Early%20Explorers%20Vocabulary

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Early Explorers Vocabulary

• Chapters 34

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Merchant

• Someone who buys and sells goods to earn money
• The rich man bought a silk robe from the
  merchant.

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Kingdom

• A place ruled by a king or queen
• Several kingdoms in West Africa grew strong
  because of trade.

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Caravan

• A group of people and animals who travel
  together
• Because traveling in the desert was so
  dangerous, merchants would travel large caravans.
  

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The Silk Road

• Several Trade routes connecting China to Europe
• Many merchants traveled on the Silk Road to buy
  silk, spices, and other goods from China.

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Technology

• The use of scientific knowledge and tools to do
  things better and more rapidly
• The copy machine is an important piece of
  technology in our school, because many teachers
  use it to make homework for their students.

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Navigation

• The science of planning and controlling the
  direction of a ship
• If you want to be a Captain of a ship, you have
  to study navigation.

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Astrolabe

• A tool that measures the height of the sun or a
  star above the horizon
• The astrolabe told the Captain that he was
  getting closer to home.

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Profit

• The money a business has earned
• The girls hoped to make a huge profit form their
  lemonade stand.

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Slavery

• A cruel system in which people are bought and
  sold and made to work without pay
• Many Africans were forced into slavery.

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Settlement

• Small community of people living in a new place
• If you could start your own settlement, where
  would you want to live?

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Epidemic

• An outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and
  affects many people
• There was an epidemic of chicken pox in my
  sisters preschool class.

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Circumnavigate

• To sail completely around something
• Joe continued to circumnavigate the rocks while
  the sharks chased his boat.

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Expedition

• A journey to achieve a goal
• The judges on American Idol are on an expedition
  to find the best singer in America.

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Conquistador

• A Spanish soldier who helped conquer the native
  civilizations of Central and South America
• Alanzo dreamed of one day being a famous
  conquistador like his father.

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Empire

• Territories and groups of people controlled by
  one government
• This map shows different Roman Empires of the
  Renaissance Period.

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Colony

• An area of land ruled by another country
• Although the Aztec Empire was in Mexico, it was
  controlled by Spain and therefore a Spanish
  Colony.

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Mission

• A religious community where priests taught
  Christianity
• Many priests set up missions in the new town to
  teach the people about Christianity. Can you
  find the churches?

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hacienda

• Large farm or ranch
• Maria and her family lived on a beautiful
  hacienda for many years.

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Convert

• To change religion or a belief
• Some Native Americans converted to Spanish rule
  and accepted their way of life.

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Revolt

• A violent uprising against a ruler
• Our class began to revolt against our teacher at
  the end of the year.