Exploration and Colonization

Colonization

The act of a nation or group taking forcible control over a foreign territory and sending its own people to live and settle there

Conquistador

A Spanish soldier and explorer who led military expeditions in the Americas and captured land for Spain

Colombian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas and Europe, Asia, and Africa

Northwest Passage

A nonexistent path through North America that early explorers searched for that would allow ships to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Line of Demarcation

Boundary between Spanish and Portuguese territories in the New World

Caravels

Ships that used triangular sails to sail against the wind, and had rudders to improve steering

Mercantilism

An economic system with strict trade rules

Imports

Bringing goods or services from an outside area

Exports

Any good or service produced within one country and sold or shipped to buyers in another country

Raw Materials

Unprocessed or minimally processed substance used to create finished goods, other intermediate materials, or energy

Cash Crop

Crops sold for profit, such as tobacco, rice and indigo.

Indentured Servitude

Being a servant who signed a contract to work four to seven years for those who paid for their journey to America

Slavery

A system where one person is illegally owned by someone and is considered property

Middle Passage

The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that enslaved Africans were forced to endure

Triangular Trade

Trading networks in which goods and slaves moved among England, the American colonies, and Africa

African Diaspora

The population of displaced Africans and their descendants around the world

Lief Erikson

The son of Erik the Red, a viking who landed in present day Canada

Christopher Columbus

A sailor from Genoa Italy who tried to reach Asia

John Cabot

An Italian sailor who knew that the king of England wanted to find a certain route, and he made voyages.

Ferdinand Magellan

A Portuguese navigator who set out with a Spanish fleet to sail down the east coast of South America

Bartolomé de las Casas

A priest who said that the Spanish should try to convert Native Americans to Christianity by showing them love, gentleness and kindness.

Hernán Cortés

He left Cuba to sail to present day Mexico in 1519

Moctezuma II

A wealthy king who ruled the Aztec Empire

Francisco Pizzaro

A conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire with his allies.

Samuel de Champlain

A French sailor who explored North America