Key Period 1 Flashcards
What was maize?
Maize was the first crop to be domesticated by the Native Americans and as a result became a staple food in their diets. Maize is today called corn, and it encouraged a more sedentary lifestyle.
What was the Iroquois Confederation?
The Iroquois Confederation was a group of several native american tribes that formed a mutually beneficial alliance. This Confederacy was politically advanced enough that the US stole their ideas in the Constitutions
What was capitalism?
Capitalism was an economic policy that follows the ideas laid out in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. The policy of capitalism is supply and demand and it pushed Europeans to settle new lands in search of items that would open new markets
What was the Colombian Exchange?
The Colombian Exchange was the exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World (Europe and the New World (Americas). This caused benefits in diets for both Europeans and overall quality of life for the Natives in terms of horses.
What was smallpox?
Small pox was a disease that is similar to chickenpox. Europeans purposefully spread the disease in order to weaken the Native Americans.
What was the encomienda?
The encomienda system was pretty much the Spanish king allowing for the natives to be enslaved so long as they were Christian.
What was the mita system?
The mita system essentially used Indians to gather resources. This allowed Europeans to feel superior. The system made sense as who better to efficiently collect resources than the people who had been living there for their whole life.
What was the costa system?
The costa system was essentially a heirarchy that was based solely on one’s parents. The highest level was pure bred Spanish, then mixes, then full Native Americans.
What was the “black legend”?
The “black legend” was the belief that the Spanish were the only ones that performed atrocities to the Native Americans but in reality, it wasn’t only the Spanish.
Who was Bartholomew de Las Casa?
Bartholomew de Las Casa was an early Spanish historian and missionary that wrote about the subjugation of native Americans and called the end to slavery of Native Americans. He provided actual documentation of the terrible treatment of Native Americans
