Chapter 1: New World Beginnings 33,000 B.C.- A.D. 1769 Flashcards
Capitalism
an economic system characterized by private property, generally free trade, and open and accessible markets
Caravel
a small vessel with a high deck and three triangular sails
Confederacy
an alliance or league of nations or peoples looser than a federation
Conquistador
Spanish conquerer or adventurer in the Americas
Demographic
concerning the general characteristics of a given population, including such factors as numbers, age, gender, birth and death rates, and so on
Ecosystem
a naturally evolved network of relations among organisms in a stable environment
Encomienda
the Spanish labor system in which persons were held to unpaid service under the permanent control of their masters, though not legally owned by them
Inflation
rising prices that occur when the supply of currency or credit grows faster than the available supply of goods and services
Matrilineal
the form of society in which family line, wealth, and power are passed primarily through the female side
Mestizo
a person of mixed Native American and European ancestry
Middlemen
in trading systems, those dealers who operate between the original buyers and the retail merchants who sell to customers
Nation-State
the form of political society that combines centralized government with a high degree of ethnic and cultural unity
Plantation
a large scale agricultural enterprise growing commercial crops and usually employing coerced or slave labor
Primeval
concerning the earliest origins of things
Province
a medium sized subunit of territory and governmental administration within a larger nation or empire