Native American Societies
European Exploration and Conquest
Spanish Empire and Colonization
Economic Systems and Trade
Columbian Exchange
100

This agricultural staple, first cultivated in Mesoamerica, became a critical part of the diet for many Native American societies.

What is maize (corn)?

100

This Italian explorer, sponsored by Spain, is credited with "discovering" the New World in 1492.

Who is Christopher Columbus?

100

The arrival of Europeans introduced this disease to the Americas, leading to catastrophic population declines among Native American societies.

What is smallpox?

100

This term refers to the forced migration of millions of Africans to the Americas to work on plantations.

What is the transatlantic slave trade?

100

This deadly disease caused the greatest decline in Native American populations after European contact.

What is smallpox? 

200

Known for their mound-building, this civilization thrived along the Mississippi River and built the large city of Cahokia.

Who are the Mississippians?

200

This term describes the transatlantic transfer of crops, animals, culture, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.

What is the Columbian Exchange?

200

This was the primary motivation for the Spanish crown’s continued interest in colonizing the Americas, particularly in Mexico and Peru.

What is the search for gold and silver (or precious metals)?

200

This was the primary cash crop grown on Spanish and Portuguese plantations in the Caribbean and Brazil, fueling the transatlantic slave trade.

What is sugar?

200

Enslaved Africans were transported to the New World to labor primarily in this industry.

What is plantation agriculture?

300

This confederation of five (later six) Native American tribes in the Northeast played a significant role in early colonial politics.

What is the Iroquois Confederacy?

300

The introduction of these animals to the Plains by Europeans revolutionized Native American life before 1800.

What are horses?

300

The Spanish crown granted this system, allowing colonists to demand labor or tribute from indigenous populations.

What is the encomienda system?

300

This term refers to the economic theory that colonies existed primarily to provide wealth to their mother country.

What is mercantilism?

300

This labor system, which exploited Native Americans, was replaced by African slavery in many Spanish colonies.

What is the encomienda system?

400

These were the large communal living structures used by Native American tribes in the Northeast and Great Lakes region.

What are longhouses?

400

This 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal divided the non-European world between the two powers.

What is the Treaty of Tordesillas?

400

This term refers to a mixed European and African racial group in the Spanish colonies.

What are mulattoes?

400

This triangular trade route saw European goods exchanged for African slaves, who were then sent to the Americas, with American products sent back to Europe.

What is the Middle Passage? 

400

The introduction of these crops to Europe from the Americas stimulated economies across the continent.

What are tobacco, coffee, sugar, and potatoes?

500

This Native American civilization in the Southwest was known for their cliff dwellings and advanced irrigation techniques.

Who are the Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi)?

500

This Spanish explorer is credited with the conquest of the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico.

Who is Hernán Cortés?

500

This term refers to people of mixed European and Native American ancestry in the Spanish colonies.

What are mestizos?

500

This precious metal, mined in the Americas, was a key factor in Spain’s wealth during the 16th century.

What is silver?

500

Bartolomé de Las Casas documented the Spanish exploitation of Native Americans in this region.

What is Hispaniola?

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