Colonization in the Americas

Colonization in the Americas

Colonization in the Americas

Chapter 8 Study Guide

World Studies: Third Edition

Vocabulary – be able to define the following terms.

Colonizationof Latin American

  1. colony –a settlement physically separate from, but under the control of a ruling country
  2. colonization –to establish or form colonies
  3. Line of Demarcation – a line established by the pope that divided the world map into two sections; Everything east of the line could be claimed for Portugal; everything west of the line could be claimed by Spain.
  4. Treaty of Tordesillas – an agreement between Spain and Portugal to move the line west (left) by 10°; Although the Spanish didn’t realize this, they gave up a large amount of land in South America. The Portuguese accidentally discovered this land when one of their ships was blown of course while on the way to Africa. The land was first called the “island of Brazil”. Today, Portuguese is still the official language of Brazil.
  5. creoles – people of pure Spanish or Portuguese descent who were born in the Americas; They were not allowed to rule or govern within the colonies even if they were direct descendants of noble families from the mother country.
  6. mother country – the ruling country that owned the colony
  7. exports – goods taken out of the colonies
  8. imports – goods brought into the colonies
  9. viceroy – people who were appointed by the Spanish king to rule within each colony (vice = in place of; roy=king)
  10. peninsulares – people living in the colonies who were born in Spain and consequently had the right to rule within the colonies
  11. Iberian Peninsula – the land that includesSpain and Portugal together
  12. New Laws of 1542 – laws that were passed to protect the Indians (natives) and the mestizos; Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Roman Catholic friar, helped with the establishment of these laws.
  13. mestizos – people who were a mixture of Spanish and Indian; one of their parents was Spanish and the other was Indian; these people often had less rights than the pure Spanish
  14. barrios – neighborhoods of the poor where free blacks, Indians, and mestizos lived

Colonization ofNorth American

  1. Jacques Cartier – a French explorer who explored parts of Canada and discovered the St. Lawrence River which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes
  2. John Smith – an English explorer who was an important leader in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown; He publically stated "he who shall not work, shall not eat."
  3. Jamestown – the first successful English settlement in North America; located in Virginia
  4. Pilgrims – a group of Puritans who came with their families and settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620; Many of them came to escape religious persecution in Europe. They treated the Indians with respect and shared the gospel with them.
  5. William Bradford – served as the first governor of the Pilgrims in the Plymouth colony
  6. Puritans – a very large group of English protestants who lived in the 1600’s (17th century); many sought religious freedom by coming to Americas where they settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630
  7. Massachusetts Bay Colony – an English settlement in New England that was largely populated by Puritans

Struggle for Independence

  1. Declaration of Independence – a written statement by the thirteen English colonies in North America in which they declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776; the independence still had to be won on the battlefield with five long years of fighting
  2. American Revolution / War for Independence
  1. Great Britain was deeply in debt and therefore taxed its colonies to raise money.
  2. The colonists protested: “no taxation without representation.”
  3. Fighting broke out between the colonists and British soldiers.
  4. The colonists declared independence on July 4, 1776.
  5. War broke out.
  1. Constitution – a document outlining the pattern of government for the United States; It set down limits of power on both government and the citizens and guaranteed certain rights to citizens.
  2. Latin America – This title refers to both Central and South America which were under Spanish rule but slowly gained independence from Spain through the help of various leaders.
  3. Simón Bolívar – an important leader in the fight for the independence of South America
  4. José de San Martín–another important leader who led the fight for the independence of South America
  5. gauchos – cowboys of Argentina who joined the fight for independence from Spain; These men were chosen to by José de San Martín to be his troops.

1