MYP 4 History Units 1-4: Core Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering major terms, people, events, and concepts from the lecture notes on medieval change, revolutions, industrialisation, and World War I.

Great Schism (1054)

Formal split between the Roman Catholic Church in the West (Latin) and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East (Greek), caused by disputes over language, rituals, leadership, and the filioque clause.

Fall of Toledo (1085)

Christian conquest of Muslim city that opened access to Arabic translations of classical works, sparking intellectual revival in Europe.

Pope Urban II

Roman pope who, in 1095, called the First Crusade in response to a Byzantine plea for military aid, promising spiritual rewards to participants.

Crusades (1095-1254)

Series of Christian military campaigns launched to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control; increased trade and cultural exchange while undermining feudalism.

Medieval University

Secular learning institution that arose in the 12th century, offering studies beyond church schools and fostering independent thought.

Mongol Empire

13th-century empire that unified Eurasia, securing the Silk Road and facilitating vast exchanges of goods, ideas, and diseases.

Silk Road

Overland trade network across Eurasia, revitalised under Mongol rule, spreading commodities, technologies, and the Black Death.

Al-Andalus

Muslim-ruled Spain, renowned medieval hub of science, medicine, urban design, and cultural exchange with Christian Europe.

Pilgrimage

Religious journey to a sacred site; medieval tradition that helped frame the Crusades as a holy journey for propaganda purposes.

Guild

Medieval association of merchants or craftsmen that regulated trade quality, prices, training, and provided social support to members.

Merchant Guild

Guild that controlled long-distance trade, protected merchants interests, and wielded political influence in medieval towns.

Craft Guild

Guild of artisans who set quality standards, oversaw apprenticeships, and regulated local production of specific goods.

Bourgeoisie

Wealthy class of merchants and bankers that emerged with the growth of medieval towns, challenging feudal social structures.

Black Death

Bubonic plague epidemic (1347-1351) that killed up to half of Europe population, causing labor shortages and weakening feudalism.

Peasant Revolts (1381)

Uprisings, notably in England, triggered by labor shortages and high taxes after the Black Death, challenging feudal obligations.

Fall of Constantinople (1453)

Ottoman capture of Byzantine capital; scholars fled to Italy with Greek texts, helping ignite the Renaissance.

Renaissance

14th-17th-century cultural rebirth that revived classical Greek and Roman ideas, producing major advances in art, science, and thought.

Humanism

Renaissance intellectual movement focusing on human potential and the study of humanities—language, history, and ethics—over scholastic theology.

Printing Press (Gutenberg)

Mid-15th-century invention of movable type that enabled mass production of books, spread literacy, and weakened Church control of knowledge.

Perspective (Art)

Renaissance technique that created depth and realism by depicting objects smaller as they recede, revolutionizing Western art.

Northern Renaissance

Renaissance movement in Flanders, Germany, and Holland noted for detailed, oil-based artwork with religious themes and human emotion.

Heliocentric Theory

Copernicus Renaissance idea that the Sun, not Earth, is at the center of the solar system, challenging Church cosmology.

Mercantilism

Economic policy viewing wealth as finite; colonies existed to supply raw materials and buy finished goods for the mother country.

Navigation Acts

1650s-1660s British laws that forced colonial trade to occur in English ships, tightening mercantilist control and angering colonists.

John Locke

English philosopher whose ideas on natural rights, tabula rasa, and consent of the governed influenced the American Revolution.

Tabula Rasa

Locke‘s notion of the human mind as a blank slate, shaped by experience rather than innate ideas.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, natural rights, and skepticism of traditional authority.

Natural Rights

Enlightenment concept—life, liberty, property—that governments must protect; central to revolutionary rhetoric.

Social Contract

Theory that governments derive power from the people, who may replace rulers failing to protect their rights.

Seven Years War

1756-1763 conflict whose North American front (French & Indian War) left Britain in debt, prompting new colonial taxes.

Stamp Act

1765 British tax on printed materials in colonies, sparking widespread protest and the slogan ‘No taxation without representation.’

Townshend Acts

1767 duties on colonial imports (glass, tea, etc.) that intensified American resistance to British taxation.

Boston Tea Party

1773 colonial protest in which patriots dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act.

Intolerable Acts

1774 punitive British laws (Coercive Acts) closing Boston Harbor and revoking Massachusetts self-government, uniting colonies in opposition.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document in which American colonies proclaimed separation from Britain, citing Enlightenment ideals and grievances.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist whose Wealth of Nations (1776) argued for free trade and criticized mercantilism.

Wealth of Nations

Smith‘s book advocating specialization, free markets, and minimal government interference for mutual economic benefit.

No Taxation Without Representation

Colonial slogan protesting taxes imposed by a Parliament in which colonists had no elected representatives.

Inalienable Rights

Fundamental rights that cannot be taken away; U.S. founders listed life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

Revolution

Forcible overthrow of an existing government or social order in favor of a new system.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership, free markets, and profit motive, rising as mercantilism declined.

Industrial Revolution

Late-18th-century transition in Britain from hand production to machine-powered, factory-based manufacturing.

Steam Engine

Key Industrial Revolution invention that converted coal-fired steam into mechanical energy for factories, trains, and ships.

Coal

Abundant British fossil fuel that powered steam engines and gave Britain an early industrial advantage.

Urbanization

Mass migration and growth of populations in cities driven by industrial job opportunities.

Factory System

Industrial method of centralized, mechanized production where workers and machines are housed under one roof.

Social Class

Divisions in society based on economic status; industrialization created a new middle class and distinct working class.

Child Labor

Employment of children in factories and mines for low wages during early industrialization, raising social reform issues.

Marxism

Karl Marx critique of capitalism predicting class struggle would lead to a socialist, then communist, society.

Alienation

Marx‘ term for workers estrangement from the products and process of their labor under capitalism.

Meiji Restoration

1868 political revolution ending Tokugawa rule; launched Japan state-led industrialization and modernization program.

Defensive Modernization

Strategy, notably in Meiji Japan, of rapid industrial and military reform to resist Western domination.

Militarism

Policy of building powerful armed forces and glorifying military values, contributing to pre-WWI tensions.

Alliances

Binding agreements between nations to support each other; before WWI, blocs like the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente formed.

Imperialism

Competition for overseas colonies and influence that intensified rivalries among European powers before WWI.

Nationalism

Intense pride and loyalty to one nation or ethnic group, fueling conflicts such as the Balkans crisis pre-WWI.

Triple Alliance

Pre-WWI military alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (1882).

Dreadnought

Large, fast, heavily-armed battleship; centerpiece of the Anglo-German naval arms race before WWI.

Balkan Wars (1912-1913)

Conflicts that weakened Ottoman control and heightened tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

Triple Entente

Opposing pre-WWI alliance binding Britain, France, and Russia (formalised 1914).

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

June 28, 1914 killing by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo; immediate trigger for World War I.

Schlieffen Plan

German WWI strategy to quickly defeat France via Belgium before turning on Russia.