Chapter 2 Vocab + Reading Question

Question 1

Chattel Slavery

Answer 1

A system of bondage in which a slave has the legal status of property and so can be bought and sold like property (p.40)

Question 2

Encomiendas

Answer 2

A grant of Indian labor in Spanish American given in the sixteenth century by the Spanish kings to prominent men. Encomenderos extracted tribute from these Indians in exchange for granting them protection and Christian instruction.

Question 3

Columbian Exchange

Answer 3

The massive global exchange of living things, including people, animals, plants, and diseases, between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres that began after the voyages of Columbus.

Question 4

Mercantilism

Answer 4

A system of political economy based on government regulation. Beginning in 1650, Britain enacted Navigation Acts that controlled colonial commerce and manufacturing for the enrichment of Britain.

Question 5

House of Burgesses

Answer 5

Organ of government in colonial Virginia made up of an assembly of representatives elected by the colony’s inhabitants.

Question 6

Royal Colony

Answer 6

In the English system, a royal colony was chartered by the crown. The colony’s governor was appointed by the crown and served according to the instructions of the Board of Trade.

Question 7

Freeholds

Answer 7

Land owned in its entirety, without feudal dues or landlord obligations. Freeholders had the legal right to improve, transfer, or sell their landed property.

Question 8

Headright System

Answer 8

A system of land distribution, pioneered in Virginia and used in several other colonies, that granted land- usually 50 acres- to anyone who paid the passage of a new arrival. By this means, large planters amassed huge landholdings as they imported large numbers of servants and slaves.

Question 9

Indentured Servitude

Answer 9

Workers contracted for service for a specified period. In exchange for agreeing to work for four of five years (or more) without wages in the colonies, indentured workers received passage across the Atlantic, room and board, and status as a free person at the end of the contract period.

Question 10

Pilgrims

Answer 10

One of the first protestant groups to come to America, seeking a separation from the Church of England. They founded Plymouth, the permanent community in New England, in 1620.

Question 11

Puritans

Answer 11

Dissenters from the Church of England who wanted a genuine Reformation rather than the partial Reformation sought by Henry VIII. The Puritans’ religious principles emphasized the importance of an individual’s relationship with God developed through Bible study, prayer, and introspection.

Question 12

Joint Stock Corporation

Answer 12

A financial organization devised by English merchants around 1550 that facilitated the colonization of North America. In these companies, a number of investors pooled their capital and received shares of stock in the enterprise in proportion to their share of the total investment.

Question 13

Toleration

Answer 13

The allowance of different religious practices. Lord Baltimore persuaded the Maryland assembly to enact the Toleration Act (1649), which granted all Christians the right to follow their beliefs and hold church services. The crown imposed toleration on Massachusetts bay in its new royal charter of 1691.

Question 14

Opechancanough

Answer 14

A powerful Indian warrior, also known as Powhatan’s younger brother. He led the assault of the English around 1622, captured John Smith, attacked English invaders, and led a revolt against English settlers.

Question 15

Lord Baltimore

Answer 15

English proprietor that owned the colony of Maryland. He settled Catholics in Maryland, brought forward the idea of the Toleration Act in 1649, and made the Church of England the legal religion, then converted to Anglican.

Question 16

John Winthrop

Answer 16

A well educated country squire who became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He led the departure of 900 migrants.

Question 17

Roger Williams

Answer 17

The Puritan minister in Salem, a coastal town north of Boston. He founded providence in 1636, was a target during the purge of religious dissidents, and encouraged pilgrims to separate church and state.

Question 18

Anne Hutchinson

Answer 18

The wife of a merchant and was a mother of 7 children. She was banished from Massachusetts Bay in 1637 and held weekly prayer meetings for the women.

Question 19

Metacom

Answer 19

Also known as King Philip. He started a war in New England (1675-1676), wanted to expel English colonists, and aided in destroying 1/5 of English towns in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Question 20

What “push factors” caused people to leave England for its colonies in the seventeenth century? What “pull factors” drew them to particular colonies or regions?

Answer 20

The push factors in leaving England was mainly religion, they wanted to sort of escape the Church of England. They were under very strict rule and wanted to leave all that behind. The pull factor that motivated them to leave was economic opportunities. They wanted new ways to make money