Chapter 14 Key Terms

Question 1

Conquistador

Answer 1

Spanish for “conqueror”; Spanish soldier-explorers, such as Hernando Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who sought to conquer the New World for the Spanish crown.

Question 2

Caravel

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Ptolemy’s Geography

Answer 3

A second-century-C.E. work that synthesized the classical knowledge of geography and introduces the concepts of longitude and latitude. Reintroduced to Europeans about 1410 by Arab scholars, its ideas allowed cartographers to create more accurate maps.

Question 4

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 4

The 1494 agreement giving Spain everything west of an imaginary line drawn down the Atlantic and giving Portugal everything to the east.

Question 5

Mexica Empire

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

Inca Empire

Answer 6

The vast and sophisticated Peruvian empire centered at the capital city of Cuzco that was at its peak from 1438 until 1532.

Question 7

Viceroyalties

Answer 7

The name for the four administrative units of Spanish possessions in the Americas: New Spain, Peru, New Granada, and La Plata.

Question 8

Encomienda System

Answer 8

A system in which the Spanish crown granted conquerors the right to forcibly employ groups of Indians in exchange for providing food, shelter, and Christian teaching.

Question 9

Columbian Exchange

Answer 9

The exchange of animals, plants, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds