation; set the stage for English colonization and plantation slavery.

Starving Time

• Definition: Period of extreme famine and hardship at Jamestown during the winter.

• Approx. Date: 1609–1610.

• Significance: Nearly destroyed the colony; underscored poor planning and dependence on Native trade.

Staple Crop

• Definition: Major agricultural products grown for profit and export (e.g., tobacco, rice, sugar).

• Approx. Date: 1600s–1800s.

• Significance: Formed the economic backbone of colonies; encouraged slavery and plantation economies

King Philip’s War

• Definition: Conflict between New England colonists and Indigenous peoples led by Metacom (King Philip).

• Approx. Date: 1675–1676.

• Significance: One of the deadliest wars per capita in U.S. history; broke Native resistance in southern New England.

Bacon’s Rebellion

• Definition: Armed uprising of Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley’s rule.

• Approx. Date: 1676.

• Significance: Exposed tensions between frontier settlers and elites; led to a shift toward racialized slavery instead of indentured labor

Pueblo Revolt

• Definition: Coordinated Native uprising against Spanish colonization in present-day New Mexico.

• Approx. Date: 1680.

• Significance: Most successful Native rebellion; expelled Spaniards for over a decade and reshaped colonial policies

Yamasee War

• Definition: Conflict between British colonists in South Carolina and allied Native tribes.

• Approx. Date: 1715–1717.

• Significance: Nearly destroyed the Carolina colony; highlighted colonial dependence on Native trade and alliances.

Middle Passage

• Definition: The brutal transatlantic journey enslaved Africans endured to the Americas.

• Approx. Date: 1500s–1800s.

• Significance: Central component of the slave trade; symbol of the horrific human cost of Atlantic slavery.

Seven Years War

• Definition: Global conflict between Britain and France fought in Europe and the Americas.

• Approx. Date: 1756–1763 (North America: 1754–1763).

• Significance: Britain gained control of North America but incurred massive debts, leading to colonial taxation and the American Revolution.

Pontiac’s War

• Definition: Native uprising against British rule in the Great Lakes region following the Seven Years’ War.

• Approx. Date: 1763–1766.

• Significance: Revealed tensions after British conquest; led to the Proclamation of 1763 restricting colonial expansion

Proclamation of 1763

• Definition: British decree forbidding colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• Approx. Date: 1763.

• Significance: Angered colonists seeking land; early source of resentment against British control

Anglicization

• Definition: Process by which American colonists adopted English cultural, political, and social norms.

• Approx. Date: 1600s–1700s.

• Significance: Strengthened ties to Britain but also built a shared identity that colonists later rebelled against

Consumer Revolution

• Definition: Period of rising demand for imported goods, fashions, and household items among colonists.

• Approx. Date: 1700s (especially 1740s–1770s).

• Significance: Created shared material culture across colonies and Britain; fostered economic independence and political consciousness

First Great Awakening

• Definition: A widespread religious revival emphasizing emotion, personal faith, and equality before God.

• Approx. Date: 1730s–1770s.

• Significance: Weakened traditional church authority, promoted individualism, and helped shape revolutionary ideas about liberty and equality