AP Euro Topic 3.6 Balance of Power Terms/Names (Amsco Bolded)

Balance of Power

Balance of Power

system that prevents any one country from dominating the others

Absolutism

A political system in which a ruler holds total power over all institutions in a country.

Divine Right of Kings

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

Peace of Westphalia

the peace treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648, changing the system of diplomacy in Europe.

Gustavus Adolphus

Swedish Lutheran king who stabilized the Swedish government, modernized its military, and won victories for the German Protestants in the Thirty Years' War.

Dutch Revolt

This was the revolt by the Netherland against the Spanish in order to create their independent state (also known a the 80 Years' War).

Catalan Revolt

Revolt in Spain, due to Philip IV's Court Favorite, Count Olivares's attempt to gain access to that region's people and resources to fight the French

Fronde

A series of violent uprisings during the early reign of Louis XIV triggered by growing royal control and increased taxation

Parlements

French regional courts dominated by hereditary nobles. The one in Paris claimed the right to register royal decrees before they could become law in attempts to limit the power of the king.

Battle of Vienna

This battle in 1683 freed Europe from the threat of the Ottoman Turks as it stopped their expansion into Europe.

Dutch War

(1672-1678) Louis XIV's war against William of Orange to obtain territory in the Spanish Netherlands (modern day Belgium) ended with treaty of Nijmegen

Nine Years' War

1688 - 1697 (War of the League of Augsburg) Result of Louis XIV trying to extend French territory to the Rhine. France fought against England, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire.

Philip V

Grandson of Louis XIV who became the first Bourbon king of Spain after the War of the Spanish Succession.

War of the Spanish Succession

a conflict, lasting from 1701 to 1713, in which a number of European states fought to prevent the Bourbon family from controlling Spain as well as France.

Peace of Utrecht

A series of treaties, from 1713 to 1715, that ended the War of the Spanish Succession, ended French expansion in Europe, and marked the rise of the British Empire.

Frederick William I

Prussian king responsible for Prussian absolutism and continuing militarization. Grew it into an efficient state with a strong military.

Frederick the Great

(1712-1786), King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786. Enlightened despot who enlarged Prussia by gaining land by war from Austria

Maria Theresa

Empress of Austria whose main enemy was Prussia

Pragmatic Sanction

Issued by Charles VI of Austria in 1713 to assure his daughter Maria Theresa gained the throne.

Seven Years War

worldwide struggle between France and Great Britain for power and control of land (called the French and Indian War in the United States)

War of the Austrian Succession

series of wars in which various European nations competed for power in Central Europe after the death of Habsburg emperor Charles VI and the rise of his daughter Maria Theresa to the throne.

Sejm

The legislative assembly of the Polish nobility.

partition

divide into parts (as Poland was in the last 20 years of the 18th Century).

Jean Bodin

Philosopher who was the main supporter of the idea of Divine Right of Kings.

Bureaucracy

A system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials

nation-state

A country whose population share a common identity (France, England, etc).

Military Revolution

during 30 years war, there was an increase in firearms & cannons; greater mobility in tactics; better trained armies all changing the nature of warfare.

standing army

a fighting force of professional soldiers that is maintained in times of peace as well as times of war

Political Centralization

a governing structure in which power is concentrated and exercised from the top down, as opposed to systems of local rule

court favorite

In the Age of Absolutism, it is the person (usually, but not always a noble) who has the ear of the monarch (example: Count-Duke Olivares in Spain, George Villiers of England).

faction

a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.

Prussia

a strong military state in central Europe that emerged in the late 1600s and in the 1800s formed the basis for what became Germany. (NOT to be confused with Russia, TOTALLY different).