Renaissance, Reformation, and Absolutism Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Renaissance, Reformation, Absolutism, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, and other key topics of the 15th-19th centuries.

Humanism

The main intellectual component of the Renaissance, emphasizing human nature and achievements evident in classical texts.

Civic Humanism

A facet of humanism that encouraged scholars to read ancient Greco-Roman documents to learn how to become better citizens.

Individualism (Renaissance)

Optimism and self-confidence in one’s own achievements and pursuit of knowledge.

Oration on the Dignity of Man

Pico della Mirandola’s assertion of humans as central to divine creation due to their free will; the first printed book banned by the Catholic Church.

Patronage

Wealthy and influential Italians, such as the Medici family, used their wealth to support the art. Commissioned art was used to glorify these families and their cities.

The Prince

Written by Niccolò Machiavelli, encouraging leaders to learn from the shrewd and ruthless tactics of Roman emperors.

The Courtier

Written by Baldassare Castiglione, a manual of proper behavior for upper-class men and women, influencing the separate spheres model of gender inequality.

Christian Humanism

Embodied in the writings of Desiderius Erasmus, employing Renaissance learning in the service of religious reform.

Spanish Inquisition

Ferdinand and Isabella’s targeting of Jews and Muslims in Spain, forcing conversion or expulsion to centralize power.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The buying and selling of enslaved peoples in Africa and the transportation to American plantations.

Simony

One of the Church corruptions that angered 16th-century Europeans.

Nepotism

One of the Church corruptions that angered 16th-century Europeans.

Pluralism/Absenteeism

One of the Church corruptions that angered 16th-century Europeans.

Selling of Indulgences

One of the Church corruptions that angered 16th-century Europeans.

Peace of Augsburg

Agreement in 1555 that allowed each territory in the Holy Roman Empire to decide whether it was Catholic or Protestant.

Catholic Reformation (Counter-Reformation)

The Catholic Church's attempt to purify its image and take back supporters, driving for internal reform and removing corrupt policies.

Council of Trent

Pope Paul III’s mid-16th century council that addressed what reforms had to be made in the Church.

Politiques

Rulers who sacrificed religious principles for political necessity, such as Henry IV of France and Elizabeth I of England.

Defenestration of Prague

Event in 1618 that started the Thirty Years’ War, when Calvinist rebels threw Bohemian royal council members out of a window.

Peace of Westphalia

A series of treaties that concluded the Thirty Years’ War in 1648.

Absolutism

A political system in which a ruler holds total power.

Edict of Nantes

Issued by Henry IV in 1598, granting Huguenots the right to worship in 150 traditionally Protestant towns throughout France.

Intendants

Officials used by Cardinal Richelieu to strengthen royal control in France.

Fronde

Uprisings in France from 1648-1653 resulting from Cardinal Mazarin's failure to meet the costs of the Thirty Years’ War.

Mercantilism

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.

Ship Money

A tax implemented by Charles I without parliamentary approval, leading to the English Civil War.

English Bill of Rights

Signed by William of Orange and Mary Stuart, establishing the first constitutional monarchy in England.

Heliocentrism

The idea developed by Nicolaus Copernicus that the Sun, rather than the Earth, was the center of the universe.

Law of Inertia

Developed by Galileo Galilei, stating that motion, not rest, is the natural state of an object.

Law of Universal Gravitation

Developed by Isaac Newton, stating that all objects are attracted to one another.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual and cultural movement emphasizing reason, progress, and individual rights.

Philosophes

French philosophers who applied scientific reasoning to human nature.

Rationalism

A secular, critical way of thinking emphasizing reason over faith.

Deism

The belief in a distant God but denial of organized religion, basing one’s belief on the light of reason

Enlightened Despotism

Authoritarian leaders who used their political power according to the principles of the Enlightenment.

The Terror (French Revolution)

A period from 1793 to 1794 during which Robespierre pursued a policy of de-Christianization.

The Congress of Vienna

Major European leaders met in Austria in 1815 to re-establish order and undo the French Revolution after Napoleon’s defeat.

Conservatism

A political ideology that emphasizes tradition, privilege, and institutions.

Nationalism

National unity based on common language, culture, ethnicity, religion, and shared history.

Romanticism

Artists/authors/poets, anti-Enlightenment, sociology, nostalgia, conservatism/nationalism, beauty in nature, religion

Liberalism

bourgeoisie/middle class, limit Church and state power, laissez-faire capitalism, economic freedom, constitutionalism, civil liberties, privatization, individualism, representative government

Socialism

working classes, justice, equality between classes, fairness, cooperation, collectivization

Realpolitik

politics based on Machiavellian power rather than ideals

Social Darwinism

English philosopher Herbert Spencer's view of the human race as driven forward to ever-greater specialization and progress by a brutal economic struggle that determined the 'survival of the fittest.'

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution (1760-1830) started in England because of its natural resources (coal, water) and liberal constitution that valued capitalism.

The Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial Revolution (1815-1914) introduced an increase in automated factory work.