apwh

Caravel

a small, fast sailing ship from 15th-17th century Spain and Portugal

Carrack

large, multi-masted sailing ship developed in Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries, used for exploration and trade

Fluyt

a Dutch sailing vessel from the 16th and 17th centuries that was designed for efficient cargo transport

State Sponsorship

A government actively supporting and funding violent or political non-state actors to further its agenda.

Columbian Exchange

the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, disease, and technology between the Americas (New World) and Afro-Eurasia (Old World) following Columbus's 1492 voyages

Conquistadors

Spanish explorers and soldiers who led military expeditions in the Americas during the Age of Exploration to conquer indigenous territories for Spain

Hacienda System

a system of large landed estates or plantations in Spanish colonial America, which combined agriculture and livestock with a social hierarchy that placed wealthy Spanish landowners at the top and Indigenous and mestizo laborers at the bottomEncomienda

Encomienda

16th-century Spanish labor system in the Americas that granted conquerors control over conquered Indigenous peoples. In this system, "encomenderos" (Spanish conquerors) were given Indigenous laborers, who theoretically owed them tribute and labor in exchange for protection and religious instruction

Small Pox

a highly contagious and deadly viral disease that played a crucial role in European colonization of the Americas by devastating Indigenous populations who lacked immunity

Trade Post Empires

European maritime powers, primarily the Portuguese and Dutch, who established networks of fortified trading posts to control key sea trade routes (especially in the Indian Ocean) rather than vast inland territories, seeking to monopolize commerce through military force and control over merchants, not direct rule over populations, laying groundwork for later colonialism

Ming China

an imperial Chinese dynasty that followed the Yuan Dynasty and was characterized by a resurgence of Han Chinese rule, cultural and economic growth, and a strong, centralized bureaucracy based on Confucian principles

Tokugawa Japan

he period from 1603 to 1868 when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan, establishing a centralized, feudal military government that brought a long period of peace and stability. Key features of this era include a rigid social hierarchy, the policy of national seclusion known as sakoku that limited foreign influence and trade, and significant economic growth and urbanization, though the shogunate eventually fell due to internal and external pressures. 

Joint Stock Companies

A joint-stock company is a business model where a large number of investors (shareholders) pool their capital to fund a venture, such as colonial expansion. In AP World History, these companies are significant because they enabled European powers to finance and share the risks of voyages for trade, exploration, and colonization without putting too much individual wealth at risk.

Mercantilism

an economic theory where a nation's power is directly tied to its wealth, which is measured by the amount of gold and silver it possesses

Jesuits

a Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540. They were instrumental in the Catholic Reformation by emphasizing education and missionary work, spreading Christianity globally during the age of exploration, and working to counter the Protestant Reformation through intellectual and spiritual means. Their work involved establishing schools worldwide and engaging in cultural exchange and adaptation with Indigenous populations. 

Chattel Slavery

a system where enslaved people are treated as personal property that can be bought, sold, and inherited, unlike other forms of servitude

Vodun

a traditional West African religion that developed in the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade

Santeria

an Afro-Cuban religion that exemplifies syncretism, the blending of West African (Yoruba) traditions with Roman Catholicism

Pueblo Revolts

a 1680 uprising where Pueblo people in present-day New Mexico successfully drove Spanish colonizers out of their territory for 12 years

Cossack Revolts

a series of conflicts between the Cossacks and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russian Empire, primarily during the 16th–18th centuries, over attempts to control the independent-minded Cossacks

Ana Nzinga

a 17th-century queen of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms in Angola who is significant for leading a prolonged resistance against Portuguese colonization. Her legacy is defined by her strategic military and diplomatic maneuvering, her opposition to the Atlantic slave trade, and her role in establishing the state of Matamba as a powerful military and trading center

Maratha Conflict

refers to two main periods of conflict: first, the Maratha Wars of Independence against the Mughal Empire in the 17th and early 18th centuries, and second, the three Anglo-Maratha Wars against the British East India Company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries

Metacom’s war

a 1675-1678 armed conflict in New England between a coalition of Native American tribes led by the Wampanoag sachem Metacom (King Philip) and English colonists

Maroons(Haiti)

enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations and established independent communities in the Americas, particularly in regions like the Caribbean and Brazil

Casta System

a hierarchical social structure in Spanish colonies that categorized individuals based on their racial and ethnic background, with Spanish-born Europeans at the top and people of African and Indigenous descent at the bottom

Ottoman Timars

a grant of land given by the sultan that provided the holder (timariot) with tax revenues in exchange for military service

Russian Boyars

the highest-ranking members of the Russian nobility, acting as a powerful aristocratic class that held significant political influence, owned large estates, and advised the prince or tsar

Enlightenment

an 18th-century intellectual movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority, replacing it with ideas based on science and logic

Philosophes

the French Enlightenment thinkers who used reason and skepticism to challenge traditional authority and advocate for individual rights and freedoms

Mary Wollstonecraft

18th-century English writer and philosopher considered a founder of modern feminism

John Locke

a 17th-century English philosopher whose ideas were central to the Enlightenment and are crucial for AP World History. He is best known for his theories on natural rights (life, liberty, property) and the social contract, which argue that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed to protect these rights

Thomas Hobbes

17th-century English philosopher known for his social contract theory, which argued that individuals surrender some freedoms to a powerful, absolute sovereign in exchange for security and order

Social Contract

an Enlightenment-era concept describing a voluntary, implicit agreement between individuals and their government, where citizens give up some freedoms in exchange for the protection of their rights and the creation of order

French Revolution

a period of radical social and political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799 that led to the end of the absolute monarchy, the rise of democratic ideals like liberty, equality, and fraternity, and the emergence of nationalism

Third Estate

the social hierarchy in pre-revolutionary France, consisting of the First Estate (clergy), the Second Estate (nobility), and the Third Estate (commoners)

Tennis Court Oath

a pivotal event in the French Revolution on June 20, 1789, where delegates of the Third Estate (commoners) vowed not to separate until they had written a new constitution for France

Latin American Independence

the early 19th-century movements where colonies broke from Spanish/Portuguese rule, driven by Enlightenment ideals, nationalism, Creole discontent, and examples like the American/French/Haitian Revolutions, resulting in new republics (mostly) but challenges like instability and economic reliance on raw materials

Haitian Revolution

a successful anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection led by enslaved people against French rule in Saint-Domingue, which lasted from 1791 to 1804

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

a key document from the French Revolution that defined the individual and collective rights of all citizens as universal, including liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression

Declaration of Independence

a document adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, that formally severed political ties between the 13 American colonies and Great Britain

Jamaica Letter/Simon Bolivar

The Jamaica Letter (1815) by Simón Bolívar was a pivotal document outlining his vision for independent Latin America, written during exile after defeats by Spain; it stressed unity, criticized colonialism, advocated for republicanism inspired by Enlightenment ideals, and served as a rallying cry for revolutionaries, explaining why America's destiny was independence despite setbacks. For AP World History, it's key for understanding 19th-century nationalism, revolutions, and Bolívar's role as the "Liberator"

Nationalism

a political ideology emphasizing a nation's interests and culture, asserting that a nation is defined by shared identity (like language, history, or ethnicity) and that this group should control its own state