ejected Cards - Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings, 1492-1690 - * Flashcards

1
Q

Define:

Renaissance

A

The Renaissance (meaning rebirth) was a rediscovery of the works of classical antiquity following the Middle Ages. It renewed focus on scientific inquiry and arts and literature.

Inventions such as the printing press, compass, and gunpowder were either adopted or invented during the period and spurred exploration.

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2
Q

What was the effect of the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of Constantinople?

A

Constantinople served as the trade gateway betwen Europe and Asia. Following its conquest by the Turks in 1453, Europeans had to find alternative trade routes to gain access to Asian goods.

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3
Q

What was the primary focus of Portuguese exploration?

A

The Portuguese were primarily interested in trade with Asia and India, and during the 1300s, Prince Henry the Navigator funded exploration expeditions primarily concerned with accessing these markets.

Vasco da Gama, sailing in the late 1400s reached India by sailing around Africa, and Ferdinand Magellan’s ships circumnavigated the globe in the 1500s.

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4
Q

In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella completed the conquest of Spain from the Moors, by successfully capturing _____.

A

Granada

Granada was the last Moorish outpost in Spain, and its conquest unified the country under one monarch. Its conquest allowed the Spanish monarchy to focus on other military adventures, such as the conquest of North America.

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5
Q

In 1492, Genoese sailor Chistopher Columbus, funded by the Spanish monarchy, sailed west from Spain. What was the purpose of Columbus’ voyage?

A

Columbus was convinced that a Western route to India existed, and was attempting to find it. He died in 1506 believing he’d succeeded, and that the peoples he’d named “Indians” really were inhabitants of Asia.

Contrary to legend, few in Europe believed the Earth was flat.

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6
Q

After Columbus established permanent contact with the New World, where did Spain focus its colonial efforts?

A

Spain focused primarily on conquest.

In 1521, Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs in modern-day Mexico, and Francisco Pizarro completed the conquest of the Incas of Peru in 1534.

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7
Q

What was the effect upon the native inhabitants of the New World from contact with Europeans?

A

Indians had no resistance to European diseases, and roughly 90% of the Indian population died of diseases such as smallpox. Many Indians who remained were enslaved to work farms and mines under the Encomieda System.

The chain of disease was not one-sided; from the New World Spanish explorers brought syphilis back to Europe.

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8
Q

What was the Asiento System?

A

As the Indians died from disease and overwork, the Spanish turned to the Asiento System to make up the labor shortage. Under the Asiento System, African slaves were carried to the Americas, and a tax was paid to the Spanish crown for each slave imported.

The Asiento System was a forerunner of the Triangular Trade System, and resulted in hundreds of thousands of slaves being brought to the New World.

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9
Q

What was the Papal Line of Demarcation?

A

In 1493, the Pope divided the world between Portugal and Spain by drawing a line down a map of the known world, giving Spain everything west of the Papal Line of Demarcation, and Portugal everything to the east.

In the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the Portuguese and Spaniards moved the line slightly to the West, an action which was ratified by the Pope in 1506. Since the Tordesillas line went through a portion of Brazil, the Portuguese would later claim the region.

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10
Q

Besides Mexico, Central and South America, what other locations did the Spanish colonize?

A

The Spanish also colonized Texas, New Mexico, Florida and California.

In California, the Spanish founded San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and under Father Junipero Serra planted religious missions along the California coast.

The Spanish Mission at San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, California, was founded by Father Serra on July 4, 1776.

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11
Q

What was the Pueblo Revolt?

A

In 1680, a group of Pueblo Indians in modern-day New Mexico led by Popé, a Pueblo relgious leader, revolted against Spain, driving the Spanish from the colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.

Popé and his followers revolted because of Spanish attempts to ban Indian religious ceremonies. The Spanish returned in 1692, and a further revolt failed.

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12
Q

Define:

nation-state

A

A nation-state (such as France or Spain) is a geographical unit, under one form of government, in which the populace shares a common ethnic and cultural background.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, trade was an important source of funding for nation-states, leading to an increased emphasis on commerce and exploration.

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13
Q

Where did the French focus their colonial efforts?

A

The French colonial efforts centered on the area around the St. Lawrence River, founding the colony of Quebec in 1608. French exploration was dominated by the fur trade.

The French efforts were driven by fashion. Beaver skin proved easy to make into hats, and beaver skin hats were a staple of the fashionable gentleman for two centuries.

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14
Q

How did the French interact with the Indians?

A

Relatively few French settlers arrived in the New World and their primary focus was on trade, mainly trading manufactured goods and weapons for furs. As such most contact between the Indians and the French was peaceful.

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15
Q

What was the Protestant Reformation?

A

The Protestant Reformation was a revolt against the authority of the Pope and establishing new versions of Christianity.

To escape persecution, many of these new Christian sects would seek refuge in the New World.

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16
Q

How did the Protestants and Catholics view the religious nature of exploration and conques

A

Both Protestants and Catholics viewed religious conversion of Indians as a primary justification for exploration and conquest; each group sought to convert the Indians to their verision of Christianity.

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17
Q

Define:

Northwest Passage

A

The Northwest Passage was a purported sea route north and west of North America that provided a direct sailing route to Asia from Europe.

The search for an easy sea lane around the New World by French explorers such as Henry Cabot and Giovanni Verrazano, and Dutch explorers such as Henry Hudson, spurred exploration of North America.

Today, melting sea ice above Canada threatens to make the Northwest Passage a reality.

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18
Q

English colonization of the New World did not begin in earnest until the late 1500s. Why?

A

During much of the 16th Century, England’s attention was focused on supressing rebellions, and a war with France. In addition, King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church over the issue of divorce, founding the Anglican Church.

In 1585, England and Spain went to war, and England began to focus on the New World for the purpose of raiding Spanish ships. Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, English colonization of the New World began in earnest.

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19
Q

What is a joint-stock company?

A

In a joint-stock company, funds are contributed into a common pool by investors who share in the company’s profits and losses.

Joint-stock companies proved an effective way to finance trading and colonization.

20
Q

What is a royal charter?

A

A royal charter was a grant from the King of England granting special privileges, such as self-government to a colony.

21
Q

What was the first permanent English colony in the New World?

A

England’s first permanent colony in the New World was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The Virginia Company, a joint-stock company, received a charter from King James I.

A previous colony at Roanoke mysteriously disappeared, but the Jamestown colony survived despite disease and poor planning.

22
Q

What problems affected the Jamestown Colony?

A

The Jamestown Colony’s problems:

  • Built in a marshy area, the colony was prone to insect borne disease.
  • Many settlers wanted to search for gold instead of working to grow crops or hunting.
  • Some early settlers were of the merchant class and unused to physical labor.

Under John Smith, and his policy of “no work, no food” Jamestown began to thrive.

23
Q

What product made the Jamestown profitable?

A

Tobacco

Under the leadership of John Smith, Jamestown focused on growing tobacco, which made the colony profitable.

A tobacco blend developed by Pocahontas and her husband John Rolfe proved particularly popular in England.

24
Q

What was the Virginia House of Burgesses?

A

The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first lawmaking body in the New World.

Twelve years after the founding of the Jamestown Colony, the Virginia Company sought to encourage colonization in Virginia by establishing a lawmaking body, which allowed the populace to govern themselves.

The current lower house of Virginia’s General Assemby is a direct descendant of the original House of Burgesses.

25
Q

Who founded the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies?

A

The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies were founded by Puritan Separatists.

The Puritans sought to “purify” Christian religious practices, and constituted a threat to the Church of England. A subset of these Puritans, known as Seperatists, sought to leave the Church of England entirely.

The English allowed the troublemaking Puritan Seperatists to settle in the New World, as an easy means of getting them out of the way.

26
Q

What was the governing document of the Plymouth Colony?

A

Aboard the Mayflower, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, which established majority rule for the Plymouth Colony.

27
Q

What was the Great Migration?

A

The Great Migration was the first large scale influx of settlers to the New World. Fleeing a Civil War in England, Puritans under John Winthrop established numerous settlements in Massachusetts, including Boston.

The influx of new settlers led to an expanded government for what was now the colony of Massachusetts.

28
Q

After the Great Migration, how did democracy function in Massachusetts?

A

All male members of the Puritan church had the right to elect the governor, the governor’s assistants, and a representative assembly.

29
Q

Describe relations between the English settlers and the Indians.

A

Initially, the English settlers and Indians coexisted. The Indians taught the English farming methods, and introduced them to new crops, and the English traded tools and weapons to the Indians for furs.

However, as the English sought more land, they began to view the Indians as primitive. Many believed that God had destined them to take territory from the Indians.

30
Q

How were royal colonies governed?

A

Royal colonies were governed directly by the King of England.

New Hampshire was a royal colony. Virginia too became a royal colony, after the Virginia Company (a joint-stock company) declared bankruptcy.

31
Q

What were corporate colonies?

A

Corporate colonies were colonies operated by joint-stock companies under a charter from the King of England.

Prior to the bankruptcy of its joint-stock company, Jamestown was an example of a corporate colony

32
Q

How were proprietary colonies administered?

A

Proprietary colonies were privately administered by individuals who received a charter from the King.

Maryland was a proprietary colony of Lord Baltimore, who received a charter from King James I. So to was Pennsylvania, which was William Penn’s proprietary colony.

33
Q

What was the headright system?

A

Under the headright system, Virginia provided 50 acres of land to any landowner who paid an immigrant’s passage, or to any immigrants who paid their own passage.

The headright system was designed to offset a severe labor shortage in Virginia, but was not entirely successful. Many Virginia farmers turned to slavery to provide the needed labor.

34
Q

What was Bacon’s Rebellion?

A

Led by Nathaniel Bacon, a group of impoverished whites (many of them former indentured servants) and blacks led a march against the colonial gentry at Jamestown. Bacon and his followers were angry at the lack of response to Indian depredations along the Virginia frontier, and burned Jamestown.

Bacon’s Rebellion illustrated rising tensions between indentured servants and the gentry, and resulted in an increased focus on slaves as a source of labor in the Virginia Colony.

35
Q

How did slavery develop in Virginia between 1600-1660?

A

Slavery developed slowly. Although blacks arrived via slave ships, their working conditions were similar to indentured servants and they were often freed after a few years of labor.

By 1650, there were only 400 slaves in Virginia, but the numbers were increasing, and in 1660 the House of Burgesses enacted laws providing for lifelong slavery for blacks.

36
Q

Which colony was established as a refuge for Catholics who refused to join the Church of England?

A

Maryland, a proprietary colony received by Lord Baltimore from King James I.

37
Q

Why did Lord Baltimore convince the Maryland Legislature to pass the Acts of Toleration (1649)?

A

Although Lord Baltimore designated Maryland as a safe haven for Catholics, the number of Protestants quickly outnumbered the colony’s few Catholics. Baltimore convinced Maryland’s representative assembly to establish an Act of Toleration, which granted religious freedom to all Christians, whether Catholic or Protestant.

The Act of Toleration was the first legislative endorsement of religious freedom in the New World, although it did call for anyone who denied Christ’s divinity to be put to death.

38
Q

What was Indentured Servitude?

A

Under indentured servitude, a person’s passage to the New World was paid in advance and in exchange for several years of labor.

Colonists, primarily in Maryland and Virginia, used indentured servants to fill labor shortages. Most indentured servants died before obtaining freedom

39
Q

Who founded Connecticut?

A

Connecticut was founded by Puritans from Boston.

Connecticut was the result of the 1665 merger of two colonies; Hartford, founded by Thomas Hooker in 1636, and New Haven, founded by John Davenport in 1637.

40
Q

What were the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?

A

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut governed the Puritan colony at Harford. Written in 1639, the Fundamental Orders was the first written constitution in the New World, and provided for legislative body elected by popular vote on a secret ballot, which would in turn elect Hartford’s governor.

Many of the principles of the Fundamental Orders were contained in Connecticut’s Royal Charter, granted by King Charles II. For safekeeping, the Royal Charter was kept in a Hartford tavern.

41
Q

What religious group founded Pennsylvania?

A

Pennsylvania was a proprietary colony, granted from King Charles II to William Penn, a prominent Quaker, in 1681. Although designed as a refuge for Quakers, Penn established religious freedom in Pennsylvania.

Delaware was part of Penn’s charter, but was governed by a seperate legislature.

42
Q

Who was Roger WIlliams?

A

Roger Williams dissented from Puritan preaching and advocated a separation of church and state. Asked to leave Massachusetts, Williams established Providence in 1636, granting his fellow colonists complete religious freedom.

43
Q

Why was Anne Hutchinson important?

A

Hutchinson preached that she had received revelations from God, which ran contrary to Puritan teaching. Banned from Massachusetts, Hutchinson founded Portsmouth. A few years later, Hutchinson’s colony of Portsmouth and Roger Williams’ colony of Providence were united under Williams’ control and named Rhode Island.

Rhode Island’s full name, which it bears to this day, is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the longest name of any state.

44
Q

Why was New Hampshire established as a royal colony by King Charles II?

A

King Charles II wanted to increase the royal presence in the colonies and established New Hampshire by separating it from Massachusetts in 1679 and declaring it a royal colony. It was the last colony established in New England.

45
Q

Where did the Dutch place their colonies?

A

The Dutch placed their colonies along the Hudson River (named for Dutch explorer Henry Hudson, who discovered it). The primary Dutch colony was New Amsterdam, modern-day New York, and at Albany, further up the Hudson.

The Dutch also lay claim to much of what is today New Jersey.

46
Q

How did Dutch colonization of North America end?

A

King Charles II provided his brother James, Duke of York (later King James II), control over the Dutch colonies if he could conquer it from the Dutch. The colony was captured by the English in 1664.

The colony, renamed New York, was governed as a royal colony once James II became king. Later, New York and New Jersey would be seperately created out of the conquered territory.

47
Q

What type of colonies were the Carolinas?

A

Originally one colony, the Carolinas were a proprietary colony, with a charter granted to eight nobles who’d helped King Charles II regain the throne in 1663.