| A | B |
|---|
| Christopher Columbus | Genoese mariner who discovered the Americas while attempting to find a route to Asia by sailing west acoss the Atlantic Ocean |
| Taino | A Native American people of the Caribbean islands-the first group encountered by Columbus when he reached the Americas |
| Treaty of Tordesillas | the 1494 treaty in which Spain and Portugal agreed to divide the lands of the Western Hemisphere between them |
| Columbian Exchange | the transfer-beginning with Columbus's first voyage-of plants, animals, and diseases between the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere |
| conquistador | one of the Spaniards who traveled to the Americas as an explorer and conquerer in the 16th century |
| Hernan Cortes | conquistador who convinced the Aztecs to give him gold and silver until they rebelled in 1520. After a counterattack in 1521, the Aztec surrendered and European influence spread. |
| New Spain | Colony planned by Cortes, with the capital of Mexico City |
| mestizo | of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry |
| encomienda | a system in which Spanish authorities granted colonial landlords the service of Native Americans as forced laborers |
| New Mexico | Spain's holdings in northern Mexico, with a capital called Santa Fe, or "Holy Faith" |
