Key Concepts of Spanish Conquest and Aztec Society

Tano

Indigenous people of the Caribbean.

Spanish Conquistadors

Spanish explorers and soldiers who conquered territories in the Americas.

General History of New Spain

A historical account documenting the Aztec people, smallpox, and conquistadors.

Bernal Diaz

A soldier who participated in the conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Ramon

A priest involved in the historical account.

15

The year the document was created.

New Spain

The name given to the Spanish empire in North and South America.

3 G's

Glory, God, & Gold; the goals of European explorers in North America.

Behique

Name given to a Tano medicine man.

Cacique

Name for Tano village chief.

Cash Crop

A crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.

Colony

An area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically occupied by settlers.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, culture, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Encomienda

A system of forced labor established by the Spanish in their conquered territory.

Hernan Cortes

A Spanish Conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire.

Mexica

An indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico, known as rulers of the Aztec Empire.

Montezuma (Moctezuma)

Chief of the Aztec civilization, killed during the Spanish conquests.

Native American

An individual whose ancestry is traced to the indigenous people of North or South America.

Roanoke

The first attempt by the English to colonize in the New World, financed by Sir Walter Raleigh.