Studied by 0 peopleEnlightenment
An intellectual movement that emphasized reason and logic over religious ideas, leading to new ways of understanding the natural world and human relationships.
Social Contract
The relationship between the government and citizens, with different perspectives such as Thomas Hobbes' belief in an absolute monarch and John Locke's belief in government protecting natural rights.
Natural Rights
The belief that individuals are born with certain rights, such as life, liberty, and property, that cannot be infringed upon by the government or any other entity.
Deism
The belief that God set the universe in motion but does not interfere with human affairs or existence, popular among Enlightenment thinkers.
Liberalism
John Locke's philosophy of natural rights, based on liberty, equality, and consent of the governed, which influenced important documents like The Declaration of Man and the Citizen and the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Empiricism
The belief that observation and experimentation are crucial to human understanding, stating that all concepts originate in experience.
Nationalism
The ideology that prioritizes loyalty and devotion to the nation-state over other individuals or nation-states, often seen during Napoleon's conquests.
Feminism
An ideology and movement advocating for equality for females, including equal opportunities, voting rights, and equal pay.
Mary Wollstonecraft
One of the first feminists who pushed for women's equality, including education, voting rights, and work opportunities, and became a major female voice of the Enlightenment.
Suffrage
The right to vote in electing public officials, which expanded over time as new laws were passed.
End of Serfdom
The abolition of serfdom in France in 1789 and later in other places under Napoleon's Napoleonic Law Code, freeing millions of people and being a significant reform.
Declaration of Independence
The U.S. document that announced the separation of the 13 colonies from Great Britain, inspired by John Locke's ideas of natural rights.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
A document written by Lafayette and adopted by the National Assembly during the French Revolution, stating basic freedoms, the power of the government coming from the people, and establishing France as a Constitutional monarchy.
Jamaica Letter
A letter written by Simon Bolivar in 1815, expressing his desire for Latin American unity and republican government, and playing a significant role in the Latin American Revolution.
Reign of Terror
A period during the French Revolution characterized by mass executions of those suspected of supporting the monarchy, ending with the execution of Maximilien Robespierre.
Simon Bolivar
A Venezuelan soldier who played a central role in the Latin American Revolution, serving as president of Gran Colombia and a dictator of Peru, and after whom Bolivia is named.
Toussaint L'Ouverture
A former slave in Haiti who led a successful revolution against French forces, resulting in the only successful slave revolt in history.
Realpolitik
Politics based on practical objectives rather than ideals, used by Otto von Bismarck to unify Germany.
Otto von Bismarck
The prime minister of Prussia and the first founder of the German empire, who led Prussia to victory against Austria and France, and pursued pacific policies in foreign affairs.
Peninsulares
Spanish settlers born in Spain who moved to Spanish America, holding the highest social status and occupying important positions of power.
Creoles
People of European descent born in the Americas, considered second-class citizens behind the Peninsulares and excluded from the highest positions of power.
Industrial Revolution
The transition from an agriculture-based to an industry-based society, characterized by the rise of factories and the growth of cities.
Cottage Industry
A system of textile manufacturing in which spinners and weavers worked at home using raw materials supplied to them, providing employment opportunities in rural areas.
Factory System
A system that concentrated manufacturing in factories, replacing the Cottage Industry and becoming more efficient through the use of interchangeable parts and the assembly line.
Seed Drill
A machine invented by Jethro Tull for planting seeds at a controlled depth and in specified amounts, saving farmers hours of labor.
Spinning Jenny
A hand-powered machine invented by James Hargreaves for spinning multiple threads at a time, significantly contributing to the industrialization of the textile industry.
Crop Rotation
The practice of planting and harvesting different crops on the same fields at different times of the year to maintain soil fertility.
Enclosure Movement
The conversion of formerly public land into privately owned land, often with walls or fences around it, contributing to the agricultural revolution and labor migration to industrializing cities.
Steam Engine
A machine that uses steam power to perform mechanical work, revolutionizing transportation, manufacturing, and other industries during the Industrial Revolution.
Second Industrial Revolution
Also known as the Technological Revolution, was a time of great technological advancement. Advances in steel production, electricity, and petroleum led to a series of innovations and changed society.
Telegraph
A device for rapid, long-distance transmission of information over an electric wire. The telegraph helped with the growth of railroads, consolidated financial markets, and reduced information costs between firms.
Meiji Restoration
The Japanese political revolution that brought the Tokugawa Shogunate to an end. Multiple young leaders set Japan on the path of centralization, industrialization, and imperialism, thus paving the way for Japan to become a major international power.
Adam Smith
He was known as the father of modern economics. He was a key Scottish Enlightenment figure. He is best known for his book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which included Smith’s description of a system of market-determined wages and free rather than government-constrained enterprise, his system of “perfect liberty.”
Wealth of Nations
It was written by Adam Smith and describes the outline for how a nation becomes wealthy and how the division of labor falls within a wealthy vs. non-wealthy society. It was important because it was a foundational study in economics and is still used today.
Laissez-faire Economics
A policy of minimum government interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society. Business owners benefit from this practice because they don’t have to worry about workers’ rights, safety, work environment, etc. if there’s no interference from the government. It was the dominant economic practice of the time.
Transnational Business
A commercial enterprise that operates substantial facilities, does business in more than one country and does not consider one country its national home. During the industrial age, transnational businesses played a significant role in driving economic growth and expansion. Factories were established, jobs created, and products sold globally.
Industrial Working Class
The Industrial Revolution brought technological advancements which led to a lesser need for farmers. This made people move to cities to work in factories, thus creating the industrial working class.
Middle Class
Along with the Industrial Revolution, the middle class was formed when factory jobs became available. The middle class allowed for more balance between classes and became known as the “working class.”
Urbanization
The large movement of people from rural areas to more densely populated areas (growth of cities). The Industrial Revolution caused this because people wanted factory jobs, so they moved to the cities.
Karl Marx
A German writer and philosopher, a famous advocate for communism, co-writer of The Communist Manifesto, and creator of Marxism. He was exiled from Prussia and moved to Paris. According to Marx, for the workers to form a classless society, they need to seize control of the means of production.
Communism
A political and economic system that seeks to create a classless society. Major productive resources in society (mines, factories, farms, etc.) are owned by the state, and wealth is divided equally among citizens or according to their needs.
Socialism
A political and economic theory of social organization that says that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
Tanzimat Reforms
A series of political, legal, and social changes that took place in the Ottoman Empire. They aimed to modernize the empire and protect its territorial integrity from nationalist movements.
Young Turks
Movement of Turkish military and civilian elites, eventually bringing down the Ottoman Empire. It helped to establish the Second Constitution Era and usher in an era of multi-party democracy for the first time in the country’s history.
Self-Strengthening Movement
A reform movement in China (1861-1895) that aimed to modernize the Qing Dynasty by adopting Western methods of technology in military, diplomatic, and educational affairs.
HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation)
A prominent bank established in Hong Kong in 1865 when Hong Kong was a colony of the British Empire. It was the first locally owned bank to operate according to Scottish banking principles.
Labor Union
An association of workers formed to bargain for better working conditions and better wages. Labor strikes were held to obtain this.
Proletariat
A class of people who earn their living through labor. One of the lowest economic and social classes in society. Its existence was largely parasitic on the Roman economy. On occasions, it was quieted by doles of bread from the state and diverted by spectacles (“bread and circuses”).
Bourgeoisie
The social order that is dominated by the middle class. The bourgeoisie were the owners of the factories and businesses that drove industrialization. They were the wealthiest and the most powerful members of the middle class. The bourgeoisie was largely a construct of Karl Marx and of those influenced by him.
Thomas Hobbes
A huge supporter of Charles I in England, argued that people were selfish and self-serving, wrote the book, The Leviathan, during the English Civil War, and his idea of the social contract was that you needed a strong, absolute monarch in control. He believed that without an absolute monarch, there would be war and chaos among the people.
John Locke (England)
He believed that everyone had “natural rights” (life, liberty, property), he believed that people were born with a “blank slate” (Tabula Rosa) and a person’s thoughts are shaped by experience, he inspired the U.S. Declaration of Independence, his idea of the social contract was that the government had a responsibility of protecting the people, and if they didn’t, the people could abolish the government and get a new one.
Jean Jacque Rousseau (France)
He believed that society was corrupt, so the government should protect the “general will” of the people, and that the government should implement policies beneficial to all people by basing decisions based on majority rule.
Baron de Montesquieu (France)
He focused on the organization of government by creating a separation of powers that allowed each branch to check the others’ powers (inspired U.S. three branches of government).
Voltaire (France)
He was concerned about the rights of the citizen— focused on freedom of speech and freedom of religion, advocated for the separation of church and state, and directly influenced the creation of the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Note
Flashcard