Study Guide 1

Indigenous Cultures

• Q: What is the Bering Strait?
  A: A land bridge connecting Asia to North America, believed to have been used by Paleo-Indians to migrate, around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

• Q: Who were the Paleo-Indians?
  A: Early Native American people who crossed the Bering Strait during the Ice Age, around 12,000 years ago.

• Q: What is a Clovis Point?
  A: A distinctive stone tool used by early Paleo-Indians, dated to around 13,000 years ago.

• Q: What were the Archaic Indians known for?
  A: A group of Native Americans who adapted to their environment after the extinction of large game, from about 8,000 BCE to 1,000 BCE.

• Q: Name one characteristic of the Pacific Coast Culture.
  A: Known for a sedentary lifestyle and rich fish resources, particularly salmon, present from around 4,000 BCE onward.

• Q: What is the Great Basin Culture?
  A: A culture in the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, known for its hunting and gathering lifestyle, dating back around 10,000 years ago.

• Q: What is the Great Plains Culture known for?
  A: The Plains Indians were primarily nomadic, following bison herds, dating back to around 500 CE.

• Q: What defines the Southwestern Culture?
  A: Known for farming and the development of complex societies, including the Ancestral Puebloans, around 1,000 BCE to 1,500 CE.

• Q: What is characteristic of the Eastern Woodlands Culture?
  A: Societies in this region lived in forested areas and developed agriculture, particularly the “Three Sisters” (corn, beans, and squash), starting around 1,000 BCE.

• Q: What language groups were common in the Eastern Woodlands?
  A: Algonquian, Muskogean, and Iroquoian, with widespread use around 1,000 BCE.

• Q: Who were the Algonquian people?
  A: A Native American language group found in the northeastern part of North America, dominant from the 16th century onward.

• Q: Who were the Muskogean people?
  A: A Native American language group found in the southeastern United States, around 1,000 BCE to 1,500 CE.

• Q: Who were the Iroquoian people?
  A: A Native American language group found in the Great Lakes and northeastern regions of North America, around 1,000 BCE onward.

• Q: What was the League of Five/Six Nations?
  A: A powerful confederacy of Native American tribes, primarily Iroquois, formed for mutual defense and decision-making, around 1,500 CE.

Explorers and Exploration

• Q: Who was Eric Thorvaldsson (Erik the Red)?
  A: A Norse explorer who founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland, around 982 CE.

• Q: Who was Lief Eriksson?
  A: A Norse explorer credited with being the first European to land in North America, around 1000 CE.

• Q: What is Vinland?
  A: A name given by Norse explorers to the area of North America they explored, likely part of modern-day Newfoundland, around 1000 CE.

• Q: What was the Caravel?
  A: A type of ship developed by the Portuguese, known for its ability to sail in various directions, facilitating long voyages in the 15th century.

• Q: Who was Prince Henry?
  A: A Portuguese prince who sponsored exploration along Africa’s west coast in the 15th century, from 1394 to 1460.

• Q: Who was Bartolommeo Dias?
  A: A Portuguese explorer who was the first to round the southern tip of Africa, opening a sea route to India, in 1488.

• Q: Who was Vasco da Gama?
  A: A Portuguese explorer who successfully sailed to India, opening a direct sea route from Europe to Asia in 1498.

• Q: What was the Reconquista?
  A: The centuries-long series of campaigns to recapture Spain from Muslim rule, culminating in 1492.

• Q: Who were Ferdinand II and Isabella?
  A: Catholic monarchs of Spain who funded Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492.

• Q: Who was Christopher Columbus?
  A: An Italian explorer who, under Spanish sponsorship, reached the Americas in 1492, mistakenly believing he had found Asia.

• Q: What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?
  A: A 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided the world for exploration and colonization.

Spanish Conquest

• Q: Who were the Mexica/Aztecs?
  A: A Mesoamerican culture known for its vast empire, advanced agriculture, and impressive architectural structures, peaking around 1,200 CE to 1,500 CE.

• Q: Who was Montezuma?
  A: The last emperor of the Aztec Empire, who encountered Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest in 1519.

• Q: Who was Quetzalcoatl?
  A: An Aztec god, often depicted as a feathered serpent, associated with creation and civilization.

• Q: Who was Hernán Cortés?
  A: A Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521.

• Q: Who was Francisco Pizarro?
  A: A Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Inca Empire in 1533.

• Q: Who was Juan Ponce de León?
  A: A Spanish explorer known for searching for the Fountain of Youth and claiming Florida for Spain in 1513.

• Q: Who was Hernando de Soto?
  A: A Spanish explorer who explored the southeastern United States, discovering the Mississippi River in 1541.

• Q: What was the Encomienda System?
  A: A Spanish system that granted colonists the right to extract labor from indigenous peoples, starting in the early 16th century.

• Q: What was the Repartimiento of 1549?
  A: A system in Spanish America that replaced the Encomienda system with a more limited labor requirement.

• Q: What was the Columbian Exchange?
  A: The exchange of goods, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World following Columbus's voyages, beginning in 1492.

Colonial Development

• Q: Who were the Peninsulares?
  A: Spanish-born individuals who held high-ranking positions in the colonies, dominant from the 16th century.

• Q: Who were the Creoles?
  A: People of Spanish descent born in the colonies, often wealthy but lower in status than Peninsulares, from the 16th century onward.

• Q: Who were the Mestizos?
  A: People of mixed European and indigenous ancestry in the Spanish colonies, emerging in the 16th century.

• Q: Who was Charles I/Charles V?
  A: King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor during the 16th century, from 1519 to 1556.

• Q: Who was Philip II?
  A: King of Spain, known for his strong Catholic policies and involvement in the Spanish Armada in 1588.

• Q: What was the significance of Fort Caroline and Jean Ribault?
  A: Fort Caroline was a French colony in Florida, and Ribault was its leader during the French attempt to establish a foothold in North America, in 1562.

English Colonization

• Q: Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?
  A: An English explorer who sponsored attempts to colonize North America, including the Roanoke Colony, in the late 16th century.

• Q: What was the Roanoke Colony?
  A: The "Lost Colony," an early English settlement that mysteriously disappeared in the late 16th century, founded in 1585.

• Q: What was the significance of Jamestown?
  A: The first permanent English colony in North America, founded in 1607.

• Q: What were the Laws Divine, Morall & Martiall?
  A: The strict laws governing the Virginia colony, established to ensure survival and order, introduced in 1609.

• Q: Who was John Smith?
  A: An English explorer and leader who helped establish the Jamestown colony in 1607.

• Q: Who was Pocahontas?
  A: A Powhatan woman who played a key role in relations between the English and Native Americans, around 1607–1617.

• Q: What was the Chesapeake Tobacco Boom?
  A: The rapid growth of tobacco as a cash crop in the Chesapeake region, driving the economy of the Virginia colony, beginning in the early 1600s.

• Q: What was the Headright System?
  A: A system that granted land to settlers in Virginia, encouraging the growth of the colony through immigration, introduced in 1618.