World history final

Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional religious dogma.

Natural Rights

The concept championed by John Locke stating that all people are born with the rights to life, liberty, and property.

Reign of Terror

A period during the French Revolution led by Maximilien Robespierre where thousands of deemed 'enemies of the revolution' were executed by the guillotine.

Industrial Revolution

The transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the US, beginning in Great Britain in the mid-1700s.

Urbanization

The process of making an area more urban through the migration of people from rural areas to cities, largely driven by the factory system.

Laissez-faire

An economic policy of letting owners of industry and business set working conditions without government interference.

Karl Marx

The German philosopher who co-authored The Communist Manifesto and argued that history is a struggle between classes (Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat).

MAIN Causes of WWI

The four primary underlying causes of World War I: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

Triple Alliance

The military alliance formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy prior to World War I.

Trench Warfare

A type of combat in which opposing troops fight from relatively permanent systems of excavations in the ground, famously used on the Western Front.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace treaty signed in 1919 that ended World War I, forcing Germany to take full responsibility for the war and pay heavy reparations.

League of Nations

An international organization created after WWI to provide a forum for resolving international disputes and preventing future wars.

Democracy

A system of government in which citizens hold political power, either directly or through elected representatives.

Republic

A form of government in which power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders.

Plato

A Greek philosopher who wrote The Republic and envisioned a society governed by the wisest 'philosopher-kings.'

Aristotle

A Greek philosopher who favored a government where the middle class has the most power to ensure stability.

Magna Carta

The 'Great Charter' signed in 1215 that limited the king's power and protected the basic rights of English nobles.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 bloodless overthrow of King James II, which led to England becoming a constitutional monarchy.

English Bill of Rights

A 1689 document that limited monarchical power and guaranteed rights like free speech in Parliament.

Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional religious dogma.

Natural Rights

The concept championed by John Locke stating that all people are born with the rights to life, liberty, and property.

John Locke

An Enlightenment philosopher who argued that government exists to protect natural rights and can be overthrown if it fails.

Thomas Hobbes

A philosopher who believed people are naturally selfish and need an absolute monarch to maintain order through a social contract.

Social Contract

An agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights, creating an organized society or government.

Baron de Montesquieu

An Enlightenment thinker who proposed the division of government power into three separate branches.

Separation of Powers

The assignment of executive, legislative, and judicial powers to different groups to prevent any one from becoming too powerful.

Voltaire

A French philosopher who used satire to fight for tolerance, reason, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

An Enlightenment philosopher who believed that the only good government was one freely formed by the people.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An advocate for women's rights who argued that women should receive the same education as men to be useful to society.

Scientific Revolution

A major change in European thought in the 1500s and 1600s that relied on observation and the questioning of old beliefs.

Heliocentric Theory

The idea that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus.

Galileo Galilei

An Italian scientist whose observations with a telescope supported the heliocentric theory and led to conflict with the Church.

Isaac Newton

An English scientist who discovered the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

Old Regime

The social and political system of France before the Revolution, which divided people into three estates.

First Estate

The social class in pre-revolutionary France made up of the clergy, who owned 10% of the land.

Second Estate

The social class in pre-revolutionary France made up of rich nobles, who held high government offices.

Third Estate

The largest social class in pre-revolutionary France (98% of people), including peasants and the bourgeoisie.

Louis XVI

The King of France whose weak leadership and financial crises helped spark the French Revolution.

Marie Antoinette

The Queen of France who was unpopular due to her extravagant spending and foreign background.

Estates-General

An assembly of representatives from all three estates called by Louis XVI to approve new taxes.

National Assembly

A French congress established by representatives of the Third Estate to enact laws and reforms in the name of the people.

Tennis Court Oath

A pledge made by the National Assembly in 1789 to keep meeting until they created a new constitution.

Storming of the Bastille

The attack on a Paris prison on July 14, 1789, which became a symbolic act of revolution for the French people.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

A revolutionary document stating that 'men are born and remain free and equal in rights.'

Guillotine

A machine designed for beheading that was used for thousands of executions during the French Revolution.

Maximilien Robespierre

The Jacobin leader who gained power in 1793 and presided over the Reign of Terror.

Reign of Terror

A period during the French Revolution led by Maximilien Robespierre where thousands of deemed 'enemies of the revolution' were executed.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A military leader who seized power in France in a coup d'état and eventually became Emperor.

Napoleonic Code

A uniform system of laws established for France by Napoleon that promoted equality but limited some freedoms.

Battle of Trafalgar

A 1805 naval battle in which Napoleon's forces were defeated by the British fleet led by Horatio Nelson.

Continental System

Napoleon's policy of preventing trade between Great Britain and continental Europe to weaken the British economy.

Peninsular War

A conflict in which Spanish rebels, with British help, fought to drive Napoleon's French troops out of Spain.

Scorched-earth Policy

The practice of burning crops and killing livestock during wartime so that the enemy cannot live off the land.

Battle of Waterloo

The site of Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 by British and Prussian forces.

Congress of Vienna

A meeting of European leaders in 1814-1815 to restore a balance of power after Napoleon's defeat.

Industrial Revolution

The transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the US, beginning in Great Britain in the mid-1700s.

Enclosure Movement

The process of fencing in large landholdings by wealthy landowners, which forced small farmers to move to cities.

Crop Rotation

The practice of changing the type of crop grown in a field each year to keep the soil fertile.

Factors of Production

The three resources needed to produce goods and services that the Industrial Revolution required: land, labor, and capital.

Factory System

A method of production that brought many workers and machines together in large buildings.

Entrepreneur

A person who organizes, manages, and takes on the risks of a business.

James Watt

The inventor who made significant improvements to the steam engine, making it a key power source for industry.

Urbanization

The process of making an area more urban through the migration of people from rural areas to cities, largely driven by the factory system.

Middle Class

A social class made up of skilled workers, professionals, and wealthy farmers that grew during the Industrial Revolution.

Laissez-faire

An economic policy of letting owners of industry and business set working conditions without government interference.

Adam Smith

The economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations and supported the idea of free markets and capitalism.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership and the investment of money in business ventures for profit.

Utilitarianism

The philosophy that government actions are useful only if they promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Socialism

An economic system in which the factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all.

Karl Marx

The German philosopher who co-authored The Communist Manifesto and predicted a revolution by the working class.

Communism

A form of complete socialism in which all means of production are owned by the people and private property does not exist.

Proletariat

The term used by Karl Marx to describe the industrial working class.

Bourgeoisie

The term used by Karl Marx to describe the wealthy middle class or factory owners in industrial society.

Labor Union

An association of workers formed to bargain for better wages and working conditions.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiations between workers and their employers to reach an agreement on wages and working conditions.

Strike

A refusal to work organized by a body of employees as a form of protest to gain better conditions.

Imperialism

A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, economically, or socially.

Racism

The belief that one race is superior to others.

Social Darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and survival of the fittest to human societies as a justification for imperialist expansion.

Berlin Conference

A meeting in 1884-1885 where European nations agreed on rules for the colonization of Africa.

Paternalism

A policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing for their needs but not giving them rights.

Assimilation

A policy in which a nation forces or encourages a subject people to adopt its institutions and customs.

Geopolitics

An interest in or taking of land for its strategic location or products.

Suez Canal

A human-made waterway in Egypt that opened in 1869, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Jewel in the Crown

The British colony of India, so called because of its importance as a source of raw materials and markets.

Sepoy Mutiny

An 1857 rebellion of Hindu and Muslim soldiers against the British in India.

Opium War

A conflict between Britain and China over Britain's opium trade in China during the mid-1800s.

Extraterritorial Rights

The right of foreigners to be protected by the laws of their own nation while in another country.

Sphere of Influence

An area in which a foreign nation controls trade and investment.

Open Door Policy

A policy proposed by the US in 1899 that all nations should have equal opportunities to trade in China.

Boxer Rebellion

A 1900 revolt in China aimed at ending foreign influence in the country.

Militarism

The policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war.

Triple Alliance

The military alliance formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy prior to World War I.

Triple Entente

The military alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia formed prior to World War I.

MAIN Causes of WWI

The four primary underlying causes of World War I: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

Central Powers

In World War I, the nations of Germany and Austria-Hungary, along with the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

Allied Powers

In World War I, the nations of Great Britain, France, and Russia, later joined by Italy and the United States.

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's military plan at the outbreak of WWI to defeat France quickly and then move east to attack Russia.

Trench Warfare

A type of combat in which opposing troops fight from parallel ditches dug in the ground, famously used on the Western Front.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

The use of submarines to sink without warning any ship found in an enemy's waters.