Native American Tribes, European Exploration, and Colonial Systems

Sioux

A nomadic Native American tribe from the Great Plains that relied heavily on the buffalo; became more mobile and powerful after acquiring horses from Europeans.

Pueblo

Native peoples of the Southwest who lived in multistory, adobe dwellings and practiced irrigation agriculture; known for resisting Spanish rule in the 17th century.

Pope's Rebellion (1680)

Uprising by Pueblo Indians in present-day New Mexico against Spanish rule and forced conversion; successfully drove Spaniards out for over a decade.

Iroquois

A confederation of tribes in the Northeast (Haudenosaunee) known for political unity via the Iroquois Confederacy and skill in diplomacy between European powers.

Mayas

Mesoamerican civilization in present-day Mexico and Central America; known for advanced mathematics, astronomy, writing, and city-states before Spanish contact.

Incas

Andean civilization in present-day Peru; built extensive road systems and terraces; conquered by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

Aztecs

Mesoamerican civilization in central Mexico; built Tenochtitlán; practiced human sacrifice; conquered by Hernán Cortés in 1521.

Maize

Corn cultivated by Native peoples; central to agricultural systems, supported population growth, and spread northward from Mexico.

Mestizo

Person of mixed Spanish and Native ancestry; a new social category in the Spanish colonial caste system.

Compass

Navigational tool using magnetic north; aided European exploration during the Age of Discovery.

Printing Press

Invented by Gutenberg in the mid-15th century; spread ideas, maps, and knowledge, fueling exploration and the Protestant Reformation.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer sponsored by Spain in 1492; sought a westward route to Asia but reached the Caribbean, initiating sustained European contact with the Americas.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Spanish priest who advocated for Native rights and criticized the encomienda system; influenced the New Laws of 1542.

Amerigo Vespucci

Italian explorer whose accounts of the New World led mapmakers to name the continents 'America.'

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Agreement between Spain and Portugal, mediated by the Pope, dividing the non-European world along a meridian west of the Cape Verde Islands.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519-1521).

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors in the Americas who sought wealth, land, and glory; instrumental in dismantling Native empires.

Asiento System

Spanish arrangement allowing foreign merchants (especially Portuguese) to supply African slaves to the Americas in exchange for a tax to the Spanish crown.

John Cabot

Italian explorer sailing for England in 1497; claimed lands in North America for England.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that colonies exist to benefit the mother country by supplying raw materials and serving as markets for manufactured goods; promoted favorable balance of trade.

Columbus Voyage

1492

treaty of tordesillas

1494

cortes conquers aztecs

1521

pizzaro conquers incas

1533

council of valladolid

1551

st augustine established

1565

roanoke colony established

1585