Unit 1 Test Review: Explorers, Empires, and Early Civilizations

Vocabulary flashcards covering European explorers, early American civilizations, and European empires based on the unit review notes.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Spanish Explorer who traveled across Panama until he found the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.

John Cabot

Italian-born English Explorer who sailed north of Columbus' route in 1497 and 1498 to explore the coast of North America, giving England a claim to that land before disappearing on his second voyage.

Jacques Cartier

French Explorer who sailed in 1534 and 1535 to Canada and down the St. Lawrence River, giving France a claim to the land.

Samuel de Champlain

French Explorer who sailed in 1615, explored North America and the St. Lawrence River, found the Great Lakes, and solidified France's claims for Canada.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

Spanish Explorer who explored the southwestern United States from 1540 to 1542, tried to find the "Seven Cities of Gold," and had members of his expedition explore the Grand Canyon.

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese-born Spanish Explorer whose 1519 expedition set out to sail around the world to find a western passage to Asia; he led the journey through the Strait of Magellan but was killed in the Philippines.

Juan Ponce de León

Spanish Explorer who searched for the Fountain of Youth and explored Florida during journeys in 1513 and 1521, later dying while fighting local Indians.

Henry Hudson

English and Dutch Explorer who searched for a Northwest passage in 1609 and 1610, explored northern Canada (Hudson Bay), and was stranded in a small boat after his crew mutinied.

Amerigo Vespucci

Italian-born Spanish Explorer who explored the coast of South America; the Americas were named after him because his written accounts were translated by a German mapmaker.

Hernan Cortes

Spanish Conquistador who defeated the Aztec Empire by killing Emperor Moctezuma and utilizing Indian allies and superior weapons technology.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish Conquistador who defeated the Inca Empire by capturing and executing Emperor Atahualpa, using superior weapons, horses, and local Indian enemies of the Inca.

Protestant Reformation

A movement started by Martin Luther, who believed the Catholic Church added too much to Christianity and opposed indulgences, advocating that religion should be simple with a direct connection to God.

Sea Dogs

Pirates paid by Queen Elizabeth and England to raid Spanish ships during religious and territorial conflicts between Protestant England and Catholic Spain.

Spanish Armada

The Spanish naval fleet defeated in 1588, initiating Spain's decline as a world power and increasing New World colonization by England, France, and the Netherlands.

Roanoke

The English colony that disappeared mysteriously, with the most common theory being that the colonists joined a local Indian tribe.

New Netherland

A Dutch merchant colony established in present-day New York that engaged in trade with other countries and natives and featured religious diversity.

La Navidad

The first Spanish colony in the New World, established by Columbus, which was destroyed between his first and second voyages.

Smallpox

A severe epidemic disease brought by Europeans that killed an estimated 50-90% of Native Americans due to their lack of resistance, facilitating European conquest.

Commercial Revolution

An economic change in Europe characterized by growth in trade and services, a shift away from Feudalism, and the formation of joint-stock companies.

Joint Stock Companies

Business entities where investors combined their resources to share both the risks and profits of trade ventures.

Renaissance

An intellectual, cultural, and artistic "rebirth" in Europe that rediscovered ancient Greek and Roman learning, leading to new sea travel technologies and exploration.

Leif Erikson

The Viking leader who led the first Europeans to the Americas around the year 1000, creating a temporary northern colony.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Leader of Portugal who invested significant time and resources into developing navigational tools, strategies, and training to find a sea route around Africa to Asia.

Caravel

A faster type of ship developed and used by Portuguese explorers during the Age of Discovery.

Astrolabe

A tool developed for navigating ships on the open sea.

Paleo-Indians

The first American Indians who crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Russia to Alaska following animals, though recent evidence suggests some also arrived on boats along the Pacific coast.

Hunter-Gatherer Society

A nomadic society without permanent locations that survives by hunting animals and gathering wild food, typically lacking a written language.

Agrarian Society

A settled society based on agriculture and animal domestication, allowing for permanent towns, complex social structures, specialized jobs, education, and written languages.

Maya

The earliest of the three main Pre-Columbian civilizations, known for building towns with temples, markets, and arenas, and using glyphs in writing.

Tenochtitlan

The capital city of the Aztec Empire, built in the middle of a lake with a population of 200,000.

Inca

An advanced Pre-Columbian society in the Andes Mountains known for terraced farming, growing potatoes, and building nearly 64,000 miles of roads across their empire.