Unit 4 Vocab Flashcards
African Diaspora
Africans living outside of Africa (usually as slaves) who retained some aspects of their cultures
Akbar the Great
1556-1605 remembered for his military successes and administrative achievements in the
Mughal Empire
Asante Empire
African kingdom on the Gold Coast that expanded rapidly after 1680
Astronomical Chart
a map of stars that improved navigation
Aztec Empire
an empire in Mexico that was overthrown by Cortes in 1521
Barbary Pirates
those who plied the seas near North Africa along the Barbary Coast and captured other
European slaves in the Mediterranean and then sold them to the sultan or other high-ranking officials
Bartholomew Diaz
sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 into unknown waters then returned home for
fear of a mutiny
Boyars
Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political power than their western European
counterparts
Capitalism
the economic system of large financial institutions —banks, stock exchanges, investment
companies—that first developed in early modern Europe. Commercial capitalism, the trading system of the early
modern economy, is often distinguished from industrial capitalism, the system based on machine production
Carolina Fur Trade
(1600´s) English fur traders pushed into the interior to compete with French trading networks
based in New Orleans and Mobile
Cartography
map making
Cash Crop
sellable crop that is grown and gathered for the market such as sugar and tobacco
Charter Companies
groups of private investors who paid an annual fee to France and England in exchange for
a monopoly over trade to the West Indies colonies
Chattel Slavery
a system where individuals were considered property to be bought and sold
Christopher Columbus
navigator who explored the Americas under the flag of Spain
City of Potosi
located in Bolivia it was one of the richest silver mining centers and most populous cities in
colonial Spanish America
Columbian Exchange
Exchange:the exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and
the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages
Commercial Revolution
transformation to a trade-based economy using gold and silver
Conquistadors
Spanish soldiers who conquered parts of the Americas in the 16th century
Cossack
peoples of the Russian Empire who lived outside the farming villages, often as herders, mercenaries,
or outlaws.They led the conquest of Siberia in the 16th and 17th centuries
Creole
West African languages mixed with European languages
Criollos
those of European ancestry who were born in the Americas
Dahomey
West African kingdom that became strong through its rulers exploitation of the slave trade and
acquisition of firearms
Dutch West India Company
A mercantile company chartered by the Dutch to conduct trade missions
throughout the East Indies
Dutch East India Company
Trading company chartered by the Dutch government to conduct its
merchant; trade in the Americas and Africa
Engenhos
Portuguese sugar plantations called “engines” because of the amount of sugar they processed. The
working conditions were horrible and the labor force suffered greatly
Encomienda
A grant of authority over a population of Amerindians in the Spanish colonies that provided the
grant holder with a supply of cheap labor and periodic payments of goods by the Amerindians. It obliged the grant
holder to Christianize the Amerindians
Ferdinand Magellan
Portuguese navigator who led the Spanish expedition of 1519-1522 that was the first to sail
around the world
Fransisco Pizarro
Spanish explorer who conquered the Incas in what is now Peru and founded the city of Lima
Galleons
Spanish trading ships that made round-trip sailing voyages once or twice per year across the Pacific
Ocean
Glorious Revolution
also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England by a
union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau
Gloucester County Rebellion
first recorded slave revolt in what is now the United States took place in Virginia
in 1663
The Great Northern War
war between the Russians and the Swedish. It was long and costly for
both sides, but the Russians ended up gaining control of the Baltic Sea
Henry The Navigator
Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation at
Sagres and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugals colonial empire.
Hispaniola
name Columbus gave to the island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Indentured Servant
a migrant to British colonies in the Americas who paid for passage by agreeing to work for a
set term ranging from four to seven years
Iroquois Confederacy
an alliance of five northeastern Amerindian peoples that made decisions on military and
diplomatic issues through a council of representatives. Allied first with the Dutch and later with the English, the
Confederacy dominated the area from western New England to the Great Lakes
Jamestone
English colony in Virginia that was England’s first successful colony in the Americas
Japanese Trade Decrees
series of decrees that were designed to keep Christianity from
resurfacing, and it sharply curtailed trade with Europe. Europeans entering illegally faced the death penalty and
Japanese were required to produce certificates from the Buddhist temples attesting to their loyalty and religious
orthodoxy
Jesuit Missionaries
Missionaries from the Society of Jesus, they tried and failed to bring Christianity to Japan,
but were successful in reaching the elite and scholars in China
Joint-Stock Companies
businesses that sold shares to individuals to raise money for its trading enterprises and
to spread the risks and profits among many investors
Manchus
Federation of Northeast Asian peoples who founded the Qing Empire
Manila
Spanish commercial center of the Philippines that attracted merchants
Manumisson
A grant of legal freedom to an individual slave; more common in Brazil, Spanish, and French than
in English colonies
Martha Empire
Indian power that existed from 1674 to 1818 and ruled over a large area of the Indian
subcontinent; credited with ending Mughal rule in India
Maritime Empires
empires such as Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France, and Holland that were based upon
sea travel
Maroon Wars
slaves in the Caribbean and former Spanish territories in the Americas fought to gain freedom
Mercantillism
European government policies of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries designed to
promote overseas trade between a country and its colonies and accumulate precious metals by requiring colonies
to trade only with their motherland country
Mestizos
the term used by Spanish authorities to describe someone of mixed Amerindian and European descent
Metacoms War
also called King Philip’s war, English colonists used underhanded tactics to control Native
American lands
Middle Passage
the part of the Atlantic Circuit involving the transportation of enslaved Africans across the
Atlantic to the Americas
Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644) Empire based in China that Zhu Yuanzhang established after the overthrow of the
Yuan Empire. The Ming emperor Yongle sponsored the building of the Forbidden City and the voyages of Zheng
He. The later years of the Ming saw a slowdown in technological development and economic decline
Mita System
labor obligation in Peru that required a percentage of the adult male Amerindians to work for two
to four months each year in mines, farms, or textile factories
Monopolies
granted certain merchants or the government itself the exclusive right to trade
Mulatto
the term used in Spanish and Portuguese colonies to describe someone of mixed African and European
descent
New Amsterdam
Dutch settlement in the Hudson River Valley that is present day New York city
New France
French colony in North America along the St. Lawrence River
New Spain
colony established by Cortes after overthrowing the Aztecs in Mexico
Northwest Passage
a route through or around North America that would lead to East Asia and the trade there
Omani-European Rivalry
a trade rivalry between traders from Oman and European traders over the Indian
Ocean Trade Route that fueled Columbus’s search for a new route to India
Oyo
African empire that became rich by selling its captives to Europeans
Peninsulares
those who were born on the Iberian peninsula and stood at the top of the social pyramid in Latin
America
Plantations
the labor intensive agricultural centers of the new world which were implemented by Spain, Britain,
and Portugal
Port of Luanda
founded by the Portuguese in 1575, became the center of the slave trade in Brazil
Primogeniture Laws
law in Europe that required estates to be passed down to the eldest son
Pueblo Revolt
revolt in 1860 of the Pueblo and Apache against the Spanish which temporarily drove the
Spanish out of the area that is now New Mexico
Puritans
English Protestant dissenters who believed that God predestined souls to heaven or hell before birth.
They founded Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629
Quebec
French trading post established in 1608
Royal African Company
a trading company chartered by the English government in 1672 to conduct its
merchant trade on the Atlantic coast of Africa.
Russian Serfdom
in Russia they worked has artisans and laborers in factories they were essentially slaves. Its
practice was not abolished until 1861
Smallpox
disease brought to the Americas by way of Europeans that was deadly to the native populations
Syncretism
the combining of different religious practices and beliefs
Time of Troubles
the time in the early 17th century when Swedish and Polish forces occupied Moscow; it
marked the end of the Muscovite Rulers
Trading Post Empire
empire based on small outposts rather than control of large territories
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Africans captured and sold in the Americas as slaves
Treaty of Tordesillias
1494 treaty in which Spain and Portugal divided the Americas between them
Triangular Trade
Atlantic trading system that had three segments which enslaved Africans were part of
Vasco Da Gama
landed in India in 1498 and claimed territory for Portugal’s empire
Viceroyalty
the highest ranking Spanish officials in the colonies who enjoyed broad power, but also faced
obstacles to their authority in the vast territories they sought to control
Zambos
those of mixed indigenous and African ancestry in the Americas
