Vocabulary Basics
What term means establishing settlements in another land and gaining political or economic control?
Colonization
What term describes a government in which citizens elect people to make political decisions for them?
Representative government
Which agreement was signed by the Pilgrims in 1620 and established rules for governing their community?
Mayflower Compact
What agricultural system used large farms to produce cash crops and often depended on enslaved labor?
Plantation system
Which motive—God, Gold, or Glory—focused on wealth and profitable trade routes?
Gold
What term describes traveling to unfamiliar places to discover new lands, resources, people, or trade routes?
Exploration
What term describes a group of people who move to another country to establish a new life?
Immigrant group
Which elected assembly in Virginia became an early example of representative government?
House of Burgesses
Why did plantation agriculture develop in the Southern Colonies?
The South had fertile soil and a long growing season that supported cash crops.
Name one way immigrant groups influenced the American colonies.
Accept languages, religions, foods, traditions, skills, farming methods, or businesses.
What term means the study of Earth’s physical features, people, environments, and how people interact with places?
Geography
What term means strong loyalty to one part of a country because of its different economic, political, or social interests?
Sectionalism
Which early written plan established rules for governing the Connecticut colony?
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Why did New England develop fishing, trade, and shipbuilding instead of large plantations?
New England had rocky soil, a short growing season, forests, ports, and access to the ocean.
How did geography contribute to sectionalism in colonial America?
Geographic differences caused regions to develop different economies and interests, creating stronger loyalty to individual regions.
What term means a period of history identified by important events and developments?
Era
What trade system connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas through the exchange of goods and people?
Triangular trade
What democratic principle did the Mayflower Compact, House of Burgesses, and Fundamental Orders help establish?
Self-government or representative government
How were the plantation system and transatlantic slave trade connected?
Plantations demanded large amounts of labor, and the slave trade forcibly transported Africans whose labor was exploited to grow cash crops.
Compare the economies of New England and the Southern Colonies using geography.
New England used its coast, ports, and forests for fishing, trade, and shipbuilding. The South used its fertile soil and long growing season for cash-crop plantations.
What term describes an area grouped together because it shares physical, economic, cultural, or human characteristics?
Region
What economic system required colonies to supply resources and wealth to their mother country?
Mercantilism
How did the House of Burgesses and Mayflower Compact give colonists a role in government?
The House of Burgesses allowed colonists to elect representatives, while the Mayflower Compact allowed settlers to agree on rules for their community.
How did triangular trade support mercantilism?
Triangular trade moved resources, manufactured goods, and enslaved people while directing colonial wealth toward European mother countries.
Explain how geography and immigrant groups both shaped colonial development.
Geography influenced where people settled and what economic activities developed, while immigrant groups introduced new religions, cultures, skills, traditions, and businesses.