Period 1 & 2

Question 1

Mayas

Answer 1

Civilization that built large cities in the rain forests of the Yucatan Peninsula (present-day Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mex­ico), success partly due to the cultivation of maize.

Question 2

Aztecs

Answer 2

Civilization beginning in Central Mexico that quickly grew into an empire that swept across Mexico and Central America. Highly developed technologically and culturally, success partly due to the cultivation of maize.

Question 3

Corn (maize)

Answer 3

Crop cultivated in Central and South America who’s domestication allowed for the growth of large civilizations such as the Mayas and Aztecs.

Question 4

Iroquois Confederation

Answer 4

A powerful political union of five independent tribes who lived in the Mohawk Valley of New York. The Confederation competed with other native groups and Europeans.

Question 5

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 5

Agreement between Spain and Portugal that moved the Line of Demarcation previously dividing the Americas that established Portugal’s claim to Brazil

Question 6

Roanoke Island

Answer 6

Unsuccessful English settlement attempt in the New World by Sir Walter Riley off the coast of North Carolina.

Question 7

Protestant Reformation

Answer 7

Revolt by many Northern European countries against the authority of the Pope, both Protestant and Catholic missionaries sought new people to convert, adding a religious motive to the exploration of the New World.

Question 8

Smallpox

Answer 8

European disease that decimated the Americas along with illnesses such as measles to which Natives had no immunity and died in droves as a result of.

Question 9

Capitalism (revisit)

Answer 9

A system of economic production based on the private ownership of property and the contractual exchange for profit of goods, labor, and money.

Question 10

Encomienda

Answer 10

System in which the Spanish king would give grants of land and people to individuals. Natives were forced to work in farms or mines, decimating their remaining population. Gave way to the Asiento System.

Question 11

Conquistadores

Answer 11

Spanish explorers and conquerors who sent ships from the Americas back to their country loaded with gold and silver, making Spain the richest and most powerful nation in Europe.

Question 12

Middle Passage (revisit)

Answer 12

Part of the Triangular Trade that describes the voyage the enslaved would embark on from Africa to the West Indies. The journey was often fraught with death and sickness.

Question 13

Valladolid Debate

Answer 13

Debate in which Las Casas argued that Native Americans were equal to Europeans, while Juan Gines argued that they were less than humans. Las Casas was unable to gain equal treatment for Native Americans.

Question 14

Joint-stock companies

Answer 14

Method for financing colonies while England’s economy suffered that pooled the savings of many investors, thereby spreading the risk.

Question 15

Act of Toleration

Answer 15

Bill in which Cecil Calvert persuaded the Protestant-dominated Maryland assembly to grant religious freedom to all Christians, also called for the death of all non-Christians.

Question 16

Holy Experiment

Answer 16

References William Penn’s strategy when developing his colony in North America. Settlers were promised freedom from religious persecution, a liberal government, and unrestricted immigration.

Question 17

Jamestown

Answer 17

First permanent English colony in America. King James I chartered the Virginia Company to found the settlement. Poor decisions led to early struggles within the colony and conflicts with the natives, but the development of a new type of tobacco crop saved Jamestown.

Question 18

Pilgrims

Answer 18

Known as separatists because of their wish to leave the Anglican Church, inspired by Calvinism, left England for Holland, many later decided to set out for the New World, faced early struggles but later prospered.

Question 19

Virginia House of Burgesses

Answer 19

The first representative government in America, came about as a result of the Virginia Company’s decision to incentivize settlement in Jamestown through the promise of guaranteeing rights equal to those of British citizens.

Question 20

Mayflower Compact

Answer 20

Document signed aboard the Mayflower by Pilgrims that pledged to make decisions by the will of the majority. Early form of colonial self-government.

Question 21

Royal Colonies

Answer 21

Colonies under direct authority and rule of the king’s government. Notably included Virginia after 1624, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Question 22

Proprietary Colonies

Answer 22

Colonies under the authority of individuals granted charters of ownership by the king, such as Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Question 23

Virginia Company

Answer 23

A joint-stock company chartered by James I that founded the first permanent English colony in America at Jamestown

Question 24

Triangular Trade

Answer 24

Trade route that merchant ships regularly followed that connected North America, Africa, and Europe in various ways. Common pattern: Rum from NE-> Africa, Slaves from Africa-> West Indies, Sugar from WI-> NE.

Question 25

Mercantilism

Answer 25

The economic theory that a country’s wealth was determined by how much more it imported than it exported.

Question 26

Navigation Acts

Answer 26

Mercantilist policy that established rules for colonial trade: trade could only be carried by English ships, all colony-imported goods must pass through England, specified goods could only be exported to England

Question 27

Glorious Revolution

Answer 27

Uprising that deposed James II and replaced him with William and Mary. It brought the Dominion of NE to an end and the colonies operated under separate charters.

Question 28

Metacom’s/King Phillip’s War

Answer 28

In response to English settlers expanding into their land, the chief of the Wampanoag untied many tribes to fight against NE. With the help of tribes hostile towards the Wampanoag, NE wins and most Native resistance in NE ends

Question 29

Bacon’s Rebellion

Answer 29

Farmer Nathaniel Bacon raised an army of volunteers in response to a poor government in Virginia and massacred nearby Native tribes and defeats the governor’s forces. Movement dies down after Bacon’s death.

Question 30

Pueblo Revolt

Answer 30

United Native American revolt against harsh Spanish rule and aggressive Catholic missionary converting program that forces Spain out of the area until 1692.

Question 31

Indentured Servants

Answer 31

Immigrants from the British Isles agreed to work 4-7 years in exchange for food and lodging within the colonies, after their term they would be free to work for wages or obtain land.

Question 32

Headright System

Answer 32

Attempt by Virginia to attract immigrants through offers of 50 acre land plots to any who paid the passage to travel to and settle within the colony.

Question 33

Religious Toleration

Answer 33

The allowance of the practice of different religions. This idea existed to a varying degree in the colonies, but often did not include non-Christians such as Jews or Atheists.

Question 34

Great Awakening

Answer 34

Religious movement within the colonies that challenged old belief systems and placed an emphasis on repenting, openly professing their beliefs, and individual understanding of scripture.

Question 35

Hereditary aristocracy

Answer 35

Present in most monarchical governments, the right to rule is passed down through a royal bloodline.

Question 36

Enlightenment

Answer 36

European movement in literature and philosophy that spread to the colonies. Placed an emphasis on reason as a tool for humanity’s problems and was led by thinkers such as John Locke, who argued that sovereignty rested in the people and not the state.

Question 37

Town Meetings

Answer 37

Colonial gatherings in which members of a town regularly came together to vote directly on public issues. Less common in the South.