HIUS 221, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE, ALREADY
GRADED A+
Atlantic World
Term used to describe both the geographic region encompassing the Atlantic Ocean and the four
continents of Europe, Africa, North America, and South America, as well as the interactions and
relationships among the peoples of this region.
feudal vassals
Land-owning nobility tied to their lords through mutual bonds of service; a vassal defended his lord, and
the lord protected and rewarded his vassals with riches and land. The lord might in turn be a vassal to
another lord, and the vassal might have vassals of his own.
nation-state
A political entity with well-defined borders recognized as sovereign, stable, and indivisible. Historically,
the European nation-state began to emerge during the Age of Exploration, providing a stable foundation
for the actions of exploration.
Silk Road
Collective term for well-used trading routes connecting western Europe with India and China, running
through the gateway city of Constantinople.
Age of Exploration
Popular term (also Age of Discovery) for the period from c. 1450 to 1600 when European navigators
discovered and charted new lands to the West and East.
Maya
Inhabitants of the Yucatan Peninsula whose civilization was at its height from 300 to 900 AD. Their
civilization included a unique system of writing, mathematics, architecture, sculpture, and astronomy.
Aztec
Inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico who founded their capital, Tenochtitlán, in the early fourteenth
century. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the Aztecs built a large empire in which they dominated
many neighboring peoples. Their civilization included engineering, mathematics, art, and music.
Iroquois Confederacy
Indian group located in central New York State. Five tribes—the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas,
Cayugas, and Senecas—formed the Iroquois Confederacy.
matrilineal
A system in which family membership and heredity pass from mother to children.
Songhai
, Dominant West African state in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Askia Mohammed (ruled 1493-
1528) expanded the empire; reformed government, banking, and education; and adopted Islamic law.
Prince Henry "the Navigator" (1394-1460)
Of Portugal, who established a school for navigators and geographers. He sought to increase the power
of Portugal by promoting exploration of trade routes to the East by way of Africa.
caravel
Type of ship developed around 1450 employing technology that would let it travel farther into
uncharted waters and withstand the rough seas of the open Atlantic.
astrolabe
Navigation instrument for estimating latitude by measuring the distance of the sun and stars from the
horizon.
Christopher Columbus (c. 1451-May 20, 1506)
Italian mariner who sailed for Spain in 1492 in search of a western route to Asia. He located San Salvador
in the West Indies, opening the Americas to European exploration and colonization.
Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1451-May 29, 1500)
Portuguese sailor and navigator and the first known European to sail around the southernmost tip of
Africa, in 1488.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
Spanish monarchs who united Spain and funded Columbus's voyages to the New World beginning in
1492.
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
Agreement between Spain and Portugal—arbitrated by Pope Alexander VI in 1494, renegotiated later on
Portugal's initiative, and sanctioned by Pope Julius II in 1506—splitting all newly discovered lands of the
New World between those two nations alone.
Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454-February 22, 1512)
Italian navigator and cartographer who first identified South America as a continent in 1502.
Northwest Passage
Fabled water route sought by explorers as an alternative route to reach the Far East by going north of
North America. Despite explorers' hopes for finding such a shortcut, the Northwest Passage did not in
fact exist where they could find it; it was blocked by Arctic ice until 2007.
Columbian Exchange
The multi-way exchange of plants and animals, technologies, human cultures, and disease among
Atlantic peoples throughout the sixteenth century and beyond.
GRADED A+
Atlantic World
Term used to describe both the geographic region encompassing the Atlantic Ocean and the four
continents of Europe, Africa, North America, and South America, as well as the interactions and
relationships among the peoples of this region.
feudal vassals
Land-owning nobility tied to their lords through mutual bonds of service; a vassal defended his lord, and
the lord protected and rewarded his vassals with riches and land. The lord might in turn be a vassal to
another lord, and the vassal might have vassals of his own.
nation-state
A political entity with well-defined borders recognized as sovereign, stable, and indivisible. Historically,
the European nation-state began to emerge during the Age of Exploration, providing a stable foundation
for the actions of exploration.
Silk Road
Collective term for well-used trading routes connecting western Europe with India and China, running
through the gateway city of Constantinople.
Age of Exploration
Popular term (also Age of Discovery) for the period from c. 1450 to 1600 when European navigators
discovered and charted new lands to the West and East.
Maya
Inhabitants of the Yucatan Peninsula whose civilization was at its height from 300 to 900 AD. Their
civilization included a unique system of writing, mathematics, architecture, sculpture, and astronomy.
Aztec
Inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico who founded their capital, Tenochtitlán, in the early fourteenth
century. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the Aztecs built a large empire in which they dominated
many neighboring peoples. Their civilization included engineering, mathematics, art, and music.
Iroquois Confederacy
Indian group located in central New York State. Five tribes—the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas,
Cayugas, and Senecas—formed the Iroquois Confederacy.
matrilineal
A system in which family membership and heredity pass from mother to children.
Songhai
, Dominant West African state in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Askia Mohammed (ruled 1493-
1528) expanded the empire; reformed government, banking, and education; and adopted Islamic law.
Prince Henry "the Navigator" (1394-1460)
Of Portugal, who established a school for navigators and geographers. He sought to increase the power
of Portugal by promoting exploration of trade routes to the East by way of Africa.
caravel
Type of ship developed around 1450 employing technology that would let it travel farther into
uncharted waters and withstand the rough seas of the open Atlantic.
astrolabe
Navigation instrument for estimating latitude by measuring the distance of the sun and stars from the
horizon.
Christopher Columbus (c. 1451-May 20, 1506)
Italian mariner who sailed for Spain in 1492 in search of a western route to Asia. He located San Salvador
in the West Indies, opening the Americas to European exploration and colonization.
Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1451-May 29, 1500)
Portuguese sailor and navigator and the first known European to sail around the southernmost tip of
Africa, in 1488.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
Spanish monarchs who united Spain and funded Columbus's voyages to the New World beginning in
1492.
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
Agreement between Spain and Portugal—arbitrated by Pope Alexander VI in 1494, renegotiated later on
Portugal's initiative, and sanctioned by Pope Julius II in 1506—splitting all newly discovered lands of the
New World between those two nations alone.
Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454-February 22, 1512)
Italian navigator and cartographer who first identified South America as a continent in 1502.
Northwest Passage
Fabled water route sought by explorers as an alternative route to reach the Far East by going north of
North America. Despite explorers' hopes for finding such a shortcut, the Northwest Passage did not in
fact exist where they could find it; it was blocked by Arctic ice until 2007.
Columbian Exchange
The multi-way exchange of plants and animals, technologies, human cultures, and disease among
Atlantic peoples throughout the sixteenth century and beyond.
