Vocab
Maize
(corn)
What was the most deadly effect of the Columbian Exchange on Native Americans?
The spread of deadly diseases like smallpox.
Which European nation focused on fur trading and cooperation with Native Americans?
The French.
What was the Middle Passage?
The brutal journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas
Why did so many diverse Native societies exist in the Americas before Europeans arrived?
Different environments led to unique cultural adaptations.
Triangular Trade
The Triangular Trade was a trade network during the 1500s–1800s that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas in a three-part system:
Europe → Africa: Europeans sent manufactured goods like guns, textiles, and rum.
Africa → Americas (Middle Passage): Enslaved Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic.
Americas → Europe: Raw materials and cash crops like sugar, tobacco, and cotton were shipped back.
Which crop from the Americas became a staple food that boosted population growth in Europe and Asia?
Corn (maize) & Potatoes
Which nation established missions to convert Indigenous peoples to Christianity?
The Spanish (Spain)
The Triangular Trade connected which three regions?
Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
What role did maize (corn) play in Native American societies before European contact?
It was a staple crop that supported population growth and large civilizations.
Casta System
The Casta System was a social and racial hierarchy used in Spanish America during colonization.
Which animal from Europe transformed Native American mobility and hunting practices?
The horse
How did English colonization differ from Spanish colonization?
The English displaced Native Americans and built permanent settlements, while the Spanish used systems like encomienda and intermarried more often.
What was the Encomienda System?
A Spanish labor system forcing Indigenous peoples to work for colonists.
What was the Spanish Casta System based on?
Race and ancestry.
Triangular Trade
The Triangular Trade was a three-part trade system that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas during the Age of Exploration and colonization.
What does the Columbian Exchange refer to?
The transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old World and New World.
What were the main goals (the “3 G’s”) of European exploration?
Gold, God, and Glory
Why did Europeans rely on enslaved African labor in the Americas?
High demand for labor on plantations, Indigenous populations dying from disease, and Africans’ resistance to Old World diseases.
What did the Spanish Casta System mainly reinforce in colonial society?
Racial and social hierarchies.
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the horrific voyage that enslaved Africans were forced to endure across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Triangular Trade.
Explain one positive and one negative effect of the Columbian Exchange on either Europe or the Americas.
→ Positive: New crops like maize and potatoes increased population in Europe.
→ Negative: Diseases devastated Native American populations.
Compare one similarity and one difference between Spanish, French, and English colonization.
→ Similarity: All sought wealth and expansion.
→ Difference: Spanish used encomienda, French focused on fur trading, English displaced Natives and settled permanently.
How did the transatlantic slave trade affect both Africa and the Americas?
Africa lost millions of people, weakening societies, while the Americas gained forced labor that fueled plantation economies.
Which best describes the interaction between Europeans, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans in the Americas?
A mix of cultural exchange, trade, forced labor, and resistance.