A. Checklist of Learning Objectives

After mastering this chapter, you should be able to

1. describe the geological and geographical conditions that set the stage for
    North American history.

2. describe the origin and development of the major Indian cultures of the
    Americas.

3. explain the developments in Europe and Africa that led up to Columbus's
    voyage to America.

4. explain the changes and conflicts that occurred when the diverse worlds of
    Europe, Africa, and the Americas collided after 1492.

5. describe the Spanish conquest of Mexico and South America and identify the
    major features of Spanish colonization and expansion in North America.

B. Glossary

To build your social science vocabulary, familiarize yourself with the
following terms.

1. nation-state The modern form of political society that combines
    centralized government with a high degree of ethnic and cultural unity.
    "No dense concentrations of population or complex nation-states ...
    existed in North America...."

2. matrilinear The form of society in which family line, power, and wealth
    are passed primarily through the female side. ". . . many North American
    native peoples, including the Iroquois, developed matrilinear
    cultures...."

3. confederacy An alliance or league of nations or peoples looser than a
    federation. "The Iroquois Confederacy developed the political and
    organizational skills...."

4. primeval Concerning the earliest origin of things. ". . . the whispering,
    primeval forests . . ."

5. saga A lengthy story or poem recounting the great deeds and adventures of
    a people and their heroes. ". . . their discovery was forgotten, except in
    Scandinavian saga and song."

6. middlemen In trading systems, those dealers who operate between the
    original buyers and the retail merchants who sell to consumers. "Muslim
    middlemen exacted a heavy toll en route."

7. caravel A small vessel with a high deck and three triangular sails. ". . .
    they developed the caravel, a ship that could sail more closely into the
    wind...."

8. plantation A large-scale agricultural enterprise growing commercial crops
    and usually employing coerced or slave labor. "They built up their own
    systematic traffic in slaves to work the sugar plantations...."

9. ecosystem A naturally evolved network of relations among organisms in a
    stable environment. "Two ecosystems . . . commingled and clashed when
    Columbus waded ashore."

10. demographic Concerning the general characteristics of a given population,
     including such factors as numbers, age, gender, birth and death rates,
     and so on. ". . . a demographic catastrophe without parallel in human
     history."

11. conquistador A Spanish conqueror or adventurer in the Americas. "Spanish
     conquistadores (conquerors) fanned out across . . . American continents."

12. capitalism An economic system characterized by private property,
     generally free trade, and open and accessible markets. ". . . the fuel
     that fed the growth of the economic system known as capitalism."

13. encomienda The Spanish labor system in which persons were held to unpaid
     service under the permanent control of their masters, though not legally
     owned by them. ". . . the institution known as encomienda."

14. mestizo A person of mixed Native American and European ancestry. "He
     intermarried with the surviving Indians, creating a distinctive culture
     of mestizos...."

15. province A medium-sized subunit of territory and governmental
     administration within a larger nation or empire. "They proclaimed the
     area to be the province of New Mexico...."