HIS 150 History Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from the HIS 150 lecture notes covering European exploration, colonial settlement, key figures, and conflict through 1773.

Portugal

The country that started the search for an all-water route to Asia.

Constantinople

City on the overland trade route between Asia and Europe conquered in 1453 by the Ottoman Turks; present-day Istanbul, Turkey.

Byzantine Empire

The continuation of the Roman Empire.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Agreement negotiated by the Pope between Spain and Portugal in which Spain received all of North America and almost all of South America.

Cortés

Spanish conqueror who targeted the Aztecs from 1519 to 1521.

Pizarro

Spanish conqueror who targeted the Incas from 1531 to 1532.

Church of England

Church created by King Henry VIII after breaking away from the Catholic Church.

Spanish Armada (1588)

Naval conflict marking the period when Spain began declining and England began inclining.

Jamestown (1607)

First permanent English settlement in the New World, funded by joint stock companies to search for gold.

"Starving Time" (1609–10)

Period in Jamestown history where settlers resorted to cannibalism.

John Rolfe

Settler who introduced tobacco to Jamestown in 1612, which became a huge cash crop requiring vast land and labor.

Headright system

System developed by the London Company granting settlers 50 acres of land per person for each passage paid to the New World; ended in 1670.

House of Burgesses (1619)

Representative colonial government created for Virginia/Jamestown.

Puritans

English religious group that wanted to purify the Anglican Church of Catholicism, divided land equally among sons, and expected children to stay in the village to care for aging parents.

John Winthrop

First governor of Massachusetts whose goal was to create a "City upon a Hill" theocracy.

Metacom

Chief of the Wampanoag who led King Philip's War (1675–76), the last war against Native peoples in New England.

Salem Witch Trials (1692)

Colonial event where Tituba was the first accused, leading to 24 total deaths (19 hanged, 4 died in prison, and 1 pressed to death).

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of people, plants, and animals between Europe, Africa, and America.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676–77)

Rebellion by indentured servants against the Virginia colonial government.

Maryland (1634)

Colony established in 1634 for the Catholic religious minority.

Pennsylvania (1681)

Colony established in 1681 for the Quaker minority.

French and Indian War (1754–1763)

War started by George Washington that brought an end to the colonial period.

Peace of Paris (1763)

Treaty ending the French and Indian War, through which the British gained Canada, land east of the Mississippi River, most Caribbean islands, and India.

Townshend Act

Import tariffs that placed taxes on lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea.

Portugal

The country that started the search for an all-water route to Asia.

Constantinople

City on the overland trade route between Asia and Europe conquered in 1453 by the Ottoman Turks; present-day Istanbul, Turkey.

Byzantine Empire

The continuation of the Roman Empire.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Agreement negotiated by the Pope between Spain and Portugal in which Spain received all of North America and almost all of South America.

Cortés

Spanish conqueror who targeted the Aztecs from 1519 to 1521.

Pizarro

Spanish conqueror who targeted the Incas from 1531 to 1532.

Church of England

Church created by King Henry VIII after breaking away from the Catholic Church.

Spanish Armada (1588)

Naval conflict marking the period when Spain began declining and England began inclining.

Jamestown (1607)

First permanent English settlement in the New World, funded by joint stock companies to search for gold.

"Starving Time" (1609–10)

Period in Jamestown history where settlers resorted to cannibalism.

John Rolfe

Settler who introduced tobacco to Jamestown in 1612, which became a huge cash crop requiring vast land and labor.

Headright system

System developed by the London Company granting settlers 50 acres of land per person for each passage paid to the New World; ended in 1670.

House of Burgesses (1619)

Representative colonial government created for Virginia/Jamestown.

Puritans

English religious group that wanted to purify the Anglican Church of Catholicism, divided land equally among sons, and expected children to stay in the village to care for aging parents.

John Winthrop

First governor of Massachusetts whose goal was to create a "City upon a Hill" theocracy.

Metacom

Chief of the Wampanoag who led King Philip's War (1675–76), the last war against Native peoples in New England.

Salem Witch Trials (1692)

Colonial event where Tituba was the first accused, leading to 24 total deaths (19 hanged, 4 died in prison, and 1 pressed to death).

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of people, plants, and animals between Europe, Africa, and America.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676–77)

Rebellion by indentured servants against the Virginia colonial government.

Maryland (1634)

Colony established in 1634 for the Catholic religious minority.

Pennsylvania (1681)

Colony established in 1681 for the Quaker minority.

French and Indian War (1754–1763)

War started by George Washington that brought an end to the colonial period.

Peace of Paris (1763)

Treaty ending the French and Indian War, through which the British gained Canada, land east of the Mississippi River, most Caribbean islands, and India.

Townshend Act

Import tariffs that placed taxes on lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Protest on December 16, 1773, led by Sam Adams, where colonists threw 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774)

British legislation passed in response to Boston Tea Party that closed the Port of Boston, stripped Mass. legislature of power, and appointed General Thomas Gage as governor.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Meeting of colonial representatives in Philadelphia in September 1774 organized to address British measures.

Lexington and Concord (1775)

Opening military engagements of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775, after arms were sent to these Massachusetts towns.

Common Sense

Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine advocating for American independence and political transformation.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Document adopted July 4, 1776, written by Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, revised by Franklin and Adams, and influenced by John Locke.

Battle of Trenton (1776)

Surprise victory on December 26, 1776, following Washington's Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River to attack Hessians.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Major turning point of the American Revolution where British General Burgoyne surrendered his army to Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777.

Valley Forge (1777–1778)

Continental Army winter encampment where Washington's forces suffered greatly due to extreme scarcity of resources.

Treaty of Alliance (1778)

Agreement bringing France into the war to aid the U.S., followed by Spanish support in 1779 and loans from the Netherlands in 1780.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Decisive victory on October 19, 1781, that brought an end to fighting in the American Revolutionary War.

Peace of Paris (1783)

Peace agreement in which Britain recognized American independence and granted the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River except Florida.

Articles of Confederation (1781–1789)

First American constitution that held powers to wage war, manage foreign relations, and issue money, but lacked authority to tax or draft troops, requiring all 13 states to approve changes.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Law creating the framework for establishing new states, requiring 60,000 white inhabitants and banning slavery north of the Ohio River.

Shays' Rebellion (1786)

Armed uprising that exposed weak central governance and directly led to the end of the Articles of Confederation.

Virginia Plan

Constitutional proposal drafted by James Madison featuring a three-branch government and a bicameral legislature with representation based on population.

New Jersey Plan

Constitutional proposal presented by Paterson favoring a single-house legislature with equal representation per state and power to tax and draft troops.

Great Compromise (1787)

Agreement reached on July 16, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention that resolved legislative representation disputes and incorporated the 3/5 Compromise.