Unit 1: Chapter 1

Many thousands of years ago, those first Americans arrived as part of a migration, or movement of people for the purpose of settling in a new place.

Other northern peoples, such as the Koyukon and Ingalik, were nomads. That is, they moved their homes regularly in search of food.

A clan is made up of groups of families who share a common ancestor.

The Mohave of the Great Basin carried out barter, or trade, with people on the California coast, and then traded the coastal goods to the Pueblo in present-day Arizona.

The growth of cities and trade in Europe created a new middle class of merchants, traders, and artisans who made and sold goods to the manors.

Europe's growing wealth also increased the power of monarchs, or those who rule over territories or states.

To produce the American foods that brought a high price in Europe, Portugal and Spain established large farms called plantations.

Like Cortés, Francisco Pizarro was a conquistador, or Spanish conqueror of the Americas.

As the Spanish conquistadors explored and conquered, they also started settlements that they hoped would grow into colonies, areas settled by immigrants who continue to be ruled by their parent country.

Missionaries are people who are sent out by their church to teach people their religion.

In 1606, several Englishmen made plans to establish another colony. They first had to obtain a charter, or certificate of permission, from the king.

To pay for the crossing, they became indentured servants. These people had to work for a master for a period of time, usually seven years, under a contract called an indenture.

Afraid that the group would break up, the Pilgrims made a compact, or agreement, called the Mayflower Compact.

They did not, however, believe in religious tolerance—the idea that people of different religions should live in peace together.

The colony of New York was a proprietary colony—a colony granted by a king or queen to an individual or group who could make laws and rule it as they wished. (Proprietor means "owner.")

Called mercantilism, this theory held that a country should try to get and keep as much bullion, or gold and silver, as possible.

The colonies also experienced a growth in the number of immigrants, or people who enter a new country to settle.