Social Studies Renaissance, Aztec, and Japan Exam Review

50 vocabulary flashcards covering the Renaissance, Aztec civilization, and Japanese history based on lecture notes.

Renaissance

Literally meaning 'rebirth', its foundational pillar was the rediscovery and study of classical texts, philosophies, and art from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

Theocentric

The traditional worldview of a medieval person, meaning it was God-centered and focused on strict adherence to the church.

Anthropocentric

A Renaissance worldview that was human-centered and characterized by humanism, celebrating human potential and reason.

Humanism

In the Renaissance, a focus on the potential and talent of a human being, prioritizing the individual over blind faith in dogma.

Silk Road

A major trade route connecting Asia that affected Western worldviews by introducing goods like spices, gold, and silver, and facilitating the spread of Christianity.

Black Death

A plague that killed many peasants, disrupting the feudal system and allowing for class advancement as survivors became more valuable.

Medici family

A wealthy Italian family whose rise exemplified social advancement and who used their wealth to fund art, architecture, and education.

Middlemen traders

The primary role of people in urbanized Italian cities like Florence, Venice, and Genoa who facilitated trade and the sharing of ideas.

Printing press

An invention that allowed ideas to travel farther and books like the Bible to be easily printed in different languages, leading people to question Church authority.

95 Theses

A document posted by Martin Luther that primarily attacked the sale of indulgences and led to the split of Western Christianity.

Indulgences

The church practice involving the sale of pardons for sins, which was the primary target of Martin Luther's 95 Theses.

Martin Luther

The individual who posted the 95 Theses, permanently splitting Western Christianity and inspiring peasant protests.

Linear perspectives

An artistic technique used by Renaissance artists like Leonardo Da Vinci to create realistic emotion and depth in paintings.

Leonardo Da Vinci

A Renaissance artist who focused on real emotion, portraits, mythology, and daily life in his works.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is superior, used by Europeans to justify colonization, resource extraction, and enslavement of indigenous populations.

Aztec social hierarchy

An organized structure with the emperor at the top, followed by priests, warriors, commoners, peasants, and slaves.

Calmecac

The education system for noble classes in Aztec society, teaching leadership, government, and military skills.

Reconquista

The Christian reconquest of Spain from Muslim rule ending in 1492, which gave Spain a strong religious identity and culture and value of conquest.

God, Glory, and Gold

The three primary factors—spreading Christianity, gaining fame/empire, and acquiring wealth—that motivated European expansion.

Quetzalcoatl

An Aztec deity whose prophecy of return from the east caused Moctezuma to hesitate when Hernán Cortés arrived.

Hernán Cortés

The Spanish leader who arrived in 1519, formed alliances with indigenous groups, and eventually conquered the Aztec Empire.

Moctezuma II

The Aztec emperor who initially welcomed the Spanish due to prophecy before being taken hostage during the conflict.

Smallpox

A European disease that caused catastrophic demographic collapse in the Americas, with mortality rates stripping away up to 40% of communities in a year.

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec capital besieged and captured by Cortés and his allies in 1521.

Chinampas

Aztec agricultural structures that, along with pyramids, were destroyed by the Spanish to erase Aztec culture and history.

Cuauhtémoc

The last Aztec emperor, who was captured by the Spanish in 1521.

Bakuhan system

A system implemented by the Tokugawa Shogunate using institutionalized hostages and domain reassignment to control regional lords.

Daimyo

Regional lords in Japan who were forced to live between their home and Edo and follow a strict code of conduct under the Shogun.

Edo Period

A period (1603–1868) characterized by peace, stability, and the growth of cultural activities like Kabuki theatre and literature.

Kabuki

A popular form of theatre that flourished during the stable Edo Period as people sought new forms of entertainment.

Commodore Matthew Perry

The American who arrived in Edo Bay in 1853 using gunboat diplomacy to force Japan to end its isolation.

Gunboat diplomacy

The use of overwhelming military display, such as Perry's heavy cannons, to force political concessions from the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Treaty of Kanagawa

An 1854 agreement between Japan and the United States that opened ports to American ships and ended 200 years of isolation.

Meiji Restoration

The period following the fall of the Shogunate that restored power to the emperor and modernized Japan into an industrial nation.

Prefectural system

A centralized administrative system that replaced old feudal domains during the Meiji government's reforms.

Education System Order

A Meiji-era law creating a Western-style three-tier structure consisting of elementary, secondary, and university education.

Sakoku

The 'locked country' policy of the Edo Period where foreign trade and contact were strictly controlled and Christianity was banned.

1492

The year the Reconquista ended with the capture of Granada in Spain.

1519

The year Hernán Cortés arrived on the American mainland, defying orders from the governor of Cuba.

1521

The year the Spanish and their indigenous allies besieged and captured Tenochtitlan, effectively ending the Aztec Empire.

1853

The year Commodore Matthew Perry's squadron sailed directly into Edo Bay, terrifying the Shogunate.

1854

The year the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed, opening Japanese ports to the United States.

1603–1868

The date range of the Edo Period under the Tokugawa shoguns.

40%

The mortality rate frequently experienced by Aztec communities in a single year due to smallpox.

Muslim influences

The source of European advancements in medicine, mathematics, science, and astronomy during the Renaissance transition.

Indigenous allies

The groups who disliked Aztec rule and joined Hernán Cortés, providing a military advantage for the Spanish.

Ministry of Education

Japan's first national educational authority, established during the Meiji period modernization.

Conscription

National military service implemented during the Meiji Period to replace the old samurai-only warrior system.

Samurai class privileges

Traditional rights, such as carrying swords and receiving stipends, which were abolished by the Meiji government.

Westernization of diet

The Meiji Period trend where the government encouraged consuming beef, which was previously avoided due to Buddhist traditions.