Technology
This is the term given to the historical phenomenon that happened when societies learned how to farm and raise livestock.
What was the Neolithic Revolution?
This historical region of Western Asia located within the Tigris–Euphrates river system is widely considered the "cradle of civilization" and roughly corresponds to modern-day Iraq, alongside parts of Syria, Turkey, and Iran.
What is Mesopotamia?
This was an expansive, interconnected network of ancient trade routes that spanned over 6,400 km across land and sea. Connecting East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, it thrived from the 2nd century BCE to the 15th century CE, driving commerce, cultural exchange, and early globalization.
What was the Silk Road?
This master navigator and admiral's four transatlantic voyages (1492–93, 1493–96, 1498–1500, and 1502–04) opened the way for European exploration, exploitation, and colonization of the Americas.
Who was Christopher Columbus?
This subregion of North America encompassing the island countries and territories of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
What are the West Indies?
This is an ancient agricultural method of cutting flat, stepped platforms into steep hillsides or mountains. It transforms rugged topography into productive arable land while preventing severe soil erosion and water runoff.
What is terrace farming?
Spanning much of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, this empire began in 27 BC following the fall of the Republic and transformed Western civilization through its advancements in law, engineering, and government.
What was the Roman Empire?
In this economic system, private individuals or businesses own the means of production (e.g., factories, land, and tools). Resources and goods are driven by the motive for profit and decentralized free markets, rather than by government control.
What is capitalism?
This Portuguese explorer organized the first expedition to successfully circumnavigate the globe, but was killed in the Philippines before his crew was able to make it back to Europe.
Who was Ferdinand Magellan?
This term refers to Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Bahamas in October 1492 and the subsequent, historic meeting between European explorers and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas (such as the Taíno and Lucayan).
What was the Encounter?
This was a transformative period spanning from the early 15th century to the 17th century. During this time, European powers ventured across the globe by sea to chart new trade routes, map the world, and establish global empires.
What was the Age of Exploration?
This was a brutal judicial institution established by the Spanish Crown to suppress heresy and ensure religious uniformity. While nominally Catholic, it was uniquely controlled by the monarchy to consolidate political power and enforce societal compliance through fear, secrecy, and torture.
What was the Spanish Inquisition?
This was a medieval social, economic, and political structure in which land was exchanged for loyalty, service, and protection.
What was the feudal system?
This Spanish conquistador led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico from 1519.
Who was Hernán Cortés?
This was the massive, widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas (the "New World") and Afro-Eurasia (the "Old World").
What was the Columbian Exchange?
This was a small, fast, and highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century. It was heavily favored for its ability to sail into the wind and navigate shallow coastal waters.
What was the caravel?
This was a brutal labor and tribute system used by the Spanish Crown during the colonization of the Americas in which the Crown granted Spanish colonists a specific number of Indigenous people from whom they could extract forced labor or tribute.
What was the encomienda?
This was an economic system dominated Western Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries and was based on the premise that a nation's wealth and power are best served by maximizing exports and minimizing imports, thereby accumulating precious metals like gold and silver.
What was mercantilism?
This Portuguese prince famously sponsored voyages of exploration with the aim of building colonies in the North Atlantic and West Africa, and began the Portuguese involvement in the African slave trade.
Who was Prince Henry the Navigator?
This is the name given to the second leg of the triangular trade, in which ebnslaved people from Africa were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Anmericas.
What is the Middle Passage?
This is an ancient, portable astronomical instrument used as a handheld model of the universe. Often described as the "smartphone of the medieval world," it allowed astronomers, navigators, and scholars to measure the positions of the stars, determine local time, calculate latitude, and predict sunrise and sunset.
What is an astrolabe?
This was the social hierarchy system in Latin America that categorized people into Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, and Mulattoes, among other groups.
What was the Casta system?
This economic system involved sending manufactured goods from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and raw materials from the Americas to Europe.
What was the triangular trade?
This Portuguese navigator sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on the south-west coast of India in the late 15th century. This was the first direct voyage from Portugal to India and allowed the Europeans to cut in on the immensely lucrative Eastern trade in spices.
Who was Vasco Da Gama?
This term comes from the ancient Greek words for spreading seeds, and now refers to groups of people that live outside of their original place of origin.
What is diaspora?