chapter 16 Flashcards
Christopher Columbus
Seeked a new route to Asia hoping to find gold, silver, and other valuable resources
First transatlantic voyage by him in 1492 was the Columbian Exchange
conquistadores
Spanish conquerors such as Francisco Pizarro, Hernán Cortés, and Columbus
Brought smallpox with them
colonies
claimed lands settled by immigrants from the home country
Aztec Empire
Late 15th and early 16th century
Collapsed relatively soon after the arrival of Europeans
Accumulated numerous enemies throughout Mesoamerica as a result of the empire’s militaristic actions toward its neighbors
read more about story on page 306
Inca Empire
Late 15th and early 16th century
Collapsed relatively soon after the arrival of Europeans
In 1532, Francisco Pizarro and his crew attacked the Inca in Peru and captured their ruler Atahualpa
read more about story on page 306-307
Hernán Cortés
Alongside his small band of conquistadors, he exploited the divisions among Mesoamerica’s indigenous groups and marched on the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán
New Spain
control Cortés quickly took control of the entire Aztec empire and founded the colony of New Spain
Tenochtitlán
Aztec capital that as marched on and exploited by Hernán Cortés
Mexico City
Spaniards destroyed Tenochtitlán and built their own capital, Mexico City, on its ruins
Francisco Pizarro
Alongside his crew, he attacked the Inca in Peru and captured the ruler
Atahualpa
Ruler of the Inca in Peru
Was attacked and captured by Francisco Pizarro
He was offered to be released if the Inca filled a large room of gold which they did. However, Atahualpa was killed anyways
Lima
Colonial capital in Peru that administered lands from as far north as present-day Panama to as far south as Argentina
Treaty of Tordesillas
1494
Spain and Portugal divided the Americas between them, with Spain reserving all lands to the west of the meridian that went through eastern South America while Portugal reserved all lands east of this north-south line
viceroys
Appointed by Spanish royalty to act as administrators and representatives of the Spanish crown
audiencias
Established by Spain to keep the viceroys from operating independently of the crown
Royal courts which Spanish settlers could appeal viceroys’ decisions or policies
Jacques Cartier
French explorer who sailed from the Atlantic Ocean into the St. Lawrence River at today’s northern U.S. border. Did not find a new route to Asia but he did claim part of what is now Canada for France.
Samuel de Champlain
Explorer who realized that there were valuable goods and rich resources available in the Americas, so there was no need to go beyond to Asia
Quebec
In 1608, the Spanish and French established a town and trading post they named Quebec
New France
French colony in North America
John Cabot
English king sent an explorer named John Cabot to America to look for a northwest passage
Cabot claimed lands from Newfoundland south to the Chesapeake Bay
He did not have enough sea power to defend themselves from Spanish naval forces
Virginia
English established a colony in land called Virginia
Jamestown
In 1607, English colonists traveled approx. 60 miles inland from the coast where they built a settlement called Jamestown on the James River
Henry Hudson
In 1609, the Dutch sent Henry Hudson to explore the East Coast of North America
He sailed up what became known as the Hudson River to see if it led to Asia
New Amsterdam
Dutch used Henry Hudson’s voyage as the basis of claims to the Hudson River Valley and the island of Manhattan, where they set up a town called New Amsterdam
used this port town as an important node in their transatlantic trade network
caravel
a small, three-masted sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century, allowed sailors to survive storms at sea better than earlier-designed ships
smallpox
Spread through the respiratory system
Brought to the natives by Francisco Pizarro, Hernán Cortés, and Columbus
Europeans were immune but the indigenous populations weren’t
Population decrease of the natives
Hispaniola
the name Columbus gave the island now occupied by Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Columbus was convinced that gold was plentiful on Hispaniola
Potosí
In the Andes Mountains in modern-day Peru
Became a thriving center of silver mining
galleons
Mexican silver made its way across the Pacific Ocean to East Asia in these heavily-armed Spanish ships that made stops in the Philippines
sugarcane
Brazil with its tropical climate and vast tracts of land was perfect for sugarcane cultivation
Demanded the constant importation of African labor
northwest passage
French, English, and Dutch explorers all looked for a northwest passage
A route through or around North America that would lead to East Asia
Columbian Exchange
widespread sharing of animals, plants, cultures, ideas, technologies, and diseases between Afro-Eurasian cultures and the native peoples of America
Tainos
a group of Arawaks native to the Caribbean
majority of deaths were caused by disease
Nahuatl
Language of the Aztec
Cortés ordered the burning of native books because they were thought to be unholy so barely any original accounts of Nahuatl exist today
Florentine Codex
in 1545, a Spanish priest named Bernardino de Sahagún compiled the Florentine Codex
One of the most widely cited sources about Aztec life before and after the conquest
Codex=type of book
Virgin of Guadalupe
In Mexico, a cult developed around the dark complexion Virgin of Guadalupe
Revered for her ability to perform miracels
Vodun
Descendant of West African animist traditions, practiced mainly in Haiti and includes some elements of Catholicism
Sometimes referred to as “Voodoo”
Santeria
In Cuba and similar to Vodun
Combining Christianity and the traditions of the Aja people in Africa
Candomblé
In Brazil
Combines Christianity with the traditions of the Yoruba from present-day Nigeria
ecomienda
Labor system that was established by the Spanish to gain access to gold and other resources of the Americas
encomenderos
Landowners compelled the indigenous people to work for them in exchange for food and shelter
mit’a system
Traditional Incan system of labor obligation
Young men required to devote a certain amount of labor to public works projects
Transformed by the Spanish authorities in Peru into a coerced labor system
transatlantic slave trade
Sugar’s profitability in European markets dramatically increased the number of Africans captured and sold through the transatlantic slave trade
engenhos
Sugar plantations processed so much sugar that they were referred to as engenhos
This means “engines” in Spanish
Due to the horrible working conditions in the engenhos, plantation owners lost from 5 to 10 percent of their labor force per year
cash crop
The Spanish noticed Portugal’s success with plantation agriculture and returned to the Caribbean to pursue cash crop cultivation, such as sugar and tobacco
Grown for sale rather than subsistence
London Company
the joint-stock company headquartered in England owned Jamestown
tobacco
Native plant grown by several tribes of American Indians, proved profitable for the colony
indentured servitude
Became widespread in the English colonies of North America
An indenturedf servant was someone who contracted to work for an employer without pay for a set number of years in exchange for passage to America
creoles
Those born in America of Spanish origin
Enjoyed political dominance in New Spain and soon began clamoring for independence from the Spanish throne
peninsulares
Top of the social pyramid
Born on the Iberian peninsula
castas
people of mixed race (mestizos, mulattoes, zambos)
mestizos
Top of group of the mixed races (castas)
mixed of European and indigenous ancestry
mulattoes
Those of mixed European and African descent
Followed the mestizos in the social pyramid
zambos
Those of mixed European and indigenous ancestry
