Absolutism in France, Mercantilism, and the American Revolution

Vocabulary flashcards covering the French absolutist monarchy under Louis XIV, Colbertist mercantilism, the development of the British American colonies, and the American Revolution based on the lecture review script.

Absolutism (Absolutismus)

A form of government in which supreme political power is concentrated entirely in the monarch, who makes key state decisions personally.

Divine Right of Kings (Gottesgnadentum)

The political doctrine stating that the monarch is appointed directly by God, providing divine legitimacy for absolute rule.

Alleinherrscher (Sole Ruler)

A ruler claiming ultimate, unchecked decision-making authority over all matters of state, including declaring war and making peace.

«Der Staat bin ich» («L'état, c'est moi»)

The famous phrase attributed to Louis XIV summarizing his claim to be the central source of all sovereign power.

Versailles and the Court State (Hofstaat)

The royal residence and center of power under Louis XIV, functioning as a political instrument to bind nobles to the court and maintain control over them.

Court Etiquette (Etikette)

Strict and complex codes of conduct and social rituals that regulated noble behavior and forced aristocrats to compete for the monarch's favor.

Staatsräson (Reason of State)

The governing principle that the collective interests of the state take absolute precedence over the private interests of individual groups.

Intendants (Intendanten)

Royal officials dispatched to the French provinces to oversee and maintain central administrative control on behalf of the king.

Standing Army (Stehendes Heer)

A permanent, continuously available state army that expanded under Louis XIV from about 45,000 soldiers in 1664 to approximately 400,000 in 1703.

French Three Estates (Ständegesellschaft)

The traditional tripartite social hierarchy: First Estate (Clergy), Second Estate (Nobility), and Third Estate (commoners, peasants, and bourgeoisie).

Third Estate (Dritter Stand)

The non-privileged social stratum comprising bourgeois, peasants, artisans, and day laborers—numbering roughly 20 million people around 1750—who bore the primary tax burden.

Nobility of the Robe (Amtsadel)

Wealthy bourgeois individuals who attained noble status by purchasing public offices or judicial titles, encompassing roughly 40,000 office holders.

Académie française

A French cultural institution established in 1634 to establish rules and norms for the French language and bolster royal prestige.

Huguenots (Hugenotten)

French Protestants who lost their freedom of worship in 1685 when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, causing more than 200,000 to flee abroad.

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685)

The royal act by Louis XIV terminating religious tolerance for Protestants, resulting in the economic and demographic loss of thousands of skilled craftspeople and merchants.

Mercantilism (Merkantilismus)

The state-directed economic system of absolutism designed to boost domestic production, expand exports, limit imports, and maximize treasury reserves.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

The finance minister under Louis XIV responsible for finances, commerce, transport, navy, colonies, and forestry who sought to turn France into an economic powerhouse.

Manufactory (Manufaktur)

A centralized manufacturing workshop in which goods are produced primarily through manual labor with an organized division of labor.

Import Tariff (Einfuhrzoll)

A tax levied on foreign imported goods designed to protect domestic manufacturers and deter foreign competition.

Unified Customs Zone of 1664 (Vereinheitlichtes Zollgebiet)

A standardized domestic customs territory established in France to reduce internal tariffs and facilitate trade between regions.

Jamestown (1607)

The first permanent English settlement established in North America, located in Virginia.

Mayflower and Plymouth (1620)

The ship and settlement established by Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England to build a self-governing religious community.

Puritans (Puritaner)

A Protestant religious group characterized by strict devotion, work ethic, moral discipline, and Bible study that shaped New England's civic culture.

Northern Colonies (New England)

The English colonies characterized by harsh land, cold climate, subsistence family farms, fishing, timber, shipbuilding, and commerce, where enslaved people made up about 2% of the population.

Southern Colonies

The English colonies characterized by a warm, subtropical climate, large cash-crop plantations (tobacco, rice, indigo), and an enslaved population making up about 60% of the total.

Indentured Servants (Kontraktarbeiter)

Impoverished white laborers in the colonies who paid off their transatlantic travel costs or debts through years of contracted servitude.

Plantation Economy (Plantagenwirtschaft)

An agricultural model based on expansive estates dedicated to cultivating one or few commercial cash crops for export using enslaved labor.

William Penn

An English colonial leader who stood out for attempting to maintain peaceful relations and treaties with indigenous populations.

«No taxation without representation»

The core political principle and protest slogan asserting that British subjects in the colonies could not be lawfully taxed without elected representation in Parliament.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

A landmark direct-action protest staged by American colonists against British tax and trade monopolies.

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

The foundational document adopted by the 13 American colonies formally asserting their sovereignty and independence from Great Britain.

Treaty of Paris (1783) (Frieden von Paris)

The peace treaty in which Great Britain officially recognized the independence and sovereignty of the United States.

Five-Step Source Interpretation Method

The structured procedure for historical analysis: 1. Describe, 2. Contextualize/Classify, 3. Interpret, 4. Connect with historical knowledge, and 5. Evaluate/Judge.