Discovery Key Terms

Nomads

• Early humans who moved in search of food, water, and shelter.

• Did not develop permanent settlements, relying on seasonal migration.

• Set the foundation for early societies before agriculture.

Hunter-gatherers

• Lived by hunting animals and gathering wild plants before farming.

• Had small, mobile groups with egalitarian social structures.

• Practiced subsistence living, limiting long-term food surplus.

Mesoamerica

• Region including present-day Mexico and Central America.

• Home to advanced civilizations like the Mayans, Aztecs, and Olmecs.

• Developed agriculture (maize) and large urban centers.

Mayans

• Mesoamerican civilization known for mathematics, astronomy, and writing.

• Built city-states like Tikal and Chichén Itzá, ruled by kings.

• Mysteriously declined before European contact, possibly due to drought or warfare.

Aztecs

• Powerful empire in central Mexico, ruled from Tenochtitlán.

• Known for military dominance, tribute system, and human sacrifice.

• Conquered by Hernán Cortés and Spanish forces in 1521.

Incas

• Largest empire in pre-Columbian America, based in the Andes Mountains.

• Developed a vast road system, terrace farming, and centralized rule.

• Fell to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1533.

Anasazi

• Southwest Native American culture known for cliff dwellings.

• Used advanced irrigation techniques for farming in arid conditions.

• Mysteriously abandoned settlements like Chaco Canyon before European contact.

Pueblos

• Descendants of the Anasazi, lived in adobe houses in the Southwest.

• Practiced communal agriculture and had matrilineal societies.

• Revolted against Spanish rule in Pope’s Rebellion (1680).

Woodland Mound Builders

• Lived in the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.

• Built large earth mounds for ceremonial, burial, and residential purposes.

• Part of complex societies like the Cahokia civilization.

Lakota Sioux

• Nomadic Plains tribe that relied on buffalo hunting.

• Adopted horses after European contact, increasing mobility and warfare.

• Resisted U.S. expansion, including in conflicts like the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876).

Tenochtitlán

• Capital of the Aztec Empire, built on an island in Lake Texcoco.

• Featured causeways, temples, and a massive market system.

• Destroyed by the Spanish in 1521, becoming Mexico City.

Christopher Columbus

• Italian explorer sponsored by Spain, landed in the Caribbean in 1492.

• Sought a westward route to Asia but encountered the Americas instead.

• Initiated European colonization, leading to the Columbian Exchange.

Hispaniola

• Caribbean island where Columbus established Spanish settlements.

• First site of European colonization in the New World.

• Native Taino population was decimated by disease and forced labor.

Henry Hudson

• English explorer who sought the Northwest Passage.

• Explored the Hudson River and claimed land for the Dutch (New Amsterdam).

• His crew mutinied, leaving him adrift in the Arctic.

“Northwest Passage”

• Mythical water route through North America to Asia.

• Sought by explorers like Henry Hudson and Jacques Cartier.

• Its failure led to increased European focus on land colonization.

Hernán Cortés – Spanish conquistador who, with the help of Indigenous allies and superior weaponry, conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521, bringing Mexico under Spanish rule.

Mestizos – A social class in Spanish America, formed by the mixing of Spanish and Native American ancestry, which played a key role in the racial hierarchy of colonial society.

Encomienda System – A Spanish labor system granting colonists the right to use Indigenous people for forced labor in exchange for "protection" and religious conversion, leading to widespread abuse and population decline.

Bartolomé de Las Casas – A Spanish priest and former encomendero who became an advocate for Indigenous rights, pushing for the New Laws of 1542 to limit the exploitation of Native Americans.

Columbian Exchange – The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and cultures between the Old and New Worlds following Columbus’s voyages, which drastically altered global economies and populations.

Roanoke – The first English attempt at colonization in North America, established in 1585, which mysteriously disappeared, leaving only the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree.

Ferdinand and Isabella – The Spanish monarchs who completed the Reconquista, sponsored Columbus’s 1492 voyage, and established Spain as the dominant early colonial power.

Henry the Navigator – A Portuguese prince who promoted maritime exploration by funding navigation schools and expeditions, laying the groundwork for Portugal’s dominance in global trade.

Treaty of Tordesillas – A 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal, brokered by the Pope, that divided newly discovered lands outside Europe, granting most of the Americas to Spain and Brazil to Portugal.

Algonquian – A Native American linguistic group that inhabited the Atlantic Coast, engaged in trade and conflict with European settlers, and formed key alliances with the French in the fur trade.

Iroquois Confederation – A powerful alliance of six Northeastern tribes that developed an advanced political system, influenced early American democracy, and played a key role in colonial conflicts.

John Cabot – An Italian explorer who, sailing for England in 1497, claimed parts of North America, laying the foundation for England’s later colonization efforts.

Jacques Cartier – A French explorer who navigated the St. Lawrence River in the 1530s, claiming land for France and initiating early French colonial efforts in North America.

Samuel de Champlain – Known as the "Father of New France," he founded Quebec in 1608, established trade relations with Native tribes, and solidified French presence in North America.

Polytheistic – A religious belief system involving multiple gods, commonly practiced by Indigenous Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Aztecs and Mayans before European colonization.

Gold Coast – A region in West Africa rich in gold and a major hub for European trade, later becoming central to the transatlantic slave trade.

Azores + Portuguese Slavery – Portuguese-controlled Atlantic islands that served as an early center for sugar plantations and African slave labor, influencing later plantation economies in the Americas.

European Societies – Pre-Columbian European civilizations were dominated by feudalism, rigid social hierarchies, and the Catholic Church, all of which shaped their colonial policies.

Effects of the Plague – The Black Death (1347–1351) devastated Europe, killing millions, weakening feudalism, and increasing the demand for exploration and trade.

Motives for Exploration – European exploration was driven by the desire for wealth, religious expansion, and political power, summarized by the phrase "God, Gold, and Glory."

Pope’s Rebellion (1680) – A Pueblo-led uprising against Spanish rule in present-day New Mexico that temporarily expelled Spanish settlers and demonstrated Native resistance to forced conversion and colonization.

Juan Ponce de León – A Spanish explorer who led the first European expedition to Florida in 1513, seeking the mythical Fountain of Youth and expanding Spanish claims in North America.

Hernando de Soto – A Spanish conquistador who explored the southeastern U.S. in the 1540s, brutally clashing with Indigenous peoples and becoming the first European to cross the Mississippi River.

Thomas Harriot, A Briefe and True Report – A 1588 English account of the New World that detailed Native American culture, natural resources, and the potential for colonization, influencing future English settlements.

Jesuits in New France – French Catholic missionaries who sought to convert Indigenous peoples, learning native languages and cultures while playing a key role in the fur trade and French colonial expansion.

Maize – A staple crop domesticated by Indigenous peoples that became a key food source in the Americas and was later introduced to Europe through the Columbian Exchange, fueling population growth.

Lessons of Early Colonization – European powers learned that successful colonization required strong financial backing, cooperation or control over Indigenous populations, and sustainable economic ventures such as cash crops or trade.