People
In 1492, _______________ sailed the ocean blue (and connected the Old World to the New)
Christopher Columbus
Tenochtitlan
Columbian Exchange
This civilization was the dominant power in central Mexico at the time the Spanish first arrived. They commanded a population of a millions, vast trade networks, monumental architecture, powerful military, and magnificent wealth.
The Aztec Empire
This massive empire centered in modern-day Peru supported their population by farming potatoes, boasted a complex network of mountain roads, a population of millions, and impressive stone architecture.
The Inca Empire
Spanish Conquistador infamous for his brutal conquest of the powerful Aztec Empire in central Mexico.
Hernan Cortes
This is the long-standing theory of how people first entered the American continents from Asia. Though it is in the process of being overturned by new evidence, it is still ONE of the likely migration routes of humans into the Americas.
Land Bridge (Beringia, Bering Strait, Ice-Free Corridor, etc.)
This was the most important agricultural crop in the Americas prior to European contact, and arguably still is to this day. It is responsible for the growth of massive populations in Pre-Columbian Mexico and influenced the development of native cultures all across North America.
Maize (Corn)
This culture developed along the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys supporting a large population through maize agriculture. They engaged in massive construction projects using packed earth, and likely had a complex political structure. However, their society had collapsed for unknown reasons long before the arrival of the Europeans.
Mound Builders (Adena-Hopewell, Woodland Mound Builders, etc.)
This one disease was responsible for tens of millions of deaths in the first few decades of European exploration in the Americas. The native populations had no immunity to this and other European germs, which is the primary reason they were unable to resist the invasion of European settlers in their territory.
Smallpox
This Spanish Conquistador is credited with bringing down the powerful Inca Empire centered in the Andes Mountains of modern-day Peru.
Francisco Pizarro
This was the name for the horrific journey of African Slaves across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the larger Trans-Atlantic trade routes between the Old World and the New World. Approximately 1/5 of the slaves forced on this journey died along the way.
Middle Passage
The invention of this device and the knowledge of how to use it allowed the European Age of Exploration to occur because navigators could now journey far out into the oceans and keep track of their location.
Sailing Compass
This native tribe of the Great Plains region developed a migratory, hunter-gatherer lifestyle following buffalo herds across the prairies. The introduction of horses through the Columbian Exchange allowed them to flourish in the early years of European contact because they could move faster and more easily across vast distances.
Lakota Sioux
Known for their impressive pyramid building, astronomical knowledge, complex calendar system, and detailed historical/mythical traditions, this culture was centered in the Yucatan Peninsula of southern Mexico.
The Maya Civilization
Bartolome de Las Casas
This city, now known as Istanbul, was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 which interrupted the land-based trade routes between Europe and Asia. This prompted a renewed interest in sea exploration that eventually led to the discovery of the Americas.
Constantinople
Treaty of Tordesillas
In the Northeastern region of North America, many tribes formed a united political organization called the _________________ ___________________ to combat the encroachment of European colonists into their traditional homelands.
Iroquois Confederacy (Iroquois Confederation)
Most native tribes in pre-Columbian North America at the time of European contact supported their diets with this minimalistic form of agriculture in which you grow only enough for what your tribe/clan/family can eat.
Subsistence Farming
This Italian explorer and sea captain worked for King Henry VII and was the first to explore the New World in the name of England.
John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto)
This was the location of England's first attempt at a colony in the Americas. Funded by prominent English politician Sir Walter Raleigh, it ended in failure and all of the colonists either died or disappeared into the wilderness never to be seen again.
Roanoke Island
This religious upheaval in 16th century Europe motivated various nations and missionaries to spread their own versions of Christianity to the New World attempting to convert the native population and legitimize their own interpretation of the scriptures.
The Protestant Reformation
Of the hundreds of languages spoken by pre-Columbian Native Americans, dozens of them belonged to this family of languages, one of the most common in the eastern United States where early colonial contact occurred.
Algonquian
The Encomienda System