Big Era Five: Revolutions, Empires, and Nations Flashcards

These vocabulary flashcards cover the major cultural, political, and industrial changes from 1750 to 1900, including the French and Atlantic Revolutions, the Industrial Revolution, and global imperialism.

The Modern Revolution

A period characterized by the use of fossil fuels, the rise of democratic politics, and the communication revolution.

The "Rocket"

George Stephenson's $1829$ steam locomotive that advanced the travel and transport of goods.

Adam Smith

The author of "The Wealth of Nations" who argued that people should be able to buy and sell land, labor, and goods freely.

Estates

The three social classes in pre-revolutionary France: the Clergy ($1^{st}$), Nobility ($2^{nd}$), and Commoners ($3^{rd}$).

National Assembly

A new legislature set up by the Third Estate to make reforms and write a new constitution for France.

Guillotine

A machine designed during the French Revolution for execution by beheading, intended to be a more humane and equal method.

Maximilien Robespierre

Leader of the Committee for Public Safety who ruled as a dictator and oversaw the Reign of Terror.

Toussaint L'Ouverture

A former slave who became the lead general and hero of the Haitian Revolution, successfully abolishing slavery.

Simon Bolivar

A Venezuelan leader known as "The Liberator" who fought for independence from Spain and dreamed of a unified "Gran Colombia."

Peninsulares

People born in Spain who held the highest government and church positions in the American colonies, often resented by locally-born Creoles.

James Watt

An inventor who drastically improved the steam engine, making it efficient enough to power factories and mines.

Division of Labor

A process of breaking down a large job into small, simple tasks performed by different workers to increase production speed.

Luddites

English textile workers who smashed machinery in the belief that technology was destroying their livelihoods.

Liberalism

A political philosophy that favors individual liberty, free markets, and the limitation of government power.

Communism

An economic system advocated by Karl Marx where private property is abolished and the community owns all means of production.

Proletariat

The working class who do not own the tools of production and must sell their labor for wages.

Social Darwinism

The misapplication of "survival of the fittest" to human societies, used to justify imperialism and racial superiority.

Berlin Conference

A meeting held in $1884-85$ where European powers divided the African continent among themselves without African representation.

King Khama III

The leader of the Bamangwato people who traveled to London to request British protection for his land against private company seizure.

Boxer Rebellion

A violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian movement in China fueled by the belief that foreigners were destroying Chinese culture.

La Reforma

A liberal reform movement in Mexico led by Benito Juárez aimed at reducing the power of the church and the military.

Apartheid

A legal system of strict racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the South African government during white minority rule.

Mandate System

A system established after World War I by the League of Nations where Allies like Britain and France took charge of former German colonies and Ottoman provinces.

Balfour Declaration

A $1917$ British statement expressing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.