Terms for Study Guide

Aztec The Native Americans whose empire controlled much of Mexico.

Columbian Exchange The crossover between the New World and the Old World caused by Columbus and subsequent explorers/ settlers. Examples are new crops that came to the Old World from the New World, and diseases that spread from the New World from the Old World.

Conquistadors The Spanish soldiers who were given the right to explore in return for part of the empire.

Hispanolia The Island in the Caribbean (now Haiti and Dominican Republic) first explored by Columbus.

Incas Native Americans whose empire controlled Peru and its surrounding areas.

Line of Demarcation The longitudinal line established by the Pope to separate the claims of Portugal and Spain in the New World.

New Spain The Spanish Empire in the New World that was based in Mexico.

Northwest Passage The elusive route to the Far East that explorers continued to look for, but failed to find. (The route was finally found in the 19th century in Northern Canada. It was traversed in a three year voyage from 1903-1906)

Plantation The large farms that the Spanish established primarily in the Caribbean.

Straits of Magellan The body of water on the southern tip of South America that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.