Unit 4 Vocab APWH 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:
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
Cartography
Mapmaking
Carolina Fur Trade
English fur traders pushed into the interior to compete with French trading networks
based in New Orleans and Mobile
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
the exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and
the rest of the world following Columbus 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
People of the Russian Empire who lived outside the farming villages, often as herders, mercenaries,
or outlaws.
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 East India Company
(1602) A mercantile company chartered by the Dutch to conduct trade missions throughout the East Indies
Dutch West India Company
(1621-1794) Trading company chartered by the Dutch government to conduct its merchants’ 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
Francisco 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 (1700-1721)
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: (1394-1460)
Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation at Sagres and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugal’s 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
Jamestown
English colony in Virginia that was England’s first successful colony in the Americas
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
Japanese Trade Decrees
Series of decrees that were designed to keep Christianity from resurfacing in Japan
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
Manumission
A grant of legal freedom to an individual slave; more common in Brazil, Spanish, and French than
in English colonies
Maratha 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
Mercantilism
government policies designed to promote overseas trade between a country and its colonies
Mestizos
The term used by Spanish authorities to describe someone of mixed Amerindian and European descent
Metacom’s 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.
Mit’a 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
