Unit 3&4 vocab WHAP

Devshirme

The Devshirme was a system used by the Ottoman Empire in which Christian boys from the Balkans and other parts of southeastern Europe were forcibly recruited by the state, converted to Islam, and trained for service in the Ottoman government or military, especially as elite Janissary soldiers or high-ranking bureaucrats.

The divine rights of kings

The Divine Right of Kings is a political and religious doctrine that asserts that a monarch’s authority to rule comes directly from God, not from any earthly authority like the people, nobility, or a parliament.

Gunpowder empires

refers to three powerful Muslim empires that rose between the 15th and 17th centuries, using gunpowder weapons (like cannons and muskets) to conquer territory and centralize control:

Ming D

as a Chinese dynasty that replaced the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty and restored ethnic Han Chinese rule. It is known for reviving traditional Chinese culture, strengthening the central government, and expanding trade and exploration, especially early in the dynasty.

Mughal empire

The Mughal Empire was a powerful Muslim empire in South Asia (India) that ruled from 1526 to the mid-1800s, known for its military conquests, religious and cultural blending, and monumental architecture. It was one of the three Gunpowder Empires, along with the Ottomans and Safavids.

Qing D

was the last imperial dynasty of China, founded by the Manchus, a non-Han ethnic group from the northeast. It followed the Ming Dynasty and expanded China’s territory significantly while maintaining many traditional Chinese institutions.

Otto Emp

was a powerful Muslim empire that lasted from 1299 to 1922, centered in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It became one of the largest and longest-lasting empires in world history, spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa at its height. The Ottomans are a key example of a Gunpowder Empire in AP World History.

Safavid emp

was a major Muslim empire in Persia (modern-day Iran) that lasted from 1501 to 1736. It is one of the three main Gunpowder Empires (alongside the Ottomans and Mughals) and is especially known for establishing Twelver Shia Islam as the state religion, shaping Iranian identity to this day.

Salaried Samurai

refers to a key social and military development during the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan (1600–1868), where samurai warriors were paid a regular salary (stipend) by their daimyo (feudal lords) instead of receiving land.

Sikhism

a monotheistic religion that developed in South Asia during the early 16th century, in the Punjab region (modern-day India and Pakistan), as a response to the religious and cultural blending of Hinduism and Islam.

Songhai emp

was one of the largest and most powerful West African empires during the post-classical and early modern periods. It controlled important trans-Saharan trade routes and was known for its wealth, Islamic scholarship, and strong military.

Vizier

a high-ranking political advisor or minister in several Islamic empires, especially in the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, and earlier Islamic caliphates. The vizier often acted as the chief administrator or right-hand person to the ruler (such as a sultan or caliph).

Zamindar

was a landowner and tax collector in the Mughal Empire and later in British colonial India. Zamindars played a crucial role in the empire’s agricultural economy and governance.

Boyars

Boyars were members of the highest rank of the Russian nobility, just below the ruling princes. They owned large estates and held significant political power, especially before the rise of centralized authority under the tsars.

Caravel

A caravel was a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century, used during the Age of Exploration.

carrack

A Carrack was a large, ocean-going sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 14th–15th centuries, used for long voyages of exploration and trade.

columbian exchange

The Columbian Exchange refers to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, and ideas between the Eastern Hemisphere (Old World) and the Western Hemisphere (New World) that began after Christopher Columbus’s voyages in 1492.

Dutch east India company

Dutch East India Company (VOC) = A powerful Dutch joint-stock company that dominated Indian Ocean trade and helped establish Dutch colonial and commercial dominance in the 1600s.

encomienda system

The encomienda system was a labor system established by the Spanish crown in the Americas, in which Spanish settlers (encomenderos) were granted the right to extract labor or tribute from Indigenous peoples in exchange for “protecting” them and converting them to Christianity.

fluyt

A fluyt was a Dutch-designed merchant ship built in the 16th century specifically for efficient, long-distance trade.

hacienda system

The hacienda system was a land-based economic system in Spanish America in which large estates (haciendas) produced agricultural goods for local consumption and export, using coerced labor from Indigenous people and later African slaves or peons (debt laborers).

joint stock company

A joint-stock company was a business organization where individual investors pooled their money to fund overseas trading ventures and shared profits and losses based on their investments.

lateen sails

Lateen sails are triangular sails mounted at an angle on the mast, allowing ships to sail effectively against the wind (a technique called tacking).

maroon societies

Maroon societies were communities of escaped enslaved Africans in the Americas who lived independently, often in remote or hard-to-reach areas, and resisted European colonial authorities.

mercantilism

Mercantilism is an economic policy in which a nation seeks to increase its wealth and power by accumulating precious metals (gold and silver), maintaining a favorable balance of trade, and controlling colonies and resources.

Ming china

The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE) was a Chinese dynasty that restored Han Chinese rule after the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty and is known for political stability, economic growth, and cultural achievements.

mita system

The Mita system was a labor system used by the Inca Empire in which communities were required to provide rotational labor for public projects like building roads, bridges, and terraces. After the Spanish conquest, it was adapted to force Indigenous people to work in mines and plantations.

omani merchants

Omani merchants were traders from Oman, a region on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, who played a significant role in Indian Ocean trade from the early modern period onward

plantation economy

A plantation economy is an economic system based on large-scale agricultural production, usually focused on cash crops for export rather than local consumption.

Portuguese Trading Post Empire

The Portuguese Trading Post Empire was a network of fortified trading centers established by Portugal in the 15th–16th centuries to control Indian Ocean trade rather than large territories.

Pueblo Revolt

The Pueblo Revolt (1680) was a uprising of Indigenous Pueblo people against Spanish colonizers in what is now New Mexico.

Silver Trade

The Silver Trade refers to the global exchange of silver in the 16th–18th centuries that connected the Americas, Europe, and Asia, especially China.

Timars

Timars were land grants given by the Ottoman Empire to military officers (sipahis) in exchange for their service.

Tokugawa Shogunate

The Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1868) was the military government of Japan led by the Tokugawa family, marking the Edo period.

It brought political stability, centralized feudal rule, and over two centuries of peace known as the Edo Period. The shogunate restricted foreign influence and trade through the Sakoku (closed country) policy, allowing only limited contact (mainly with the Dutch and Chinese). Despite isolation, Japan saw internal economic growth, urbanization, and cultural development.

It brought political stability, centralized feudal rule, and over two centuries of peace known as the Edo Period. The shogunate restricted foreign influence and trade through the Sakoku (closed country) policy, allowing only limited contact (mainly with the Dutch and Chinese). Despite isolation, Japan saw internal economic growth, urbanization, and cultural development.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was the forced transportation of millions of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to work in the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries