APUSH Notecards 1-250

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Christopher Columbus

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Italian-born navigator who founded fame when he landed in the Americans (October 12,1492)
Sat sail on behalf of Spain with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and his flagship, the Santa Maria
Originally, he had sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean to find a water route to Asia
Columbus was convinced that he had found the waterway that he sought and that the Americans were actually an extension of China
Returned from his expedition with gold, encouraging future exploration

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Italian member of a Portuguese expedition
Explored South American
Discovery suggested that the expedition had found a "New World"
After an account of Vespucci's 1497 expedition was published, a cartographer mistakenly thought that Vespucci had lad the expedition and had landed on the New World before Christopher Columbus; the cartographer named the continent America

Treaty of Tordesillas

Commitment between Spain and Portugal
Crated a papal line of Demarcation, which divided the New World: east of the line of it for Spain
Later, the Papal line affected colonization in Africa and Asia

New Spain

Spain's tightly controlled empire in the New World
To deal with labor shortages, the Spaniards developed a system of large manors (encomiendas) using Native American slaves under conquistadors
With the death of Native American slaves, Spaniards began importing African slaves to supply their labor needs

Mercantilism

Prevailing economic philosophy of the 1600s that held that colonies existed to serve the mother country
Founded on the belief that the world's wealth was sharply limited and, therefore, one nation's gain was another nation's loss
Each nation's goal was to export more than it imported in a favorable balance of trade; the difference would be made up in their possession of gold and silver, witch would make the nation strong both economically and militarily
Mercantilists believed economic activity should be regulated by the government

Queen Elizabeth I

Protestant successor to Queen Mary (England)
Popular leader and the first woman to successfully hold the throne
Invested in English raids on the Spanish New World
Brought on a war response from Spain in the form of the Spanish Armada
Established Protestantism in England and encouraged English business

The Spanish Armada

Fleet assembled by King Philip II of Spain to invade England
The Armada was defeated by the skill of British military leaders and by rough seas during the assault
England's victory over Spanish forces established England as an emerging sea power; it was one of the great achievements of Queen Elizabeth I
Defeat helped bring about the decline of the Spanish empire

Types of Colonies in the New World

In a charter colony, colonists were essentially members of a corporation and, based on an agreed-upon charter, electors among the colonists would control the government
A royal colony had a governor selected by England's king; he would serve in the leadership role and choose additional, lesser officers
Proprietary colonies were owned by an individual with direct responsibility to the king; the proprietor selected a governor, who served as the authority figure for the property

English Puritanism

Movement by those who wished to reform the Church of England to be more in line with their ideology
Puritans were Calvinist in their religious beliefs; they believed in predestination and in the authority of Scripture over papal authority
Though Kind Henry VIII had set out to separate from papal authority in favor of his own Church of England, many Roman Catholic traditions and practices remained
Puritans rejected these Roman Catholic holdovers because of their Calvinist ideology; they sought to make the England Church "pure"
Puritanism would echo throughout American culture in the ideas of self-reliance, moral fortitude, and an emphasis on intellectualism

Dutch West India Company

The joint-stock company that ran the colonies in Fort Orange and in New Amsterdam, which later became New York
Carried on a profitable fur trade with the Native American Iroquois
Instituted the patron system, in which large estates were given to wealth men who transported at lease fifty families to New Netherland to tend the land; few took on the opportunity

Sir Walter Raleigh

Selected Roanoke Island as a site for the first English settlement
Returned to England to secure additional supplies; on his return, he found the colony deserted; it is not known what became of the Roanoke settles
After the failure at Roanoke, Raleigh abandoned his attempts to colonize Virginia
Held back by a lack of financial resources and the war with Spain, English interest in American colonization was submerged for fifteen years

St. Augustine, Florida

French Protestants (Huguenots) went to the New World to freely practice their religion; they formed a colony near modern-day St. Augustine, Florida
Spain, which oversaw Florida, reacted violently to the Huguenots because they were trespassers and because they were viewed as heretics by the Catholic church
Spain sent a force to the settlement and massacred the fort's inhabitants
The settlement at St. Augustine, Florida, is considered to be the first permanent European settlement in what would become the United States

Charter Colonies (Joint-Stock) and "Starving Time"

Charter colonies were associations that sought trade, exploration, and colonization overseas
Jamestown (1607) was the first charter colony
"Starving Time" describes a period in the 1600s during which many colonists died and others considered returning to England

Jamestown

Named for James I (1566-1625), Queen Elizabeth's successor in England
James I granted charters for charter colonies in the New World
In 1607, the Virginia Company of London settled Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, swampy location led to disease & contaminated water sources
Despite location and hostile relations with Native Americans, John Smith's harsh, charismatic leadership of the colony kept it from collapsing
In 1619, African slaves arrived at Jamestown, becoming the first group of slaves to reach a British settlement

Indenture System

Poor workers, convicted criminals, and debtors received immigration passage and fees in return for a number of years at labor on behalf of a planter or company
Servants entered into their contracts voluntarily and kept come legal rights
However, servants had little control over the conditions of their work and living arrangements; system led to harsh and brutal treatment

APUSH Notecards 1-250

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