American History: Beginnings to 1877: 2. European Colonization of North America, Lessons 1–2

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. conquistador
    a 16th-century Spanish conqueror of Peru and Mexico
    Thus spoke Bernal Díaz del Castillo, one of the many Spanish conquistadors, or conquerors, who marched into the Americas in the 1500s.
  2. shrewd
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    Shrewdly, Cortés had already begun to win the support of other Indians who resented Aztec rule.
  3. hesitate
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    The Aztec hesitated to attack at first because they thought the Spanish might be gods.
  4. pueblo
    a Native American village in the southwestern United States
    The pueblos, or towns, were centers of farming and trade.
  5. presidio
    a Spanish military fort in the southwestern U.S.
    Presidios were forts where soldiers lived.
  6. mission
    building used by a religious group doing humanitarian work
    They set up missions, settlements run by Catholic priests and friars whose goal was to convert Indians to Christianity.
  7. mestizo
    a Latin American with both European and indigenous heritage
    Below the creoles were people of mixed Spanish and Indian background, known as mestizos.
  8. pioneer
    open up and explore a new area
    Three years later, he led another group of settlers along the route Cartier had pioneered.
  9. alliance
    an agreement establishing an association between groups
    An alliance is an agreement between nations to aid and protect one another.
  10. charter
    a document creating an institution and specifying its rights
    A charter is a legal document giving certain rights to a person or company.
  11. burgess
    a representative in the colonial legislature in some areas
    Male settlers were allowed to elect burgesses, or representatives to the government.
  12. signify
    convey or express a meaning
    The House of the Burgesses signifies the beginning of representative government in the English colonies.
  13. representative
    related to government in which citizens elect officials
    In a representative government, voters elect representatives to make laws for them.
  14. rebellion
    organized opposition to authority
    The uprising, known as Bacon's Rebellion, lasted only a short time.
Created on Fri Jun 25 09:31:10 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Jul 20 11:40:22 EDT 2021)

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