World History End of Year Final Vocab

Final (May) Vocabulary

mercenary

a soldier who fights primarily for pay

republic

a form of government in which the leader is not a king and certain citizens have the right to vote

burgher

a member of the middle class who lived in a city or town

humanism

an intellectual movement of the Renaissance based on the study of the humanities, which included grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy, and history

vernacular

the language of everyday speech in a particular region

perspective

artistic techniques used to give the effect of three-dimensional depth to two-dimensional surfaces; viewpoint

Christian humanism

a movement that developed in northern Europe during the Renaissance combining classical learning (humanism) with the goal of reforming the Catholic Church

salvation

the state of being saved (that is, going to heaven) through faith alone or through faith and good works

indulgence

a release from all or part of punishment for sin by the Catholic Church, reducing time in purgatory after death

justification

the process of being justified, or deemed worthy of salvation, by God

predestination

the belief that God has determined in advance who will be saved (the elect) and who will be damned (the reprobate)

caravel

a small, fast Spanish or Portuguese sailing ship of the 15th–17th centuries.

conquistador

a leader in the Spanish conquest of the Americas

colony

a settlement of people living in a new territory, linked with the parent country by trade and direct government control

mercantilism

a set of principles that dominated economic thought in the seventeenth century; it held that the prosperity of a nation depended on a large supply of gold and silver

plantation

a large agricultural estate

Middle Passage

the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas

peninsulare

a person born on the Iberian Peninsula; typically, a Spanish or Portuguese official who resided temporarily in Latin America for political and economic gain and then returned to Europe

creole

a person of European descent born in Latin America and living there permanently

mestizo

a person of mixed European and Native American descent

mulatto

a person of mixed African and European descent

encomienda

a system of labor the Spanish used in the Americas; Spanish landowners had the right, as granted by Queen Isabella, to use Native Americans as laborers

mita

a labor system that the Spanish administrators in Peru used to draft native people to work in the Spanish landowners’ silver mines

heretic

one who does not conform to established doctrine

armada

a fleet of warships

inflation

a rapid increase in prices

divine right of kings

the belief that the kings receive their power from God and are responsible only to God

Puritans

English Protestants who felt that the Church of England needed further reform and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship

Cavaliers

supporters of King Charles I in the English Civil War

Roundheads

supporters of the Parliament in the English Civil War

natural rights

rights with which all humans are born, including the rights to life, liberty, and property

absolutism

a political system in which a ruler holds total power

czar

Russian for caesar; the title used by Russian emperors

boyar

a Russian noble

Mannerism

an artistic movement that emerged in Italy in the 1520s and 1530s; it marked the end of the Renaissance by breaking down the principles of balance, harmony, and moderation

Baroque

an artistic style of the seventeenth century characterized by complex forms, bold ornamentation, and contrasting elements

geocentric

Earth-centered; a system of planetary motion in which the sun, moon, and other planets revolve around the Earth

heliocentric

sun-centered; the system of the universe in which the Earth and planets revolve around the sun

universal law of gravitation

one of Newton’s three rules of motion; it explains that planetary bodies continue in elliptical orbits around the sun because every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity

rationalism

a system of thought expounded by René Descartes based on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge

scientific method

a systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence that was crucial to the evolution of science in the modern world

inductive reasoning

the doctrine that scientists should proceed from the particular to the general by making systematic observations and carefully organized experiments to test hypotheses or theories, a process that will lead to correct general principles

philosophe

French for “philosopher”; applied to all intellectuals during the Enlightenment

separation of powers

a form of government in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches limit and control each other through a system of checks and balances

deism

an eighteenth-century religious philosophy based on reason and natural law

laissez-faire

the concept that the state should not impose government regulations but should leave the economy alone

social contract

the concept proposed by Rousseau that an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will, and all individuals should be forced to abide by the general will since it represents what is best for the entire community

salons

the elegant urban drawing rooms where, in the eighteenth century, writers, artists, aristocrats, government officials, and wealthy middle-class people gathered to discuss the ideas of the philosophes

rococo

an artistic style that replaced baroque in the 1730s; it was highly secular, emphasizing grace, charm, and gentle action

enlightened absolutism

a system in which rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while maintaining their full royal powers

successors

ones who follow, especially ones who take over a throne, title, estate, or office

consulate

the government established in France after the overthrow of the Directory in 1799, with Napoleon as first consul in control of the entire government

nationalism

the unique cultural identity of a people based on common language, religion, and national symbols

conservatism

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

liberalism

a political philosophy originally based largely on Enlightenment principles, holding that people should be as free as possible from government restraint and that civil liberties—the basic rights of all people—should be protected

capital

money available for investment

industrial capitalism

an economic system based on industrial production or manufacturing

socialism

a system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production

militarism

the reliance on military strength

abolitionism

a movement to end slavery

conscription

military draft

mobilization

the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war

trench warfare

fighting from ditches protected by barbed wire, as in WWI

war of attrition

a war based on wearing down the other side with constant attacks and heavy losses, such as World War I

total war

a war that involved the complete mobilization of resources and people, affecting the lives of all citizens in the warring countries, even those remote from the battlefield

soviet

Russian councils composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers

war communism

in World War I Russia, the government control of banks and most industries, the seizing of grain from peasants, and the centralization of state administration under Communist control

abdicate

to formally give up control of a country or state

armistice

a truce or an agreement to end fighting

reparation

a payment made to the victor by the vanquished to cover the costs of war

mandate

a territory temporarily governed by another nation on behalf of the League of Nations

fascism

a political philosophy that glorifies the state above the individual by emphasizing the need for a strong central government led by a dictatorial ruler

collectivization

a system in which private farms are eliminated and peasants work land owned by the government

demilitarized

elimination or prohibition of weapons, fortifications, and other military installations

appeasement

satisfying reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers in an effort to maintain peace and stability

sanctions

restrictions intended to enforce international law

blitzkrieg

German for “lightning war”; a swift and sudden military attack; used by the Germans during World War II

blitz

the British term for the German air raids on British cities and towns during World War II

isolationism

a policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations

neutrality

the refusal to take sides or become involved in wars between other nations

genocide

the deliberate mass murder or physical extinction of a particular racial, political, or cultural group

collaborator

a person who assists the enemy

partisan

a resistance fighter in WWII

satellite state

a country that is economically and politically dependent on another country

arms race

building up armies and stores of weapons to keep up with an enemy

deterrence

during the Cold War, the U.S. and Soviet policies of holding huge arsenals of nuclear weapons to prevent war; each nation believed that neither would launch a nuclear attack since both knew that the other side could strike back with devastating power

proxy war

a war in which the powers in conflict use third parties as substitutes instead of fighting each other directly

domino theory

the idea that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will also fall