AP European History Flashcards (1815-1914)

Vocabulary flashcards for AP European History covering the period 1815-1914.

Industrial Revolution

A period of major industrialization that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Textile industry

An industry primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing.

Spinning jenny

An early multiple-spindle machine for spinning wool or cotton.

Water frame

A spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel.

Power loom

A mechanized loom powered by a line shaft, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution.

Steam engine (James Watt)

A heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.

Iron and coal

Essential resources that fueled the Industrial Revolution. Iron was used for machinery and infrastructure, while coal provided the energy.

Factory system

A method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labor.

Urbanization

The process of more people living in towns and cities.

Luddites

A member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16).

Class consciousness

Awareness of one's place in a system of social classes, especially (in Marxist terms) as it relates to the class struggle.

Manchester

One of the first industrialized cities in Britain; an example of rapid urbanization and the factory system.

Child labor

The employment of children in an industry or business, especially when illegal or considered exploitative.

Labor unions

An organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.

Factory Acts

Acts passed by Parliament to limit the workday of children and set minimum hygiene and safety requirements.

Mines Act (1842)

An act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting all women and girls, and boys under ten years old from working underground in coal mines.

Zollverein

The German Customs Union formed in 1834 which created a free trade area throughout much of Germany.

Congress of Vienna (1815)

A conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich, and held in Vienna.

Klemens von Metternich

An Austrian statesman and diplomat who was at the center of European affairs for three decades as the Austrian Empire's foreign minister.

Conservatism

A political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, favoring obedience to political authority and organized religion.

Liberalism

A political philosophy founded on ideas of liberty and equality.

Nationalism

Identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.

Socialism

A political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Romanticism

A movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.

Utopian Socialists

Early socialists who hoped to create humane alternatives to industrial capitalism by planning model communities and establishing small-scale businesses.

Karl Marx

A German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist who developed the theory of communism.

Friedrich Engels

A German philosopher, social scientist, journalist and businessman. He founded Marxist theory together with Karl Marx.

The Communist Manifesto (1848)

A political pamphlet by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London just as the Revolutions of 1848 began to erupt.

Bourgeoisie/Proletariat

Two distinct classes; the bourgeoisie were the middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professional people while the proletariat were the working-class people.

Revolutions of 1830

A wave of revolutions that took place in Europe, triggered by the July Revolution in France.

Revolutions of 1848

A series of republican revolts against European monarchies beginning in Sicily, and spreading to France, Germany, Italy, and the Austrian Empire.

Chartism

A working-class movement for political reform in Britain.

Louis Philippe

King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy.

Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III)

The only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire.

Second Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid industrial development, primarily in Britain, Germany and the United States, but also in other countries including France, Japan and Belgium.

Urban planning

Technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment.

Public health movement

A movement whose mission was to improve health by promoting sanitation, controlling infectious diseases.

Germ theory

The theory that many diseases are caused by microorganisms.

Antiseptic principle

The idea of using chemicals to destroy bacteria on wounds and surgical instruments.

Middle class/Working class

The middle class consisted of professionals, while the working class consisted of laborers and factory workers.

Cult of domesticity

A prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes during the 19th century in the United States and Great Britain.

Leisure culture

The development of activities for entertainment and enjoyment outside of work.

Literacy and education

Increased access to education and rising literacy rates were key characteristics of this time period.

Feminism

The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

Emmeline Pankhurst

A British political activist and leader of the suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote.

Suffragettes

Members of women's organisations in the late-19th and early-20th centuries who advocated the right to vote in public elections.

Realpolitik

A system of politics or principles based on practical considerations rather than moral or ideological ones.

Unification of Italy

The political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian Peninsula into the single kingdom of Italy in the 19th century.

Unification of Germany

The process of politically integrating the independent German states into a single nation state ruled by the Prussian King Wilhelm I.

Crimean War

A military conflict fought from October 1853 to February 1856 in which Russia lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire.

Austro-Hungarian Empire

A dual monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918.

Tsar Alexander II

The Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881; best known for emancipating the serfs.

Paris Commune

A radical socialist and revolutionary government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871.

Third Republic

The republican government of France between 1870 and 1940.

Dreyfus Affair

A political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906.

Zionism

A movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel.

Social Democratic Party (SPD)

A political party in Germany, advocating a gradual transition to socialism.

Bismarck's social reforms

A set of policies enacted by Otto von Bismarck in Germany, including health insurance, accident insurance, and old-age pensions.

Suffrage expansion

The extension of the right to vote to include previously excluded groups.

New Imperialism

A period of colonial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Scramble for Africa

The invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism.

Berlin Conference

A series of negotiations at Berlin in which the major European nations met to divide Africa.

White Man’s Burden

The alleged duty of white colonizers to care for nonwhite indigenous subjects in their colonial possessions.

Social Darwinism

The theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals.

Suez Canal

An artificial sea-level waterway running north–south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

Opium Wars

Two wars in the mid-19th century involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China and China's sovereignty.

Treaty of Nanking

A peace treaty which ended the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of China.

Sphere of influence

A country or area in which another country has power to affect developments although it has no formal authority.

Taiping Rebellion

A large-scale revolt against the ruling Qing dynasty in China.

Boxer Rebellion

An anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901.

Meiji Restoration

A chain of events that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji.

Sepoy Rebellion

A widespread but ultimately unsuccessful revolt against British rule in India in 1857–59.

British Raj

The rule by the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947.

Missionary activity

The organized effort to spread a religious faith.

J.A. Hobson

An English economist, social scientist and critic of imperialism.

Lenin's Imperialism

A book by Vladimir Lenin analyzing and critiquing imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism.