Chapter 2: Vocab Flashcards
MONARCH
king or queen
ENLIGHTENMENT
movement that spread the idea that reason and science could improve society
LEGISLATURE
a group of people that makes laws
PRECEDENT
a ruling that is use as the basis for a judicial decision in a later, similar case
COMMON LAW
a system of law based on precedent and customs
NATURAL RIGHTS
freedoms people possess relating to life, liberty, and property (the pursuit of happiness)
SOCIAL CONTRACT
an agreement among people and in a society with a government
COLONY
a group of people in one place who are ruled by a parent country elsewhere
JOINT-STOCK COMPANY
investors provide partial ownership in a company organized for profit
CHARTER
a written document granting land and the authority to set up colonial governements
COMPACT
an agreement, or contract, among a group of people
PROPRIETARY COLONY
area with owner-controlled land and government
ROYAL COLONY
a colonial area of land controlled directly by a king or other monarch
RELIGIOUS DISSENTERS
those who followed a religious faith other than the official religion of England
PURITANS
religious dissenters who came to the colonies to purify, or reform, the Anglican Church
PILGRIMS
colonial Puritans who considered themselves people on a religious journey
TOLERATION
acceptance of other groups, such as religious groups
INDENTURED SERVANTS
workers who contracted with American colonists for food and shelter in return for their labor
PLANTATION
a large estate
TRIANGULAR TRADE
pattern of trade that developed in colonial times among the Americas, Africa, and Europe
TIDEWATER
areas of low, flat plains near the sea coast of Virginia and North Carolina
EGALITARIANISM
the philosophy or spirit of equality
MERCANTILISM
the theory that a country should sell more goods to other countries than it buys
BOYCOTT
the refusal to purchase certain goods
REPEAL
to cancel a law
DELEGATE
a representative to a meeting
INDEPENDENCE
self-reliance and freedom from outside control
