Colonial Vocabulary

MERCANTILISM

• Economic system based upon carefully regulated trade
• Used by most Western European nations in the late 1600's
• Countries aimed to have a trade surplus by exporting more goods than importing
• Led to a trade deficit for colonists because they were forced to only trade with England

Triangular Trade

• Collection of trade routes between Africa, The New World and Europe
• Slaves brought from Africa to the New World
• Raw materials and finished goods exchanged between England/New World

The Great Awakening

• Widespread Christian movement; most prevalent 1730s to 1740s
• Church leaders worried people were losing their faith and religious spirit
• They held inspiring public sermons, which revived the Christian spirit
• Set the stage for the American Revolution by teaching independence from government

Enlightenment

• Intellectual movement in the 1700's, focused on how to improve society
• Enlightenment era philosophers placed a large emphasis on reason and logic
• Influenced people's ideas about how government should work

SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

• Period of great progress, where new ideas about science were invented
• Occured during the 1600s
• Led to many important discoveries and realizations relating to all fields of science
• Revolution started in mathematics and astronomy, but later spread to other fields