Revolutions and Industrial Revolution Vocabulary

Flashcards for reviewing key vocabulary from lecture notes on revolutions and the Industrial Revolution.

Absolute Monarchy

A form of government where the monarch holds supreme autocratic authority, principally unconstrained by written laws, legislature, or customs.

Constitutional Monarchy

A form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written, uncodified, or blended constitution.

King Louis XVI

King of France during the French Revolution; his inability to address France's financial problems contributed to the revolution.

Estates System

The social hierarchy in pre-revolutionary France, divided into three estates: clergy, nobility, and commoners.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class in France, who, during the revolution, often sought greater political and economic power.

Estates-General

A legislative and consultative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had no true power.

National Assembly

A revolutionary assembly formed by the Third Estate of the Estates-General; it aimed to draft a new constitution.

Storming of the Bastille

A pivotal event in the French Revolution when revolutionaries attacked the Bastille prison, symbolizing the end of the old regime.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

A key document of the French Revolution, outlining fundamental rights and freedoms for all citizens.

Olympe de Gouges

A French feminist and playwright who advocated for women's rights during the French Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Woman

Written by Olympe de Gouges to show rights of man should also extend to women.

National Convention

The assembly that governed France during the most radical period of the French Revolution.

Reign of Terror

A period of extreme violence during the French Revolution, led by the Committee of Public Safety, characterized by mass executions.

Maximilien Robespierre

A key figure in the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

Committee of Public Safety

The ruling body of France during the Reign of Terror; responsible for carrying out executions and suppressing dissent.

Guillotine

A machine used for beheading people, symbolizing the Reign of Terror.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars.

Saint-Domingue

Former French colony in the Caribbean, now Haiti.

Toussaint Louverture

The leader of the Haitian Revolution, a slave rebellion that led to Haiti's independence.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

The successor to Toussaint Louverture and the first ruler of independent Haiti.

Haitian Constitution of 1805

The legal document that established Haiti as a free and independent nation, abolishing slavery and declaring all citizens black.