APUSH Period 1: (1491-1607)
Who were the First Americans?
Descendants of people who migrated from Asia across the Bering Land Bridge during the last Ice Age.
Diverse societies developed over millennia, adapted to various environments.
Aztec Empire:
Powerful civilization in Mesoamerica (modern-day Mexico).
Capital city: Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City), built on an island in Lake Texcoco.
Advanced civilization with complex social, political, and religious systems.
Practiced human sacrifice.
Huitzilopochtli: Aztec god of war and the sun.
Incan Empire:
Powerful civilization in the Andes Mountains of South America.
Extensive road system and sophisticated agricultural techniques.
Known for their intricate stonework and engineering.
Cahokia:
Mississippian mound-building culture in present-day Illinois.
Major trading center with a large, complex society.
Algonquin:
Group of linguistically related Native American peoples in the eastern and northeastern regions of North America.
Diverse societies with varying levels of social and political complexity.
Iroquoian:
Another major language group in the eastern and northeastern regions of North America.
Known for the Iroquois Confederacy, a powerful political alliance of five (later six) tribes.
Powhatan:
Powerful Algonquian chiefdom in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Encountered by the English colonists at Jamestown.
Iroquois Confederacy:
Political and military alliance of five (later six) Iroquois tribes (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora).
Powerful confederation with a complex system of governance and diplomacy.
Indian Burning:
Controversial practice used by some European colonists against Native Americans, involving the burning of villages and crops.
Matriarchal vs. Patriarchal Societies:
Matriarchal societies emphasize the importance of women and female lineage.
Patriarchal societies emphasize the importance of men and male lineage. Some Native American societies exhibited matrilineal descent, where ancestry was traced through the mother's line.
New England Tribes:
Narragansetts, Wampanoags, Mohegans, Pequots: Tribes encountered by English colonists in New England.
Engaged in conflict with the English colonists over land and resources.
Sioux:
Group of Native American tribes inhabiting the Great Plains region.
Known for their nomadic lifestyle, horse culture, and resistance to westward expansion.
Pueblo Cultures:
Indigenous peoples of the Southwest who lived in multi-storied adobe structures.
Developed sophisticated agricultural practices and irrigation systems.
Patterns of Trade in the Americas:
Extensive trading networks existed among Native American societies, involving the exchange of goods such as food, tools, furs, and ceremonial objects.
Trade routes connected distant regions and facilitated cultural exchange.
Animists:
Many Native American societies practiced animism, a belief system that attributes spirits to natural objects and phenomena.
2. European Exploration and Colonization:
Crusades:
Series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.
Stimulated European interest in trade with Asia and increased demand for spices and luxury goods.
Renaissance:
Period of cultural and intellectual rebirth in Europe, characterized by a renewed interest in classical learning, art, and 1 exploration.
Martin Luther:
German monk who initiated the Protestant Reformation by challenging the authority of the Catholic Church.
John Calvin:
Prominent Protestant reformer who emphasized predestination, the belief that God has already determined who will be saved.
Protestant Reformation:
Religious movement that challenged the authority of the Catholic Church and led to the emergence of new Christian denominations.
Predestination:
Calvinist doctrine that holds that God has already predetermined who will be saved and who will be damned.
Counter Reformation:
The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation, including the Council of Trent and the establishment of new religious orders.
Trans-Saharan Trade:
Established trade routes across the Sahara Desert, connecting North Africa with West Africa.
Involved the exchange of gold, salt, slaves, and other goods.
Portuguese Exploration:
Led by Prince Henry the Navigator, Portugal pioneered exploration and maritime technology.
Vasco da Gama's voyage to India opened a new sea route to Asia.
Early African Slave Trade:
The Portuguese and other European powers began to participate in the transatlantic slave trade, transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas to work on plantations.
Reconquista:
A centuries-long Christian campaign to expel the Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
3. Spanish Conquest and Colonization:
Ferdinand and Isabella:
Monarchs of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyages and unified Spain.
Christopher Columbus:
Italian explorer who sailed for Spain and made landfall in the Americas in 1492.
His voyages initiated European colonization of the Americas.
Hispaniola:
One of the first islands in the Caribbean colonized by the Spanish.
Spanish Conquest:
Spanish conquistadors, such as Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, conquered the Aztec and Incan empires.
Hernán Cortés:
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire.
Montezuma:
Aztec emperor who was defeated and killed by Cortés.
La Malinche (Dona Marina):
Indigenous woman who served as an interpreter and advisor to Cortés, playing a crucial role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs.
Treaty of Tordesillas:
Treaty signed between Spain and Portugal in 1494 that divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two empires.
Smallpox:
A devastating disease brought by Europeans to the Americas, which had a devastating impact on indigenous populations.
Francisco Pizarro:
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire.
Pedro Álvares Cabral:
Portuguese explorer who claimed Brazil for Portugal.
Juan de Sepulveda:
Spanish theologian who argued that the enslavement of Native Americans was justified.
Bartolome de Las Casas:
Spanish priest and Dominican friar who defended the rights of Native Americans and condemned the abuses of the encomienda system.
Encomienda System:
A system of forced labor imposed by the Spanish on Native American populations.
Landowners were granted the right to demand tribute and labor from Native Americans living on their land.
Columbian Exchange:
The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the New World (Americas).
Had a profound and lasting impact on both hemispheres.
Spanish Mission System:
System of religious missions established by the Spanish in the Americas to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
Often involved forced labor and cultural assimilation.
Mestizos:
People of mixed European and Native American descent.
Maroon communities in Brazil and the Caribbean:
Communities of escaped slaves who formed their own societies in the Americas.
4. English Colonization:
Henry VIII:
King of England who broke with the Catholic Church and established the Church of England.
Anglican Church:
The state church of England, established by Henry VIII.
Economies of the different settlements in North and South America:
New England:
Focus on fishing, fur trade, and small-scale agriculture.
Developed a more diversified economy than the Southern colonies.
Southern Colonies:
Relied heavily on plantation agriculture, primarily tobacco in the early years and later cotton.
Utilized enslaved labor.
Middle Colonies:
More diverse economy, including agriculture (grain crops), trade, and small-scale manufacturing.
Jacques Cartier:
French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence River.
French Catholic Missionary Work in the New World:
French missionaries sought to convert Native American populations to Catholicism.
Established missions and trading posts throughout North America.
Five Nations:
Another name for the Iroquois Confederacy.
Beaver Wars:
Series of conflicts between the Iroquois Confederacy and other Native American groups for control of the fur trade.
Henry Hudson:
Dutch explorer who explored the Hudson River.
Dutch West India Company:
A Dutch trading company that established New Netherland.
New Netherland:
Dutch colony in North America that included present-day
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