AP world history: Unit 4 vocab

Vasco de Gama

A Portugese sailor who was the first European to sail around southern Africa to the Indian Ocean.

Age of Exploration

Time period during the 15th and 16th centuries when Europeans searched for new sources of wealth and for easier trade routes to China and India. Resulted in the discovery of North and South America by the Europeans.

Cartographer

A mapmaker

Zheng He

An imperial eunuch and Muslim, entrusted by the Ming emperor Yongle with a series of state voyages that took his gigantic ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa.

Jacques Carier

gave France a claim to eastern Canada.

Northwest Passage

A water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through northern Canada and along the northern coast of Alaska. Sought by navigators since the 16th century.

Commercialization

The transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity.

Triangular Trade

A three way system of trade during 1600-1800s Africa sent slaves to America, America sent Raw Materials to Europe, and Europe sent Guns and Rum to Africa

Measles

Also known as rubeola. A highly contagious viral infection usually seen in children. It involves the respiratory tract and is marked by discrete red papules, which become confluent.

Cash Crop

a readily salable crop that is grown and gathered for the market (as vegetables or cotton or tobacco)

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches

Renaissance

"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome

Encomienda

A grant of land made by Spain to a settler in the Americas, including the right to use Native Americans as laborers on it

Creole

American born descendants of Europeans

Zamindar

Archaic tax system of the Mughal empire where decentralized lords collected tribute for the emperor.

Mughal

Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Absolutism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Louis XIV

(1638-1715) Known as the Sun King, he was an absolute monarch that completely controlled France. One of his greatest accomplishments was the building of the palace at Versailles.

Henry VIII

(1491-1547) King of England from 1509 to 1547; his desire to annul his marriage led to a conflict with the pope, England's break with the Roman Catholic Church, and its embrace of Protestantism. Henry established the Church of England in 1532.

Elizabeth I

(1533-1603) Queen of England and Ireland between 1558 and 1603. She was an absolute monarch and is considered to be one of the most successful rulers of all time.

Versailles

A palace built by Louis XIV outside of Paris; it was home to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Council of Trent

Called by Pope Paul III to reform the church and secure reconciliation with the Protestants. Lutherans and Calvinists did not attend.

Erasmus

(1466-1536) Dutch Humanist, religious education. Wrote Praise of Folly.

Prince Henry the Navigator

(1394-1460) Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation at Sagres and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugal's colonial empire.

Bartholomew Dias

Dias was an early Portuguese explorer who traveled down the coast of Africa in search of a water route to Asia. He managed to round the southern tip of Africa in 1488, now the Cape of Good Hope.

Transoceanic

situated on the other side of the ocean; crossing the ocean

Caravel

A small, highly maneuverable three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish in the exploration of the Atlantic.

Hernan Cortez

Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and conquered Mexico (1485-1547)

Sir Francis Drake

English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)

Columbian

An exchange of goods, ideas and skills from the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) to the New World (North and South America) and vice versa.

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought

Columbian Exchange

An exchange of goods, ideas and skills from the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) to the New World (North and South America) and vice versa.

Influenza

Acute, contagious respiratory infection characterized by sudden onset, fever, chills, headache.

African Slavery

10-15 million people taken from Africa between 1500 and 1870, Several million more people killed in slave raids and forced marches to the coast. Most bought from African slave traders, at least 15% died in horrible conditions aboard slave ships.

Shi'a

a Muslim group that accepts only the descendants of Muhammed's son-in-law Ali as the true rulers of Islam

Vodun

African religious ideas and practices among descendants of African slaves in Haiti.

Shakespeare

A popular English playwright and poet in the 16th century.

Hacienda System

similar to the feudal system, Natives got money and had to buy their products from their owners

Mestizo

A person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry

Taj Mahal

most famous of all Muslim mausoleums, built during the Mughal Empire, paradise as described in the Quran

Ottomans

(1299-1923) A nomadic group of Turkish people from Central Asia who emerged as the rulers of the Islamic world in the 13th century. They conquered Constantinople in 1453.

Divine Rights of Kings

A theory that assumed that God appointed all monarchs to rule on his behalf. Therefore, any policy, decree, plan, or approach adopted by royalty could not be questioned or disobeyed.

Frederick the Great

(1712-1786), King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786. Enlightened despot who enlarged Prussia by gaining land from Austria when Maria Theresa became Empress.

Martin Luther

95 Thesis, posted in 1517, led to religious reform in Germany, denied papal power and absolutist rule. Claimed there were only 2 sacraments: baptism and communion.

James I

(1603-1625) Stuart monarch who ignored constitutional principles and asserted the divine right of kings.

James VI

Scotland King, declared King of England by will of Elizabeth, first Stuart ruler, viewed authority superior to Parliament, "divine right"

Inquisition

A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy - especially the one active in Spain during the 1400s.

Catholic Reformation

A 16th century movement in which the Roman Catholic Church sought to make changes in response to the Protestant Reformation

Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement between Portugal and Spain, declaring that newly discovered lands to the west of an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean would belong to Spain and newly discovered lands to the east of the line would belong to Portugal.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator who was funded by the Spanish Government to find a passage to the Far East. He is given credit for discovering the "New World," even though at his death he believed he had made it to India. He made four voyages to the "New World." The first sighting of land was on October 12, 1492, and three other journies until the time of his death in 1503.

Astrolabe

An instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets

Compass

navigational tool telling direction

Francisco Pizarro

A Spanish conquistador who went to the Incas and took emperor prisoner and then killed him and took over the Inca empire

Rene Robert de la Salle

followed the Mississippi River all the way to Gulf of Mexico; claimed Louisiana for France.

Indigenous

originating in the country or region where found, native; inborn; inherent

Joint-stock company

A company made up of a group of shareholders. Each shareholder contributes some money to the company and receives some share of the company's profits and debts.

Smallpox

A highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, weakness, and skin eruption with pustules that form scabs; responsible for killing Native Americans.

Endemic

native or confined to a particular region or people; characteristic of or prevalent in a field

Syncretic

Traditions that borrow from both the past and present

Sufi

A Muslim who seeks to achieve direct contact with God through mystical means

Sikhism

A belief system which blends Hindu traditions with Islamic monotheistic traditions. Based in India and Pakistan.

Miguel de Cervantes

Spanish writer best remembered for 'Don Quixote' which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616)

Indentured Servitude

person who agreed to work for a colonial employer for a specified time in exchange for passage to america.

Mulatto

A person of mixed African and European ancestry

Manchus

Federation of Northeast Asian peoples who founded the Qing Empire.

Songhay

Empire that replaced Mali in the late fifteenth century.

Peter the Great

czar of Russia who introduced ideas from western Europe to reform the government

Prussia

A former kingdom in north-central Europe including present-day northern Germany and northern Poland

John Calvin

1509-1564. French theologian. Developed the Christian theology known as Calvinism. Attracted Protestant followers with his teachings.

Piracy

An act of robbery at sea

Jesuits

Also known as the Society of Jesus; founded by Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) as a teaching and missionary order to resist the spread of Protestantism.

95 Theses

Arguments written by Martin Luther against the Catholic church. They were posted on Octobe 31, 1517.

Johann Gutenburg

German printer; in 1448 he invented a printing press that used movable type

Thirty Years War

(1618-48) A series of European wars that were partially a Catholic-Protestant religious conflict. It was primarily a batlte between France and their rivals the Hapsburg's, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.

Leonardo da Vinci

Italian painter and sculptor and engineer and scientist and architect

Diet of Worms

Assembly of the estates of the empire, called by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1521. Luther was ordered to recant but he refused. Charles V declared Luther an outlaw.

Huguenots

Calvin's followers in France

Cardinal Richelieu

(1585-1642) French Cardinal and politician responsible for instituting absolutist practices in France.

Jan Huss

A Czech priest and professor, he criticized the wealth and authority of the church. He was excommunicated in 1410 and burn at the stake in 1415.

Plantation farming

A single large farm that sells one or two crops for profit

Cape of Good Hope

Southern tip of Africa; first circumnavigated in 1488 by Portuguese in search of direct route to India.

Balance of Trade

the difference between a country's total exports and total imports

Cartography

science or art of making maps

Mother country

The country of origin of settlers or colonists in a place.

Italian city-states

Venice, Milan, Florence, Papal States, Naples

Usury

the practice of lending money at exorbitant rates

Edict of Worms

a decree issued by The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V banning the writings of Martin Luther and labeling him a heretic and enemy of the state

Anglican Church

Another name for the Church of England

Edict of Nantes

1598 - Granted the Huguenots liberty of conscience and worship.

Heretic

a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church

Middle Passage

A voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies

Hispaniola

Caribbean island, present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Ignatius of Loyola

(1491-1556) Spanish churchman and founder of the Jesuits (1534); this order of Roman Catholic priests proved an effective force for reviving Catholicism during the Catholic Reformation.

Commercial Revolution

A dramatic change in the economy of Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. It is characterized by an increase in towns and trade, the use of banks and credit, and the establishment of guilds to regulate quality and price.

Michelangelo

(1475-1564) An Italian sculptor, painter, poet, engineer, and architect. Famous works include the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the sculpture of the biblical character David.

Indulgences

-buying away your sins/buying you way into heave

Predestination

Calvin's religious theory that God has already planned out a person's life.

Dissenter

A person who does not agree with the beliefs of his or her leaders