European History Overview: Key Concepts

Flashcards covering key concepts in European History.

The Italian Renaissance was the rebirth of interest in __ that impacted education, culture, and art.

classical antiquity (Greco-Roman)

Francesco Petrarch is considered the father of __, the main intellectual component of the Renaissance.

humanism

Humanists believed that human nature and achievements were worthy of __ and contemplation.

admiration

The __ revival of Greek and Roman texts challenged the institutional power of universities and the Catholic Church.

humanist

Civic humanism encouraged scholars to read ancient documents on how to become a better __.

citizen

Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man asserted that humans were at the center of divine creation because of their unique gift of __.

free will

The development of the __ resulted in the mass production of classical texts, weakening the Catholic Church’s control over information.

printing press

The papacy’s extensive __ of the arts rebuilt the Vatican’s prestige after years of decline after the Avignon Schism.

patronage

The School of Athens, Raphael’s fresco, included famous philosophers and .

Plato, Aristotle

Machiavelli wrote __, which encouraged leaders to learn from the shrewd tactics of Roman emperors.

The Prince

Baldassare Castiglione wrote __, which became a manual of proper behavior for upper-class men and women.

The Courtier

The Northern Renaissance retained a more __ focus, resulting in more human-centered naturalism.

religious

Christian humanism, embodied in the writings of __, rejected the notion of predestination and the absolute power of the Catholic church.

Desiderius Erasmus

The __ of the Catholic Church is known for targeting Jews and establishing Catholicism as the national religion of Spain under the monarchy.

Spanish Inquisition

Ferdinand and Isabella were called 'new monarchs' because they limited the power of __ and the clergy to centralize their power.

nobility

The Treaty of __ divided the New World between Spain and Portugal.

Tordesillas

The __ brought the deadly European disease of smallpox to the Americas and decimated hundreds of thousands of indigenous Americans.

Columbian Exchange

Martin Luther believed that salvation is initiated by God and that the authority rests in __ alone.

the Bible

The __ of Augsburg allowed each territory to decide its own religion, either Catholic or Protestant.

Peace

The Catholic Church's internal reform to take back supporters is known as the __.

Catholic Reformation

Pope Paul III’s Council of __ addressed reform needs for the Catholic Church.

Trent

The War of the __ was marked by civil violence in France between Catholic royalist lords and Calvinist anti-monarchical lords.

Three Henrys

In the Bohemian phase of the Thirty Years’ War, the conflict started with the __ of Prague.

defenestration

The __ phase of the Thirty Years' War saw Swedish intervention, led by Gustavus Adolphus.

Swedish

The __ of Westphalia was a series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War.

Peace

Absolutism was exemplified by rulers like Peter the Great of __, who Westernized and strengthened state control.

Russia

Louis XIV is known as the __ King, who based his rule on the divine right of kings.

Sun

Louis XIV's Edict of _ allowed Huguenots to worship in France.

Nantes

Mercantilism aimed to increase state power by regulating economic activity such that a country sold __ than it bought.

more goods abroad

During the English Civil War, __ supported the king while Roundheads supported Parliament.

Cavaliers

The __ Revolution saw a struggle for a constitutional monarchy in England.

Glorious

The Scientific Revolution included theories by Copernicus, who developed the idea of __.

heliocentrism

The Scientific Method combines and reasoning to draw conclusions.

deductive, inductive

Darwin’s theory of evolution was published in __, suggesting natural selection.

On the Origin of Species

The French Revolution’s Liberal phase established a __ monarchy and increased popular participation.

constitutional

The __ of the Bastille marked a critical event in the French Revolution, representing peasant fears and discontent.

Fall

The __ phase of the French Revolution was marked by the Reign of Terror.

Radical

The __ was an economic policy influenced by Thomas Hobbes that argued for a strict authority to prevent human savagery.

Leviathan

During the __ War, the U.S. used its manufacturing power to emerge as a leading world power.

Seven Years’

The __ Pact and NATO were military alliances established during the Cold War to delineate power blocs.

Warsaw

The __ Wall separated East and West Berlin, symbolizing the Cold War division in Europe.

Berlin

In the 1980s, popular movements like __ challenged Communist authority in Eastern Europe.

Solidarity

The __ Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989 was peaceful and led to a transition from Communism to democracy.

Velvet

The __ plan in 1948 aimed to assist war-torn European economies to prevent the spread of communism.

Marshall