adelantado An office conferred by the
Spanish Crown granting an individual the
right to conquer and settle new overseas
territories, in return for economic privi-
leges and the power to administrate local
government and military activities on
behalf of the king of Spain.
adobe A mixtureof straw and clay that,
when shaped into bricks and baked in the
sun, was used by the Indians of the south-
western United States (including the
Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni tribes) to build
homes and walls, especially those often
called pueblos (Spanish for “village”).
alcalde A Spanish governmental official
akin to a governor. Duties of alcaldes in
the frontier provinces of New Spain
included civil leadership and military
command.
astrolabe An early scientific instrument that
enabled navigators at sea to calculate
roughly their distance north of the equator
by determining the altitude of the North
Star over the northern horizon.
audiencia A Spanish civil tribunal and leg-
islative council in the New World. As the
Spanish Crown’s representative, the audi-
encia was also responsible for weighing
and protecting the Spanish king’s share of
any wealth discovered.
brigantine A relatively small two-masted
sailing vessel.
buccaneer A type of pirate. In the West
Indies the Indian word bocanrefers to a
rack on which meat was barbecued. From
this wordthe French developed the word
boucaner,meaning “to cure meat.” A bou-
canierthus became known as a man who
lived like the Indians, or a man who lived
outside European society. The term later
became attached to English and French
pirates who roamed the seas and preyed on
the Spanish Main.
cacique An Arawak termfor a Native Ameri-
can male tribal leader or chief. Although
the term was Caribbean in origin, it was
also commonly employed to acknowledge
leaders of cultures in parts of Central Amer-
ica and the southeastern United States. The
feminine formis cacica.
canyon A deep, narrow gorge. Based on the
Spanish word for “tube,” canyons were
originally called barrancas (ravines) by
early Spanish explorers.
caravel Asmall ship with three short masts
and triangular lateen sails, whose low cost,
maneuverability, and ability to sail against
the wind made it a favorite of Portuguese
and Spanish mariners. Columbus’s ships
Niñaand Pintawere caravels.183
Glossary
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