Chapter 1- The Collision of Cultures

Age of Exploration

Time period during the 15th and 16th centuries when Europeans searched for new sources of wealth and for easier trade routes to China and India. Resulted in the discovery of North and South America by the Europeans.

Act of Supremacy

1534, Declared the king to be head of the English church rather than the Pope (created by Henry VIII)

Algonquians

North American people that lived in southern New York State, in what is now Long Island and the Hudson River Valley

Anasazi

Important culture of what is now the southwest (1000-1300 C.E.). Centered on Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Colorado, the culture built multistory residences and worshipped in subterranean buildings called kivas. (pg 308)

Aztec Empire

Central American empire constructed by the Mexica and expanded greatly during the fifteenth century during the reigns of Itzcoatl and Motecuzoma I.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Dominican priest who in the early 1500s criticized the cruelty of Spanish policy toward Indians; denounced Spanish actions for their brutality and insensitivity. His criticism helped end the encomienda system.

buffalo & bison

large animal essential to the Native Americans of the Great Plains. Used for clothing, shelter, weapons, food, soap, etc. Wiped out by US government and settlers.

Cahokia

an ancient settlement of southern Indians, located near present day St. Louis, it served as a trading center for 40,000 at its peak in A.D. 1200.
- largest one

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator who was funded by the Spanish Government to find a passage to the Far East. He is given credit for discovering the "New World," even though at his death he believed he had made it to India. He made four voyages to the "New World." The first sighting of land was on October 12, 1492, and three other journies until the time of his death in 1503.

conquistadores

Spanish conquerors of the Native American lands, most notably the Aztec and Inca empires.

Counter Reformation

Catholic Church's attempt to stop the protestant movement and to strengthen the Catholic Church

Dutch Revolt

(1566-79) Caused for religious reasons; Protestant Region in Northern Spanish Netherlands/Dutch Republic; they revolted against Spanish authority for political and religious independence from Spain

Eastern Woodlands People

Various Native American peoples, particularly the Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Muskogean regional groups, who once dominated the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Louisiana.

encomienda

A grant of land made by Spain to a settler in the Americas, including the right to use Native Americans as laborers on it

Ferdinand & Isabella

During the late 15th century, they became King and Queen of a united Spain after centuries of Islamic domination. Together, they made Spain a strong Christian nation and also provided funding to overseas exploration, notably Christopher Columbus

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish explorer who conquered the Incas in what is now Peru and founded the city of Lima (1475-1541).

Henry VIII

(1491-1547) King of England from 1509 to 1547; his desire to annul his marriage led to a conflict with the pope, England's break with the Roman Catholic Church, and its embrace of Protestantism.
- established the Church of England in 1532.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the conquest of Aztec Mexico in 1519-1521 for Spain.

Hernando de Soto

Spanish Conquistador; explored in 1540's from Florida west to the Mississippi with six hundred men in search of gold; discovered the Mississippi, a vital North American river.

horses

Animal introduced by Europeans that transformed the Indian way of life on the Great Plains

humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements

Incas

Highly advanced South American civilization that occupied present-day Peru until it was conquered by Spanish forces under Francisco Pizarro in 1532. The Incas developed sophisticated agricultural techniques, such as terrace farming, in order to sustain large, complex societies in the unforgiving Andes Mountains.

Iroquoians

agricultural people who lived around the Great Lakes in the United States

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence river and laid claim to the region for France (1491-1557)

John Cabot

English explorer who claimed Newfoundland for England while looking for Northwest Passage

John Calvin

religious reformer who believed in predestination and a strict sense of morality for society
- Developed the Christian theology known as Calvinism. Attracted Protestant followers with his teachings.

Juan de Oñate

A conquistador born in New Spain (modern-day Mexico). Established the first permanent colonial settlement in what is the modern-day American Southwest. Infamous for the 1599 Acoma Massacre, which saw over 800 American Indians killed. Later recalled to Spain and convicted for cruelty toward natives and colonists alike.

maize

a type of corn

Martin Luther

a German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Chruch. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices.

Mayans

A Mesoamerican civilization of Central America and southern Mexico. Achievements include mathematics, architecture, and a 365 day a year calendar. They flourished between the 4th and 12th centuries C.E..

Mesoamerica

A geographic region in the western hemisphere that was home of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations.

mestizo

A new racial concept that develops in Latin America following the intermixing that occurred between European colonists and the native American population.

Mississippi Indians

the last major prehistoric Native American culture in Georgia; known for being large scale framers and mound builders who traded throughout North America.

Montezuma II

the last Aztec emperor in Mexico who was overthrown and killed by Hernando Cortes (1466-1520)

New Mexico

first center of Catholic missionary activity in the American Southwest

Juan Ponce de Loen

was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. He is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, reputed to be in Florida.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Pueblo Revolt

Native American revolt against the Spanish in late 17th century; expelled the Spanish for over 10 years; Spain began to take an accommodating approach to Natives after the revolt

Queen Elizabeth

Queen of England from 1558 to 1603; the English Renaissance flourished during her reign

Roanoke Island

Island colony founded by Sir Walter Raleigh that mysteriously disappeared in the 1580s

Sir Walter Raleigh

An English adventurer and writer, who was prominent at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and became an explorer of the Americas. In 1585, Raleigh sponsored the first English colony in America on Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina. It failed and is known as " The Lost Colony."

Spanish Armada

The great fleet sent from Spain against England by Philip II in 1588; defeated by the terrible winds and fire ships.

St. Augustine

1st colony in Florida set up by Spain

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

This was the massacre that occurred during the wedding of a Catholic and Huguenot that would resolve the conflict between the two conflicting parties

Tenochtitlán

Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.

Treaty of Augsburg

treaty in which each German ruler could choose if his princedom would be Catholic or Protestant

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement between Portugal and Spain, declaring that newly discovered lands to the west of an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean would belong to Spain and newly discovered lands to the east of the line would belong to Portugal.