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cartographer An artist or draftsman skilled
in drawing maps or maritime charts.
celestial navigation Method used by marine
navigators to calculate their location using
time and the position and altitude of celes-
tial bodies such as stars and planets, and
mathematical tables.
chart Amap used by mariners or the act of
creating such a map. Information routinely
given on a chart includes the typical condi-
tion of the sea in a certain area (hydro-
graphic condition), land formations, and
other navigational data.
cíbolo The Spanish word for the male Amer-
ican buffalo, or bison. (Cíbola is the
female.) It appears that the name derives
from the legendary “golden” city of Cíbola
sought by Coronado’s expedition; the exact
origin of that name is itself unknown, but it
has been proposed that it comes from the
Spaniards’ mispronouncing “Ashiwi,” the
name the Zuni Indians called themselves.
circumnavigate A verb meaning “to sail
around,” usually applied to sailing around
an island or the world.
civilization The culture of a people, or the
geographical location of that culture, or a
specific period of time for a people’s cul-
ture. Because it usually implies such attain-
ments as organized urban life and writing,
it is often used derogatorily to distinguish a
culture from societies that lack such attain-
ments.
comptroller An official in charge of finan-
cial affairs.
conquistador The Spanish word for “con-
queror” (conquistadoresis its plural). At the
time of early Spanish exploration of the
Americas, aconquistador was considered
to fulfill a triple role as soldier, explorer, and
conqueror of people who would not con-
vert to Christianity.
dead reckoning A method used by early
navigators to determine approximately
how far east or west their ships had traveled
by multiplying their rate of speed by the
passage of time. Deadis believed to be
derived from the word deduce,meaning “to
reach a conclusion by the use of reason.”
declination Literally, “deviation;” when
used by navigators it refers either to (a) the
difference on a compass between the direc-
tion of the magnetic North Pole and the
geographic North Pole or (b) the angular
distance to a celestial object as measured
north or south of the celestial equator (an
imaginary line directly over the equator).
despoblado A Spanish term meaning unin-
habited wilderness.
encomienda Based on a Spanish word
meaning “to entrust,” this was a grant by the
Spanish Crown entitling a landholder to tax
Indians living on his land in labor or goods.
The terms of an encomienda required the
grant holder, or encomendero,to provide
religious instruction to and ensure the
physical welfare of the Indians under his
control. The lack of royal regulation and
enforcement of the encomienda system led
to rampant abuses in the New World.
entrada The Spanish term for expedition. It
literally means “entrance” or “entry.”
estuary The area where the current of a
river’s mouth meets ocean tides.
Franciscan Amember of the Order of Saint
Francis of Assisi, a Catholic brotherhood
whose members are dedicated to poverty,
celibacy, and spreading Christianity through
missionary work. Franciscan missionaries
would often accompany Spanish explorers
upon orders of the Spanish Crown to carry
out the expedition’s religious aspect.
fray The title given by the Spanish to a Fran-
ciscan friar, it is derived from the Latin
word frater,or “brother.”
galleon Full-r igged, heavily armed sailing
vessels used primarily as treasure ships,
developed in Spain in the 1500s. Galleons(^184) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
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