World History II Standard 6 Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Scientific Revolution, Age of Absolutism, the Enlightenment, the English Civil War, and the American and French Revolutions.

Heliocentric Theory

The sun-centered theory advanced by Nicholas Copernicus stating that the sun is at the center of the universe and all planets revolve around it.

Johannes Kepler

Astronomer who discovered that planets do not rotate around the sun in perfect circles, but rather in oval-shaped patterns called ellipses.

Galileo

Italian scientist who built upon new theories of astronomy and constructed a telescope in 1609 to study the heavens.

Law of Universal Gravitation

Isaac Newton's discovery that the same force rules the motion of planets and all matter on Earth and in space, linking motion in the heavens with motion on Earth.

William Harvey

English physician who discovered in 1640 that blood circulates through the human body and is pumped by the heart, advancing medical technology.

Scientific Method

A logical 4-step procedure for gathering and testing ideas promoted by Bacon and Descartes: question from observation, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion.

William Gilbert

English scientist who studied electricity and magnetism, distinguishing the lodestone effect from static electricity generated by rubbing amber.

Sir Thomas Browne

English scholar who first used the word 'electricity' in 1646, recognizing that friction removed an 'effluvium' (electric charge).

Absolute Monarchy

A form of government where a king or queen holds all power within a state's boundaries, seeking to control all political, economic, and religious aspects of society.

Divine Right

The doctrine that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acts as God's representative on Earth.

Intendents

French government agents used by Louis XIV to replace and weaken the power of the nobility.

Louis XIV

French absolute ruler known as 'The Sun King' who built the Versailles Palace, patronized arts to glorify the crown, and repealed the Edict of Nantes.

Peter the Great

Russian Czar who gained power in 1696 and launched major reforms to westernize Russia and compete with Europe commercially and militarily.

Westernization

Peter the Great's policy of using Western Europe as a model for modernization, manufacturing, and cultural reform in Russia.

Cavaliers

Pro-Crown nobles and landlords who remained loyal to Charles I during the English Civil War.

Roundheads

Supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War who were led by Oliver Cromwell.

William & Mary

Monarchs who assumed power during the Glorious Revolution, accepting limited monarchy and the power of Parliament.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who argued that power belongs to the people, that people hold natural rights, and that citizens may overthrow an abusive government.

Natural Rights

Locke's concept of fundamental individual rights guaranteed to all people, identified specifically as life, liberty, and property.

Thomas Hobbes

Political philosopher who argued in his Social Contract theory that an absolute monarchy is necessary to maintain law and order and that people must submit to the king.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Enlightenment thinker who defined the social contract as an agreement among free individuals to create both a society and a government.

Montesquieu

Enlightenment philosopher who proposed that the best government divides authority through separation of powers into three branches: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.

Voltaire

Enlightenment writer who advocated for freedom of speech, religious toleration over fanaticism, and the separation of church and state.

Stamp Act

A British tax requiring American colonists to pay for an official stamp on paper items including wills and deeds.

Boston Tea Party

A colonial protest against the Tea Act in which American colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.

First Estate

The estate in pre-revolutionary France consisting of the Roman Catholic Clergy, making up 1% of the total population.

Second Estate

The estate in pre-revolutionary France composed of rich nobles, making up 2% of the total population.

Third Estate

The vast majority of France's population (97%), consisting of peasants, merchants, bankers, laborers, servants, and city workers who bore the tax burden.

Tennis Court Oath

A pledge and meeting organized by the Third Estate in 1789 to determine a unified plan of action for political reform.

Bastille

A French prison stormed by starving peasants searching for weapons, an event that marked the start of the French Revolution.

Jacobins

A radical political faction during the French Revolution that executed King Louis XVI and thousands of French citizens using the guillotine.

Constitutional Monarchy

A political system established in France in September 1791 where the monarch's powers were limited and shared with the Legislative Assembly.