Chapter 17

Conquistador

A Spanish conqueror of the Americas

The Dutch competed successfully for trade in Asia because of the

Development of a new ship along with the growth of mercantilism in the Dutch Republic

The treaty of tordesillas signed in 1494

Established a line between territories controlled by Spain and those controlled by Portugal

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of plants animals and people betweem europe asia and the americas

Why could only peninsulares hold important government positions in Latin America?

Peninsulares were born in the parent countries that founded their colonies

Mercantilism

Seventeenth century economic theory that held that the prosperity of a nation depended ln a large suppyly of gold amd silver

Peninsulares

Spanish and Portuguese officials who resided temporarily in Latin America

Why did the Catholic Church have so much influence in Latin America?

Spanish and Portuguese rulers wanted Natives to become Catholic

Social class in Latin America in the 1500s was based on

Status

Why were enslaved Africans needed in the Caribbean islands?

The Native American population was small due to diseases brought from Europe

The conquistadors' main advantage over the Aztec and Inca empires was their

Types of weaporny

According to mercantilists, the prosperity of a nation depended on

a large supply of bullion, or gold and silver

colony

a settlement of people living in a new territory, linked with the parent country by trade and direct government control

Caravel

a ship invented by the Portuguese that made it possible to travel long distances

How did the Portuguese and Spanish make money from their Latin American colonies?

farming and mining

Encomienda

forced labor system used by the Spanish in colonial Latin America

Mita

forced labor system used in colonial Peru to draft native workers to work in silver mines

Prince Henry the Navigator

sponsored the first Portuguese fleets to explore the west coast of Africa

Middle Passage

the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas

Vasco da Gama's discovery of a route to India by sea proved to be

very profitable, since da Gama returned with a valuable cargo of spices