Mission #2The Age of Exploration

(1492-1609)

Line of Demarcation

• North-South line of longitude through the Atlantic Ocean dividing lands in the Americas claimed by Spain and Portugal

Columbian Exchange• Series of complex societal and environmental

interactions between Europe and the Americans begun with Columbus’ first voyage.

Conquistador

• Spanish for conqueror, the men who led the expeditions to conquer the Americas.

Presidio

• Fort built by the Spanish in the Americas.

hidalgo

• Low-ranking nobles who came to America as conquistadors.

encomienda

System of rewarding conquistadors tracts of land, including the right to tax and exact labor from Native Americans.

Hacienda

• A huge ranch.

Northwest Passage

• The mythical northern water route through North America to the Pacific Ocean.

Puritan

• Someone who wanted to purify the Anglican Church during the 1500s and 1600s.

Joint-stock company

• Form of business organization in which many investors pool funds to raise large amounts of money for large projects.

privateer

• Privately owned ship licensed by the government to attack ships of other countries.

burgesses

• Representatives to the general assembly of the Virginia colony.

headright

• System in which settlers were granted land in exchange for settling in Virginia.

Proprietary colony

• A colony owned by an individual.