CH. 14 Flashcards
Conquistador
Spanish for “conqueror”; Spanish soldier-explorers, such as Hernando Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who sought to conquer the New World for the Spanish crown.
Caravel
A small, maneuverable, three-mast sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century that gave the Portuguese a distinct advantage in exploration and trade.
Ptolemy’s Geography
A second-century-C.E. work that synthesized the classical knowledge of geography and introduced the concepts of longitude and latitude. Reintroduced to Europeans about 1410 by Arab scholars, its ideas allowed cartographers to create more accurate maps.
Treaty of Tordesillas
The 1494 agreement giving Spain everything to the west of an imaginary line drawn down the Atlantic and giving Portugal everything to the East.
Mexica Empire
Also known as the Aztec Empire, a large and complex Native American civilization in modern Mexico and Central America that possessed advanced mathematical, astronomical, and engineering technology.
Inca Empire
The vast and sophisticated Peruvian empire centered at the capital city of Cuzco that was at its peak from 1438-1532.
Viceroyalties
The name for the four administrative units of Spanish possessions in the Americas: New Spain, Peru, New Granada, and La Plata.
Encomienda System
A system whereby the Spanish crown granted the conquerors the right to forcibly employ groups of Indians in exchange for providing food, shelter, and Christian teaching.
Columbian Exchange
The exchange of animals, plants, and diseases between the Old and the New Worlds.