Key Terms Review Quiz #1 Flashcards
Cahokia
Identification: One of the first permanent settlement near present-day East St. Louis, Illinois in the 1490s with more than 30000 inhabitants
Commentary: Arose as a permanent settlement largely because of hunting, fishing, and agriculture
Chinook
Identification: Native American tribe that developed complex communities in the pacific Northwest, in present-day Washington and Oregon
Commentary: As with other tribes, they were moved west as the United States expanded, and even encountered by the Lewis and Clark expedition near the Columbia River
Anasazi (Pueblos)
Identification: Native American tribe living in the Southwest lived in multistoried buildings and developed intricate irrigation systems for farming
Commentary: Even by the 1490s, the Pueblos had developed complex cultures and societies in which thousands lived and worked together
Powhatan
Identification: Native American confederation of tribes that was settled in the area of the first permanent English settlement in the United States in Jamestown, Virginia.
Commentary: The Native Americans were crucial to the development of the colony’s agricultural techniques and also suffered many losses from disease and malaria that they contracted from the Europeans.
Iroquois
Identification: Tribes in Northeast, present-day New York, formed a political confederacy, the League of the Iroquois
Commentary: The Iroquois sustained attacks from the Americans for a long time, and many of the ideas present in their agreement for the league were the foundation for the US Constitution.
Columbian Exchange
Identification: A period of cultural, biological, and material exchanges between the New World and the Old World
Commentary: Exchanges of plants, animals, diseases and technology transformed European, colonial, and Native American ways of life.
Small pox
Identification: One of the most deadly diseases brought to the Americas by the European colonists
Commentary: This disease alone decimated the Native American population and millions died within a century
Mestizo
Identification: A person of combined European and Native American descent in Spanish-speaking America
Commentary: Quickly became the majority group in much of the Spanish-speaking parts of Latin America during the colonial period
Sugar
Identification: Food transported to the Europe to Americas and became a huge success
Commentary: Sugar plantations in the Americas brought about the need for the importation of slaves from Africa and would later also become one of the leading causes for the American Revolution
Gold
Identification: Most commonly used hard currency for the importation of goods from Europe
Commentary: First settlers of Jamestown suffered setbacks since there were many gold-seekers who refused to do nothing but look for gold, which wasn’t very abundant in Jamestown
Joint-stock companies
Identification: Companies that pool the savings of people of moderate means and support trading ventures that seemed potentially profitable
Commentary: Helped institute many permanent settlements, such as Jamestown and New Amsterdam, which were founded with the Virginia Company and the Dutch West India Company
Corn
Identification: Crop grown in Americas that was possible because of the rich soil and was often traded to Europe
Commentary: The success of corn production in the Americas led to the need for more laborers in the form of indentured servants and slaves
Potato
Identification: A very common crop introduced to the Europeans by Native Americans, including its planting and the underlying agriculture as well
Commentary: As the potatoes became popular among the Europeans, Ireland in particular become heavily reliant on potatoes, and suffered in the well known Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s, after undergoing several potato crop failures.
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Identification: Spanish priest and missionary who traveled to the island of Hispaniola to convert the Native Americans to Christianity
Commentary: Noticed the mistreatment of the Indians and resolved to protest against the cruelty shown by the Spaniards against the Native Americans
Encomienda system
Identification: Spaniards were given grants of land and Native Americans, who had to work on their land and hand over the fruits of their labors to the Spaniards
Commentary: Although the Spaniards were supposed to treat the Native Americans with care, the Native Americans soon died due to disease and the Spaniards’ brutality and the Spanish eventually shifted to a slavery system. However, the Spaniards did make considerable income with this system which helped reward the conquistadors.
Roanoke Island
Identification: Where Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish a settlement off the North Carolina coast in 1587, but eventually failed
Commentary: This was the first significant effort to build a permanent settlement in the Americas and inspired many other settlements such as Jamestown and the Plymouth Colony
Sea Dogs
Identification: English pirates at the time of Elizabeth I of England that engaged in slave trade and specifically the Triangular Trade
Commentary: Encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to prevent the Spanish from getting involved in the Dutch Wars of Independence and also to weaken Spain’s political power
Jamestown
Identification: First permanent English colony in America established in 1607
Commentary: Helped boost colonial development in the Chesapeake Bay region and eventually the entire country of the United States
Tobacco
Identification: Industry established by John Rolfe and Pocahontas, who developed a new type of tobacco that became quickly popular
Commentary: Tobacco became popular in Europe and brought financial success to Jamestown as well as advocating indentured servitude and slavery
John Rolfe
Identification: Advocated a new method of developing tobacco and married Pocahontas, a Native American woman
Commentary: The marriage between a white man and a Native American helped strengthen the relationship between the Native Americans and the colony, for the short period that Pocahontas was alive
John Smith
Identification: Leader of the Jamestown settlement
Commentary: Smith was a strong and forceful leader that made sure all of the colonists worked hard and ensured that Jamestown was successful
Pocahontas
Identification: Daughter of Chief Powhatan that presumably saved John Smith from death and later married John Rolfe
Commentary: Her marriage to John Rolfe and her protection of John Smith led to some years of peacefulness and calm trade and commerce between the Indians and the colony
Tobacco wives
Identification: Women who were bought and brought from Europe to the New World with tobacco, because of the lack of women in the Jamestown settlement
Commentary: Tobacco wives eventually led to the growth and development of the population of Jamestown, and soon other colonies as well
House of Burgesses
Identification: First representative assembly in America organized in the Jamestown settlement only 12 years after its founding
Commentary: This type of government would attract English colonists, since they would be guaranteed the same rights as in England, and would soon be the foundation for the present-day House of Representatives
Indentured Servant
Identification: A person, often a young man, who, in exchange for free transportation to a colony, was obligated to work on a plantation for a certain number of years
Commentary: Led to the development of slavery, where the people had to work on the plantation not just for a certain number of years but for the rest of their lifetime
