12 History Terms

1. Vasco de Gama (1416-1524): In 1498 Vasco De Gama traveled to India in search for profit and trade. He was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.

In 1524 he became the Governor of Portuguese India under the title of Viceroy.

2. Hernan Cortes: In 1519, Hernando Cortés (1485-1547), along with around five hundred men, landed in Vera Cruz, Mexico, and prepared to attack the main power of the region, the Aztec empire. Along with a contingent of native warriors hostile to the Aztecs, Cortés entered Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) peacefully and met Emperor Montezuma II . More than 200,000 people lived in the Aztec capital at this time, making it one of the largest cities in the world. Montezuma's civil reception of the Spanish did not last long. The Spanish abducted the emperor and attacked the Aztecs during a religious ceremony that featured human sacrifice and cannibalism. Driven out in 1520, Cortés retook Tenochtitlán in 1521, all but destroying the architectural wonders of the city in the process. The Aztecs, decimated by smallpox, soon came under Spanish control in 1522, and Mexico became the core of New Spain, a region stretching from Panama to California. Cortes led an expedition from Spain to the Mexican mainland in search of gold and silver. Cortes also provided Spain with land and labor for plantation.

3. Pizzaro (c. 1471 or 1476 – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, modern Spain.

4. Triangular Trade: The Transatlantic Triangular Trade operated during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, carrying slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, Caribbean or American colonies and the European colonial powers, with the northern colonies of British North America, especially New England, sometimes taking over the role of Europe. The first leg of the triangle was from a European port to Africa, in which ships carried supplies for sale and trade, such as copper, cloth, trinkets, slave beads, guns and ammunition. When the slave ship arrived, its cargo would be sold or bartered for slaves. On the second leg, ships made the journey of the Middle Passage from Africa to the New World. Once the slave ship reached the New World, the slaves were sold in the Caribbean or the Americas. On the third leg, the ships returned to Europe to complete the triangle carrying with them export goods such as sugar, rum, and molasses from the West Indies and, tobacco and hemp from Virginia. The use of African slaves was fundamental to growing colonial cash crops, which were exported to Europe. European goods, in turn, were used to purchase African slaves, which were then brought on the sea lane west from Africa to the Americas. The trade represented a profitable enterprise for merchants and investors. The business was risky, competitive and severe, but enslaved Africans fetched a high price at auctions, making the trade in human cargo a lucrative business.

5. Mercantilism: is a form of economic nationalism, that holds that the prosperity of a nation is dependent upon its supply of capital, and that the global volume of international trade is "unchangeable". Economic assets (or capital) are represented by bullion (gold, silver, and trade value) held by the state, which is best increased through a positive balance of trade with other nations (exports minus imports).The theory assumes that wealth and monetary assets are identical. Mercantilism suggests that the ruling government should advance these goals by playing a protectionist role in the economy by encouraging exports and discouraging imports, notably through the use of tariffs and subsidies. The theory dominated Western European economic policies from the 16th to the late-18th century. Europe profited from mercantilism through arbitration. They were efficient in trade because they specialized in division of labor.

6. The Renaissance (1350-1550): was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. As a cultural movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning based on classical sources, the development of linear perspective in painting, and gradual but widespread educational reform. Traditionally, this intellectual transformation has resulted in the Renaissance being viewed as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo