Mexico Unit Vocabulary Flashcards
Amerindian
General term for indigenous peoples of North America
Anathema
A curse from a religious authority that denounced something
Aqueduct
A pipe or channel for moving water to a lower level, often across a great distance
Autonomy
Political independence and self-government
Aviary
An enclosure or large cage where birds are kept
Caste System
Any social system that divides people into classes according to their rank, wealth, profession, or birth
Causeway
A road or path with a paved or cobbled surface
Cavalry
The part of the army made up of soldiers trained to fight on horseback
Compulsory
Required by law or an authority
Conscription
Mandatory enrollment of citizens for a period of service, usually in the armed forces
Democratic
Free and equal participation in government by all members or in the decision-making process of an organization or group
Disciple
Someone who strongly believes in the teaching of a leader
Domesticate
To cultivate plants or raise animals, selectively breeding them to increase their suitability for human requirements
Duress
The use of forces or threats to make someone do something
Embezzle
To take for personal use money or property that has been given on trust by others, without their knowledge or permission
Flay
To remove the skin or outer covering from someone or something
Garrison
A body of troops stationed at a military post
Hereditary
Handed down through generations by inheritance
Hierarchy
An organization whose members are arranged in ranks of power and seniority
Mercenary
A professional soldier paid to fight for an army other than that of his country
Merit
Proven ability or accomplishment
Millennia
A period of one thousand years
Noblesse oblige
The idea that people born into the upper class must behave in an honorable and generous way towards those less privileged
Opulence
Luxury, especially of an extravagant, showy and vulgar nature
Pre-Columbian
Relating to the Americas before the arrival of Columbus
Pulque
A thick alcoholic drink made from the sap of an agave plant
Puritanical
Adhering to strict moral it religious principles
Rural
Relating to, characteristics of, or involved farming
Sharecropper
A tenant farmer who farms land for the owner and is paid a share of the value of the collected crop
Sedentary
Remaining in the same area throughout the year
Sovereignty
Supreme authority, especially over a state or nation
Squatter
Someone who occupies property or land illegally
Staple
A food that forms the basis of a diet of the people of a particular country or region
Totalitarian
Relating to or operating a centralized government system in which a single party without opposition rules over a political, economic, social, and cultural life
Tribute
A payment made by one ruler or state to another as a sign of submission
Urban
Relating to or belonging to a city
