history exam one

• Tenochtitlan → The capital of the Aztec Empire, located in present-day Mexico City. It was one of the largest cities in the world at its peak, known for its advanced infrastructure, causeways, temples, and markets.

• Chaco Canyon → A major cultural and trade center of the Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) in present-day New Mexico, known for its massive stone buildings (Great Houses) and astronomical alignments.

• Cahokia → A large Native American city (c. 600–1400 CE) near present-day St. Louis, with massive earthen mounds. It was the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico and a center of trade and culture.

• The "Three Sisters" → Corn, beans, and squash—three staple crops grown together by Native American societies. This method of farming improved soil fertility and provided balanced nutrition.

• Native Housing → Different tribes had distinct housing styles:

  • Longhouses (Iroquois) – communal homes made of wood and bark.

  • Pueblos (Southwest tribes) – adobe and stone dwellings.

  • Teepees (Plains tribes) – portable cone-shaped tents.

European Colonization & Conflicts

• The Black Legend → A term used to describe the belief that the Spanish were uniquely brutal in their conquest of the Americas, particularly in their treatment of Native Americans. It was used as propaganda by other European powers.

• French Colonial Trade → The French focused on the fur trade, forming alliances with Native tribes such as the Huron to obtain beaver pelts for European markets.

• French Relations with Native Tribes → Unlike the Spanish and English, the French established cooperative relationships with Native Americans, relying on trade and intermarriage rather than conquest.

• Dutch Trade & Settlement → The Dutch established New Amsterdam (later New York) in the early 1600s, focusing on trade rather than territorial expansion. Their economy revolved around fur trading with Native tribes.

• The Failure of Roanoke Colony → England’s first attempt at colonization in North America (1585). The colony mysteriously disappeared, with only the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree.

• Jamestown’s Economy → The first permanent English colony (1607) struggled with famine and disease but eventually became profitable due to tobacco cultivation, introduced by John Rolfe.

• Indentured Servants → Poor Europeans who agreed to work for a set number of years in exchange for passage to the Americas. Many died due to harsh working conditions.

• Headright System → A system in Virginia granting 50 acres of land to settlers who paid for their own or others’ passage, encouraging wealthy planters to bring over indentured servants.

Slavery & Colonial Conflicts

• The Middle Passage → The brutal voyage that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Conditions were horrific, with high mortality rates.

• Difference Between Pilgrims & Puritans →

  • Pilgrims (1620) → Separatists who wanted to break completely from the Church of England; settled in Plymouth.

  • Puritans (1630) → Wanted to reform the Church of England rather than separate from it; settled in Massachusetts Bay.

• The Mayflower Compact → A 1620 agreement by the Pilgrims establishing self-government in Plymouth Colony. It set a precedent for democratic governance in America.

• Roger Williams & the Founding of Rhode Island → Williams was a religious dissenter who was banished from Massachusetts for advocating religious tolerance and fair treatment of Native Americans. He founded Rhode Island in 1636.

• Pequot War (1636-1638) → A violent conflict between New England settlers and the Pequot tribe. The English, along with Native allies, massacred hundreds of Pequots, leading to the tribe’s near destruction.

• King Philip’s War (1675-1676) → A war between New England colonists and Native American tribes led by Metacom (King Philip). It was one of the deadliest conflicts in colonial history and resulted in the loss of Native power in the region.

Colonial Unrest & Revolution

• Causes of the Salem Witch Trials (1692) → Mass hysteria in Massachusetts caused by:

  • Religious extremism

  • Economic tensions

  • Fear of Native attacks

  • A strict Puritan society
    Over 200 people were accused, and 20 were executed.

• Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) → A revolt led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia’s government, fueled by anger over Native policies and class tensions. It led to a shift from indentured servitude to racial slavery.

• Po’pay & the Pueblo Revolt (1680) → A successful Native American uprising against Spanish rule in the Southwest. The Pueblo people expelled the Spanish for 12 years before Spain reasserted control.

• Founding of Georgia (1732) → Established by James Oglethorpe as a buffer colony between Spanish Florida and the English colonies. It was initially a refuge for debtors.

• Colonial Consumer Revolution → Colonists increased their consumption of British goods, fostering economic ties with Britain but also growing resentment over trade restrictions.

• The Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) → A religious revival that emphasized emotional sermons and personal faith over traditional church doctrine. Key figures: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

• John Locke’s Natural Rights & Social Contract Theory → Locke argued that people have natural rights (life, liberty, and property) and that government must have the consent of the governed. His ideas influenced the American Revolution.

• Benjamin Franklin’s Scientific Experiments → Franklin conducted experiments on electricity, inventing the lightning rod and contributing to Enlightenment thinking.

• The Trial of John Peter Zenger (1735) → A landmark case for freedom of the press in the American colonies. Zenger was acquitted after criticizing the New York governor.

Road to Revolution

• French & Indian War (1754-1763) → A war between Britain and France over North American territory. Britain won but incurred heavy debt, leading to increased taxation of the colonies.

• Proclamation of 1763 → Issued by Britain, it prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, angering colonists eager for land.

• Taxation of the American Colonies → Britain imposed taxes like the Stamp Act and Tea Act, leading to widespread protests.

• Virtual Representation → The British claimed that Parliament represented all subjects, even those in the colonies who had no vote. Colonists rejected this idea.

• Sons of Liberty → A radical group formed to oppose British policies, using protests and boycotts.

• Christopher Seider (1770) → A 12-year-old boy killed by a British customs officer, intensifying colonial resentment just before the Boston Massacre.

• Olive Branch Petition (1775) → A final effort by the American colonies to avoid war with Britain by offering loyalty in exchange for an end to hostilities. Britain rejected it, escalating the revolution.