Places
The land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska during the last Ice Age, which allowed the first humans to migrate into the Americas
What is Beringia
A system of bondage where an enslaved person is legally treated as personal property (chattel) who can be bought, sold, inherited, and owned forever. This became the foundational labor system in the American South.
What is Chattel Slavery
Highly advanced, complex Mesoamerican and South American civilizations. They built vast empires, advanced mathematics, architecture, calendars, and agricultural systems before European contact.
The first permanent English settlement in North America, located in Virginia. It struggled initially but succeeded after introducing tobacco as a cash crop.
What is Jamestown
The Tudor Queen of England who authorized early exploration, challenged Spanish naval supremacy, and established England as a major Protestant global power.
Who was Queen Elizabeth I
What is Hispaniola
DOUBLE QUESTION!!
An economic theory dominant in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, stating that a nation's power depends on its wealth (measured in gold and silver). Colonies existed solely to enrich the mother country by providing raw materials and buying manufactured goods, maintaining a favorable balance of trade.
A business entity where different investors buy shares of stock and pool their resources to fund voyages. This minimized individual financial risk; the Virginia Company (which founded Jamestown) is a prime example.
What is Mercantilism and Joint Stock Company
A Portuguese prince who funded and pioneered early maritime exploration, establishing schools for navigation and mapmaking, which allowed Portugal to explore Africa's coast.
Who is Prince Henry the Navigator
Founded by Pilgrim Separatists seeking religious freedom, located in modern-day Massachusetts.
What is Plymouth Colony
An English explorer sponsored by Elizabeth I who attempted to establish the first English settlement at Roanoke Island, which ultimately vanished.
Who was Sir Walter Raleigh
The "Lost Colony" located off the coast of North Carolina founded by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587; its settlers vanished without a trace, leaving only the word "Croatoan" carved into a post.
What is Roanoke
The brutal, forced sea voyage undertaken by slave ships from West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies and the Americas. Conditions were notoriously deadly, overcrowded, and unhygienic.
What is the Middle Passage
The Catholic monarchs of Spain who united the country, funded Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage, and expanded the Spanish Empire.
Who are King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella
Founded by a large wave of Puritans led by John Winthrop, growing into a strict, religious, and economically successful colony centered around Boston.
What is Massachusetts Bay Colony
A legendary English sea captain, privateer (state-sponsored pirate), and navigator who raided Spanish treasure fleets and became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.
Who is Sir Francis Drake
Located in Florida, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the United States, built by Spain to protect its shipping lanes.
What is St. Augustine
A colony granted by a British monarch to an individual or small group (proprietors) who held full governing rights (e.g., Pennsylvania, Maryland).
What is Proprietary Colony
English soldier and explorer who took control of the failing Jamestown colony in 1608, enforcing the strict rule: "He who will not work shall not eat."
Who is John Smith
Founded by Roger Williams on principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and separation of church and state.
What is Rhode Island Colony
Capital of Spanish New Mexico; a remote outpost focused on native conversion and agricultural labor.
What is Santa Fe
DOUBLE QUESTION!!
An unofficial British policy in the 17th and 18th centuries of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws (like the Navigation Acts). This left the American colonies largely to govern and tax themselves, fostering a strong sense of independence.
An agricultural crop grown primarily to be sold for profit on the global market rather than for personal use by the farmer (e.g., tobacco in Virginia, rice and indigo in the Carolinas).
What is Salutary Neglect and Cash Crop
First governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, famous for his "City upon a Hill" sermon, which envisioned the colony as a model, holy Christian society for the world to see.
Who is John Winthrop
DOUBLE QUESTION!!
The Dutch colonial territory centered around the Hudson River (New Amsterdam), focused heavily on the global fur trade before being seized by England and renamed New York.
Large French colonial empire in North America extending along the St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River, driven primarily by fur trading and alliances with Native Americans.
What is New Netherlands and New France