Unit 1-2 (1491-1754) Flashcards
Act of Religious Toleration
Passed by the Maryland Assembly in 1649, granted religious freedom to all Christians. Established the Chesapeake Bay Colony, under Catholic Lord Calvert, as a haven for Catholics in the North America.
Albany Plan (of Union)
1754 plan conceived of by Benjamin Franklin to create a more centralized coloinal government that would establish policies regarding defrense, trade, and territorial expansion, as well as aim to facilitate better relations between colonists and American Indians. THe plan was rejected and never implemented.
Anglicization
Adoption of English customs and traditions. This shaped colonial culture and politics in 18th-Century North America, through the adoption of English legal and social traditions in the colonies
Anglo-Powhatan Wars
Series of conflicts in the 1620s between the Powhatan Confederacy and English settlers in Virginia and Maryland
Anne Hutchinson
Critic of the clerical doctrine of grace who sparked the Antinomian heresy that challenged the spiritual authority of established clergy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Antinomianism
A belief that salvation comes from God’s grace alone and not from good works; the elect need not obey the law of neither God nor man; most notably espoused in the colonies by Anne Hutchinson
Aristocracy
Members of the highest class of society, typically nobility who inherited ranks & titles
Atlantic World
The Peoples & Empires around the Atlantic Ocean rim that became interconnected in the 16th Century
Aztec
Spanish word for the Mexica, an indigenous people who built an empire in present-day Mexico in the centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards
Bacon’s Rebellion
1676 uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon and his followers, a mix of former and current indentured servants, as well as Black slaves, were upset by the Virginia governor’s unwillingness to send troops to intervene in conflicts between settlers and American Indians, and by the lack of representation of Western settlers in the House of Burgesses. Ultimately resulted in a sharper deleniation between Native and white spheres of influence, the decline of indentured servitude and its replacement by chattell slavery as the primary labor force in the MIddle and Southern colonies.
Bartoleme de las Casas
Dominican Friar who fought for fairer treatment of indigenous people in Spanish colonies
Battle of Acoma
(1599) Fought between Spaniards under Don Juan de Onate and the Pueblo Indians in present-day New Mexico. Spaniards brutally crushed the Pueblo peoples and established the territory as New Mexico in 1609.
Battle of Quebec
(1759) Historic British victory over French forces on the outskirts of Quebec. The surrender of Quebec marked the neginning of the end of French rule in North America.
Benjamin Franklin
Inventor, author, statesman, diplomat in the 1700s; served as colonial agent in England during the early part of the conflict between the colonies and England
Black Legend
False notion that Spanish conquerors did little but butcher the Indians and steal their gold in the name of Christ
Blue Laws
Also known as sumptuary laws, they are designed to restrict personal behavior in accord with a strict code of morality. Blue laws were passed across the colonies, particularly in Puritan New England and Quaker Pennsylvania
Borderlands
Places where 2 or more nations or societies border each other, and where power is dispensed among competing actors, resulting in fluid social relations, hybrod cultures, and the absence of firmly agreed sovereignty. During the colonial era in North America, borderlands were often places where European empires and native American societies engaged with each other, including the Great Lakes and the Missouri Valley regions. Other examples include the vast territory from Texas to California where Hispanic and Anglophone cultures have intermingled for centuries.
Boston Massacre
Inflammatory description of a deadly clash between a mob and British soldiers on March 5, 1770, that became a symbol of British oppression for many colonistst
Buffer State/Zone
In politics, a territory betwen 2 antagonistic powers, intended to minimize the possibility of conflict between them. In British North America, Georgia was established as a buffer colony between British and Spanish territory.
Cahokia
Major trading center in the Missisippi River Valley near modern-day St. Louis, from the 7th-13th Centuries
Calvinism
Protestant sect developed in Switzerland by John Calvin, in which civil judges and reformed ministers ruled over a Christian society
Capitalism
An economic system based on private ownership of property and the open exchange goods between property holders on th “free market”. European colonization of the Americas, and in particular, the discovery of vast bullion deposits, helped bring about Europe’s transition to capitalism.
Caravel
A small, swift sailing ship invented by the Portuguese during the 15h Century
Cash Crop
A crop produced for profit rather than subsistence
Casta System
System developed by the Spanish in the 16th Century to administer colonies and their diverse populations; based on racial hierarchy that priveleged Europeans
Cecilius Calvert
2nd Lord of Baltimore who helped found Baltimore Maryland with his father George Calvert
Charter
Legal document granted by a government to some group or agency to implement a stated purpose and spelling out the attending rigths and obligaitons. British colonial charters guaranteed inhabitants all the rights of Englishmen, which helped solidify colonists’ ties to Britain during the early years of settlement.
Chattel Slavery
A system of bondage in which a slave has the legal status of property and so can be bought and sold like property
Chinook
North American Indians who lived in present-day Washington & Oregon, who built extensive plank houses, and structured their society around complex kinship and trade networks
Church of England
National church established by King Henry VIII after he split with the Catholic Church in 1534
Citizenship
An individual’s relatoinship to the state, wherein citizens swear allegiance to that state, and the state in return is obligated to provide rights to those citizens
Civil liberties
Individual rights regarding freedom that are created by a constitution and a political regime
Civil Rights
Idividual rights regarding equality that are created by a constitution and a political regime
Civil Society
Organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own interests
Coercion
The act of compelling behavior by threatening harm
Coercive Acts
British Parliament’s retalitation against the Boston Tea Party that was meant to coerce Boston colonists by reducing the colony’s rights to self-governance. Closed the port of Boston until residents paid for the damaged property and moved Massachusetts court cases against royal officials back to England in a bid to weaken colonial authority.
Colonialism
An imperialist system of physically occupying a foreign territory using military, economic institutions, or settlers
Colonization
The process of settling and controling an already inhabited area for the economic or strategic benefit of the colonizer
Colony
Geographic area in one nation under control by another nation and typically occupied at least partly by settlers of that other nation
Columbian Exchange
The massive global exchange of living things, including people, animals, plants, and diseases, between Eastern & Western Hemispheres that began after the voyages of Columbus
Common Law
Law established from custom and the standards set by previous judicial rulings.
Congregational Church
Self-governing Puritan congregations without the hierarchichal establishment of the Anglican Church
Conquistador
15th/16th Century European (usually Spain or Portugal) conquerer of the Americas (esp. Mexico & Peru). Generally part of a corporate entity in Europe
Conservatism
A political ideology that is skeptical of change and supports the current order (status quo)
Constituency
A geographical area that an elected official represents
Constitutional Monrachy
A monarchy limited in its rule by a constitution–in England’s case, the Declaration of Rigths (1698), which formally limited the power of its king.
Consumer Revolution
A process that emerged in the 17th and 18th Centuries, through which status in the colonies became more closely linked to financial success and a refined lifestyle rather than birth and family pedigree. The consumer revolution was spurred by industrialization and increased global trade.
Conversion
Intense religious experience taht confirmed an individual’s place among the “elect,” or the “visible saints.” Calvinists who experienced conversion were then expected to lead sanctified lives to demonstrate their salvation
Corporation
A form of business ownership in which the liability of shareholders in a company is limited to their indivisual investments. Joint-stock companies throught which the American colonies were established were an early example.
Cotton Mather
Puritan theologian and “fire-and-brimstone” preacher, who, drawing from the knowledge his slave Onesimus, helped introduce smallpox immunization
Counter-Reformation
Reaction in the Catholic Church triggered by the Reformation that sought change from within and created new monastic and missionary orders, including the Jesuits, who saw themselves as soldiers of Christ
Coup d’etat
A move in which military forces take control of a government by force
Covenant
Puritan belief that an individual’s relationship with God and others rested on mutual respect, duty, and consent
Covenant Chain
The alliance formed between Iroquois leaders and colonists during a meeting in Albany i n1677 in hopes of salvaging their fur trade and preventing future conflict. Became a model for relations between the British Empire and other Native American Peoples
Covenant of Grace
The Christian idea that God’s elect are granted salvation as a pure gift of grace. This doctrine holds that nothing people do in life can erase their sins or earn them a place in heaven.
Covenant of Works
The Christian idea that God’s elect must do good works in their earthly lives to earn their slavation
Coverture
A Principle in English Law that placed wives under the protection and authority of their husbands, so that they did not have independent legal standing
Crispus Attucks
Former slave turned dockworker. During the Boston Massacre, was allegedly at the head of the crowd of hecklers who baited the British troops, was killed when the British troops fired on the crowd.
Crusades
A series of wars undertaken by Christian armies between 1096-1291 CE to reverse the Muslim advance in Europe and win back the holy lands
Currency Act
1764 act of Parliament preventing colonial assemblies from printing paper money or bills of credit, curtailing the ability of local colonial economies to expand.
Declaration of Independence
Document declaring the independence of the colonies from Great Britain. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and then debated and revised by the Continental Congress, made public on July 4, 1776.
Declaratory Act
1766 act announcing Parliament’s authority to pass any law “to bind the colonies and peoples of North America closer to Britain
Deflation
A fall in prices of consumer goods caused by supply exceeding demand
Deism
The Enlightenment-influenced belief that God created the universe and then left it to operate according to natural laws. Deists relied on reason rather than scripture to interpret God’s will
Democracy
A politcal system in which political power is excercised either directly or indirectly by the people
Direct Democracy
Democracy that allows the public to participate directly in government decision making
Disestablish
To separate official state church its connection with the government. Following the Revolution, all states disestablished its connection from the Anglican Church, though some New England states maintained established Congregational churches well into the 19th century
Dominion of New England
Colonial entity formed when James II consolidated the governments of Massachusetts and the rest of the New England colonies; later included NY and NJ. Established greater control over the colonies by English authorities; resulted in the banning of town meetings, new taxes, and other unpopular policies. The Dominon was dissolved during the Glorious Revolution.
Effigy
A roughly made image or model of a person, typically created in order to be destroyed in an act of protest
Embargo
A ban on trade with a particular country
Empire
A single political authority that has a large number of external regions or territories and different peoples under its sovereignty
Enclosure Movements
The privatized use of common land for personal or financial gain by noblemen, who evicted to commoners relied on the land for subsistence. THis led to social conflict, famine, the creation of an industiral working class, and immmigration to America.
Encomienda
The right to extract tribute and labor from the native peoples on large tracts of land in Spanish America; also the name given to the land and village in such tracts
English Civil War
(1642-1651) Series of civil wars fought to determine who should control England’s government
Enlightenment
European intellectual movement from the late 17th Century to the end of the 18th Century that stressed the importance of rational scientific thining and reason, over traditonal religion and superstition, in the pursuit of ultimate truth.
Evangelist
A devout person who aims to convert others to the faith through preaching and missionary work
Feudalism
A social and economic system organized by a hierarchy of hereditary classes. Lower social orders owed lotyalty to the social classes above them, and in return, received protection and land to work
Freeholds
Land owned in its entirety, without feudal dues or landlord obligations. Freeholders had legal right to improve, transfer, or sell their landed property.
French and Indian War
Colonists’ name given to the 7 Years War in the colonies that strained the relationship of England to its colonies and marked the decline of relationships between Native Americans nad Europeans
Gang Labor
A particularl harch labor system that forced enslaved African Americans to work at a continuous pace throughout the day
Gentility
A refined style of living and elaborate manners that came to be highly prized among well-to-do English families after 1600 and stringly influenced leading colonists after 1700
George Calvert
The 1st Lord of Batlimore who, with his son Cecilius, the 2nd Lord of Baltimore, was instrumental in founding the city of Baltimore
George Grenville
Prime Minister of King George III who increased troops and taxes in the colonies after the French and Indian Wars; made many colonists believe colonial self-rule was under attack
George Whitfield
Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement
Globalization
The process of interaction and exchange between peoples and ideas from different parts of the globe, the extension of economic, political, and cultural relationships among nations, through commerce, migration, and communication.
Glorious Revolution
1688 rebellion in which members of Parliament ousted James II from the English throne and replaced him with WIlliam and Mary. Whig politicians forced the new monarchs to accept the Declaration of Rights, creating a contitutional monarchy that enhanced the power of teh House of Commons at the expense of the Crown. The Glorious Revolution led to greater political and commerical sutonomy for the British colonies.
Government
The leadership or elite in charge of running the state
Great Awakening
The first major series of American religious revivals; began in the 1720s and and ended in the 1750s
Headwright System
A grant system develoed in 1618 that allowed new settlers 50 acres of land in a variety of ways; use to increase the populaiton of Virginia and Chessapeake colonies; led to proliferation of indentrtured servants. Allowed large planters to amass huge landholdings as they imported large numbers of servants and slaves.
