Global History II Vocabulary: Key Terms, People & Concepts

Flashcards covering key terms, people, and concepts from pages 28–34 for Global History review.

Absolutism

A political system in which a monarch holds total, centralized power (power is inherited).

Authoritarian

A government that demands obedience and limits political freedoms.

Checks and balances

Separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to limit any one branch's power.

Enlightened Despot

An absolute monarch open to Enlightenment ideas; example: Catherine the Great, who was religiously tolerant and expanded rights.

Isolationist

A foreign policy of remaining apart from other countries and cultures.

Napoleon Bonaparte

French leader who consolidated power, authored the Napoleonic Code, became a dictator, conquered much of Europe, and was defeated by Russia.

Natural Rights

Locke's idea that people are born with rights to Life, Liberty, and Property; government should protect them.

Olympe de Gouges

French writer who issued The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791) in response to women's exclusion.

Maximilien Robespierre

French revolutionary leader who led during the Reign of Terror, used censorship and the guillotine, wrote The Law of Suspects.

Simon Bolivar

Latin American nationalist who fought Spanish rule; envisioned a united Latin America but geography prevented unity.

The Social Contract

Rousseau's idea that people surrender some freedoms for protection of basic rights; emphasizes popular sovereignty.

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Haitian nationalist and former slave who led the Haitian slave revolt; Haiti became the first free Black republic.

Westernized

Influenced by Western Europe and North America in culture, economy, or politics.

Agrarian Revolution

Early 1700s changes in farming (seed drill, enclosure, crop rotation) leading to population growth and the Industrial Revolution.

Boxer Rebellion

1900 Chinese nationalist uprising against Western influence; suppressed by Western powers, contributing to Qing decline.

Congolese Genocide

Genocide in the Congo by Belgium’s King Leopold II during the Scramble for Africa; about 10 million Congolese killed or mutilated.

Infrastructure

Structures and facilities (roads, bridges, schools, etc.) needed for a society to operate.

Laissez Faire

Economic policy of letting the market operate with minimal government interference.

Markets

All goods and services bought and sold in local, national, or global economies.

Marxism

Economic theory where the state or the community controls production and distribution; opposite of capitalism.

Meiji Restoration

Japan's 1868 restoration of imperial rule, ending the shogunate and beginning rapid modernization.

Nationalism

Pride in one’s nation; can drive unification or independence movements.

Opium War

1839–1842 conflict between Britain and China over opium trade; ended with unequal treaties (Nanjing).

Reparations

War costs or penalties imposed as punishment; paid after conflicts (e.g., Opium War, WWI).

Sepoy Mutiny

1857 Indian uprising against the British East India Company; led to direct British rule (Raj).

State

A government; a politically organized territory with sovereignty.

Suffrage

The right to vote in political elections.

Market Economy

Capitalist system with private ownership, competition, and consumer choice; laissez-faire tendencies.

Taiping Rebellion

Massive 1850s–1860s Chinese peasant uprising against Qing rule and foreign influence.

Treaty of Kanagawa

1854 agreement that opened Japan to American trade, ending Japan’s isolation.

Treaty of Nanjing

Ending Opium War; unequal treaty that ceded Hong Kong, opened ports, and imposed reparations.

Urbanization

Movement of people from rural to urban areas during modernization.

Zulus

African kingdom in South Africa that resisted British and Dutch encroachment to maintain sovereignty.

Adolf Hitler

Fascist dictator of Germany (1933–1945); exploited Versailles grievances, pursued expansion and the Holocaust.

Appeasement

Policy of yielding to an aggressor to avoid war; example: Munich Agreement 1938.

Autocratic

A government in which a single leader holds absolute power.

Balkans

Southeast European peninsula with ethnic diversity; nationalist tensions contributed to WWI.

Bolsheviks

Russian revolutionary group led by Lenin; seized power in 1917 and founded the Soviet Union.

Collective Farm

State-owned farms where land is worked communally; used in USSR and China.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UN charter (1948) outlining basic rights for all people.

Democracy

System where people elect representatives to govern; government derives from the people.

Fascism

Authoritarian nationalist movement emphasizing strong leadership, militarism, and obedience.

Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary leader who established a Communist state allied with the USSR.

Five-Year Plan

Stalin’s program to rapidly industrialize; often accompanied by forced collectivization and famine.

Fourteen Points

Wilson’s post-WWI plan for peace based on self-determination, open diplomacy, and cooperation.

Glasnost

Gorbachev policy of openness; greater freedom of speech and transparency.

International Court System

Institutions designed to settle disputes between nations and prosecute crimes of humanity.

Iron Curtain

Imaginary barrier separating Western democracies from Eastern Communist Europe during the Cold War.

League of Nations

Interwar international organization aimed at preventing war; weakened by lack of participation by major powers.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program providing economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII to deter communism.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; military alliance formed to counter Soviet expansion.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin-era policy allowing limited private enterprise while the state controlled banks and heavy industry.

Nuclear Proliferation

Spread of nuclear weapons; a major Cold War concern and later global issue.

Nuremberg Laws

Anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany restricting Jewish rights.

Nuremberg Trials

Post-WWII trials prosecuting Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s economic reforms allowing some private enterprise; contributed to Soviet dissolution.

Potsdam Conference

1945 meeting to set postwar order for Germany; division of Germany agreed.

Regime

A government, especially an autocratic one.

Russo-Japanese War

Conflict over Manchuria; Japan’s victory signaled rise of Japan as a major power and weakened Russia.

Soviet Bloc

Eastern European socialist states under Soviet influence; often part of the Warsaw Pact.

Soviet Republic

Ethnically defined state within the Soviet Union; sovereignty increased after the USSR’s collapse.

Tokyo Trials

Post-WWII trials of Japanese leaders for war crimes.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 peace treaty ending WWI; blamed Germany and imposed harsh terms—contributed to WWII.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to contain communism by providing political, military, and economic support.

Yalta Conference

1945 meeting of Allies to plan postwar Europe; discussions contributed to the division of Europe.

Anti-Semitism

Discrimination or hostility toward Jewish people.

Ayatollah Khomeini

Islamic fundamentalist leader who led Iran’s 1979 Revolution and established a theocratic state.

Balfour Declaration

1917 British statement supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Civil disobedience

Nonviolent resistance (e.g., boycotts, protests) used by Gandhi and Kwame Nkrumah.

Cultural Revolution

Mao Zedong’s campaign to enforce communist ideology; Red Guards targeted dissidents.

Four Modernizations

Deng Xiaoping policy to modernize agriculture, industry, defense, and science.

Gandhi

Indian nationalist who led nonviolent resistance, including the Salt March, for independence.

Great Leap Forward

Mao’s 1958–1962 plan to rapidly industrialize and collectivize; caused widespread famine.

Islamic Fundamentalism

Movement opposing Westernization and seeking to apply Islamic principles to politics.

Jomo Kenyatta

Kenyan nationalist who led Kenya to independence from Britain.

Kemal Ataturk

Founder of the Republic of Turkey; modernization, westernization, and secularization after WWI.

Kwame Nkrumah

Ghanaian nationalist who led independence through civil disobedience.

Mandate System

Post-WWI system where former Ottoman lands were administered under League of Nations oversight.

Mao Zedong

Chinese communist leader; led the People’s Republic of China and campaigns like the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.

Muslim League

Political party advocating for a Muslim homeland; helped partition British India into India and Pakistan.

One-Child Policy

Deng Xiaoping policy (1979) limiting most families to one child to slow population growth.

Partition of India

British division of India into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan at independence.

Reza Shah Pahlavi

Iranian king who modernized and secularized Iran; overthrown by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Secular

Non-religious; not governed by religious law.

Taiwan

Island off China that fled the Chinese Civil War; identity contested with the People's Republic of China.

Theocracy

Government in which religious leaders control the state or state policies.

Zionism

Jewish nationalist movement seeking a homeland in Palestine; led to the creation of Israel.

Apartheid

System of legal racial segregation in South Africa; ended in the 1990s with reforms.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Burmese human rights advocate who helped end military rule and promote democracy.

Deforestation

Removal of forests for industry or agriculture; contributes to desertification and climate problems.

Desertification

Land degradation turning arable land into desert; strains water supplies.

Developed country

An advanced economy with high living standards, infrastructure, and technology.

Developing country

An economy with agriculture-based, less-industrialized, lower living standards; often exports low-cost goods.

European Union (EU)

A political and economic union of European countries with standardized laws and trade, currency, and reduced tariffs.

Export

Good sold to another country; exit from the country.

Green Revolution

Mid-20th-century agricultural innovations (irrigation, machinery, fertilizers, GMOs) increasing yields.

Import

Good brought into a country.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Organization of 189+ countries that promotes global monetary cooperation and provides financial assistance.

Khmer Rouge

Cambodian communist regime led by Pol Pot; attempted to create agrarian society; millions killed.

Mother Teresa

Catholic nun who aided the poor; founded the Missionaries of Charity.