Terms : Hide Images
| 6058868166 | fixed winds | The prevailing winds of the Atlantic, which blow steadily in the same direction; an understanding of these winds made European exploration and colonization of the Americas possible. |  | 0 |
| 6058842979 | Columbian exchange | The massive transatlantic interaction and exchange between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia that began in the period of European exploration and colonization. |  | 1 |
| 6058874150 | The "Great Dying" | Term used to describe the devastating demographic impact of European-borne epidemic diseases on the Americas. |  | 2 |
| 6058846903 | Conquistadors | Spanish conquerors of the Native American lands, most notably the Aztec and Inca empires. They had wonderful hats- I mean -helmets. |  | 3 |
| 6058862586 | creoles | Spaniards born in the Americas. |  | 4 |
| 6058894139 | peninsular | In the Spanish colonies of Latin America, the term used to refer to people who had been born in Spain; they claimed superiority over Spaniards born in the Americas. | | 5 |
| 6058881528 | mercantilism | An economic theory that argues that governments best serve their states' economic interests by encouraging exports and accumulating bullion. |  | 6 |
| 6058884447 | mestizo | Literally, "mixed"; a term used to describe the mixed-race population of Spanish colonial societies in the Americas. |  | 7 |
| 6058891981 | mulattoes | Term commonly used for people of mixed African and European blood. |  | 8 |
| 6058894140 | plantation complex | Agricultural system based on African slavery that was used in Brazil, the Caribbean, and the southern colonies of North America. |  | 9 |
| 6058898441 | settler colonies | Colonies in which the colonizing people settled in large numbers, rather than simply spending relatively small numbers to exploit the region; particularly noteworthy in the case of the British colonies in North America. |  | 10 |
| 6058892950 | Ottoman Empire | Major Islamic state centered on Anatolia that came to include the Balkans, the Near East, and much of North Africa. |  | 11 |
| 6058855197 | Constantinople in 1453 | The capital and almost the only outpost left of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the army of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" in 1453, an event that marked the end of Christian Byzantium. |  | 12 |
| 6058866252 | devshirme | The tribute of boy children that the Ottoman Turks levied from their Christian subjects in the Balkans; the Ottomans raised the boys for service in the civil administration or in the elite Janissary infantry corps. |  | 13 |
| 6058888655 | Mughal Empire | One of the most successful empires of India, a state founded by Muslim Turks who invaded India in 1526; their rule was noted for efforts to create partnerships between Hindus and Muslims. |  | 14 |
| 6058877382 | jizya | Special tax levied on non-Muslims in Islamic states; the Mughal Empire was notable for abolishing the tax for a time. |  | 15 |
| 6058835518 | Akbar | The most famous emperor of India's Mughal Empire (r. 1556-1605); his policies are noted for their efforts at religious tolerance and inclusion. |  | 16 |
| 6058840414 | Aurangzeb | Mughal emperor (r. 1658-1707) who reversed his predecessor's' policies of religious tolerance and attempted to impose Islamic supremacy. |  | 17 |
| 6058896462 | Qing dynasty | Ruling dynasty of China from 1644 to 1912; the rulers were originally from Manchuria, which had conquered China. |  | 18 |
| 6058904503 | Zunghars | Western Mongol group that created a substantial state (1671-1760); the threat provoked Qing expansion into Central Asia. |  | 19 |
| 6058900456 | Siberia | Russia's great frontier region, a vast territory of what is now central and eastern Russia, most of it unsuited to agriculture but rich in mineral resources and fur-bearing animals. |  | 20 |
| 6058902457 | yasak | Tribute that Russian rulers demanded from the native peoples of Siberia, most often in the form of furs. |  | 21 |
