APUSH Unit 1 Review

key terms from APUSH unit 1

Maize (corn)

Staple crop that supported population growth in the Americas.

Pueblo

Southwest tribe; used irrigation and adobe housing.

Anasazi

Ancient Puebloans; cliff dwellings, maize agriculture.

Sioux

Great Plains tribe; nomadic, buffalo hunters.

Comanche

Plains tribe; skilled horse riders after Columbian Exchange.

Iroquois Confederacy

Northeastern alliance of tribes for defense and diplomacy.

Algonquian

Woodland tribes; hunting, fishing, some farming.

Hunter-gatherer societies

Natives without permanent agriculture, relied on foraging.

Three-sister farming

Corn, beans, squash grown together.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, people, and disease across Atlantic.

Smallpox

Disease from Europe that devastated Native populations.

Horse

Introduced by Europeans, transformed Plains Native life.

Caravel

Small, fast Portuguese ship for exploration.

Sextant

Navigation tool improving accuracy at sea.

Compass

Instrument aiding European oceanic exploration.

Conquistadors

Spanish conquerors of the Americas.

Hernán Cortés

Conquered Aztecs in Mexico.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquered Incas in Peru.

Christopher Columbus

1492 voyage, began sustained European contact with Americas.

God, Gold, Glory

Main motivations for European exploration.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Divided New World between Spain and Portugal.

Encomienda system

Spanish system of forced Native labor.

Hacienda system

Spanish estates for agriculture, relied on coerced labor.

Mission system

Spanish effort to convert Natives to Catholicism.

Casta system

Racial hierarchy in Spanish colonies (Spanish → Mestizo → Mulatto → Natives/Africans).

Mestizo

Person of mixed Spanish and Native ancestry.

Mulatto

Person of mixed European and African ancestry.

Atlantic slave trade

Importation of African slaves to Americas.

Maroon communities

Groups of escaped African slaves in Americas.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spanish priest who defended Native rights.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Defended Spanish conquest, argued Natives were inferior.

Black Legend

Idea that Spain was uniquely brutal in colonization.

Pueblo Revolt (1599 suppression)

Early Native resistance to Spanish, precursor to 1680 revolt.

Juan de Oñate

Spanish conquistador who led brutal campaigns against Pueblo people.

Fur trade

French economic activity in North America; cooperative with Natives.

Jesuit missionaries

French priests who converted Natives, often learned Native languages.

Jamestown (1607)

First permanent English settlement in North America.

Roanoke (1587)

“Lost Colony,” first failed English attempt at settlement.

Joint-stock company

Investment model funding English colonization.

Chesapeake colonies

Early English colonies in Virginia and Maryland.

Maritime technology

Advances like the caravel, astrolabe, sextant enabled exploration.

Mercantilism

Economic system focused on enriching the mother country through colonies.

Cash crops

Crops like sugar and tobacco grown for profit in Americas.

Indentured servitude

Labor system where Europeans worked under contract (precursor to slavery).

Atlantic World

Term for interconnected relationships between Europe, Africa, and Americas.