AP US History Unit 1 Study Guide
Vocabulary Terms:
Tenochtitlàn: City built by the Aztecs in A.D 1300… Large, impressive public buildings, schools for male children, organized military, medical system, slave workforce.
Iroquois Confederation: 5 Indian nations. Most powerful native group. Traded with French and English, formed an alliance with both.
Francisco Pizarro: Conquered the Incas in Peru, opened the way for other Spanish advances into South America.
Mestizos: People of mixed race. In South America, Central America, Mexico, this was a result of intermarriage between Spanish immigrants and native women.
John Cabot: Native of Genoa. Sailed to the north-eastern coast of North America in search of a northwest passage.
Encomiendas: The right to exact tribute and labor from the natives on large tracts of land. Spaniards were granted this and soon after found Santa Fe.
Mercantilism: One person or nation could grow rich only at the expense of another. A nation’s economic health solely based upon selling as much as possible to foreign lands and buying as little as possible from them. These principles spread throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Coureurs de Bois: French adventurous fur traders and trappers. Went far into the wilderness of Quebec. Great support for the French colonial economy. Formed partnerships with Indians. Intermarried.
"Starving Time": Winter of 1609-1610. Severe; Natives realized that colonists were a threat to their civilization. Stopped English from moving inland into the Indian lands.Period of no food, harsh weather conditions.
John Rolfe: Tobacco was a cash crop. This guy was a planter and began trying to
cultivate it in Virginia. It was the first profitable crop in the new colony.
Headright System: Was created to be appealing to new workers. There was a heavy
demand for labor due to the new tobacco economy. Headrights were grants of land, encouraged family groups to immigrate together.
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