Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and African World History (Pages 1-5)

A comprehensive set of Q&A flashcards covering key terms, concepts, and historical ideas from the notes.

What is the Copernican hypothesis?

The sun is the center of the universe (heliocentric theory); challenged Church teaching and helped launch the Scientific Revolution.

What does Newton's Law of universal gravitation state?

Every object attracts every other object with gravity; unified physics and astronomy under one principle.

What is empiricism?

Knowledge comes from observation and experimentation; a key driver of the Scientific Revolution.

What is the Enlightenment?

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, progress, and natural rights that shaped modern democracy and science.

What is sensationalism (as proposed by Locke)

The belief that all ideas come from sensory experience.

Who were the Philosophes?

Enlightenment thinkers and writers in France (e.g., Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot) who spread reform ideas.

What is Deism?

Belief in a distant God who created the universe but does not intervene; allows science and faith to merge.

What is the General Will?

Rousseau’s idea of the collective good of the people; influential in democracy and revolution.

What is Economic liberalism?

Adam Smith’s idea of free markets with minimal government interference; basis of modern capitalism.

What are Salons?

Social gatherings (often hosted by women) where Enlightenment ideas were debated and spread.

What is Enlightened absolutism?

Monarchs who used Enlightenment principles while maintaining power (e.g., Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great).

What is Haskalah?

Jewish Enlightenment movement promoting integration and secular learning; challenged traditional restrictions.

What is Enclosure?

Movement to fence in open fields for more efficient farming; boosted agriculture but displaced peasants.

What is a Cottage industry?

Rural workers making goods at home; an early step toward industrialization.

What is the Public sphere?

Spaces (coffeehouses, print media) for open debate of ideas; fostered Enlightenment culture.

Who are Creoles?

People of European descent born in the Americas; key players in Enlightenment-inspired independence movements.

What revolutions/discoveries characterized the 16th–17th centuries and what was their global context?

Copernicus (heliocentric), Galileo (telescopic observations), Newton (laws of motion and gravity) challenged the Church; occurred during Europe’s global expansion with exchange of knowledge from Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

What intellectual and social changes followed the Scientific Revolution?

Rise of empiricism and the scientific method; view of nature governed by universal laws; decline of superstition; more secular worldview; growth in education and literacy; science became part of everyday culture.

How did the Enlightenment emerge and what were its major currents?

From the Scientific Revolution and print culture; currents included natural rights, separation of powers, religious tolerance, progress through reason, and economic liberalism.

How did Enlightenment thinkers address cultural/social difference and political power?

Some idealized the “natural man”; Montesquieu did cross-cultural government comparisons; debates on women’s rights (Rousseau vs Wollstonecraft); push for representative government, not universal equality.

How did economic and social change and Atlantic trade interact with Enlightenment ideas?

Growing trade created a rising middle class demanding political influence; colonial wealth fueled debates on slavery, race, and rights; enclosure and cottage industry linked to progress and productivity.

What is chattel in the context of slavery?

The treating of enslaved people as property to be bought and sold.

What are age-grade systems?

Groups of young people organized by age, moving through life stages together; aided social organization and community bonds.

Who is the Oba?

The king of Benin; symbolized centralized political power and patronage of art and culture in West Africa.

What is Taghaza?

Salt-mining center in the Sahara; a key node in West African trade networks connecting to North Africa.

Who are the Tuareg?

Nomadic Berbers who controlled desert trade routes; important middlemen in trans-Saharan trade.

What are cowrie shells in West Africa?

Imported from the Indian Ocean and used as currency, illustrating global trade links.

What is Coptic Christianity?

Branch of Christianity in Ethiopia blending Christian and African traditions; helped Ethiopia resist dominance.

What is Swahili in East Africa?

Coastal culture (language and city-states) shaped by African, Arab, and Asian trade; showed Africa’s global connections.

What was the Middle Passage?

The horrific sea voyage enslaved Africans endured to the Americas; millions died during the journey.

What was Sorting in the slave trade?

A system of trading goods (cloth, guns, alcohol, beads) for enslaved people; reinforced the slave economy.

What is Shore trading?

Europeans stayed on the coast while African traders brought enslaved people to them; reduced risk for Europeans and increased African involvement.

What economic/social/political structures existed in west coast kingdoms and the Sudan?

Centralized monarchies (Obas, kings); agriculture and trade (gold, salt, slaves); kinship networks and age-grade systems.

How did Europeans affect the East African coast and how did Ethiopia and the Swahili respond?

Portuguese disrupted Indian Ocean trade; Ethiopia relied on Coptic Christianity and European alliances for defense but remained independent; Swahili states resisted but weakened under Portuguese pressure.

What was slavery like in African societies before the transatlantic slave trade, and what changed with European involvement?

Slavery existed in smaller forms (war captives, household labor, soldiers); European demand after contact led to larger-scale, harsher slavery and political instability and population loss.

How did Islam enrich the Sudanic empires of West Africa?

Brought literacy (Arabic), law, and broader trade connections; leaders like Mansa Musa spread Islam, built mosques, and strengthened ties with the Islamic world.

How did Africa connect with the wider world during this period?

Trade in gold, salt, slaves, cowries linked Africa with Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; Islam linked West Africa to global scholarship; European exploration created direct Atlantic links and eventual colonization.

How did the transatlantic slave trade affect West African society?

Massive population loss and family disruption; rise of powerful states profiting (Dahomey, Oyo); increased violence and warfare to capture people; long-term economic dependency and underdevelopment.