AP U.S. History Unit 1 (1491 to 1607) Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary and date flashcards created directly from the provided AP U.S. History Unit 1 study guide.

Maize

Cultivated in native societies originating in Mexico and spreading north into the Americas southwest. It fueled population growth, economic development, social diversification, irrigation systems, and allowed nomadic groups to settle into permanent villages.

Nomadic

A lifestyle involving continuous movement from place to place to follow resources rather than living in fixed settlements, common among Great Plains and Great Basin tribes like the Sioux who followed buffalo herds.

Egalitarian

A society structured around social equality and shared political power across the community, characteristic of many Native American tribes' gender roles and communal property practices.

Matrilineal

A system that traces family lineage, inheritance, and tribal membership through the mother's side, granting women significant political influence and control over agricultural property in Indigenous nations like the Iroquois.

Nation state

A sovereign political entity whose citizens share a unified cultural identity under a centralized government. The rise of powerful European nation-states in the 15th century generated the wealth and political unity required to finance overseas exploration.

Silk Road

An ancient overland trade network connecting Europe with Asian luxury markets for silk and spices. Ottoman control over these routes created high tariffs, driving European monarchs to search for direct sea routes to Asia.

Protestant Reformation

A 16th century movement initiated by Martin Luther that fractured Western Christianity into Protestant and Catholic factions, igniting rivalry among European nations to spread their specific religious beliefs to the New World.

Line of demarcation

A boundary drawn by Pope Alexander VI in 1493 dividing newly discovered non-Christian lands between Spain and Portugal, granting Spain rights to most of the Americas while preserving Portuguese trade routes around Africa.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Signed in 1494, this treaty moved the Pope's original Line of Demarcation further west, allowing Portugal to claim present day Brazil while securing Spanish dominance over the rest of the Americas.

Joint-stock company

A business model where multiple investors pool their money together to share financial risk and fund exploration, allowing European nations to finance transatlantic voyages and colonial ventures.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres following Columbus's arrival in 1492.

Feudalism

A social and economic system in medieval Europe where peasants worked land for lords in exchange for protection, which was disrupted by the influx of new wealth and resources from the Americas.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership, free markets, and the drive to generate profit, which shifted European economies away from feudalism due to the influx of New World wealth like silver and gold.

Requerimiento

A Spanish declaration read to Indigenous populations asserting Spain's divine right to conquer their lands and convert them to Catholicism, serving as legal and moral justification for conquest and enslavement.

Encomienda

A labor system established by the Spanish Crown granting conquistadors control over specific Native American populations to extract forced labor and tribute, which led to severe exploitation.

Encomendero

A Spanish landowner or settler who received an encomienda grant from the Spanish Crown and derived significant wealth from the forced labor of Native Americans.

Middle Passage

The brutal voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that brought enslaved Africans to the Americas under horrific, overcrowded conditions as the central leg of the Triangular Trade network.

Casta system

A strict social hierarchy created by the Spanish in the Americas that categorized people based on racial background and heritage to ensure European-born Spaniards remained at the top of the power structure.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture, religion, or race is naturally superior to all others, used by European colonizers to justify forced conversion, land seizure, and enslavement of Native Americans and Africans.

1453

The year the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople, creating a need for Europeans to sail through water for trade.

1469

The year Christian Spain was unified under the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon.

1491

The last year before Christopher Columbus arrived, during which maize spread from New Mexico.

1492

The year Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to what he thought was Asia.

1511

The year of the Columbian Exchange Taino Rebellion.

1517

The year of Martin Luther's 95 Theses detailing complaints about the church.

1518

The year the Spanish introduced smallpox to the Caribbean, which then spread through Mexico and Central America.

1521

The year the Aztec Empire fell to Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes.

1607

The year of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia.

Cause of the Columbian Exchange

The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, leading to the exchange of plants, animals, cultures, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Effect of the Columbian Exchange on Europe

The introduction of new crops from the Americas, such as potatoes and maize, which contributed to population growth and economic expansion in Europe.

Cause of the Protestant Reformation

The dissatisfaction with the practices of the Catholic Church, particularly the sale of indulgences, which led Martin Luther to post his 95 Theses in 1517.

Effect of the Protestant Reformation

The fragmentation of Western Christianity and the emergence of various Protestant denominations, affecting religious, political, and social structures in Europe.

Cause of the Encomienda System

The Spanish Crown’s desire to extract wealth and labor from the indigenous populations in the Americas through a structured labor system.

Effect of the Encomienda System

Severe exploitation and oppression of Native Americans, leading to population decline due to harsh labor conditions and diseases.

Cause of Ethnocentrism during colonization

The belief held by Europeans that their culture was superior, justifying their imperialistic actions and treatment of indigenous peoples.

Effect of Ethnocentrism

The imposition of European values and systems on Native populations, often resulting in cultural destruction and conflict over land and resources.

Cause of the Middle Passage

The demand for labor in the Americas that led to the transatlantic slave trade, where Africans were forcibly transported to work on plantations.

Effect of the Middle Passage

The demographic shift in the Americas with a significant increase in the African population, leading to the establishment of a racial caste system based on slavery.