Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

APUSH period 1: 1491-1607

Terms in this set (22)

maize cultivation
Transformed societies, less emphasis on hunting and gathering, led to an increase in population. Helped hunting and gathering nomads settle down and create settled agricultural villages
hunter-gatherer economy
In places where Maize had not reached North America yet, people often used the hunter-gatherer economy which is one where the women of the society would collect natural growing food such as berries and fruits while the men went to hunt game. These economies were often nomadic
Western Hemisphere
Land West of the Prime Meridian. Known in this context as the "Old World"
plantation-based agriculture
With the Portugese discovery of slave trafficking in West Africa their thirst for slaves became greater. Slaves were used to farm large-scale commercial agriculture known as plantations
capitalism
Economic system characterized by private property, generally free trade, and open and accessible markets. European colonization of the Americas, and in particular, the discovery of vast bullion deposits, helped bring about Europe's transition to capitalism
Columbian Exchange
Exchange of goods, ideas, diseases, and people between the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Each region was significantly impacted as a result of trade and contact.
cultural autonomy (Examples of Africans seeking to preserve cultural autonomy)
Freedom to express ones own culture and lifestyle without oppression. Many Africans oppressed and couldn't celebrate their culture. Examples: Autonomy means independent or to have some form of self-government. Africans ran away and formed maroon communities, and combined elements of Christianity and African religions
Great Basin
Bounded by the Rockies on the east and the Sierra and Cascade ranges on the west. Located in the central/western portion of the US; a lack of natural resources led Natives to live a nomadic lifestyle in the region.
agricultural economy
The cultivation and trading of crops. This economy gave maize a huge significance in the Americas in the 1500s
Spanish exploration and role of traders
Spain became the leading super-power of exploration and conquest in the 1500's. Spain discovered much of North and South America. Claimed most of the land in the Americas from the Treaty of Tordesillas. Traders settled heavily in South America, reached West Africa and contributed to the development of the African Slave Trade.
encomienda system
Spanish government's policy to "commend," or give, Indians to certain colonists in return for the promise to Christianize them. Part of a broader Spanish effort to subdue Indian tribes in the West Indies and on the North American mainland
empire building
The pinnacle and most extreme level of the pyramid of bureaucracy. It occurs when one group attempts to regain or enhance its self-sufficiency by encroachment or by expanding its span of control even when that is not in the best interest of the organization.
white superiority
When the Spanish were colonizing the Americas they had the power to subdue and patronize the Natives. They made themselves superior also because of the belief that they were civil and the natives were savages
European goods that transformed Native life
Horses - improved hunting and warfare for Natives (especially in the Great Plains and Basin), weapons and alcohol helped increase the destructiveness of warfare
Great Plains
Midwest United States. The Sioux tribe was originally from here. A lack of natural resources led Natives to live a nomadic lifestyle in the region.
permanent villages
Due to the cultivation of maize in the Americas hunter-gatherer societies were able to move from a nomadic lifestyle to a more stable lifestyle. People were able to settle down in one spot and create communities because of this surplus of food
Portuguesse exploration and role of traders
First country to investigate Africa's Sub-Saharan land. Also first country to round the southern tip of Africa and find a trade route to the Indies.
slave labor
Slaves were taken from West Africa and deported to the New World and Europe. Slaves worked on large plantations for commercial crop use. Many slaves were deported from Africa because this source of labor was very cheap
feudalism
The political system where slaves worked the land for their superiors in exchange for their protection and food. The Europeans made slaves work their plantations and they gave them just enough food and water to survive
political autonomy
Freedom to set up government on a communities own terms
American goods that transformed European life
Maize, potatoes, and other crops - helped increase European population and the shift from feudalism to capitalism
European subjugation of Africans & Natives
White racial superiority, bible, view of groups as "savages"
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...