Sugarcane

Europeans enslaved millions of Africans to plant and harvest

this crop

Christopher Columbus

Believed he could reach Asia by

sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean

Representative government

System in which people elect delegates to

conduct government

Hernan Cortes

Destroyed the Aztec empire

Marco Polo

Spent 17 years in China working for Kublai Khan

astrolabe

Measured the position of the

stars

Thomas Hobbes

Argued absolute monarchy was the

best form of government

Thomas Aquinas

Believed reason should be used to explore questions of faith

Mercantilism

Theory that a nation becomes powerful by building up a supply of

gold and silver

Capitalism

System in which money is invested in

business to make more money

Martin Luther

Criticized Catholic teachings and

practices

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer who completed the eastern sea route to

Asia

circumnavigate

Sail around the world

Scientific method

An orderly way of collecting and

analyzing evidence

Crusades

Series of holy wars that

increased trade

Joint-stock companies

Organizations of stockholders formed to

share profits and risks of ventures

Missions

Religious communities that included a town,

farmland, and a church

Charles de Montesquieu

Argued governments

needed separation of powers

Columbian Exchange

Global exchange of people, goods,

technology, ideas, and diseases

Ten Commandments

Influenced the moral laws of many nations