Native American Societies Before European Contact
Which crop was the backbone of Mayan and Aztecan societies?
corn (maize)
What was the first group to ever reach the Americas?
The Vikings around the year 1000.
Who financed Columbus' journey?
The Spanish monarchy
Who conquered the Aztecs?
Hernan Cortes
How did Europeans generally view Native Americans?
As inferior
T/F: All Native American's languages were a part of the same family group
False
List 3 technological advances that made European exploration possible?
- gunpowder
- sailing compass
- printing press
- shipbuilding
- mapmaking
What was the Columbian Exchange?
the transfer of plants, animals, and germs from one side of the Atlantic to the other.
Describe the encomienda system.
What was the downfall of many tribes in the Southwest Settlement?
Severe droughts
What was the Protestant Reformation?
When Christians in Germany, England, France, Holland, and other Northern European countries revolted against the Pope
What was the impact of disease on American populations?
Millions of Native Americans died.
What was the Middle Passage?
slave trade that took 10 million to 15 million enslaved Africans to the Americas.
What was the result of the Valladolid Debate?
Native Americans continued to have unequal treatment
How did horses change the way natives lived?
It made it easer to migrate.
opened up a long sea route around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
What is capitalism?
an economic system in which money is more important than land
Why did the Spanish begin trading in enslaved Africans?
The majority of Native Americans died due to disease.
Describe why a shift occurred in the relationship between natives and English settlers.
The English showed no respect to Native American culture and Native Americans saw their way of life threatened by the English?
What was the Iroquois Confederation?
A powerful political union made up of several tribes living in the Northeast.
What were the major causes of exploration and conquest of the New World by various European nations?
- wealth
- military competition
- spreading Christianity
a business owned by a large number of investors that financed many voyages to America.
What made Spain rich?
Gold taken from Mexico and Peru
How did Europeans justify slavery in the Americas?