Unit 1: Early America Study Guide (Expanded Detail)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from Unit 1: Early America.

Christopher Columbus

Spanish voyage (1492); landed in the Bahamas; opened extensive European contact with the Americas; established Hispaniola settlement; demanded tribute from Natives and implemented brutal policies; introduced horses and sugarcane.

Amerigo Vespucci

Mapped the South American coastline (1499-1502); argued the lands were a New World, not Asia; the name America derived from his name on Waldseemüller’s map (1507).

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Originally supported encomienda; freed Native enslaved people; became an advocate for Native rights; briefly proposed African slavery as an alternative before opposing slavery altogether.

John Smith

Leader of Jamestown (1608); enforced discipline with 'He who does not work shall not eat'; claimed Pocahontas saved him; historical accuracy debated.

Pocahontas

Intermediary between Natives and settlers; married John Rolfe in 1614; traveled to England; renamed Rebecca after converting to Christianity; died around age 21.

John Rolfe

First to successfully cultivate tobacco in Virginia; helped establish a profitable cash crop by refining sweeter West Indian tobacco.

William Bradford

Governor of Plymouth Colony for over 30 years; chronicled Pilgrim hardships in Of Plymouth Plantation.

Roger Williams

Banished from Massachusetts Bay (1635) for advocating religious freedom; founded Rhode Island with principles of religious liberty and separation of church and state, plus fair dealings with Natives.

Anne Hutchinson

Held religious meetings at home; criticized ministers for preaching the covenant of works; banished and fled to Rhode Island; killed in a Native raid.

William Penn

Quaker founder of Pennsylvania (1681); promoted religious tolerance, a representative assembly, and peaceful relations with Natives; called the colony the Holy Experiment.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of crops, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds; horses and cattle transformed Native life; smallpox devastated Native populations; maize and potatoes boosted European diets.

Jamestown (1607)

First permanent English settlement; initially failed due to swampy conditions, lack of food, and disease; Starving Time (1609-1610); tobacco soon saved the colony.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

Agreement among Pilgrims to form a self-governing community; considered the first written framework of government in English America.

Pequot War (1636-1638)

Colonists and Narragansett allies destroyed a Pequot village at Mystic River; virtually wiped out Pequot tribe and set a precedent for Native relations.

King Philip’s War (1675-1678)

Metacom (King Philip) led united Native tribes against New England colonists; colonists won with Iroquois support; Metacom executed and his head displayed at Plymouth.

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Frontier settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon rebelled against Virginia elite and Gov. Berkeley; highlighted tensions between wealthy planters and poor settlers and opposition to colonial policies toward Natives.

Navigation Acts (1651 onward)

British laws forcing colonies to trade only with England; promoted mercantilist goals; smuggling became common in several colonies.

Encomienda System

Spanish colonial system granting settlers Native labor in exchange for protection and Christianization; often brutal exploitation of Native peoples.

Headright System (1618)

Virginia land-grant program offering 50 acres per settler or per indentured servant brought to the colony; encouraged land accumulation by wealthy planters.

Great Awakening (1730s-1740s)

Religious revival featuring Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield; emphasized personal emotional faith and questioned established church authority.

Indentured Servants

Workers who agreed to 4-7 years of labor in exchange for passage to America; many died before freedom; the system declined after Bacon’s Rebellion as slavery expanded.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that colonies supply raw materials and the mother country gains wealth; colonists resisted restrictions and engaged in smuggling.

Charter Colony

Colony governed by a charter issued by the English crown; example: Massachusetts Bay.

Royal Colony

Colony directly ruled by the English crown and a royal governor (e.g., Virginia after 1624).

Proprietary Colony

Colony granted to individuals by the king (e.g., Pennsylvania, Maryland); proprietors had governing rights.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea journey of enslaved Africans to the Americas; mortality rates around 15%.},{

Salutary Neglect

British policy of lax enforcement of trade laws in the early 1700s; allowed colonial assemblies to gain power; ended after the French and Indian War.

Half-Way Covenant (1662)

Puritan church policy allowing grandchildren of Puritans partial church membership; weakened strict Puritan religious control.