Global History: Age of Absolutism to Modern Era Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering major global history topics from the Age of Absolutism through the Cold War and the collapse of communism, based on lecture notes.

Absolute Monarchism

A form of government during the 1600s-1700s where biological monarchs held total control and centralized political power based on the belief in divine right.

Peter the Great

The Russian absolute monarch who Westernized Russia by imitating Western European customs and forced the nobles, known as boyars, to follow Western ways.

St Petersburg

A city built by Peter the Great known as the “window to the West” which served to connect Russia with Europe.

Louis XIV

The absolute monarch of France known as the sun king who built the Palace of Versailles and famously stated, ‘he is the state.’

Marie Anotionnte

A French figure mentioned as similar to Louis XIV in the context of absolute monarchy and spending.

Philip II

The absolute monarch of Spain who ruled during the golden age and used gold and silver wealth from American colonies to support Catholicism.

Spanish Armada

A naval fleet sent by Philip II against England in 1588 which resulted in a loss for Spain.

Henry VIII

The English monarch who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England, strengthening royal power over religion.

James II

The English monarch who was overthrown during the glorious reve, which led to the English Bill of Rights to limit monarch power.

Suleiman the magnificent

The absolute monarch of the Ottoman empire who expanded the empire into Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa during its height.

Galileo Galilei

An astronomer who proved planets revolve around the sun and was put on trial by the Catholic Church for going against church teachings.

Sir issac Newton

The individual who developed calculus and the theory of gravity during the Intellectual Revolutions of Europe.

Enlightenment

The 1700s ‘Age of reason’ where reason, logic, and natural law were used to understand society, asserting that government receives authority from people rather than God.

John loke

An Enlightenment thinker who believed all people have natural rights (life, liberty, property) and should overthrow governments that fail to protect them.

Baron de Montesquieu

An Enlightenment thinker who argued that government should be divided into three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) for checks and balances.

Rousseau

An Enlightenment philosopher who proposed the idea of a social contract, an agreement where all people work for the common good of society.

Magna carta

A document establishing that the king is not above the law.

Declaration of the rights of man

A document written during the French Revolution that gave equal rights to the men of France and created a fair system of taxation.

Reign of terror

A period during the French Revolution where a radical extreme group called the Joacabs, led by Robespierre, executed thousands of people loyal to the king.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A ruler who came to power at the end of the French Revolution, expanded French territory, and was eventually defeated by the freezing climate of Russia.

Simon bolivar

A nationalist leader known as the liberator who helped free Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish rule.

Toussaint L Ouvre

The leader of the Haitian Revolution who led a slave revolt against the French, creating the first independent black republic.

Laissez faire capitalism

An economic system characterized by a free market/enterprise based on supply and demand.

Karl marx

The author of the Communist Manifesto who believed capitalism was bad because factory owners (borugeosise) exploited poor factory workers.

Otto von bismarck

A German leader who used a ‘blood and iron’ policy of war to unite Germany under Prussia in 1871.

Potato famine

An event between 1845-1850 where 1 million Irish people died of famine after potatoes failed to grow and the British took other crops.

White man's burden

An idea that encouraged Europeans to civilize the people of Africa and Asia by teaching them European customs and beliefs.

Spheres of influence

The carving up of China by foreign powers following China's defeat in the Opium Wars.

Extraterritorial

A condition established in China where foreigners were not subject to Chinese laws.

Meiji restoration

A period from 1868-1912 in Japan characterized by fast growth, Westernization, and industrialization under Emperor Meiji.

Triple Alliance

A pre-World War I alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary (AH), and Italy.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The heir of Austria-Hungary whose assassination by a Slavic nationalist in the Balkans started World War I.

Treaty of Versailles

The treaty that ended World War I which forced Germany to accept blame, pay war reparations, and reduce its military.

Bolshevik

A radical extreme group leading the Russian Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin.

Kemal ataturk

The first president of Turkey who implemented Westernization, democracy, and secular laws.

Mohandas Gandhi

A nationalist leader in India who used civil disobedience, including the Salt March, to fight against British rule.

Joseph stalin

A Communist dictator in the Soviet Union (S.U) who implemented a command economy, 5-year plans, and collective farms.

Appeasement

A policy of giving an aggressive nation what they want to avoid war, such as at the Munich conference where Great Britain gave Hitler control of Czechoslovakia.

Nuremberg trails

A court case where surviving Nazis were put on trial for ‘crimes against humanity’ following the Holocaust.

Containment

The U.S. attempt during the Cold War to stop the spread of communism.

Iron curtain

A term used by Winston Churchill to describe the line dividing Western Democracy from Eastern Communism.

Mao Zedong

The first communist dictator of China who gained support from peasants and initiated the Great Leap and Cultural Revolution.

Deng Xiaoping

The Chinese leader after Mao who changed the economy from communist to capitalist.

Apartheid

A system of racial segregation used in South Africa from 1948 to 1990.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The Soviet leader whose programs of Perestroika (capitalism) and Glasnot (freedom of speech) led to the end of communism in 1991.