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Period: 1400 to 1492
Southwest Settlements
The Pueblo people lived in present day New Mexico and Arizona and were a sedentary population. They built adobe and masonry homes in the open and into the cliffside. The Pueblo people farmed maize and other crops. -
Period: 1400 to 1492
Great Basin Settlements
Similar to the Great Plains Settlements, the Great Basin was filled with nomadic people that relied on the resources of the area. After those resources depleted, they would move to a new, but similar area with more resources. -
Period: 1400 to 1492
Pacific Northwest Settlements
The people of the Pacific Northwest settled near the sea in fishing villages. They relied on elk as a primary resource for survival. The Chinook and Chumash people lived in the Pacific Northwest. -
Period: 1400 to 1492
Mississippi Valley Settlements
The people of this region heavily relied upon the fertile soil surrounding rivers for farming. They were sedentary people that stayed in one location in order to develop their settlements. The Hopewell and the Cahokia lived in the Mississippi Valley and had centralized governments that participated in trade. -
Period: 1400 to 1492
Northeast Settlements
The Iroquois were the main documented people in this region. They were sedentary people that built longhouses with 30 to 50 family members in each house. The villages houses several hundred people and they farmed. They had three sister farming, which is growing maize, squash, and beans. -
Period: 1400 to 1492
Great Plains Settlements
The people in this region were nomadic as they had a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They had this lifestyle due to the depletion of resources in one area, thus requiring them to move to another location for more resources. -
Period: 1400 to 1492
Atlantic Seaboard Settlements
The people of this region were not nomadic. Instead they built permanent settlements in order to live an agrarian lifestyle, but did incorporate aspects of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle into their societies. -
Period: 1500 to
Columbian Exchange
The transfer of food, animals, minerals, people, and diseases between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This fundamentally transformed societies/economies/environments of all three continents. -
Period: 1500 to
Triangular Trade
This was a system of trade across the Atlantic Ocean between Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. Many resources were traded along these routes including, food, animals, materials, and people. -
Period: 1500 to
Middle Passage
The trade route across the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas. This route specifically transferred enslaved Africans, many of which died during the voyage due to disease or starvation, before being sold into bondage. -
Period: 1500 to
Mercantillism
Mercantilism was dependent on governmental direction and intervention. It was the dominant economic system of Europe before private exploration and joint stock companies were favored. -
Period: 1503 to 1542
Encomienda System
This was a system created by the Spanish while colonizing areas of the new world. In this system, Natives were forced to farm or mine the land. This was justified on religious grounds and by the Requery Milentoi, or a document issued by the Spanish Crown for religious conversion of Native Populations. -
Period: 1518 to
Asiento System
This system was introduced by the Spanish Crown through legal documents in order to supply their colonies in the Americas with slave labor. -
Period: to
Indentured Servitude
This was a system of labor that involved people who could not afford passage across the Atlantic Ocean. To pay for their voyage the people would sign labor contracts stating that they would work to pay their settlement fees. After they had worked for a certain number of years to pay off their debt, they were free. -
Period: to
The Enlightenment
This spread of ideas began in Europe, but took root in the colonies due to Transatlantic print culture. The Enlightenment emphasized rational thinking over tradition and religious revelation. -
Jamestown
Jamestown was the first North American colony established by the British. It was financed by a joint stock company and the main purpose of the colony was profit. Colonists spent their time digging for gold and silver, but famine and disease killed nearly half of them. -
Mayflower Compact
A document, created and signed by the Pilgrims, in order to organize the government based on the model of a self-governing church congregation. In New England the people concentrated this power into participatory town meetings. -
Period: to
Great Puritan Migration
Protestants who were unhappy with the theology and structures of the Church of England moved in order to have religious freedom. Originally many had settled in Holland, but farmers had trouble making a living in urban areas, thus causing them to move to the colonies. -
Massachusetts Bay
Non-Separatist Puritans secured a royal charter to form the colony. It started on a larger scale than any of the other British colonies. The Bay colony attracted many settlers, including John Winthrop who became the colony's first governor. -
Rhode Island: Roger Williams
Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and fled to the Rhode Island area. He built a Baptist Church in Providence and established complete freedom of religion. He demanded no oaths, compulsory attendance, or taxes to support the Church. Rhode Island became an official colony after securing a charter from Parliament in 1644. -
Period: to
Metacom's War
Metacom's War, also known as King Philip's War, was caused by encroachment on Native lands. Metacom was the Chief of the Wampanoag Indians and thought that the British must be forced out of their lands in order to protect their ancestral way of life. He allied with other Indian tribes to attack the British and the British allied with the Mohawks to ambush and kill Metacom. -
Period: to
Bacon's Rebellion
Violent tension grew between settlers and the Native people as settlers were encroaching on their land. The colonists petitioned their governor, William Berkley, for help, but he ignored their pleas. This led to angry farmers and indentured servants, led by Nathaniel Bacon, to attack plantations. -
Pueblo Revolt
Spanish conquistadors forced the conversion of the Pueblo people to Christianity. After the Pueblo people faced many different forms of persecution because of this, they rose up against the Spanish and burned their churches down. They also killed many Spanish people, causing the remainder of the Spanish to flee. -
Pennsylvania
This colony was founded by William Penn, a pacifist Quaker. In this colony religious freedom was granted for all inhabitants. Contrary to other colonies, when Pennsylvania sought to expand their land, they negotiated with the Native people. -
Period: to
Slave Laws
Southern Colonies, most notably Virginia, established harsh laws over slaves. These were laws that legally defined African Laborers as chattel, or property. These laws only got worse over time. It also made slavery a perpetual institution. -
Period: to
First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening was a religious revival that followed the spread of Enlightenment ideals. Many people began to loose faith in Biblical Revelation and a group of preachers, known as the New Light Clergy, sought to change that. This revival swept through the colonies and was primarily led by preachers Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield. -
Zenger Case
This was a legal case in New York involving the newspaper printer, John Peter Zenger. His paper had criticized the corrupt royal governor, resulting in Zenger being charged with seditious libel. He was found not guilty and the case became a pivotal moment for the freedom of the press in the colonies.