Hernan Cortés
Most brutal of the Spanish conquistadores, led the expedition that led to the fall of the Aztecs to smallpox
Fra Bartolomé de las Casas
Spanish priest and social reformer, "Protector of the Indians"
Matrilineal society
Society in which one inherits property and identity through the mother's line
Jacques Cartier
French explorer for claimed Canada for France
John Cabot
discovered the northeastern coast of North America, sponsored by King Henry VII, unsuccessful search for a northwest passage to the Orient
The Great Migration
Puritan Migration to New England to avoid religious persecution
Roger Williams
Separatist, started Rhode Island for religious freedom, believed that there should be a separation of church and state
Salem Witch Trials
Most famous outbreak of witchcraft, Salem, Massachusetts, teen girls began to experience false visions that led to the execution of 19 people believed to be witches
William Berkeley
king-appointed governor of Virginia, negotiation with the Indians to not trespass on their land, harsh autocratic rule, Bacon's rebellion
William Bradford
Governor of the Plymouth colony, ended Standish labor plan, distributed land among families, helped Plymouth to prosper
Proprietary Colony
A colony that was given to an individual from the crown and was granted rights of self-government
Middle Passage
The horrible and dreaded passage across the Atlantic that slaves from Africa would have to make to the Americas
Powhatan
Tribe of Indians in Virginia that had relations with the Jamestown settlers
James Oglethorpe
Founder of the colony of Georgia
Treaty of the Tordesillas
agreement between Spain and Portugal aimed at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered or explored by Christopher Columbus and other late 15th-century voyagers.
Dominion of New England
An administrative union chartered by Charles II of English colonies in the New England region of North America
House of Burgesses
First assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America
Separatists
Groups of English Protestants that wished to separate completely from the Church of England
Indentured servant
A worker under contract to an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities.
Mercantilism
England's main type of economy, the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism
Christopher Columbus
explorer for Spain, led some of the first expeditions to the Americas, thought he had found another route to the Indies
Montezuma
powerful emperor of the Aztecs
Caravel
A small and fast Spanish or Portuguese ship
English Reformation
When England broke off religious affiliations with the Catholic Church and formed the Church of England
Samuel de Champlain
The Father of New France, founder of Quebec
Mayflower Compact
First document governing Plymouth Colony, Signed agreement to ensure peace between the Pilgrims, signed before setting foot on land, bound them to live in a civil society of their own government
Thomas Hooker
A minister of the Connecticut colony who defied the Massachusetts government and led his congregation to establish the town of Hartford
Henry Hudson
English explorer working for the Dutch, sailed up the river that is named for him and claimed land for the Dutch in America
William Penn
owner of a proprietary colony in the New World, founder of Pennsylvania, religious freedom for Quakers, ect.
Encomienda system
system in Spanish America that gave settlers the right to tax local Indians or to demand their labor in exchange for protecting them and teaching them skills.
Midwives
Women who attended childbirth, treated the ill, and prescribed herbal remedies.
John Winthrop
As governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, was instrumental in forming the colony's government and shaping its legislative policy. He envisioned the colony, centered in present-day Boston, as a "city upon a hill" from which Puritans would spread religious righteousness throughout the world.
Nathaniel Bacon
a farmer in the backcountry, his resentment of Berkeley and the unbalanced power of the Virginia government, lead to a rebellion, by him and other backcountry farmers. When Berkeley refused to let him and other farmers fight nearby Indians, he went into Jamestown, with his own militia, burned most of the city, and drove Berkeley out of town.
King Philip's War
1675 - A series of battles in New Hampshire between the colonists and the Wompanowogs, led by a chief known as King Philip. The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion.
Stono Rebellion
The most serious slave rebellion in the the colonial period which occurred in 1739 in South Carolina. 100 African Americans rose up, got weapons and killed several whites then tried to escape to S. Florida. The uprising was crushed and the participants executed. The main form of rebellion was running away, though there was no where to go.
Conquistadores
Spanish for conquerors. Men who traveled extensively through the Americas, leading small armies of men, and who established themselves as imperial rulers
Half-Way Covenant
A Puritan church document; In 1662, it allowed partial membership rights to persons not yet converted into the Puritan church; It lessened the difference between the "elect" members of the church from the regular members; Women soon made up a larger portion of Puritan congregations.
Triangular Trade
A three way system of trade during 1600-1800s Africa sent slaves to America, America sent Raw Materials to Europe, and Europe sent Guns and Rum to Africa
Navigation Acts
Laws that governed trade between England and its colonies. Colonists were required to ship certain products exclusively to England. These acts made colonists very angry because they were forbidden from trading with other countries.
Ferdinand Magellan
Portuguese explorer who reached the Philippines and circumnavigated the world
St. Augustine
The 1st Permanent European settlement in the US,the caspitol of Spanish FL and the oldest city in the US
New Amsterdam
another Dutch Trading Post, on Manhattan Island in NY, Turned into NEW YORK CITY
Roanoke Island
English colony that Raleigh planted on an island off North Carolina in 1585; the colonists who did not return to England disappeared without a trace in 1590
"Starving Time"
The winter of 1609 to 1610 in colonial Virginia; Only sixty members of the original four-hundred colonists survived. The rest died of starvation because they did not possess the skills that were necessary to obtain food in the new world.
Jacque Marquette
Roman Catholic priest from France who sailed with Louis Joliet through the Great Lakes and down to the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Arkansas River in 1673
Sir Francis Drake
English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
Humphrey Gilbert
an English courtier whose interest in a Northwest Passage through North America to the Orient led him to an unsuccessful attempt to found an English colony in Newfoundland in the early 1580s.
Walter Raleigh
Received a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to explore the American coastline. His ships landed on Roanoke, which became a "lost colony."
John Rolfe
He was one of the English settlers at Jamestown, he discovered how to successfully grow tobacco in Virginia and cure it for export, which made Virginia an economically successful colony.
John Locke
English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.
de la Warr
governor of Jamestown, led a relief party, imposed harsh military rule and undertook aggressive military action against Indians in English colonies
John Smith
Helped found and govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped the Virginia colony get through the difficult first winter.
Anne Hutchinson
A Puritan woman who was well learned that disagreed with the Puritan Church in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her actions resulted in her banishment from the colony, and later took part in the formation of Rhode Island. She displayed the importance of questioning authority.
Edmund Andros
He was the royal governor of the Dominion of New England. Colonists resented his enforcement of the Navigation Acts and the attempt to abolish the colonial assembly.
Bacon's Rebellion
Rebellion of discontent former landless servants led by Nathaniel Bacon. Between Bacon and Berkeley Though the rebellion was crushed, it caused a move from indentured servants to African slaves for labor purposes.
Headright system
Parcels of land consisting of about 50 acres which were given to colonists who brought indentured servants into America. They were used by the Virginia Company to attract more colonists.
Puritans
A religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England. They came to America for religious freedom and settled Massachusetts Bay.
Glorious Revolution
In this bloodless revolution, the English Parliament and William and Mary agreed to overthrow James II. This led to a constitutional monarchy and the drafting of the English Bill of Rights.
Scots-Irish
A group of restless people who fled their home in Scotland in the 1600s to escape poverty and religious oppression. They first relocated to Ireland and then to America in the 1700s. They left their mark on the backcountry of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia.
Quakers
English dissenters who broke from Church of England, preache a doctrine of pacificism, inner divinity, and social equity, under William Penn they settled in Pennsylvania