Lateen sail
triangular sail that made it possible to sail against the wind
Compass
navigational instrument for finding directions
Caravel
A small, highly maneuverable three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish in the exploration of the Atlantic.
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Italian explorer who received sponsorship from Spain to travel across the Atlantic to the Americas in 1492
Prince Henry the Navigator
(1394-1460) Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugal’s colonial empire.
Vasco de Gama
A Portuguese sailor who was the first European to sail around southern Africa to the Indian Ocean (1460-1524)
Mercantilism
An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought
Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in North America, found in East Virginia in 1607
Quebec
First permanent French settlement in North America, founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608
Trading post empire
A specific nation’s trade network that contains a number of small outposts with forts throughout the world rather than one large territory
Northwest passage
A sailing route from Europe to east Asia by going through North America’s Arctic archipelago
Columbian Exchange
Widespread exchange of crops, animals, plants, humans, technology, and disease between the Eastern and Western hemispheres between the 1400s and 1500s
Smallpox
A highly contagious disease that gives the infected bad flu symptoms and often led to death
cash crop
a crop produced for its commercial value (for sale) rather than for use (to eat) by the grower.
sugarcane
A type of grass used for sugar production, which became a major cash crop in the Americas
Transatlantic slave trade
Forced transportation of people from Africa to the Americas to supply labor on plantations from the 1500s to 1800s
Maize
A South American plant that yields corn and became a staple food in Europe
Chattel Slavery
A system in which individuals are considered property and are bought and sold
Kingdom of Kongo
A west African kingdom that grew wealthy from European activity in Africa from the 1400s to the 1900s
Encomienda
An economic system where Spanish landowners got indigenous people to work land for them in exchange for food and shelter starting in the early 1500s
Indentured Servitude
Arrangements for people to work for a specific period of time in exchange for passage to another place
Treaty of Tordesillas
Spain and Portugal’s deal to divide the Americas up between them in 1494
Joint stock company
Companies owned by investors who buy stocks or shares in them in to fund economic ventures in exchange for receiving a share of the profit the company receives
Commercial Revolution
The transformation to a trade based economy using gold and silver in Europe starting in the 11th century to the 18th
