Unit 4

Question 1

Mercantilism

Answer 1

the economic theory that prosperity of a nation depends upon its supply of capital, and that global trade is unchangeable.

Question 2

Prince Henry the Navigator

Answer 2

a Portuguese prince sponsored voyages of exploration with the aim of building colonies in the North Atlantic and West Africa, and began the Portuguese involvement in the African slave trade

Question 3

Galleons

Answer 3

Spanish treasure ships which transported precious goods like silk, spices, and porcelain from Manilla in the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico, between 1565 and 1815

Question 4

Bartholomew Diaz

Answer 4

the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa, opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia

Question 5

Vasco Da Gama

Answer 5

a Portuguese navigator who, in 1497-9, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and arrived at Calicut on the south-west coast of India

Question 6

Ferdinand Magellan

Answer 6

Portuguese mariner who commanded the first European (Spanish) fleet to circumnavigate the globe (1519-1521)

Question 7

Conquistadores

Answer 7

any of the leaders in the Spanish conquest of America, especially of Mexico and Peru, in the 16th century

Question 8

Creole

Answer 8

individuals who were born in the colonies, but had Spanish parents or grandparents

Question 9

Francisco Pizarro

Answer 9

Spanish explorer who conquered the Incas in what is now Peru and founded the city of Lima

Question 10

Athualpa

Answer 10

the last ruler of the Inca Empire

Question 11

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 11

an agreement between Spain and Portugal based on a earlier decree by Pope Alexander VI, divided control of any future American territories

Question 12

Hernan Cortez

Answer 12

Spanish conquistador and explorer, defeated the Aztec empire and claimed Mexico for Spain

Question 13

Montezuma

Answer 13

the last fully independent ruler of the Aztec empire before the civilization’s collapse after the Spanish Conquest in the early 16th century CE

Question 14

Indentured servants

Answer 14

a laborer from Europe who, in agreement upon a period of labor (typically 3-7 years), had their passage to the New World funded by a wealthy plantation owner

Question 15

Chattel slavery

Answer 15

the most common form of slavery known to Americans

Question 16

Encomienda

Answer 16

a system where Spanish adventurers and settlers were granted the legal right to extract forced labor from indigenous tribal chiefs in the Americas colonies of the Spanish empire.

Question 16

Mit’a system

Answer 16

a mandatory public service system, where people had to serve for two months out of the year

Question 17

Joint stock company

Answer 17

a business, often backed by a government charter, that sold shares to individuals to raise money for its trading enterprises and to spread the risks (and profits) among many investors

Question 18

Triangular trade

Answer 18

system of exchange in which Europe supplied Africa and the Americas with finished goods, the Americas supplied Europe and Africa with raw materials, and Africa supplied the Americas with enslaved laborers

Question 19

Syncretism

Answer 19

the blending of cultures and ideas from different places

Question 20

Peninsulares

Answer 20

Spaniards living in the Spanish colonies who were born in Spain, their birth giving them the highest status in the New World

Question 21

Mestizos

Answer 21

term meaning mixed in Spanish, and is generally used throughout Latin America to describe people of mixed ancestry with a white European and an indigenous background

Question 22

Mulattos

Answer 22

term used in Latin America that commonly refers to a mixed-race ancestry that includes white European and black African roots

Question 23

Zambos

Answer 23

Spanish and Portuguese expression referring to people of mixed indigenous and African ancestry

Question 24

Castas

Answer 24

the Spanish word for “lineage”, to all children of mixed ancestry