Napoleonic Era, French Revolution, Colonization and Imperialism

Vocabulary flashcards for review.

Napoleonic Era

The consolidation of the French Revolution's gains under Napoleon's authoritarian rule.

Consulate

A government led by three consuls after the fall of the Directory, with Napoleon as First Consul.

Plebiscite

A vote by the people of an entire country or district expressing an opinion for or against a proposal.

Lycées

Government-run public schools in France.

Concordat

An agreement between Napoleon and the Pope, re-establishing the Catholic Church in France.

Napoleonic Code

A comprehensive and uniform system of laws established for France by Napoleon.

Continental System

Napoleon's economic strategy to isolate Great Britain by imposing a blockade on trade with Europe.

Blockade

The act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.

Guerrilla warfare

A form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military.

Scorched-earth policy

A military strategy of burning or destroying buildings, crops, or other resources that might be of use

Hundred Days

Napoleon's brief return to power in 1815 after his escape from exile.

Waterloo

The final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, marking the end of his reign and French domination in Europe.

Emigres

An aristocrat who fled France during the Revolution.

Old Regime (Ancien Régime)

The social, political, and economic conditions of France before the Revolution, characterized by a rigid class structure and absolutist monarchy.

Absolutism

A political system in which a ruler holds total power.

Estates-General

A legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects; it had no true power.

National Assembly

A revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate.

Tennis Court Oath

A pledge made by members of the National Assembly to continue meeting until a new constitution was written.

Bastille

A medieval fortress and prison in Paris that was stormed by the revolutionaries, a symbolic act of rebellion.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

A fundamental document of the French Revolution that proclaimed the rights of man.

Reign of Terror

A period of extreme violence and political repression during the French Revolution.

Committee of Public Safety

A body established to suppress opposition and counter-revolution during the Reign of Terror.

Directory

The government of France after the Reign of Terror, characterized by weakness and corruption.

Sans-culottes

The common people of the lower classes in late 18th century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the Ancien Régime.

Jacobins

A radical and influential political club during the French Revolution.

Girondins

A moderate political faction during the French Revolution.

Émigrés

Those who have fled their country for political reasons.

Divine Right of Kings

The doctrine that kings derive their authority from God.

Lettres de cachet

Arrest warrants issued by the French monarchy.

Deficit spending

Government spending exceeds revenue.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professionals.

Corvée

Unpaid labor owed by a vassal to his feudal lord.

Tithe

A one-tenth part of something, paid as a compulsory contribution to support a church or clergy.

Octroi

A local tax, especially one levied on goods brought into a town.

Gabelle

A historic French tax on salt.

Taille

A direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien Régime France.

Vingtième

A tax that was introduced in France in 1710, theoretically requiring 1/20th of everyone's income to be paid to the state.

Puritans

Sought religious freedom in North America and established colonies like Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, characterized by their religious beliefs and social organization.

Separatists

English Protestants who would not accept allegiance in any form to the Church of England. Included the Pilgrims and Quakers

Pilgrims

A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons.

Colonization

The process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

"New" Imperialism

The term used to describe the resurgence of colonial expansion in the late 19th century.

Social Darwinism

A social theory popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by which people believed that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle.

Berlin Conference

A series of negotiations at Berlin (1884–85) at which the major European nations met to decide all questions connected with the Congo River basin in Central Africa.

Paternalism

The policy or practice on the part of people in positions of authority of restricting the freedom and responsibilities of those subordinate to them in the subordinates' supposed best interest.

Assimilation

The process of adapting or adjusting to the culture of a group or nation, or the state of being so adapted.

Opium Wars

Two wars involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China and China's sovereignty. The disputes included the British trade of opium in China and resulted in a British victory.

Conquistadors

A soldier or explorer of the Spanish Empire or the Portuguese Empire.

Indentured servants

A laborer under contract to an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities.

Sepoys

An Indian soldier serving under British orders.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Settler colonialism

A distinct type of colonialism that functions through the replacement of indigenous populations with an invasive settler society that, over time, develops a distinctive identity and sovereignty.