The Americas Flashcards
Indigenous
of or relating to the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonized by a now-dominant group
Maya
a group of Indian peoples chiefly of Yucatán, Belize, and Guatemala whose languages are Mayan
Aztec
a Nahuatl-speaking people that founded the Mexican empire conquered by Cortes in 1519
Inca
the Quechuan peoples of Peru maintaining an empire until the Spanish conquest
The Columbian Exchange
the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemisphere, in the late 15th and following centuries
Encomienda
A Spanish version of feudalism which eventually became a form of slavery.
Missions System
A system in which people travel to other places to inform others on their religion and try to get people to convert to that religion.
Conquistador
were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries
Hernan Cortez
a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the king of Castile in the early 16th century.
Francisco Pizzaro
a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
Bartolomé de las Casas
a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as a historian and social reformer
