APUSH Vocab- Unit 1

Christopher Columbus

Italian-born navigator who explored the “Americas” for Spain; he was convinced he had found the coast of China / India 

Treaty of Tordesillas

**1494** – Agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided the New World (east of the line for Portugal, west of the line for Spain)

Spanish Armada

Their defeat by England’s forces under Queen Elizabeth I, established England as a major world (sea) power

Henry Hudson

Explored the New World for both England and Holland; claimed New York for the latter

St. Augustine, FL

The first permanent European settlement in what would become the U.S., settled by Spain 

Roanoke

Site picked by Sir Walter Raleigh for 1st English colony in New World.  1st English child born in America Virginia Dare); CROATOAN carved on a tree.  

Jamestown

**1607** - The first permanent English settlement in the New World

Algonquian

The tribes with which the initial English settlers interacted at Jamestown; Specifically the Powhatan Indians which included the Pequot and Narragansett tribes. Generally found in the New England area, these tribes fished and hunted in addition to the cultivation of crops.

Anasazi

They built glorious cities in cliffs of the modern Southwest. They grew high-yield crops in areas with low rainfall. Their baskets, pottery, and cliff dwellings are still admired by people today. In the dwelling, pits, known as kivas, served as religious temples.

Aztecs

pre-Columbian empire in modern-day southern Mexico. Hernan Cortes was the conquistador that led a Spanish invasion of their capital, Tenochtitlan. This empire would be devastated by smallpox.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Dominican friar who  criticized Spain’s brutal *encomienda* system and reported on atrocities against native peoples

Cahokia

An Indian center for trade in 1200 A.D. that was once located near present-day St. Louis. Cahokia is an example of how advanced peoples had been in the Americas well before the arrival of the colonists in the early 1600's.

Catholic (Counter) Reformation

The movement in the 16th century within the Catholic church to reform itself as a result of the Protestant Reformation.

Church of England

The English Reformation was brought about by King Henry VIII severing England's ties with the Catholic Church and making himself The leader of the Catholic faith, creating this church. This reformation of the church still continued, and was carried on to the Americas.

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Columbian Exchange

The transfer of new crops, livestock, culture, disease, technology, and ideas between Europe and the New World after Spanish settlement.

Conquistadores

Spanish explorers who came to the Americas, claiming and conquering land. This “exploration” had devastating consequences for native life.

Encomienda System

This system enslaved Indians (Native Americans) and gave Spanish settlers the right to use native labor for agriculture and mining.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incas of Peru and opened the way for more conquistadores into South America.

Henry the Navigator

He dedicated himself to promoting navigation, making the Portuguese the marine power in the 15th century.

Hernan Cortes

This conquistador led an attack on Tenochtitlan and exposed the Aztecs to smallpox. He succeeded in his second attack on the plagued Aztecs, and he and other conquistadores paved the way for colonization of the Americas.

Hopewell

Also called the Adena civilization, it was a prehistoric culture of the America middle west. Village settlements date between 500 BC-AD 200 and include large shaped burial mounds and extensive trade networks.

Incas

A populous and geographically extensive empire in pre-Columbian South America. The capital was at Cuzco, This empire was invaded by brutal conquistador, Francisco Pizarro.

Iroquois Confederacy

A powerful group of Native Americans in the eastern part of the US made up of 5 nations: the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondoga, and Oneida.

John Cabot

Italian captain who sailed under England contract under King Henry VII, Explored coast of Newfoundland 1497, which were England’s earliest claims in America; however they did not follow up with exploration/voyages.

Juan Gines de Supulveda

Spanish theologian who defended Spanish treatment of native peoples; he claimed that they were “natural slaves” and that “natural law” and Catholic theology dictated that Spain should master and civilize them.

Land Bridge

As the Great Ice Age diminished, so did the glaciers over North America. The theory holds that this emerged linking Asia & North America across what’s todays the Bering Sea. People were said to “bridge” before the sea level rose and sealed it off thus populated the Americas. Estimated at 35,000 years ago.

Mayas

Pre-Columbian empire that encompassed southeast Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. They invented an accurate 356-day calander and were expert astronomers. Also known for developing the only complete writing system in Mesoamerica (the codex).

Mestizo

A person of mixed race, specially the offspring of a Spaniard and an American Indian.

Primogeniture

British law and custom where the firstborn son inherits the family's entire estate. it led many younger sons of gentry to seek their fortunes in exploration and colonization

Protestant Reformation

Beginning in 1517, Martin Luther challenged certain beliefs of the Catholic church, such as tithes, and began a reformation of the church. Colonies in America offered religious freedom, another motive for colonization.

Smallpox (impact on Natives)

A deadly, highly contagious disease that was brought to the Americas in the Columbian Exchange. It is estimated that 90% of Native Americans died from smallpox and other European diseases.

Ancestral Pueblo

Pre-Columbian Native Americans that lived in the areas of the current Southwestern United States, sometimes called the Anasazi. They developed complex, technologically advanced societies and architecture. They relied on maize to survive.

New Spain

Spain’s tightly controlled empire in the Americas. Mainly located in North and Central America, also included Caribbean islands.