Euro Chapter 15/16 Vocab

Peace of Westphalia

the name of a series of treaties that included the Thirty Years’ war in 1648 and marked the end of large-scale religious violence in Europe

Fronde

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

Mercantilism

a system of economic regulations aimed at increasing the power of the state based on belief that international power was based on its wealth (gold and silver)

Peace of Utrecht

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

Junkers

the nobility of Brandenberg and Prussia who were reluctant allies of Frederick William and his consolidation of the Prussian state

Boyars

the highest-ranking members of the Russian nobility

Cossacks

free groups and outlaw armies originally comprising runaway peasants living on the borders of Russian territory from the fourteenth century onward. By the end of the sixteenth century they ahd formed an alliance with the Russian State

Sultan

the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, he owned all the agricultural land of the empire and was served by an army and bureaucracy composed of highly trained slaves

Janissary Corps

the core of the sultan’s army, composed of slave conscripts from non-Muslim parts of the empire; after 1683 it became a volunteer force

Millet System

used by ottomans where subjects were divided into religious communities with each millet (nation) having a autonomous self-government under its religious leaders

constitutionalism

government where power is limited by law and balanced between government authority and power and the rights of the liberties and subjects; could include constitutional monarchies or republics

republicanism

a form of government in which there is no monarch and power rests in the hands of the people as exercised through elected representatives 

Puritans

members of the 16th century and 17th century reform movement within the Church of England that advocated purifying it of Roman Catholic elements like bishops, elaborate ceremonials, and wedding rings

Protectorate

the english military dictatorship (1653-1658) established by Oliver Cromwell following the execution of Charles I

Test Act

Legislation passed by English Parliament in 1673 to secure the position of the Anglican Church by stripping Puritans, Catholics, and other dissenters of the right to vote, preach, assemble, hold public office, and teach at or attend the universities

Stadholder

the executive officer in each of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, a position often held by Princes of Orange

natural philosophy

an early modern term for the study of the nature of the universe, it’s purpose, and how it function. it encompasses what we call science today

copernican hypothesis

the idea that the sun not the earth was the center of the universe

experimental method

the approach, pioneered by Galileo, that the proper way to explore the workings of the universe was through repeatable experiments rather than speculation

law of inertia

a law formulated by galileo that states that motion, not rest, is the natural state of an object and that an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by some external force

law of universal gravitation

newton’s law that all objects are attracted to each other and that the force of attraction is proportional to the object’s quantity of matter and inversely proportional to the square of distance between them

empiricism

a theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than deductive reason and speculation

cartesian dualism

descartes’s view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter

enlightenment

the influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress

rationalism

a secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith and everything was to be submitted to reason

philosophes

a group of french intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow humans in the age of enlightenment

reading revolution

the transition in europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse

salon

regular social gathering held by talented and rich parisians in their homes where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy

rococo

a popular style in europe in the 18th century, known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids

public sphere

an idealized intellectual space that emerged in europe during the enlightenment where the public came together to discuss important issues relating to society, economics, and politics

enlightened absolutism

term coined by historians to describe the rule of 18th century monarchs who without renouncing their own absolute authority adopted enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance

cameralism

view that monarchy was the best form of government, that all elements of society should serve the monarch and that in turn, the state should use its resources and authority to increase the public good

haskalah

the jewish enlightenment of the second half of the 18th century led by the prussian philosopher moses mendelssohn

bureaucracy

a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.