10 ap world enlightmentment and atlantic revolutions

Enlightenment

Eighteenth-century intellectual movement in Europe that emphasized reason, individual rights, and natural laws over tradition, significantly influencing revolutions.

Sovereignty

The exclusive, supreme, and independent authority of a state over its territory and population, free from external control.

Scientific Revolution

A shift in European thought starting in the 16th century that emphasized empirical observation, logic, and systematic experimentation to understand the natural world.

Isaac Newton

English scientist who developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation; his work became the foundation of modern physics and exemplified Enlightenment thought.

Philosophes

Eighteenth-century French intellectuals who applied the methods of science and reason to criticize social and political institutions.

Social Contract

A theory, advanced by thinkers like Locke and Rousseau, that government is formed through an agreement where people give up some freedoms for protection and order.

Natural Rights

Rights that all people are born with, including the rights to life, liberty, and property (or the pursuit of happiness), which governments should protect.

Mary Wollstonecraft

English writer and philosopher who advocated for women's equal education and rights; a founding figure of modern feminism (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman).

Romanticism

An artistic and intellectual movement of the early 19th century that was a reaction against the Enlightenment's focus on reason, emphasizing emotion, intuition, and nature.

Conservatism

A political ideology that generally favored traditional authority (monarchy and aristocracy), resisting major political and social changes.

Deism

The belief in a God who created the universe but does not intervene in the world's affairs (the "watchmaker" God); common among Enlightenment thinkers.

Liberalism

A political ideology that favored representative government, legal equality, freedom of press/speech, and limited government interference in the economy.

Radicals

Individuals or groups who advocate for thorough or complete political and social reform; often willing to use extreme methods.

John Locke

English Enlightenment philosopher who argued that government is legitimate only if it has the consent of the governed and protects natural rights.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Genevan philosopher who argued that the government should express the "General Will" of the people and that private property was the source of inequality.

Baron Von Montesquieu

French political thinker who advocated for the separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny.

Thomas Hobbes

English philosopher who argued that humans are naturally selfish and require a powerful, absolute sovereign (monarchy) to maintain social order (Leviathan).

Immanuel Kant

German philosopher who synthesized rationalism and empiricism; his work was central to later Enlightenment philosophy.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional division of the powers of government among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

Balance of Power

A foreign policy goal to distribute military and economic strength among rival nations so that no single state can dominate others.

Parliament

A legislative body of government, particularly in Britain, that represents the people and shares or limits the power of the monarch.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 transfer of power in England that established parliamentary supremacy and a constitutional monarchy, limiting the power of the Crown.

Citizen

A person recognized as a legal member of a state, holding rights and responsibilities, often defined in contrast to a subject.

Civil Rights

The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality guaranteed by the government and constitution.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist who articulated the principles of capitalism, advocating for free markets (laissez-faire), the "invisible hand," and limited government intervention (The Wealth of Nations).

Olympe de Gouges

French writer and political activist who demanded equal rights for women during the French Revolution (Declaration of the Rights of Woman); was executed.

Seven Years War

A global conflict (1756–1763) involving European powers and their colonies; resulted in Great Britain's dominance and high debt that contributed to the American Revolution.

Estate System

The social hierarchy of pre-revolutionary France, dividing society into three classes: Clergy (First), Nobility (Second), and Commoners (Third).

French Revolution

A period of social and political upheaval in France (1789–1799) that overthrew the Bourbon monarchy, executed the King, and established a republic.

Guillotine

A machine for beheading used during the French Revolution, symbolizing the radical phase and the Reign of Terror.

Declaration of Rights of Man

A foundational French Revolution document that proclaimed all men are born free and equal in rights and established the principles of popular sovereignty.

American Revolution

The successful revolt (1765–1783) of the thirteen North American colonies against Great Britain, based on Enlightenment principles.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document announcing that the American colonies were sovereign and independent states.

Thomas Jefferson

American Founding Father and principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

Bourgeoisie

The urban middle class in France; typically merchants, manufacturers, and professionals who led the early stages of the French Revolution.

Tennis Court Oath

A 1789 pledge by members of the Third Estate to not disband until they had written a constitutionfor France; a key event of the revolution.

Primogeniture

A system where the entire inheritance goes to the eldest son; abolished in revolutionary France and Latin America.

Maroons

Runaway enslaved Africans and their descendants who formed independent settlements, particularly in the Caribbean and Brazil.

Creoles

Individuals of pure Spanish descent born in the Americas; resented Peninsulares and led most of the Latin American independence movements.

Peninsulares

Individuals born in Spain or Portugal who migrated to the Americas; held the highest administrative and church positions.

Napoleon Bonaparte

French general who rose to become Emperor of France (1804–1814); expanded the French Empire and spread revolutionary ideas across Europe.

Napoleonic Code

A comprehensive and uniform system of laws established under Napoleon; guaranteed legal equalityand protected property rights.

Absolute Monarch

A king or queen who holds total, unchecked power over their state, often claiming authority by divine right.

King Louis XVI

The last Absolute Monarch of France before the revolution; executed in 1793.

Maximilien Robespierre

Jacobin leader who dominated the Committee of Public Safety and led the Reign of Terror(1793-1794).

Miguel Hidalgo

A Mexican priest who launched the Mexican War of Independence in 1810 with his "Grito de Dolores," rallying mestizos and Indigenous peoples.

Jose Morales

Mexican priest and revolutionary general who took over leadership of the independence movement after Hidalgo's death; captured and executed.

Jose de San Martin

Argentine general who led the independence movements in the Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, and Peru) against Spanish rule.

Dom Pedro I

The son of the Portuguese King who declared Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822 and became its first Emperor.

Simon Bolivar

The "Liberator" who led the independence movements for Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; sought to create a unified Gran Colombia.

Latin American Revolutions

A series of wars (early 19th century) that resulted in the independence of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas.

Gran Colombia

The short-lived republic (1819–1831) Simón Bolívar attempted to create, uniting what is now Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama.

Toussaint L'Ouverture

The leader of the Haitian Revolution and former enslaved person; key figure in the successful struggle for independence from France.