2A Vocab Flashcards
casta system
The hierarchical system of race classification created by Spanish elite was based on the principle that people varied accordingly largely to their birth, color, race and origin of ethnic types. More than socio-racial classification, it had an impact on every aspect of life, including economic and taxation.
metis
indigenous north American of mixed race
coureurs des bois
itinerant, unlicensed fur traders in New France known as “wood runners” to the english. Licensing was eventually established by French authorities and “respectable” voyageurs came into being. But the renegade traders persisted and played at major role in exploration and the establishment of trading contact with Native Americans
pilgrims
separatists who left England in search of religious freedom and sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620, establishing the colony of Plymouth.
Puritans
English Protestants who wished not only to rid the Church of England of its catholic traditions, but also to reform English Society; they came to New England to set up a model community as an example to the rest of Europe. They were Calvinists who believed in predestination– the “elect”were chosen by God to have eternal salvation. A conversation experience (an intense identifiable personal experience with God) was seen to be a sign from God that one had been chosen as one of the “visible saints” who then were expected to lead “sanctified” lives.
Great migration to Massachusetts, 1630-1640
beginning with 700 people led by, an exodus of puritans from England brought over 20,000 people- mostly families- to New England over ten-year period.
Governor John Winthrop
he led about 1000 Puritans to America in 1630 and was elected the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He believed the Puritans had a covenant (agreement) with God to build a holy society in the new world and to establish a “city on a Hill” as a model for the world. To some this marks the beginning of American exceptionalism of the theory that the United States is inherently different from other nations because of its founding belief and experiences.
Providence, Rhode Island, 1636
Founded by Roger Williams who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because he said that the government had no authority over the personal opinion of individuals (liberty of conscience) and condemned the taking of Indian lands without fair compensation. Rhode Island was the first English colony to establish separation of church and state, granting complete religious freedom.
Anne Hutchinson
This religious leader was banished from Massachusetts in 1637 for challenging Puritan clergy and gender roles and advocating antinomianism- the belief that the truly saved need not obey the law of either God or man.
Half-way covenant, 1662
This was an attempt by New England clergymen to counteract declining church membership by allowing the baptized children of church members to join even though they had not undergone a conversion experience.
Salem Witchcraft Crisis, 1692
several accusations of witchcraft led to sensational trials in this town in Massachusetts. Cotton Mather presided as the chief judge. 20 people were executed. Afterwards, most of the people involved admitted that it had been a terrible mistake. this episode illustrated the growing social divisions in New England as the accusers were largely from subsistence farming families and the accused were members of the growing commercial class.
Pennsylvania, 1682
Founded by William Penn, who received a colonial charter from King Charles II in payment of a debt owned to Penn’s father. While it was as a haven from Quakers, Penn viewed it as a “Holy Experiment.” Pennsylvania granted freedom of worship and Penn was noted for his fair treatment of the Indian tribes in his colony. He was also a shrewd business man and Pennsylvania was the best advertised of all the colonies.
Quakers
Religious group that settled Pennsylvania. Often known as the “Society of Friends,” Quakers believed in an “inner Light” that would guide them towards religious truth. They were pacifists who opposed slavery and accepted a greater role for women in church services.
Chesapeake
common term for the two colonies of Maryland and Virginia, both of which border on Chesapeake Bay.
Jamestown, 1607
The first permanent English settlement in North America. Located in Virginia, the colony was founded by more than 100 colonists dispatched by the London Company. After a period known as the “starving time, “John Smith provided the leadership needed to make the colony successful.
John Rolfe
Jamestown settler who perfected tobacco as a commercial crop. It became the economic basis of the Virginia colony.
Indentured Servants
Mostly young and single European immigrants who entered into work contracts for a specific period of years in exchange for free passage to America and sometimes a promise of “freedom dues” at the end of the contract. Indentured servants were used as America’s main labor force before 1675.
headright system
this was used by the Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland) to encourage immigrants by giving 50 acres of land to any settler who paid for the passage of a laborer. master-not the servants themselves- repeated the benefits of this system.
Georgia, 1732
founded by James Oglethorpe as a heaven for debtors, Georgia became the last of the original 13 British colonies in North America.
Mercantilism
economic system based on trade in which a nation established colonies for its own economic benefit.
triangular trade
a system of trade between Africa, the Caribbean, and American colonies that involved slaves, cash, crop, and manufactured goods.
Anglo- Powhatan Wars
these were two wars fought between English settlers and Indians in Virginia. The first War started in 1609 or 1610, and ended in a peace settlement in 1614 that soon broke down into a series of Indian attacks and punitive raids by the Virginians. The Second War lasted from 1644-1646 was ended in complete defeat for the Indians who were then forced off their land.
Pequot War, 1636
conflict between the Pequot Indians in Connecticut and the colonists of Massachusetts bay and Connecticut. The Pequot were defeated and driven from the area.
Beaver Wars, mid-1600s
A series of wars in the mid- 1600s in which the Iroquois, who allied with the English and Dutch, fought the Huron and Algonquin tribes, who were backed by the French. The wars were fought over land and the monopolization of the fur trade.
Metacom’’s war (King Philip’s War), 1675- 1676
The last significance effort by the Indians of southern New England to drive away English settlers called “King Philip.”
Pueblo Revolt, 1680
In 1680, Pope, a medicine man, led the Pueblo Indians in a revolt that temporarily freed them from Spanish rule
Chickasaw Wars, 1700s
War in the 1700s between the Chickasaw, allied with the British, against the French, who were allied with the Choctaw and Illini. The war was fought over land, primarily for control of the Mississippi River.
