History 102 midterm

Absolutism

king has absolute power; word is the law of the land

Liberalism

if a king/ruler is behaving badly, the people have the right to impeach him

Constitutionalism

a ruler’s power should be limited by rules and regulations

Mercantilism

economic policy that increased exports and decreased imports

Louis XIV main areas of control

army, religion, economy, ministers, and bureaucracy

Why did Louis XIV want to control the nobles?

to prevent them from gaining enough power to overthrow the king

Why was Versailles important?

Louis XIV kept all the nobles there so that they were isolated and kept dependent on him

Intendant

royal official representing the king in each region and weakening local power

Why did Louis XIV face financial problems?

wars and military failures

What was the conflict between Charles I and Parliament?

Charles wanted to strengthen royal power and raise taxes, but Parliament resisted

Who fought in the English civil war?

royalists supported Charles I, parliamentary forces supported Parliament and Oliver Cromwell

What happened under Oliver Cromwell’s rule?

defeated the royalists, executed Charles I, and ruled as a dictator

Levellers

former soldiers who wanted annual Parliament meetings, paid members of parliament, and voting rights for male freemen

Tories vs. Whigs

tories supported stronger monarchy, whigs supported stronger parliament

Why did conflict develop over James II?

James was Catholic, creating fears about Catholic succession to the throne

What did the English Bill of Rights establish?

limits on royal power and greater authority for Parliament, including control over taxation and army

Main difference between France and England

France was known for absolutism, England was known for constitutionalism and stronger Parliament

Why was Parliament cautious about Charles II?

feared he might become absolutist

Atlantic system

a network connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas through trade, slavery, and colonization

Plantation system

farms owned by Western Europeans that used slaves to produce goods

Why did Europeans expand slavery?

plantation goods were in high demand, so slave owners were making a profit

How did slavery differ between North America and the Caribbean?

North had fewer enslaved people, south relied on plantations, French Caribbean had lots of slaves

Consumer Revolution

Europeans increasingly bought products that became desirable

How did colonization contribute to consumerism?

The more people in a population, the more goods were “needed”

Horace Walpole

prime minister working under Oliver Cromwell who connected monarchy and Parliament

Patronage

giving people government positions in order to gain their political support, Walpole used this method

Balance of power

European strategy of preventing a country from becoming too powerful and avoiding costly wars

Why was diplomacy not enough to make a country powerful?

military and population also mattered (what was happening inside of country)

How did Enlightenment thinkers try to improve city conditions?

criticized poor sanitation and wanted better environmental conditions

Enlightenment

intellectual movement based on the belief that humans could solve problems through logic and reasoning

How did the scientific method affect religion?

religion was the background of society and was being uprooted because it could no longer explain natural phenomena and human diseases

How did authorities respond to Enlightenment ideas?

some books were prohibited, and some authors were forced to escape to the Dutch Republic or Switzerland

Voltaire

enlightenment thinker who emphasized science and reason and criticized traditional religious authority, went into exile because French authorities considered his ideas dangerous

David Hume

Scottish philosopher questioned religious beliefs and believed that society could not rely on religion for stability, religion was based on superstition

Athesim

belief that there is no God

Deism

belief in God, but doesn’t believe that God is involved in earthly affairs

What religion was Voltaire?

deist

Olaudah Equiano

formerly enslaved man who wrote about his experience, but not many people could read it because they were illiterate

Mary Wollstonecraft

enlightenment philosopher who wanted equality between men and women

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

novel by Wollstonecraft, where she argues that women only appeared inferior because they were not given the proper education

Secularization

process by which religion loses its historical importance in political, social, and cultural life

Adam Smith

enlightenment thinker who developed major ideas about self-interest in markets, division of labor, and laissez-faire

Laissez-faire

government should minimize intervention in the economy

Jean-Jaques Rosseau

thinker who criticized aspects of Enlightenment and emphasized the importance of nature and community, and she wanted a direct democracy

Frederick the Great

King of Prussia who strengthened Prussia through military power and won the 7 yrs war

Why was Prussia powerful despite its small population?

it relied on advanced military technology and had a very large army

Militarization of Prussian society

because many Aristocrats held government positions, it was easy for landowners to maintain control over peasants

How did France get revenge on Britain?

supported the 13 American colonies in their rebel against Britain

Reformist monarchies

monarchies that adopted some Enlightenment ideas to modernize government and improve taxation

What was a major problem for the reformist monarchs?

conservatives wanted to stick to traditional ways of ruling

What reforms did Frederick the Great support?

hosted French philosophers, abolished torture, and strengthened professional bureaucracy and taxation

Catherine the Great

empress of Russia, influenced by Cesare Beccaria, who believed that every man should be innocent until proven guilty

Why was the church a rival to Enlightenment monarchies?

Religious institutions held their own authority and could compete with the state for influence

How did monarchs attempt to control the church?

They forced bishops to swear allegiance to the monarch

Why did the American colonies rebel against Britain?

Colonists objected to being governed and taxed without having equal political representation

No taxation without representation

people should not be taxed by a government in which they have no elected representation

Causes of the French Revolution

public debt, modernization of the tax process, reforms demanded, additional trigger with Marie Antoinette spending royalty money and putting the country into further debt

Why did Louis XVI call the Estates General?

he needed support for financial reforms after Parliament and upper classes resisted his proposals

Estates General

assembly representing the 3 main social classes of France (First estate: clergy Second estate: aristocracy third: peasants and middle class)

Why did the 3rd estate form the National Assembly?

the King refused their demand for greater representation, so they separated from the other states

Tennis Court Oath

the 3rd estate vowed not to disband until they had created a new Constitution for France

Sans-Culottes

working class people of Paris who formed their own national guard and scared the nobles into fleeing France

Great fear

Panic among peasants who feared nobles were deliberately causing food shortages, leading to attacks on nobles

National Sovereignty

political authority comes from the people, not the King’s divine right

What happened to many monks and clerics?

They were restricted from political participation and became opponents of the Revolution

Why did Louis XVI try to flee?

He wanted to escape the revolutionary government and seek support against the Revolution

Who went to war against revolutionary France?

Austria and Prussia, who wanted an absolutist monarchy, France won in the end

Committee of Public safety

Emergency government body responsible for war, military conscription, food distribution, and repression of counter-revolutionaries, leader is Maximilien Robespierre

Robespierre’s ideology

He supported mandatory education and severe punishment/repression against those considered enemies of the Revolution

Paramilitary forces

Armed groups operating outside the regular military, often supporting a political party or government

Revolutionary tribunals

Courts used to try people accused of being enemies of the Revolution, figures like Marie Antoinette were executed

National mobilization

The mass organization of French citizens to defend the Revolution and the country.

De-christianization

closing/selling churches, pressuring priests to renounce vows, and removing religious symbols

Cult of reason

An attempt to replace traditional religious worship with a secular celebration based on reason

Cult of the supreme being

Robespierre’s alternative to atheistic revolutionary religion, centered on belief in a supreme being

Robespierre’s fall

Fear and paranoia increasingly dominated the government, leading to more repression and opposition against him, he and his followers were arrested and executed

Napoleon

supporter of Robespierre. arrested, released, and eventually becomes Emperor

How did Napoleon rise to power?

Became commander of the Army of Italy, ended the Directory, then became emperor

Napoleon’s major successes in Italy

Conquered/controlled several Italian republics and used war payments to fund his army

Why did Napoleon invade Egypt?

to disrupt Britain’s trade route with India

Who defeated Napoleon’s fleet in Egypt?

Horatio Nelson

Why did Napoleon become First Consul?

France was unstable and the Directory was seen as unable to solve its problems

How did Napoleon control the new government?

He manipulated votes and appointed loyal members of the legislature, wanted to be absolutist like Louis XIV

Concordat

Agreement with the Pope recognizing Catholicism while the state controlled and paid the clergy

How did Napoleon centralize France?

Created the Bank of France, appointed prefects, restricted opposition, and strengthened state control

Caesarism

Authoritarian, populist, autocratic rule centered on a powerful leader

How did Napoleon reward his generals?

He gave them land and wealth, creating a new hierarchy loyal to him

How did Napoleon maintain a large army?

Through conscription, requiring citizens to serve in the military

Who was stronger on land and sea?

Napoleon was stronger on land, Britain on sea

What reforms did Napoleon spread across Europe?

Reduced Church power, abolished serfdom and aristocratic privileges, and introduced the Napoleonic Code

Napoleonic Code

gave all male citizens equal rights, protected private property, allowed freedom of religion, and gave husbands control over their wives and children

Romantic Nationalism

emphasis on national culture and identity in resistance to French influence

Why did Spain resist Napoleon?

Spanish nobles and clergy opposed French control after Napoleon placed his brother Joseph on the throne

Why did Napoleon finally fall?

His generals and Senate abandoned him; after exile and a brief return, he was defeated again and died in exile

Congress of Vienna

Meeting of anti-Napoleon powers to reorganize Europe and establish lasting peace

Main goal of the Congress

Restore stability and prevent another major European war

Concert of Europe

A system of cooperation among European powers to preserve peace and the balance of power

How did the powers contain France?

France was kept as a buffer while preventing Prussia and Russia from becoming too powerful

Restoration

Re-establishing traditional monarchies and states after Napoleon’s defeat.

What did Britain want regarding slavery?

International abolition of the slave trade, although it was not effectively stopped