American Pageant Fourteenth Edition Chapter 1 Flashcards

American Pageant fourteenth edition chapter 1 terms

586598640	Acoma, Battle of (1599)	Fought between Spaniards under Don Juan de Oñate and the Pueblo Indians in present-day New Mexico. Spaniards brutally crushed the Pueblo peoples and established the territory as New Mexico in 1609.	1
586598641	Aztecs	Native American empire that controlled present-day Mexico until 1521, when they were conquered by Spanish Hernán Cortés. The Aztecs maintained control over their vast empire through a system of trade and tribute, and came to be known for their advances in mathematics and writing, and their use of human sacrifices in religious ceremonies	2
586598642	Black Legend	False notion that Spanish conquerors did little but butcher the Indians and steal their gold in the name of Christ.	3
586598643	Cahokia (c. 1100 A.D.)	Mississippian settlement near present-day East St. Louis, home to as many as 25,000 Native Americans.	4
586598644	Canadian Shield	First part of the North American landmass to emerge above sea level	5
586598645	caravel	Small regular vessel with a high deck and three triangular sails. Caravels could sail more closely into the wind, allowing European sailors to explore the Western shores of Africa, previously made inaccessible due to prevailing winds on the homeward journey.	6
586598646	civilization	Form of political society that traditionally combines centralized government with a high degree of ethnic and cultural unity. The Aztec and Inca empires in South America are early examples of civilizations in the New World.	7
586598647	Columbian Exchange	The transfer of goods, crops and diseases between New and Old World societies after 1492.	8
586598648	conquistadores	Sixteenth-century Spaniards who fanned out across the Americas, from Colorado to Argentina, eventually conquering the Aztec and Incan empires.	9
586598649	encomienda	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.	10
586598650	Incas	Highly advanced South American civilization that occupied present-day Peru until they were conquered by Spanish forces under Francisco Pizarro in 1532. The Incas developed sophisticated agricultural techniques, such as terrace farming, in order to sustain large, complex societies in the unforgiving Andes Mountains.	11
586598651	mestizos	People of mixed Indian and European heritage, notably in Mexico.	12
586598652	middlemen	In trading systems, those dealers who operate between the original producers of goods and the retail merchants who sell to consumers. After the eleventh century, European exploration was driven in large part by a desire to acquire alluring Asian goods without paying heavy tolls to Muslim middlemen.	13
586598653	noche triste (June 30, 1520)	"Sad night", when the Aztecs attacked Hernán Cortés and his forces in the Aztec capital, Tenochitlán, killing hundreds. Cortés laid siege to the city the following year, precipitating the fall of the Aztec Empire and inaugurating three centuries of Spanish rule.	14
586598654	plantation	Large-scale agricultural enterprise growing commercial crops and usually employing coerced or slave labor. European settlers established plantations in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the American South.	15
586598655	Popé's Rebellion (1680)	Pueblo Indian rebellion which drove Spanish settlers from New Mexico.	16
586598656	three-sister farming	Agricultural system employed by North American Indians as early as 1000 A.D.; maize, beans and squash were grown together to maximize yields.	17
586598657	Tordesillas, Treaty of (1494)	Signed by Spain and Portugal, dividing the territories of the New World. Spain received the bulk of territory in the Americas, compensating Portugal with titles to lands in Africa and Asia.	18