HIST Exam 1

Argentina

Southern South American country colonized by Spain; known for cattle ranching (gauchos) and agriculture.

Bolivia

Landlocked South American country; home to the rich silver mines of Potosí.

Colombia

Northwestern South American country that became an important early Spanish colony.

Hispaniola

Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic; one of Columbus's first settlements and home of the Taíno.

Jamaica

Caribbean island that became a major British sugar exporter

Mexico

Location of the Aztec Empire; conquered by Hernán Cortés in 1521 and became New Spain.

Panama

Narrow land bridge connecting North and South America; key Spanish trade route between the Atlantic and Pacific.

Peru

Home of the Inca Empire; conquered by Francisco Pizarro and contained the Potosí silver mines.

Strait of Magellan

Sea passage at the southern tip of South America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Venezuela

Northern South American Spanish colony known for cacao production.

Cassava

Root crop native to South America that spread to Africa through the Columbian Exchange and became a staple food.

Doña Marina (Malintzin)

Indigenous translator and advisor who helped Hernán Cortés communicate with the Aztecs during the conquest of Mexico.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer who became the first European to reach India by sailing around Africa in 1498.

Zheng He

Ming Dynasty admiral who led seven large naval expeditions across the Indian Ocean between 1405 and 1433.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Mexican nun, scholar, and writer who argued for women's education in colonial Latin America.

Khoi

Indigenous pastoral people of southern Africa who encountered Dutch settlers at the Cape Colony.

Potosí

Massive silver mine in present

Suleiman the Great

Powerful Ottoman sultan who expanded the empire and strengthened its government during its golden age.

Confucianism

Chinese philosophy emphasizing education, respect for authority, family loyalty, and moral government.

Beatriz Kimpa Vita

Kongo religious leader who blended Christianity with African beliefs and sought to reunite the Kingdom of Kongo.

Taíno

Indigenous people of the Caribbean whose population declined rapidly due to disease, warfare, and forced labor after European arrival.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

The forced movement of millions of Africans to the Americas to work on plantations.

Heliocentric System

Sun

Jesuits

Catholic religious order known for education, missionary work

Printing Press

Invented by Gutenberg; allowed ideas to spread quickly during the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution.

Shi'a Islam

Branch of Islam that believes leadership should remain within Muhammad's family through Ali and his descendants.

Sikhism

Religion founded by Guru Nanak in India that teaches belief in one God, equality, and rejection of the caste system.

Akbar

Great Mughal emperor known for expanding the empire and promoting religious tolerance.

First Great East Asian War

Also called the Imjin War (1592–1598); Japan invaded Korea, and Ming China helped Korea repel the invasion.

Habsburgs

Powerful European royal family that ruled Spain, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire.

Pirates

People who attacked merchant ships at sea; some were government

Tsar

Title of the ruler of Russia, derived from the word Caesar.

Commercial Revolution

Expansion of trade, banking, capitalism, and global commerce during the 1500s and 1600s.

Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Dutch joint

Serfs

Peasants legally bound to the land and required to work for landowners, especially in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Silver Trade

Global trade network that moved silver from the Americas to Europe and especially China.

Slave and Sugar Plantations

Large farms in the Caribbean and Brazil that produced sugar using enslaved African labor.