European Exploration and Colonization

European Exploration and Colonization

• John Cabot sailed for England, claiming lands from Newfoundland to the Chesapeake Bay.
• Vasco da Gama expanded trade between India and Europe.
• Diseases, like smallpox, measles, and influenza, decimated native American populations.
• The Indian Ocean Slave Trade involved the transport of East African slaves to the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia.
• Peninsulares were Spanish-born elites in Latin America.
• Henry Hudson, representing the Dutch, explored the East Coast of North America in search of a northwest passage.
• Jamestown was the first successful English colony in North America, marking the beginning of England's colonial expansion.
• Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River in Canada, claiming land for France.
• Samuel de Champlain founded the French colony of Quebec, a significant fur trade hub.
• The Caravel was a three-masted sailing ship developed in 15th-century Portugal.
• Primogeniture laws, where the eldest son inherited the estate, motivated younger sons to explore new territories.

Asian Empires and Cultures

• Akbar, despite some struggles, tried to unite his subjects through religious tolerance and syncretic religious ideas.
• The Astrolabe, improved by Muslims, helped sailors determine latitude.
• Criollos were people of European descent born in the Americas.
• The queue was a traditional Manchu hairstyle forced on Han Chinese men.
• The Timar system rewarded Ottoman soldiers with land and taxes.
• Viziers were senior advisors in the Ottoman Empire.
• Janissaries were elite soldiers in the Ottoman Empire.
• Jizya was a tax on non-Muslims in Islamic empires.
• Indentured servitude involved Europeans contracting laborers for a set period.
• Encomienda and Hacienda Systems were coercive labor systems in Spanish colonies.
• Mercantilism was the pursuit of wealth through controlling trade and accumulating precious metals.
• Louis XIV, the French monarch, epitomized absolutism.
• The Manchus imposed their culture on Han Chinese.
• Boyars were Russian nobles, often in conflict with rulers.
• Roxelana, a former slave, became a powerful political figure.
• Harem Politics described the political maneuvering within the sultan's harem.
• Syncretism of African religions with Christianity occurred in the Americas.
• The Glorious Revolution (1688) ousted King James II in favor of Mary II and William of Orange.
• The Atlantic Slave Trade forcibly transported Africans to the Americas for plantation labor.
• Mulattos were people of mixed European and African ancestry.
• Mestizos were people of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry.
• Huitzilopochtli was the Aztec son god.
• Polygyny, where a man has multiple wives, became more common in Africa due to the slave trade.
• Sea Dogs were English pirates who attacked Spanish ships.
• The Delhi Sultanate controlled northern India (13th-16th centuries), introducing Islam.
• The Northwest Passage was a hypothesized route through or around North America to Asia.

Civilizations and Empires

• The Inca Empire dominated South America, centered around the Andes.
• Ferdinand Magellan proved the Earth was round and connected.
• Mayan government consisted of city-states, ruled by kings, often considered divine descendants.
• Mayan women could rule without a male heir.
• The Ming dynasty fell due to extravagance, military campaigns, and rebellions.
• Christopher Columbus opened European exploration and colonization.
• The Seljuk Empire expanded into Persia and the Middle East.
• Islamic women had property rights, unlike many contemporary Christian and Jewish women.
• Mississippian society followed matrilineal inheritance, with chief succession passed through the sister's son.
• Suleiman the Magnificent significantly expanded Ottoman territory.
• Samurai were the warrior class in feudal Japan.
• Ibn Rushd (Averroes) was a philosopher from Al-Andalus.
• Tribute was collected from neighboring states in recognition of China's authority.
• Confucianism emphasized ethics, morality, and social harmony.
• The Bhakti movement shared similarities with Sufism.
• Tenochtitlán was the Aztec capital, a city of about 200,000 inhabitants.
• The Mongol Empire unified much of Eurasia through conquest, promoting trade and exchange.
• Axum was an early Christian kingdom in Ethiopia.
• Domestic slavery was common in ancient Greece, Rome, and the Middle East, with slaves working in households.
• Private tax collection was a common feature in rural areas of the Ming dynasty and Ottoman Empire.
• Shariah law sometimes gave women less legal weight than men in court.
• Christianity spread to Ethiopia, merging with traditional beliefs.
• Sundiata, a likely Muslim, established trade links, founding the Mali Empire.
• Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom were large religious and architectural complexes.
• The Grand Canal transported taxed goods, especially grain.
• Scientific and scholarly transfer flourished between the Islamic world and Europe.
• The Gupta Dynasty experienced the Golden Age of India (320-550 CE).
• The Mississippian Culture built large earthen mounds in the Mississippi Valley.
• The Tang Dynasty was known for cosmopolitan culture, expanded trade, and the spread of Buddhism.
• The Qutub Minar was a notable monument in the Delhi Sultanate.
• Mansa Musa, Sundiata's nephew, famously travelled to Mecca, showcasing Mali's wealth.
• Urdu emerged as a language mixing Hindi, Arabic, and Persian.
• The Aztec Empire migrated to central Mexico in the 1200s.
• Female infanticide was a practice forbidden by Muhammad.
• Cahokia was the largest Mississippian city.
• The Mali Empire became powerful in the 12th century through the gold trade.
• Olmec influence was foundational to later Mesoamerican cultures.
• Timbuktu was a major center of learning and trade within Mali.
• Akbar utilized military and diplomatic strategies to consolidate power.
• Paper-making was a technology developed in China.
• The veil symbolized modesty among women under Islamic rule.
• Turkish empires significantly impacted Eurasian politics.
• The Song dynasty marked significant advancements in technology, economy, and culture.
• Tributary System arranged political and economic dominance of China over other states.
• Sufism emphasized personal experience with the divine, promoting tolerance.
• St. Thomas Aquinas was a Christian scholar influenced by Muslim thinkers.
• The Crusades (1100-1300s) facilitated cultural and intellectual exchanges.
• The Heian Period (794-1185) saw strong Chinese influence in Japan but developed a distinct identity.
• Foot binding was a symbol of beauty and social status in Song dynasty China.
• Proto-industrialization was a phase before industrialization.
• Maimonides was a Jewish philosopher synthesizing Aristotelian and Biblical ideas.
• The Umayyads established a presence in Spain with Córdoba as the capital.
• The Tributary System structured political and economic relations.
• The Harem was a private space for women under Islamic rule.
• Meritorious administration was a system of promotion based on merit, especially in Song-era China.
• Daimyo were powerful land-owning lords in feudal Japan.
• Woodblock printing was a crucial Chinese innovation in knowledge transmission.
• The Chola Dynasty ruled southern India and Sri Lanka.
• Neo-Confucianism combined Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist elements.
• Rajput Kingdoms emerged after the Gupta Empire, often in conflict with Muslim forces.
• Civil Service Exam was a merit-based system for selecting officials.
• Jizya was a tax levied on non-Muslims in the Delhi Sultanate.
• Chan Buddhism (Zen Buddhism) combined Buddhist and Daoist ideas.
• Kowtow was an act of deep respect in Chinese culture.
• Merit-based bureaucracy was adapted in Vietnam, with a loyalty system to local villages.
• Guerrilla warfare was a tactic employed by Vietnamese.
• Islamic women had rights to divorce and remarry.
• Women in Islamic societies sometimes became concubines.
• Hereditary slavery wasn't typical in Islamic societies.
• Champa Rice significantly boosted agricultural productivity.
• Maya City-States flourished between 250 and 900 CE.
• Henry of Navarre converted to Catholicism for political stability.
• Janissaries were elite soldiers in the Ottoman Empire.
• Zaminders were Mughal tax collectors.
• Huldrych Zwingli championed a radical interpretation of Christianity.
• Martin Luther's 95 Theses triggered the Reformation.
• Jan Hus was a Czech reformer.
• John Wycliffe translated the Bible.
• The Safavid Empire was predominantly Shi'a.
• Ottomans were predominantly Sunni.
• Henry the IV enacted the Edict of Nantes.
• Patronage supported art, culture, and architecture.
• Songhai collected tribute.
• The Dhow was a trade ship used by Islamic merchants.
• Aztecs collected tribute.
• Ming tax collection used tax farming.
• The Grand Canal facilitated transportation and trade.
• Lal Ded was a Kashmiri mystic poet.
• The Jin Dynasty was an invasion from the Jurchen people of Manchuria.
• Reasons for the decline of the Mississippian culture included environmental factors and diseases.
• The Inca Empire fell with the arrival of Spanish conquistadors
• The Mongols united Eurasia, fostering trade and exchange.
• Kinship-based societies organized most Sub-Saharan African societies.
• The Compass was a crucial navigational tool.
• Mayan Achievements included the concept of zero, a writing system, and an advanced calendar.
• Syncretism was the blending of religious and cultural traditions.
• Shoguns were military rulers in feudal Japan.
• Mira Bai was a devotional poet from the Bhakti movement.
• Matrilineal Society inherited lineage through the mother's line.
• Vijayanagara Empire was a Hindu kingdom established in South India.
• The Zanj Rebellion was a successful slave revolt documented in history.
• Al-Andalus was the Islamic state in Spain.
• Bureaucracy was a system of state officials making decisions.
• Mayan religion was polytheistic, involving priests, ceremonies, and human sacrifice.
• Zanj was the Arabic term for enslaved East Africans.
• Chattel Slavery was a system of property ownership.
• Griots and Griottes were oral historians.
• Feudalism was a system of land distribution based on loyalty.
• The Battle of Tours ended rapid Islamic expansion.
• The Ottoman Empire emerged as a dominant force in the eastern Mediterranean.
• The Bhakti movement emphasized personal devotion to a deity.
• Debt bondage involved entering slavery for debt repayment.