European Exploration and Settlement QnA

This set of flashcards covers key concepts in the European Exploration and Settlement period, focusing on important figures, events, and social structures.

What were the motivations behind Portuguese exploration during the Age of Discovery?

Searching for new trade routes and wealth, exemplified by figures like Prince Henry the Navigator, Dias, and de Gama.

Who is credited with discovering Brazil?

Cabral is credited with ‘discovering’ Brazil.

What did Columbus aim to find during his voyages?

Aimed to establish colonies, resulting in the forced labor of Native Americans. As well as gold, glory, and god.

Who led the first circumnavigation of the globe?

Ferdinand Magellan led the first circumnavigation in 1519.

What impact did the Requerimiento have on indigenous peoples?

It was a declaration of Spanish sovereignty over the natives and their lands.

What was the significance of the Viceroyalty of New Spain established in 1521?

It represented Spain's control over its New World lands and was governed by a viceroy.

What was the social hierarchy in Spanish colonies based on?

It was strictly based on bloodlines, including categories like Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, and Mulattoes.

What was the Law of Burgos intended to address?

It aimed to improve the treatment of indigenous peoples under Spanish rule.

What was the 'Black Legend'?

A biased reporting of Spanish atrocities meant to justify other European claims to the New World.

What led to the establishment of Jamestown in 1607?

The Virginia Company of London was granted a charter by James I for English settlement.

What was the outcome of the Powhatan uprising in 1622?

The uprising resulted in approximately a quarter of Virginia's colonists being massacred.

Who was Jean de Brebeuf and why is he significant?

A missionary who recorded his experiences with Huron tribes, highlighting French efforts to convert natives.

What did the Treaty of Tordesillas accomplish?

It divided the New World between Spain and Portugal by papal decree.

What led to the decline of Spanish imperial superiority in the late 16th century?

The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and inflation from an overabundance of silver.

What was the key trade item that became a world currency during this period?

Silver, specifically pieces of eight.

What were the consequences of the Columbian Exchange?

It facilitated the widespread exchange of goods, ideas, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.

What was the Encomienda system?

A Spanish labor system that rewarded conquerors with the labor of particular groups of indigenous people.

Who was Bartolomé de las Casas?

A Spanish priest who became a famous advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples and a critic of the Encomienda system.

What were the primary goals of French exploration in North America?

Establishing a lucrative fur trade and searching for the Northwest Passage to Asia.

What is the concept of Mercantilism?

An economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism.

What was the Northwest Passage?

A hypothetical sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of North America.