1Indian slavery
the enslavement of Indigenous people by European colonists, often through warfare, raids, and the sale of captives to other colonies
2Race and skin color
the development of racial categories that treated skin color as an inherited difference and used it to justify slavery and oppression
3Olaudah Equiano
an author who described the horrors of the Middle Passage and later advocated for the abolition of slavery
4Middle Passage
the ocean voyage that forcibly transported enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas as part of the transatlantic slave trade
5"Seasoning" of slaves
the process of acculturation and preparation enslaved Africans endured after arrival before being forced to labor in the Americas
6Decree of Sanctuary
a 1693 decree by the Spanish king granting freedom to enslaved people who escaped English colonies if they converted to Catholicism and swore loyalty to Spain
7Paternal Dominion
the English ideal that a man held authority over his household, including his wife, children, servants, and enslaved people
8Marriage abroad
marriages between enslaved people owned by different enslavers, requiring them to travel to visit one another without legal protection for their relationships
9Calvinist Christianity
a form of Protestant Christianity that influenced Puritans who hoped to establish religious communities in the Americas
10Charles I
King of England from 1625 to 1649 whose conflicts with Parliament and religious policies contributed to the English Civil War; he was executed in 1649
11Glorious Revolution, 1688
the overthrow of James II and the accession of William of Orange and Mary, which limited royal power and reinforced Protestant rule
12Maryland colony, 1632
a colony granted by Charles I to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, intended to provide wealth and a haven for Catholics
13Roger Williams / Rhode Island, 1636
a religious dissenter who founded Providence in 1636 and helped establish Rhode Island as a colony known for religious and political freedom
14William Penn
a Quaker who founded Pennsylvania as a colony intended to promote religious tolerance and peaceful relations with Indigenous peoples
15Pequot War, 1637
a conflict in which English colonists and their Indigenous allies attacked the Pequot, destroyed the Mystic community, and enslaved many survivors
16King Philip's War, 1675
an uprising led by Metacom, called King Philip by the English, against English colonial expansion that devastated Indigenous communities in New England
17Salem witchcraft hysteria, 1692
a wave of witchcraft trials in Massachusetts and nearby communities that led to the execution of fourteen women and six men, while others died in prison
18Bacon's Rebellion, 1676
an uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon, fueled by frontier conflict with Indigenous peoples and resentment toward Governor William Berkeley and colonial elites
19Pueblo Revolt, 1680
an Indigenous uprising led by Popé that drove the Spanish out of New Mexico for twelve years in resistance to religious suppression and colonial rule
20Yamasee War, 1715
a major Indigenous uprising against Carolina, fueled by abuses in trade and diplomacy, that nearly destroyed the colony
21Walking Purchase, 1737
a fraudulent land deal in which Pennsylvania officials used hired runners to claim far more land from the Delaware than they had intended to sell