AP EURO UNIT 1 - Vocabulary

Humanism

A program of study designed by Italians that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature

Christian Humanism

An intellectual movement in northern Europe in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries that combined the interest in the classics of the Italian Renaissance with an interest in the sources of early Christianity, including the New Testament and the writings of the church fathers

Civic Humanism

The belief that it was an intellectual's civic duty to be involved in politics and help the community

Individualism

Stressed personality, uniqueness, genius, and full development of one's talents and capabilities, quest for glory

Niccolo Machiavelli

French man who gave expression to the Renaissance preoccupation with political power. Wrote The Prince. Believed a ruler should behave on Christian moral principals and understanding of the human nature.

Medici

Italian banking family

Printing Press

A machine invented by Johann Gutenberg that creates copies of texts through an impression on a paper sheet, an innovation that revolutionized book production and distribution during Renaissance Europe

New Monarchies

Concept developed by European historians during the first half of the 20th century to characterize 15th-century European rulers who unified their respective nations, creating stable and centralized governments.

Mercantilism

A system of economic regulations aimed at increasing the power of the state based on the belief that a nation’s international power was based on its wealth, specifically its supply of gold and silver

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of animals, plants, and diseases between the Old and the New Worlds

Middle Passage

The second leg of the triangular trade route where enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold in the Americas