Periods 1 & 2

Question 1

Aztecs

Answer 1

A Native American tribe that built remarkable cities in the rain forests of the Yucatán Peninsula between the years 300 and 800.

Question 2

Corn (Maize)

Answer 2

A crop cultivated by the Mayas and Aztecs that provided a stable food supply.

Question 3

Iroquois Confederation

Answer 3

A powerful political union made up of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscaroras tribes living near the Great Lakes and in New York. Also known as the Haudenosauanee, this powerful union battled rival American Indians as well as Europeans.

Question 4

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 4

An agreement in which Spain and Portugal moved the pope’s line a few degrees to the west and established Portugal’s claim to Brazil while Spain claimed the rest of the Americas, although these claims were soon challenged by other European countries.

Question 5

Roanoke Island

Answer 5

An English colonial settlement established by Sir Walter Raleigh off the coast of North Carolina that failed mysteriously.

Question 6

Protestant Reformation

Answer 6

Certain Christians in Germany, England, France, Holland, and other northern European countries revolted against the authority of the pope in Rome, leading to a series of religious wars that resulted in many millions of deaths in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Question 7

Smallpox

Answer 7

A disease brought from Europe to the Americas via the Columbian Exchange that resulted in the deaths of most of the native population.

Question 8

Capitalism

Answer 8

An economic system in which control of capital (money and machinery) became more important than control of land.

Question 9

Joint-Stock Company

Answer 9

A business owned by a large number of investors. If a voyage failed, investors lost only what they had invested. By reducing individual risk, joint-stock companies encouraged investment, thereby promoting economic growth.

Question 10

Encomienda

Answer 10

A Spanish system used to control Native American populations in which Spain’s king granted natives who lived on a tract of land to individual Spaniards. These Native Americans were forced to farm or work in the mines. The fruits of their labors went to the Spanish, who in turn had to “care” for the Native Americans.

Question 11

Conquistadores

Answer 11

Adventurous Spanish explorers and conquerors such as Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro.

Question 12

Middle Passage

Answer 12

The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that slave traders traveled through.

Question 13

Valladolid Debate

Answer 13

The debate over the role of Native Americans in the Spanish colonies came to a head in this formal debate in 1550-1551 in Valladolid, Spain. On one side, Las Casas argued that the Indians were completely human and morally equal to Europeans, so enslaving them was not justified. On the other side, another priest, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, argued that Indians were less than human. Hence, they benefited from serving the Spaniards in the encomienda system. Neither side clearly persuaded the entire audience. Though Las Casas was unable to gain equal treatment for Native Americans, he established the basic arguments on behalf of justice for Native Americans.

Question 14

Act of Toleration

Answer 14

The first colonial statute granting religious freedom to all Christians. However, the statute also called for the death of anyone who denied the divinity of Jesus.

Question 15

Holy Experiment

Answer 15

A term used to describe Pennsylvania, a road expanse of forested land to the west of New Jersey that the royal family gave to a military and political leader, William Penn, in payment for a debt. Pennsylvania as dominated largely by Quakers.

Question 16

Jamestown

Answer 16

The first permanent English colony in America, led by Captain John Smith.

Question 17

Pilgrims

Answer 17

A term that came to be used to describe the several hundred Separatists that left England for Holland in search of religious freedom.

Question 18

Virginia House of Burgesses

Answer 18

The first representative assembly in America, organized by Virginia colonists in 1619. It was dominated by elite planters.

Question 19

Mayflower Compact

Answer 19

A document drawn up and signed by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620 in which they pledged to make decisions by the will of the majority. This was an early form of self-government and a rudimentary written constitution.

Question 20

Royal Colonies

Answer 20

Colonies, such as Virginia after 1624, that were to be under the direct authority and rule of the king’s government.

Question 21

Proprietary Colonies

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Virginia Company

Answer 22

A joint-stock company that founded the first permanent English colony in America at Jamestown in 1607.

Question 23

Triangular Trade

Answer 23

A three-part triangular route that connected North America, Africa, and Europe in various ways. A typical voyage might begin with New England carrying rum across the Atlantic to West Africa. There, the rum would be traded for hundreds of captive Africans. The Africans that survived the voyage across the Middle Passage would be traded in the West Indies for sugarcane. The ship would then return to a New England port where the sugar would be sold to be made into rum.

Question 24

Mercantilism

Answer 24

A nation’s power is equal to its wealth. In this system, colonies only exist to enrich the parent country by providing raw materials to promote that country’s industries.

Question 25

Navigation Acts

Answer 25

These acts established three rules for colonial trade:
1. Trade to and from the colonies could be carried only by English or colonial-built ships operated only by English or colonial crews.
2. All goods imported into the colonies, except for some perishables, had to pass through ports in England.
3. Specified or “enumerated” goods from the colonies could be exported to England only. Tobacco was the original enumerated” good, but over the years, the list was greatly expanded.

Question 26

Glorious Revolution

Answer 26

An uprising in which James II was deposed and replaced with William and Mary, bringing the Dominion of New England to an end.

Question 27

Metacom’s/King Philip’s War

Answer 27

Metacom/King Philip, the chief of the Wampanoag, united many tribes in southern New England in response to English settlers encroaching on Native American lands. Some tribes, such as the Mohegans and Pequots, supported the colonists because of their long-standing rivalry with the Wampanoag. In the resulting conflict, several villages were burned to the ground, hundreds of people were killed, and thousands of people were injured. Eventually, the colonial forces and their Native American allies prevailed, killing Metacom and ending most Native American resistance in New England.

Question 28

Bacon’s Rebellion

Answer 28

Nathaniel Bacon, an impoverished gentleman farmer, seized upon the grievances of the western farmers to lead a rebellion against Berkeley’s government. He raised an army of volunteers and conducted a series of raids and massacres against Native American villages on the frontier, including some who had friendly relationships with the colonial government. Berkeley’s government in Jamestown accused Bacon of rebelling against royal authority. Bacon’s army defeated the governor’s forces and burned the Jamestown settlement. Soon afterward, Bacon died of dysentery, and the rebel army collapsed. Governor Berkeley suppressed the remnants of the insurrection, executing 23 rebels.

Question 29

Pueblo Revolt

Answer 29

Various tribes of Pueblo Native Americans, including the Hopi and Zuni, united against the Spanish. Hundreds of people died in the fighting, and the Spanish were driven from the area until 1692.

Question 30

Indentured Servants

Answer 30

Under contract with a master or landowner who paid for their passage, those from the British Isles agreed to work for a specified period - usually four to seven years - in return for room and board. Indentured servants were under the absolute rule of their masters until the end of their work period. At the end of that period, they gained their freedom and could work for wages or obtain land of their own.

Question 31

Headright System

Answer 31

Virginia offered 50 acres of land to each immigrant who paid for his own passage and to any plantation owner who paid for an immigrant’s passage.

Question 32

Religious Toleration

Answer 32

The permitted practice of different religions.

Question 33

Great Awakening

Answer 33

A movement of fervent expressions of religious feeling among the masses.

Question 34

Hereditary Aristocracy

Answer 34

A noble rank, status or title that is customarily bequeathed to future generations.

Question 35

Enlightenment

Answer 35

A European movement in literature and philosophy focused on reason.

Question 36

Town Meetings

Answer 36

A meeting of the voters of a town for the transaction of public business.