1. Algonquin – Native American group in the Northeast known for their alliances with the French and use of agriculture and hunting.
2. Aztecs – Powerful Mesoamerican civilization in central Mexico conquered by Hernán Cortés in 1521.
3. Bartolome de las Casas – Spanish priest who spoke out against the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and advocated for their rights.
4. Chattel Slavery – A system in which individuals are treated as property to be bought, sold, and inherited.
5. Chinook – Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest known for totem poles and fishing-based economy.
6. Christopher Columbus – Italian navigator who sailed for Spain; his 1492 voyage opened the Americas to European colonization.
7. Columbian Exchange – The global transfer of people, crops, animals, and diseases between the Old World and New World after 1492.
8. Conquistadors – Spanish soldiers and explorers who conquered lands in the Americas, including the Aztec and Inca empires.
9. Encomienda – A Spanish labor system where colonists were granted land and native laborers in exchange for Christianizing them.
10. Francisco Pizarro – Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in present-day Peru.
11. Henry Hudson – English explorer who searched for the Northwest Passage and explored parts of present-day Canada and New York.
12. Hernán Cortés – Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
13. Incas – A vast and powerful civilization in the Andes Mountains conquered by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.
14. Iroquois – A powerful confederation of northeastern Native American tribes known for their sophisticated political and military organization.
15. Iroquois Confederation – An alliance of six Native American nations that formed a representative government and resisted European colonization.
16. Jacques Cartier – French explorer who mapped the St. Lawrence River and laid France’s claim to Canada.
17. John Cabot – English explorer who claimed parts of North America for England in 1497.
18. Joint-stock companies – Business entities where investors pooled money to fund colonization with shared risk and profit (e.g., Virginia Company).
19. Juan de Oñate – Spanish conquistador who brutally suppressed the Pueblo people in the Southwest during early colonization.
20. Juan de Sepúlveda – Spanish humanist who justified Spanish conquest and enslavement of Indigenous peoples.
21. Juan Ponce de León – Spanish explorer who searched for the Fountain of Youth and claimed Florida for Spain.
22. Maroons – Communities of escaped African slaves who established independent settlements in the Americas.
23. Pueblo – Native American group in the Southwest known for their adobe dwellings and resistance (e.g., Pueblo Revolt).
24. Roanoke – The “Lost Colony”; England’s first attempt at colonization in the New World, which mysteriously disappeared.
25. Samuel de Champlain – French explorer who founded Quebec and strengthened France’s foothold in North America.
26. Sextant – Navigational instrument used to measure the angle between celestial objects and the horizon, aiding exploration.
27. Smallpox – A deadly disease brought by Europeans that decimated Indigenous populations in the Americas.
28. Spanish Mission – Religious and military outposts aimed at converting and controlling Indigenous peoples in the Americas.
29. St. Augustine – Founded in 1565 by Spain, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in the U.S.
30. Treaty of Tordesillas – 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing the New World along a meridian for colonization.
31. Vodun – A syncretic religion combining West African beliefs with Christianity, practiced among enslaved Africans in the Americas.
32. Walter Raleigh – English explorer who sponsored the failed Roanoke Colony and promoted colonization in the New World.
33. Zambo – A term for people of mixed African and Indigenous descent, common in colonial Latin America’s caste system.