Caravel - An improved ship used by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers for long voyages. The Caravel had large masts, lateen sails, and a wider bottom for the better ability to pick up wind and more storage. Two of the three ships Columbus used were caravels.

Carrack - A large ship that had 3-4 masts with square and lateen sails. This ship was used throughout the Mediterranean. The carracks made European exploration voyages possible. The carrack was the precursor to the galleon (a warship).

Fluyt - A long, relatively narrow ship designed to carry as much cargo as possible. The ship had multiple masts and a large hold beneath a single deck. The fluyt was a significant factor in the 17th-century rise of the Dutch seaborne empire.

Henry the Navigator - A Portuguese prince noted for his patronage of voyages of discovery. He funded and planned expeditions to satisfy his curiosity, expand Portugal’s wealth and territory, and spread Christianity. His actions sparked Europe’s age of exploration.

Vasco da Gama - A Portuguese navigator who opened up the sea route from western Europe to the East by going around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. This was significant because it allowed countries in the West to trade with countries in the East without the use of the Silk Road.

Ferdinand Magellan - A Portuguese navigator and explorer who sailed for Portugal and Spain. From Spain, he sailed around South America, discovering the Strait of Magellan, and across the Pacific. This made him the first to circumnavigate the globe.

Trading Post Empire - A form of imperial dominance based on control of trade rather than on control of subject peoples. Trading posts allowed the locals to benefit from the trading and the European countries to expand their influence to other areas. The Portuguese empire established many trading posts and prospered greatly.

Christopher Columbus - A Portuguese man who sailed for Spain. Columbus was trying to discover an all-water route to Asia. Columbus sailed west and landed in the Bahamas instead of India. Before his voyage, the belief was that the earth was flat and Columbus would sail off the edge. After Columbus landed in the Bahamas, this proved that the earth was round. When Columbus reached the New World, he was unaware that he was not in India.

Columbian Exchange - The Columbian exchange was the movement of commodities, people, and diseases across the Atlantic. In Europe, the climate was too harsh for sugarcane, so it was a race between European nations to establish sugarcane plantations in the Americas. Many European diseases were brought over to the New World, and millions of natives died. Many different types of plants and animals were exchanged as well. Slaves were a part of the Columbian Exchange coming from Africa to the New World.

Mercantilism - An economic theory and practice in Europe from the 16th to 18th century where exports are maximized and imports are minimized. This allowed multiple European nations to accumulate the largest possible share of wealth, billion(unrefined gold and silver). Due to the nationalistic nature of mercantilism, nations frequently used military might to protect local markets and supply resources.

The Great Dying - When 60 - 80 million natives died as a result of the European diseases that were brought over to the New World through the Columbian Exchange. The Europeans had grown a tolerance to the diseases over the years, but the natives had never come in contact with the highly contagious diseases. As a result, the diseases spread like wildfire and killed millions.

Chattel Slavery - The most common form of slavery in the Americas. This form of slavery considered slaves legal property that could be bought, sold, and owned forever.

Mita System - A labor system used in Peru where natives were forced to work, especially in the mines. This system allowed the Spanish to prosper, but the Incan people were unhappy with the situation.

Indentured Servitude - A form of labor where an individual is under contract to work without salary to repay an indenture (loan). This labor system was mainly used in the U.S.

Encomienda - A system where a grant was given for land and the native people living on that land. In return, the natives had the colonists’ protection and Christian instruction. It essentially boiled down to the natives being forced to work for food and shelter.

Hacienda - A system of large, agricultural estates developed by the Spanish in the Americas. Haciendas were owned by wealthy landowners, and they were worked by indentured laborers (natives and Africans). It was essentially a plantation. The hacienda system was used to produce agricultural goods for export to Europe.

Joint-stock Company - Large, investor-backed companies that sponsored exploration and colonization. These companies allowed for explorations to occur that could not be funded by individuals or the government. Profits were shared among the shareholders.

Royal Chartered Monopoly Company - A joint-stock company that gained a monopoly. A royal charter was granted by the king and allows the independent legal personality of an organization and define its objectives, constitution, and powers to govern its own affairs.

Vodun - Another term for voodoo. Vodun is spiritual and emphasizes that spells and charms can be used to impact the material world. Vodun represents a syncretism of the West African Vodun religion and Roman Catholicism.

Santeria - An Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions. Santeria grew out of the slave trade in Cuba. Santeria is Spanish for “The Way of the Saints.” This religion developed and changed due to its movement because of the slave trade.

Casta Paintings - A series of paintings created in the late 1700’s. Their purpose was to show the people of Spain the racial diversity and mixing of the people in the New World. The paintings did not truly reflect reality so much as represented stereotypes arranged along a biased, hierarchal scale.

Mestizo - The children of one European parent and one native parent. Mestizos could not hold office, but they usually became artisans and traders.

Mulatto - The children of one European parent and one African parent. They were treated similarly to Mestizos. Mulattos were usually either craftsmen or common domestic servants.

Creoles - Any person of European descent born in the Americas. Creoles were excluded from having the highest positions of power. Creoles were considered second-class citizens behind Peninsulares.

Peninsulares - Spanish settlers who were born in Spain and moved to settle in Spanish America. Their status gave them the highest social status, and they occupied the most important positions of power. Peninsulares’ children were Creoles.

The Fronde - A series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653. The Fronde was in part of an attempt to check the growing power of the royal government. The name means “sling” which was part of a children’s game played in the streets of Paris in defiance of the civil authorities. Its failure paved the way for the absolutism of Louis XIV.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion - On August 22, 1831, a slave named Nat Turner led more than 50 followers into a bloody revolt in Southampton, Virginia. The rebellion killed nearly 60 white people (mostly women and children). The local authorities ended the revolt by dawn the next day. The rebellion led to the passage of a series of new laws that put new restrictions in place and harsher penalties on both enslaved and free African Americans.

Dutch East India Company - A major joint-stock company in business from 1602 to 1799. During those years, the Dutch government granted a monopoly on Dutch trade between Europe and Asia. The spice trade in particular brought immense profit to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch East India Company was the first business to link the East and West.

Triangular Trade - Mercantilism led to the emergence of triangular trade. Triangular trade was a system of exchange in which Europe supplied Africa and the Americas with finished goods, the Americas supplied Europe and Africa with raw materials, and Africa supplied the Americas with enslaved laborers.

Coercive Labor - In Latin America, Europeans implemented 4 types of coercive labor systems; slavery, encomienda, reportimiento, and the mita system. It was important to Europeans because it meant more profits for those people of European descent at the top of the racial hierarchy.

Bullion - A metal, usually gold or silver, that hasn’t been processed yet for coinage. Bullions were important because, without them, you wouldn’t have coins. Bullions helped to shape the economic and cultural development of civilizations throughout history.