APUSH unit 1 key terms

🌽 Native American Societies & Economies

Maize cultivation — The growing of corn (maize), which became a major food source for many Native American societies and allowed larger, more settled communities to develop.

Hunter-gatherer economy — An economy based on hunting animals, fishing, and gathering wild plants rather than farming.

Western Hemisphere — The half of Earth containing North and South America.

Great Basin — A dry region in the western United States where many Native groups relied on hunting, gathering, and adapting to limited water and resources.

Agricultural economy — An economy in which farming and the production of crops are the main sources of food and wealth.

Great Plains — A large grassland region in central North America where many Native peoples hunted buffalo and, in some areas, practiced agriculture.

Permanent villages — Settlements where people lived in one place for long periods instead of constantly moving in search of food.

Political autonomy — The ability of a group or community to govern itself and make its own political decisions.

Cultural autonomy — The ability of a group to maintain its own language, traditions, beliefs, and way of life without being forced to adopt another culture.

🇪🇺 European Exploration

Spanish exploration and role of traders — Spain explored and colonized parts of the Americas in search of wealth, land, and opportunities to spread Christianity; Spanish traders also participated in the exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas.

Portuguese exploration and role of traders — Portugal explored Africa, Asia, and the Atlantic and developed trade routes that helped connect Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

European goods that transformed Native life — Items brought by Europeans, such as metal tools, firearms, horses, and manufactured goods, that changed Native American economies, warfare, transportation, and daily life.

🌎 Columbian Exchange

Columbian Exchange — The widespread exchange of plants, animals, diseases, people, and goods between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after Columbus's voyages.

European goods that transformed Native life — European items such as horses, guns, metal tools, and textiles that altered Native American societies.

European subjugation of Africans & Natives — The process by which Europeans conquered, controlled, and exploited African and Native American peoples through warfare, forced labor, slavery, and colonial rule.

💰 Economic Systems & Labor

Plantation-based agriculture — Large-scale farming, often producing crops such as sugar or tobacco for export, using large amounts of labor.

Capitalism — An economic system based on private ownership, investment, competition, and the pursuit of profit.

Encomienda system — A Spanish colonial system in which Spanish colonists received the right to demand labor and tribute from Native Americans in exchange for supposedly providing protection and Christian instruction.

Slave labor — Work performed by people who are forced to work without freedom or the ability to leave, often under threat of violence.

Feudalism — A medieval European economic and political system based on land ownership, social hierarchy, and obligations between nobles and peasants.

🌍 Africa & European Expansion

West Africa — The region of Africa along the Atlantic coast that contained numerous kingdoms and societies and became heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade.

Cultural autonomy (Africans seeking to preserve cultural autonomy) — Efforts by Africans to maintain their religions, languages, traditions, family structures, and cultural practices despite European influence and enslavement.

White superiority — The belief that white people are naturally superior to people of other racial groups; this idea was used historically to justify European domination and exploitation.

👑 Empire & Colonization

Empire building — The expansion of a country's power by conquering or controlling additional territories and peoples.