clae Flashcards
conquistador
Conquistadors /kɒŋˌkɪstəˈdɔːrz/ is a term used to refer to the soldiers and explorers of the Spanish Empire or the Portuguese Empire in a general sense. During the Age of Discovery conquistadores sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, Oceania, Africa and Asia, conquering territory and opening trade routes. They colonized much of the world for Spain and Portugal in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
colony
a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country.
synonyms: settlement · dependency · protectorate · satellite · territory · outpost · [more]
a group of people of one nationality or ethnic group living in a foreign city or country:
“the British colony in New York”
synonyms: community · commune · quarter · district · ghetto
biology
a community of animals or plants of one kind living close together or forming a physically connected structure:
“a colony of seals”
mercantilism
belief in the benefits of profitable trading; commercialism.
historical
the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism.
balance of trade
The commercial balance or net exports (sometimes symbolized as NX), is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period, measured in the currency of that economy. It is the relationship between a nation’s imports and exports.
the compass
a. A device used to determine geographic direction, usually consisting of a magnetic needle or needles horizontally mounted or suspended and free to pivot until aligned with the earth’s magnetic field. b. Another device, such as a radio compass or a gyrocompass, used for determining geographic direction.
joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity where different stocks can be bought and owned by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by his or her shares. This allows for the unequal ownership of a business with some shareholders owning a bigger proportion of a company than others do. Shareholders are able to transfer their shares to others without any effects to the continued existence of the company.
triangular trade
a multilateral system of trading in which a country pays for its imports from one country by its exports to another.
used to refer to the trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that involved shipping goods from Britain to West Africa to be exchanged for slaves, these slaves being shipped to the West Indies and exchanged for sugar, rum, and other commodities, which were in turn shipped back to Britain.
columbian exchange
The Columbian Exchange, or Grand Exchange, was the widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, communicable diseases, technology and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and 16th centuries, after Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage.
A major consequence of Columbus’ voyages was the eventual exchange of goods between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (the Americas). For a list of some of the goods that were shared in this “Columbian Exchange” between the continents, look here.
middle passage
the sea journey undertaken by slave ships from West Africa to the West Indies.
treaty of tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed at Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, and authenticated at Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian 370 leagues west o…
henry the navigator
Infante Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, better known as Henry the Navigator, was an important figure in 15th-century Portuguese politics and in the early days of the Portuguese Empire. Through his administrative direction, he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discoveries.
christopher colombus
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European
vasco de gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira, was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and, in this way, the West and the Orient
hernan cortes
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule o
zheng he
Zheng He, formerly romanized as Cheng Ho, was a Hui court eunuch, mariner, explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral during China’s early Ming dynasty. Born Ma He, Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia
