1. Exploration & Native Americans
Christopher Columbus
Italian explorer who sailed for Spain in 1492.
Wanted to find a western route to Asia.
Reached the Caribbean instead.
His voyages began sustained European contact with the Americas.
Led to European colonization and the Columbian Exchange.
Conquistadores
Spanish explorers/conquerors who sought gold, land, and converts.
Helped Spain conquer large Native American empires.
Often used military force and alliances with rival Native groups.
Mayas, Incas, Aztecs
Major civilizations in the Americas before European conquest.
Aztecs: centered in Mexico; conquered by CortĂŠs.
Incas: centered in the Andes/South America; conquered by Pizarro.
Mayas: Central America; famous for cities, writing, mathematics, and astronomy.
Hernando CortĂŠs
Spanish conquistador.
Conquered the Aztec Empire in 1519â1521.
Defeated Montezuma/Moctezuma II and captured TenochtitlĂĄn.
Francisco Pizarro
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire.
Operated in present-day Peru.
Montezuma
Aztec ruler when CortĂŠs arrived.
Also called Moctezuma II.
His empire was eventually conquered by CortĂŠs and his allies.
Hernando de Soto
Spanish explorer who explored the southeastern part of what became the United States.
His expedition encountered Native peoples and reached the Mississippi River.
Francisco de Coronado
Spanish explorer who explored the American Southwest and Great Plains.
Searched for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold.
Jacques Cartier
French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence River.
His voyages helped France establish claims in North America.
John Cabot
Italian explorer sailing for England.
Explored the North Atlantic coast of North America in 1497.
Helped England establish a claim to North American territory.
Prince Henry the Navigator
Portuguese prince who supported exploration.
Helped Portugal develop navigation and sailing technology.
Portuguese exploration contributed to the development of the Atlantic slave trade.
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2. Spanish, French & English Colonization
Joint-stock company
A company where investors pool money to fund a business.
Why important:
English colonies such as Virginia were partly financed through joint-stock companies.
Virginia Company
English joint-stock company.
Founded Jamestown in 1607.
Investors hoped to make money from the colony.
Jamestown
First permanent English settlement in North America, 1607.
Located in Virginia.
Suffered from disease, starvation, conflict, and poor leadership.
Tobacco eventually helped make the colony profitable.
Tidewater
Coastal area of Virginia and surrounding colonies.
Early English settlements were concentrated here.
Piedmont
Inland region between the Tidewater/coastal plain and Appalachian Mountains.
Settlement expanded into this area as colonies grew.
Coureurs de bois
French ârunners of the woods.â
French colonists/traders who lived and traveled among Native Americans.
Participated heavily in the fur trade.
Samuel de Champlain
French explorer.
Founded Quebec in 1608.
Known as the âFather of New France.â
Developed alliances with Native Americans.
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3. Roanoke & Early Virginia
Sir Walter Raleigh
English supporter of colonization.
Sponsored the attempted settlement at Roanoke.
Roanoke
English colony established in the 1580s.
Eventually disappeared.
Called the âLost Colony.â
John Smith
Leader at Jamestown.
Helped organize the settlement and enforce discipline.
Famous for his relationship with Pocahontas, although later accounts are disputed.
âStarving Timeâ
Winter of 1609â1610 at Jamestown.
Colonists experienced extreme hunger, disease, and death.
Demonstrated how difficult early colonization was.
John Rolfe
Helped make Virginia economically successful by growing tobacco.
Married Pocahontas.
Tobacco became Virginiaâs major cash crop.
Headright system
Colonists received land for bringing people to Virginia.
Encouraged immigration.
Helped create large plantations and contributed to social/economic inequality.
Freeman
A colonist who possessed certain political rights, including the ability to participate in government.
Political rights were generally limited to certain white male colonists.
House of Burgesses
Created in Virginia in 1619.
First representative legislative assembly in the English colonies.
Important development in colonial self-government.
1618 reforms of the Virginia Company
The Virginia Company changed its policies to attract settlers and make Virginia successful.
Included:
More representative government.
Greater incentives for settlers.
Expansion of land ownership.
Greater economic opportunity.
Result: Virginia became more attractive to settlers.
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4. Puritans & Religion
John Calvin
Protestant religious thinker.
Developed Calvinism.
Believed in predestination.
Predestination
The belief that God has already determined who will be saved.
Puritanism
Protestant movement that wanted to reform the Church of England.
Puritans believed the English church still contained too many Catholic practices.
Separatists
Puritans who believed the Church of England could not be reformed.
Wanted to separate completely from it.
The Pilgrims were Separatists.
Non-Separatist Puritans
Wanted to reform the Church of England rather than leave it completely.
Many settled Massachusetts Bay.
Pilgrims
Separatist Puritans.
Settled at Plymouth in 1620.
Signed the Mayflower Compact.
Mayflower Compact
Agreement signed by Plymouth settlers.
Established self-government based on majority rule.
Important early example of colonial self-government.
Plymouth
Colony founded by Pilgrims in 1620.
Later became part of Massachusetts.
William Bradford
Pilgrim leader and governor of Plymouth.
Helped maintain the colony.
Wrote about Plymouthâs early history.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Founded by Puritans in 1630.
Much larger than Plymouth.
Centered around Boston.
Governed according to Puritan religious beliefs.
John Winthrop
Governor of Massachusetts Bay.
Described Massachusetts as a âcity upon a hill.â
âCity upon a hillâ
Winthropâs idea that Massachusetts should serve as an example of a successful Christian society to the world.
Covenant
A religious agreement between God and a community.
Puritans believed their communities had a special covenant with God.
âVisible saintsâ
Puritans who demonstrated that they had received Godâs grace and were considered members of the church.
âInvisible saintsâ
Those believed to have Godâs grace/salvation, even though humans could not truly know who was saved.
âSaving graceâ
The belief that Godâs grace could lead a person to salvation.
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5. New England Religious Conflicts
Anne Hutchinson
Puritan woman who challenged Massachusetts religious leaders.
Believed faith/grace was more important than following religious rules.
Put on trial and banished from Massachusetts.
Shows the limits of religious tolerance in Massachusetts.
Roger Williams
Founded Rhode Island.
Believed in:
Religious freedom
Separation of church and government
Fairer treatment of Native Americans
Banished from Massachusetts.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
1639.
Established a representative government in Connecticut.
Often considered one of the first written constitutions in America.
King Philipâs War
1675â1676.
Major conflict between New England colonists and Native Americans led by Metacom, whom colonists called King Philip.
Resulted in enormous destruction and loss of Native American land and power.
Toleration Act of 1649
Maryland law granting religious toleration to Christians.
Intended especially to protect Catholics.
Important early example of religious toleration, although it was limited.
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6. Massachusetts Education
Massachusetts Education Act of 1647
Required towns to establish schools when they reached certain population sizes.
Why?
Puritans wanted people to be able to read the Bible.
Important:
Shows how strongly education and religion were connected in Puritan society.
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7. Colonial Regions
New England Colonies
Examples:
Massachusetts
Plymouth
Connecticut
Rhode Island
New Hampshire
Important characteristics
Religious motivations
Puritan influence
Small farms
Town-centered communities
Fishing
Shipbuilding
Lumber
Commerce
Less suitable climate for large cash-crop plantations
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Middle Colonies
Examples:
New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Delaware
Important characteristics
Religious diversity
More ethnic diversity
Fertile farmland
Grain production
Large ports
Trade
Cities such as New York and Philadelphia
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Southern Colonies
Examples:
Virginia
Maryland
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Important characteristics
Plantation agriculture
Tobacco, rice, indigo
Slavery
Large landowners
Warm climate
Greater social/economic inequality
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8. Types of Colonies
Corporate colony
Colony controlled by a company.
Example: Virginia originally operated under the Virginia Company.
Royal colony
Controlled directly by the English king.
Governor appointed by the king.
Proprietary colony
Granted by the king to an individual or group.
Proprietor had significant control.
Example:
Pennsylvania â William Penn
Charter of Liberties
Early New York document providing certain rights and outlining representative government.
Associated with efforts to establish political participation in the colony.
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9. William Penn & Quakers
William Penn
Quaker.
Founded Pennsylvania.
Wanted a colony based on religious tolerance.
Had relatively peaceful relationships with Native Americans.
Quakers / Society of Friends
Protestant religious group.
Believed in spiritual equality.
Rejected many traditional church structures.
Supported religious tolerance.
Women had greater religious participation than in many other colonial communities.
George Calvert
Also known as Lord Baltimore.
Catholic Englishman.
Received land that became Maryland.
Wanted a place where Catholics could practice their religion more freely.
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10. Georgia
James Oglethorpe
Founded Georgia in 1732.
Intended Georgia partly as a buffer against Spanish Florida.
Also wanted to create opportunities for poor English people.
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11. Pennsylvania & New York
Patroonship
Dutch system in New Netherland.
Large land grants were given to wealthy individuals called patroons.
Encouraged large estates.
Quitrent
A fee/rent paid to a proprietor for use of land.
Common in proprietary colonies.
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12. Baconâs Rebellion
Baconâs Rebellion
1676 Virginia.
Nathaniel Bacon led settlers against Native Americans and Virginiaâs government.
Baconâs followers believed Governor Berkeley was not protecting frontier settlers.
Why important?
Exposed class tensions between wealthy planters and poorer colonists.
Afterward, Virginia increasingly relied on enslaved Africans instead of indentured servants.
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13. Colonial Social Classes
Indentured servants
Europeans who agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for passage to America.
After their contract ended, they could become free.
Freedom dues
Things given to indentured servants when their contract ended.
Could include:
Clothing
Tools
Land or supplies
Redemptioners
European immigrants who agreed to work for a period of time after arriving in America to pay off transportation costs.
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14. Slavery
Chattel slavery
System in which enslaved people were treated legally as property.
Slavery became hereditary.
Enslaved people had extremely limited/no legal freedom.
Middle Passage
Forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas.
Part of the triangular trade.
Conditions were extremely overcrowded and deadly.
Slave codes
Laws restricting the rights and freedoms of enslaved people.
They often:
Prevented movement.
Restricted education.
Restricted assembly.
Defined enslaved people as property.
Made slavery hereditary.
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15. Stono Rebellion
Stono Rebellion
1739, South Carolina.
Enslaved Africans rebelled and attempted to escape toward Spanish Florida.
Colonial authorities eventually suppressed the rebellion.
Why important?
Led to even stricter slave laws.
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16. Triangular Trade
A trading system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Simplified:
Europe â Africa
Manufactured goods
Africa â Americas
Enslaved Africans
Americas â Europe
Sugar
Tobacco
Rice
Other raw materials
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17. Mercantilism
Economic theory used by European empires.
Basic idea:
Colonies exist to benefit the mother country.
England wanted colonies to:
Supply raw materials.
Buy English manufactured goods.
Increase Englandâs wealth.
Strengthen Englandâs economy.
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18. Navigation Acts
English laws regulating colonial trade.
They required much colonial trade to:
Use English ships.
Pass through English-controlled channels.
Benefit England.
Goal: strengthen mercantilism.
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19. Molasses Act
1733
Taxed foreign molasses imported into British colonies.
Designed to protect British sugar producers in the Caribbean.
Colonists often avoided or resisted the tax through smuggling.
Woolens Act
Restricted colonial production/trade of woolen goods.
Intended to protect English manufacturers.
Hat Act
Restricted colonial production/export of hats.
Another example of Britain controlling colonial manufacturing.
Iron Act
Encouraged production of certain raw iron products in the colonies but restricted production of finished iron goods.
Britain wanted colonies to supply raw materials while buying manufactured products from Britain.
BIG IDEA:
These laws show mercantilism and British attempts to control colonial economies.
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20. Dominion of New England
Dominion of New England
Created by King James II in 1686.
Combined several New England colonies under one government.
Why?
Increase royal control.
Enforce Navigation Acts.
Reduce colonial self-government.
Sir Edmund Andros
Royal governor of the Dominion of New England.
Strongly enforced royal policies.
Very unpopular with many colonists.
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21. Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution â 1688
English people and Parliament removed James II.
William and Mary became monarchs.
Increased the power of Parliament.
Colonial effect:
Colonists overthrew the Dominion of New England government.
Sir Edmund Andros was removed.
Colonists regained some self-government.
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22. Political Deference
Political deference
The belief that ordinary people should respect and defer to wealthy, powerful, or socially prominent leaders.
Colonial society was often hierarchical.
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23. Lower House of the Legislature
The elected part of a colonial legislature representing ordinary property-owning colonists.
Examples:
House of Burgesses
Colonial assemblies
Important:
These assemblies helped establish the tradition of representative government.
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24. The Great Awakening
Great Awakening
Religious revival movement in the 1730sâ1740s.
Preachers emphasized:
Personal faith
Emotional religious experiences
Salvation
Individual relationships with God
It challenged established churches and religious authorities.
Jonathan Edwards
Famous Great Awakening preacher.
Known for the sermon:
âSinners in the Hands of an Angry God.â
Emphasized Godâs power and the need for conversion.
George Whitefield
Extremely popular traveling preacher.
Preached throughout the colonies.
Helped spread the Great Awakening.
Old Lights
People who supported traditional, established religious practices.
New Lights
People who supported the emotional revival-style religion of the Great Awakening.
Baptists
Protestant group that grew during the Great Awakening.
Emphasized personal faith and baptism.
Helped increase religious diversity.
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25. John Peter Zenger
John Peter Zenger
New York printer/journalist.
Put on trial for criticizing the colonial governor.
His lawyer argued that truthful statements should not be considered libel.
Why important?
His trial became an important symbol associated with freedom of the press.
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26. Maryland & Carolina
Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina
Document associated with governing Carolina.
Created a hierarchical political/social structure.
Helped establish an aristocratic plantation society.
Slavery became increasingly important in Carolina.
Established churches
A government-supported official church.
In some colonies, taxes helped support the established church.
Important contrast:
Established churches = government + religion connected.
Rhode Island/Pennsylvania = greater religious freedom.
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27. Great Migration
Great Migration, 1630â1643
Large migration of English Puritans to Massachusetts Bay and other New England colonies.
Why?
Religious motivations
Political/religious conflict in England
Desire to build Puritan communities
Important:
This was different from the much later Great Migration of African Americans during the 20th century.
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28. Enclosure Movement
Enclosure Movement
In England, landowners enclosed common lands and combined small fields into larger private farms.
Effect:
Some small farmers lost access to land.
Increased movement of people toward cities and overseas colonies.
Helped contribute to English migration to America.
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29. âCity Upon a Hillâ vs. Religious Tolerance
Know this contrast for APUSH:
Massachusetts Bay
â Puritan religious society
â Limited religious tolerance
Rhode Island
â Roger Williams
â Religious freedom
Pennsylvania
â William Penn
â Quakerism + religious tolerance
Maryland
â Catholic refuge
â Toleration Act of 1649
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â The MOST IMPORTANT Connections to Know
These are the connections your teacher is likely looking for in APUSH questions.
Tobacco â Virginia
John Rolfe â tobacco â profitable Virginia â plantations â labor demand â indentured servants â slavery
Baconâs Rebellion â slavery
Baconâs Rebellion â class conflict â elites become more suspicious of poor white workers â increased reliance on African slavery
Puritans â Massachusetts
Puritans â Great Migration â Massachusetts Bay â John Winthrop â âcity upon a hillâ
Separatists â Plymouth
Separatists â Pilgrims â Mayflower â Plymouth â Mayflower Compact
Religious disagreement â Rhode Island
Anne Hutchinson/Roger Williams â conflict with Massachusetts â Rhode Island â religious freedom
Quakers â Pennsylvania
William Penn â Quakers â Pennsylvania â religious tolerance
Mercantilism â Navigation Acts
Mercantilism â Britain wants colonies to benefit England â Navigation Acts â trade restrictions
Great Awakening â religious change
Great Awakening â emotional religion â New Lights â challenges established churches â increased religious diversity
Slavery â plantation economy
Cash crops â labor demand â African slavery â slave codes â racial hierarchy
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