Northwest Passage
a waterway through or around North America
Pilgrims
English Puritans who founded Plymouth colony in 1620
Columbian Exchange
The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.
Joint Stock Company
a business in which investors pool their wealth in order to turn a profit- Such as the Virginia Company
Jamestown
First permanent English settlement in North America 1607
Indentured Servant
Laborer who agreed to work without pay for a certain period of time in exchange for passage to America
House of Burgesses
created in 1619, the first representative assembly in the American colonies- Virginia
Pilgrim
one of the colonists from England who sailed to America on the Mayflower and founded the colony of Plymouth in New England in 1620
Mayflower Compact
1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony.
Puritans
a group of Anglicans in England who wanted to purify their church of Catholic ways
Great Migration
when more than 15,000 Puritans journeyed to Massachusetts to escape religious persecution and economic hard times
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
This document was the first written constitution in the American colonies.
Backcountry
a colonial region that ran along the Appalachian Mountains.
Subsistence Farming
farming in which only enough food to feed one's family is produced- the type of farming in New England
Triangular Trade
A three way system of trade during 1600-1800s Aferica sent slaves to America, America sent Raw Materials to Europe, and Europe sent Guns and Rum to Africa
Navigation Acts
Laws passed by the British to control colonial trade
Great Awakening
a religious movement that became widespread in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s
Enlightenment
movement during the 1700's that spread the idea that knowledge, reason, and science could improve society
Magna Carta
This document was signed by King John in 1215. It was the first document that limited the power of the government.
English Bill of Rights
document that gave England a government based on a system of laws and a freely elected parliament
Proclamation of 1763
law forbidding english colonists to settle west of the appalachian mountains
Quartering Act
an act passed by the British that allowed British troops to live in the homes of the colonists
Sons of Liberty
Groups of colonists who organized themselves to protest against the British government.
Boycott
Refusal to buy or sell certain products or services used by the colonists in protest
Boston Massacre
The first bloodshed of the Amercan Revolution, as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five americans
Boston Tea Party
demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor