APUSH period one and two

Flashcards related to early American history, focusing on key vocabulary and concepts.

Maize

Around 6,000 BC, Mesoamericans began cultivating this crop, which supported population growth and urban societies due to its higher yield than European cereals.

Hunter-Gatherer

A lifestyle practiced by Native Americans in the Great Basin due to the high desert climate.

Encomienda System

System used by Spanish colonies to exploit Native American labor for agriculture and mining.

Western Hemisphere (New World)

The term used by Europeans for the Americas, estimated to have been populated by 30 to 75 million Native Americans pre-Columbian era.

Spanish Exploration Goals (1492)

Spanish reasons for exploring the Americas: finding a trade route to Asia, gold and silver, converting people to Christianity, and increasing national power.

Caste System

A system that emerged in Spanish America resulting from intermixing among Spanish settlers, Africans, and Native Americans.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Mercantilism

The economic policy employed by colonizing European powers aimed at maximizing exports and limiting imports to increase national wealth and power.

Puritans

A British Protestant group who followed Calvin's teachings and sought to purify the Anglican Church; some established colonies like Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay in North America.

Homogeneous Society

This type of society shares the same traits, like language and culture.

Pueblo Revolt

This revolt was against Spanish officials and settlers in Spanish New Mexico, where Native Americans were treated poorly. It led to the Spanish becoming more tolerant of Native American beliefs.

Atlantic World

Political, cultural, and economic exchanges around the Atlantic Ocean due to interactions between Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans.

Enlightenment

A European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing rational thought, science, and logic, influencing colonial American leaders.

First Great Awakening

A revitalization of religious piety in the 1730s-1770s, marked by emotional sermons and the spread of Protestant evangelism.

New Light Preachers

Traveling preachers during the First Great Awakening who delivered emotional and fiery sermons.

Indentured Servants

A labor force for colonies in the New World in which poor Europeans contracted their labor out for a period of time in return for their passage to the New World.

Triangle Trade

The transatlantic trade route in which African slave labor went to the New World, raw materials went to Europe, and manufactured goods went to Africa.