Early Modern Europe to World War II Practice Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering European history from the Age of Exploration to the end of World War II, based on the lecture transcript.

Age of Exploration

A period from the $15^{th}$ to the $17^{th}$ centuries driven by the desire for direct access to the Asian spice trade and motivated by "Gold, Glory, and God."

Navigational Technology

Advancements such as the astrolabe, caravel ships, and more accurate cartography that enabled transoceanic voyages.

Renaissance

A period of European cultural, artistic, and scientific "rebirth" spanning from the $14^{th}$ to the $17^{th}$ century, beginning in Italian city-states like Florence.

Humanism

A Renaissance philosophy that revived classical Greek and Roman texts and emphasized human potential, individualism, and secular achievements.

Protestant Reformation

A $16^{th}$-century religious and political movement aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church, sparked by perceived corruption and the sale of indulgences.

Indulgences

Remissions of temporal punishment for sin, the sale of which was a major grievance for reformers like Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

A German monk and theologian whose publication of the $95$ Theses in $1517$ sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Sola Fide

The theological argument that salvation is achieved through faith alone rather than through good works or church sacraments.

Divine Right of Kings

A doctrine asserting that a monarch's authority comes directly from God and that the king is not accountable to the people or earthly law.

Absolutism

A political system where a single sovereign ruler holds complete and unrestricted power, centralizing control and building massive standing armies.

Palace of Versailles

A monumental royal chateau built by King Louis XIV to project power and keep powerful nobles distracted with court etiquette.

Louis XIV

The "Sun King" of France who ruled from $1643$ to $1715$ and famously declared "L'état, c'est moi" ("I am the state").

Estates General

The French legislative assembly representing the clergy, nobility, and the commoners; it had not met since $1614$ until summoned in $1789$.

English Parliament

A representative legislative body consisting of the House of Lords and House of Commons that held the "power of the purse" to limit the monarch's authority.

English Civil War

A conflict from $1642$ to $1651$ between King Charles I and Parliament triggered by religious practices and illegal taxation.

Enlightenment

An $18^{th}$-century intellectual movement that championed reason, science, and individualism over tradition and religious orthodoxy.

Thomas Hobbes

English philosopher who wrote Leviathan in $1651$, arguing that humans are inherently selfish and need an absolute monarch to enforce order.

John Locke

Philosopher who argued in Two Treatises of Government that all individuals have natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

Baron de Montesquieu

Author of The Spirit of the Laws ($1748$) who proposed the separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher who argued in The Social Contract ($1762$) that legitimate political authority rests on the "general will" of the community.

French Revolution

A transformative upheaval from $1789$ to $1799$ that dismantled the absolute monarchy and feudal system in France.

National Assembly

A revolutionary body formed in June $1789$ by the Third Estate that swore the Tennis Court Oath to draft a constitution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (DRMC)

An August $1789$ document asserting that all men are born free and equal in rights, including liberty, property, and security.

Reign of Terror

The radical phase of the French Revolution ($1793$ to $1794$) led by Maximilien Robespierre, resulting in over $17000$ executions.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A French general who seized power in a $1799$ coup d'état and crowned himself Emperor, consolidating gains through the Napoleonic Code.

Haitian Revolution

A successful anti-colonial insurrection ($1791$ to $1804$) led by enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue, leading to the founding of Haiti.

Industrial Revolution

An economic transformation beginning in the mid-$18^{th}$ century that shifted societies from agrarian to machine-driven industrial economies.

Mercantilism

An economic system where wealth is finite and states intervene to maximize exports and minimize imports to enrich the mother country.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership and laissez-faire principles where profit is driven by competition and supply and demand.

Socialism

An economic system where major resources and industries are owned or regulated by society to reduce inequality.

Communism

A theory of a classless, stateless society with collective ownership of property, as envisioned by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Karl Marx

German theorist who co-authored The Communist Manifesto ($1848$), arguing history is a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

New Imperialism

Late $19^{th}$-century expansion by industrial nations seeking raw materials and markets, often justified by Social Darwinism.

Berlin Conference

A series of meetings in $1884$ to $1885$ where European powers negotiated claims to African territory without African representation.

British India

Known as the "Jewel in the Crown," it transitioned from British East India Company control to direct government rule (the Raj) in $1858$.

Sepoy Rebellion

An $1857$ uprising against the British East India Company sparked by cultural insensitivity regarding religious dietary laws.

Opium Wars

Military conflicts from $1839$ to $1860$ between Great Britain and the Qing Dynasty over the illegal smuggling of opium into China.

Spheres of Influence

Geographic regions in China where foreign nations held exclusive economic privileges and trading rights.

M-A-I-N

The acronym representing the long-term causes of WWI: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

The June $28$, $1914$ event in Sarajevo that served as the immediate spark for World War I.

Treaty of Versailles

The $1919$ peace settlement that imposed harsh punitive measures and the "War Guilt Clause" on Germany.

Russian Revolutions

Two upheavals in $1917$ that ended Romanov rule and led to the rise of Vladimir Lenin and the Soviet Union.

Fascism

A far-right political ideology characterized by absolute dictatorial power, intense militarism, and the suppression of opposition.

Munich Conference

A September $1938$ meeting where Britain and France allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in a failed attempt to avoid war.

Appeasement

The diplomatic policy of making concessions to aggressive powers like Nazi Germany to maintain peace.

Pearl Harbor

The December $7$, $1941$ surprise attack by Imperial Japan that ended US isolationism and triggered its entry into World War II.