Age of Revolution Key Terms

Absolute Monarchy

A form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority of his/her nation without restrictions by laws, legislatures, or customs; based on the concept of the "Divine Right of Kings".

Abolitionism

The movement to end slavery.

Capitalism

An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Constitutional Monarchy

A form of national government in which the power of the monarch (the king or queen) is restrained by a parliament, by law, or by custom.

Daughters of Liberty

An organized group that used economic boycotts to protest the British taxes in the North American colonies.

"Divine Right of Kings"

The doctrine that kings derive their authority from God, not from their subjects, and are therefore not accountable to those that they rule.

Enlightenment

(1685-1815 CE) An intellectual movement in 18th Century Europe stressing natural laws and reason as the basis of authority.

Estates-general

French quasi-parliamentary body called in 1789 to deal with the financial problems that afflicted France; (had not met since 1614).

Grito de Delores

Spanish for the “Cry of Delores”, this refers toMiguel Hidalgo y Costilla ringing the church bell and calling his congregation to start an independent movement in Mexico.

Guillotine

An execution machine.

Huguenots

French Protestants, mostly Calvinists.

Jacobin

A member of a democratic club established in Paris in 1789; the most radical and ruthless of the political groups formed in the wake of the French Revolution, and in association with Robespierre they executed King Louis XVI and instituted the Reign of Terror in 1793-94.

Napoleonic Code

A legal code drafted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804; it distilled different legal traditions to create one uniform law; ended feudal privileges of all kinds and set the conditions for exercising property rights.

Napoleonic Wars

(1799-1815 CE) A series of wars fought between France, under Napoleon Bonaparte, and (principally) Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria either alone or in alliances.

Parliament

The legislative branch of Great Britain (now the United Kingdom). They make laws and control the king’s budget.

Patriot

A person who loves their country.

Puritan

An English Protestant who felt that Anglicanism was not far enough removed, or reformed, from Catholicism. They were influenced by Calvinism.

"Reign of Terror"

A murderous phase of the French Revolution from September 1793 until the fall of Robespierre in 1794; its purpose was to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders with as many as 40,000 persons executed.

Social Contract

An informal agreement of what the people owe their government and what the government owes the people in return; some philosophers of the Enlightenment believed that if the government did not uphold the social contract, the people had a right to change government.

Sons of Liberty

A loosely organized group that used petitions, assemblies, and propaganda and violence to protest the British monarchy in the North American colonies.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Typhus

A disease characterized by rash, fever, and delirium, most common in the winter.

Unalienable Rights

Universal, un-forfeitable rights to “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in the American Declaration of Independence.