WHAP early modern vocab

Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty; was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by Han Chinese; during this era, the Portuguese and other Europeans arrived to China, aiming to encroach on the Asian trade network; expanded the size of China, conquering lands in Mongolia and Central Asia

Manchu

Northeast Asian peoples who defeated the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty in 1644, which was the last of China's imperial dynasties.

Qing Dynasty

the last imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 1644 to 1911

Kangxi

the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper; opened four ports to foreign trade and encouraged the introduction of Western education and arts of Roman Catholicism

Emperor Qianlong

the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper; reigned from 1735-1796; was a superb military tactician and lover of the arts; at the beginning of his reign, the country was well administered and government tax collections were at an all-time high; initiated military campaigns in lands west of China

Printing Press

considered the most important invention of the modern era; it allowed manuscripts and books to be mass-produced at affordable costs, leading to a revolution in print technology and an increase in literacy

Gunpowder Empires

large, multiethnic states in Southwest, Central and South Asia that relied of firearms to conquer and control territories

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state of Turkic speaking peoples lasting from 1453-1922; conquered the Byzantine Empire in 1453; based at Istanbul (formerly Constantinople); encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe.

Shah

the Safavid's equivalent to a king or emperor

Safavid Empire

A Shi'a Muslim dynasty that ruled in Persia (Iran and parts of Iraq) from the 16th-18th centuries that had a mixed culture of the Persians, Ottomans, and Arabs.

Mughal Empire

Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; often had difficulties managing such a large, diverse empire

Ghazi ideal

a model for warrior life that blended the cooperative values of nomadic culture with the willingness to serve as a holy fighter for Islam

Ivan IV (Russia)

Ivan the Terrible (ruled 1547-1584); expanded the Russian border eastward, increasing the reliance on the use of gunpowder for expansion

Tamerlane

Timur the Lame; a Mongol-Turkic ruler of the late 14th century; set the stage for the rise of the Turkic empires by leading an army partly composed of nomadic invaders from the broad steppes of Eurasia to make ruthless conquests in Persia and India

Suleiman I (Ottoman)

The most illustrious sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1520-1566); also known as 'The Lawgiver.' He significantly expanded the empire in the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean.

Ismail (Safavid)

an early Safavid military hero who conquered most of Persia and pushed into Iraq; conquered all of Iran at 14 or 15 years of age and was proclaimed shah in 1501

Shah Abbas I (Safavid)

Abbas the Great (ruled 1588-1629); presided over the Safavid Empire at its height; troops included soldiers from all over Eurasia and used newly acquired military technology, allowing the shahs to control religion and politics

Akbar (Mughal)

Babur's grandson achieved grand religious and political goals in the Mughal Empire; overseas trade flourished during this relatively peaceful period. Known for religious tolerance and created a strong central government.

Divine Right

the idea that monarchs are God's representatives on earth and are therefore answerable only to God.

English Bill of Rights

in 1689 William and Mary signed it which gave citizens some rights like requiring legal action before someone can be detained and preventing a monarchy tyranny by requiring parliaments consent for raising an army.

Louis XIV

King of France from 1643 to 1715. His long reign was marked by the expansion of French influence in Europe and by the magnificence of his court and the Palace of Versailles.

Romanov dynasty

the dynasty that took control of Russia in 1613 after a period of turmoil post the death of Ivan IV in 1584 until the revolution.

Devshirme

'Selection' in Turkish. The system by which boys from Christian communities were taken by the Ottoman state to serve as Janissaries (elite military units)

Janissaries

elite Ottoman guard (trained as foot soldiers or administrators) recruited from the Christian population through the Devshirme system, that often converted to Islam; utilized gunpowder weapons

Daimyo

Japanese land holding aristocrats. Had their own warriors called samurai.

Edo

the main center of power after the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Tokugawa Shogunate

controlled Edo and was declared shogun in 1603, three years into his rule. He and his successors ruled japan until the mid-19th century.

Delhi

refers to the several dynasties ruling over India from the years 1206 to 1526.

Shah Jahan

Mughal Emperor; built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife.

Zamindars

paid government officials in the Mughal Empire

Taj Mahal

a white marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in Agra, India.

Versailles

Palace constructed by Louis XIV outside of Paris to glorify his rule and subdue the nobility.

Boyars

Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political power than their western European counterparts

Serfdom

condition in medieval Europe in which a tenant farmer was bound to a hereditary plot of land and to the will of his landlord.

Henry VIII

The monarch of England who reigned from 1509-1547. He came into conflict with the pope upon divorcing his wife, which the pope said he was not allowed to do. He became the head of the Anglican church in England and was excommunicated from the church.

Spanish Armada

an enormous 130-ship naval fleet dispatched by Spain in 1588 as part of a planned invasion of England

Peace of Augsburg

result of conflicts between Lutherans and the Holy Roman Empire; let each German state pick whether its ruler (and therefore state religion) would be Catholic or Lutheran

Edict of Nantes

provided Huguenots religious toleration from 1598-1685 (87 years); result of French King Henry IV's attempt at bringing peace to France

Thirty Years' War

final great religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants; led to economic catastrophe; led to widespread famine, starvation, and disease

Peace of Westphalia

ended the Thirty Years' War; let the rulers of various areas of the Holy Roman Empire to choose their denomination of Christianity; allowed for Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, or Calvinism; gave countries and duchies more power

Indulgences

Selling of forgiveness by the Catholic Church. It was common practice when the church needed to raise money. The practice led to the Reformation.

Simony

selling of church offices

Counter-Reformation

Roman Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation; also called the Catholic Reformation; 3 pronged strategy (the Inquisition, the Jesuits, and the Council of Trent); Catholicism spread to colonies of home countries which were Catholic

Inquisition

established in the late 12th century to root out and punish nonbelievers; sometimes allowed torture to achieve its ends; increased usage of the Inquisition by the Church during the Counter-Reformation

Jesuits

religious order founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola; opposed spread of Protestantism; undertook missionary activity throughout the Spanish Empire, Japan, and India; also known as the Society of Jesus

Council of Trent

corrected some of the worst of the Church's abuses, concentrated on reaffirming the rituals of marriage and other sacraments improving the education of priests, etc.

Martin Luther

a German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices.

95 Theses

charges Luther raised against the Church, nailed onto a church door; objected to the sale of indulgences and simony

John Calvin

French theologian who broke with the Catholic Church around 1530; wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536, reforming the religious community in Geneva, Switzerland; believed in the elect, those predestined to go to heaven, running a community of plain living; reform efforts result in Calvinism

Predestined

the idea that God destines one for a particular fate or purpose

Protestant 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.

Sikhism

religion that developed from Hinduism and may have been influenced by Sufism; monotheistic faith that recognized the rights of other faiths to exist

Empiricism

developed by English scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon in 1620; collection of data backs up (or refutes) a hypothesis to make a conclusion

Primogeniture

English law that made the oldest son heir to a family estate if the head of the family died without a will or without providing for some disposition of his or her property.

Maritime Empires

Major world powers that include Portugal, Spain, France, and England that gained their territory through sea-based expansion

Mercantilism

system is used to describe the ways in which nation-states enrich themselves by limiting imports and encouraging exports. The goal of mercantilist policies was to achieve a favorable balance of trade that would bring wealth into the country while maintaining domestic employment.

Trading Post Empire

Form of imperial dominance based on control of trade rather than on control of trade rather than on control of subject peoples.

Prince Henry the Navigator

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.

Galleons

Spanish treasure ships which transported precious goods like silk, spices, and porcelain from Manila in the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico, between 1565 and 1815

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator who attempted to find a westward route to Asia under the sponsorship of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain

Bartholomew Diaz

In 1492, Portugal financed his trip in which he rounded the tip of Africa. Which became known as the Cape of Good Hope.

Vasco da Gama

Portugal financed a voyage for in 1497, where he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, explored the east African kingdoms, and then went all the way to India, where he established trade relations.

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese mariner who commanded the first European (Spanish) fleet to circumnavigate the globe (1519-1521).

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who began the first of his voyages to Canada in search of the Northwest Passage

Samuel de Champlain

French explorer. Known as the "The Father of New France." Founded Quebec in 1608. Made the first accurate maps of what is modern-day Eastern Canada.

Jamestown

The first settlement founded in Virginia was named Jamestown in honor of Elizabeth's successor, James I. The colony, founded in 1607, was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.

New Amsterdam

A settlement established by the Dutch near the mouth of Hudson River and the southern end of Manhattan Island.

Conquistadores

any of the leaders in the Spanish conquest of America, especially of Mexico and Peru, in the 16th century.

Creole

individuals who were born in the colonies, but who had Spanish parents or grandparents. Creoles were considered second-class citizens and were beneath Peninsulares in the social hierarchy.

Columbian Exchange

the extensive movements of plants, animals, diseases, and peoples between the Old and New Worlds after Columbus made his famous voyage in 1492.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

The brutal system of trading African Slaves from Africa to the Americas. It changed the economy, politics, and environment. It affected Africa, Europe, and America. It implies that slaves were used for cash crops and created a whole new economy.

Cash Crop

Unlike staple crops, cash crops are grown to be sold for as much profit as possible. Europeans brought plants from Asia, such as sugar and coffee, to grow as cash crops in the Americas. They also turned American plants, like tobacco and cacao, into cash crops.

African Diaspora

Name given to the spread of African peoples across the Atlantic via the slave trade.

Asante Empire

also spelled Ashanti, West African state that occupied what is now southern Ghana in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Kingdom of the Kongo

a large kingdom in the western part of central Africa. The name comes from the fact that the founders of the kingdom were KiKongo speaking people, and the spelling of Congo with a C comes from the Portuguese translation.

Ming Dynasty

ruled China from 1368 to 1644 A.D., during which China's population would double. Known for its trade expansion to the outside world that established cultural ties with the West, the Ming Dynasty is also remembered for its drama, literature and world-renowned porcelain.

Aztec Empire

Major state that developed in what is now Mexico in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; dominated by the seminomadic Mexica, who had migrated into the region from Northern Mexico.

Inca Empire

The major civilization of South America that reached its peak around the mid-16th century C.E. The Incan Empire was built upon traditional Andean economic practices, and at its height controlled land from Peru to the middle of Chile.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish explorer who conquered the Incas in what is now Peru and founded the city of Lima (1475-1541) Significance: Wanted riches and killed Atahualpa for it. Atahualpa. Definition: Last ruling Inca emperor of Peru.

Atahualpa

was the last ruler of the Inca Empire. He reigned from 1532 until his capture and execution by the invading Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro in 1533.

Treaty of Tordesillas

an agreement between Spain and Portugal based on an earlier decree by Pope Alexander VI, divided control of any future American territories: the Spanish controlled the land west of the agreed-upon line of demarcation, and the Portuguese controlled the territory east of the line.

Hispaniola

It is the island located in the Caribbean Sea that Christopher Columbus landed on first.

Bartolomé de las Casas.

He was the Spanish colonial who tried to protect the native people.

Indentured Servitude

a common way for poor Europeans to emigrate to the Americas. In exchange for an agreed upon period of labor, often three to seven years, a wealthy plantation owner would fund the passage of the worker to the New World.

Chattel Slavery

the most common form of slavery known to Americans. This system, which allowed people — considered legal property — to be bought, sold and owned forever, was lawful and supported by the United States and European powers from the 16th - 18th centuries.

Encomienda

A system that relied on the forced labor of the native population in the Spanish colonial Empire. Explanation: The Encomienda System was used in the Spanish colonial empire in the Americas during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries. The system is based on the forced labor of the native population

Coercive Labor System

Labor or work that is gained through use of force or threats.

Hacienda System

A system where state owners directly employed natives, who had low wages, high taxes, and large debt to landowners. Peons. Workers (part of the Hacienda system) forced to labor for a landlord in order to pay off a debt.

Mita System

A mandatory public service system in the Inca Empire requiring all people below the age of 50 to serve for two months out of the year; not to be confused with the mita, a forced labor system practiced by conquistadors in the former Inca Empire.

Middle Passage

the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World.

Capital

wealth in the form of property or money owned by a business or individual.

Commercial Revolution

the creation of a European economy based on trade, which began in the 11th century and lasted until it was succeeded by the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century. Beginning with the Crusades, Europeans rediscovered spices, silks, and other commodities rare in Europe.

Price Revolution

the general rise in commodity prices which occurred in western Europe during the 16th century, the primary cause of which according to him was the influx of silver from the new Spanish possessions in America.

Joint-stock companies

Large, investor-backed companies that sponsored European exploration and colonization in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; precursors to modern corporations; a famous example is the British East India Company.

British/Dutch East India Company

Private trading companies chartered by the governments of England and the Netherlands around 1600; they were given monopolies on Indian Ocean trade, including the right to make war and to rule conquered peoples.

Triangular Trade

a system of exchange in which Europe supplied Africa and the Americas with finished goods, the Americas supplied Europe and Africa with raw materials, and Africa supplied the Americas with enslaved laborers.

Monopoly

A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. By definition, monopoly is characterized by an absence of competition, which often results in high prices and inferior products.

Syncretism

the name given to the blending of elements from more than one religion into a distinct system of worship.

Vodun

a New World syncretic faith that combines the animist faiths of West Africa with Christianity.

Virgin of Guadalupe

the mother of Jesus and a very important saint in the Roman Catholic religious tradition—appeared to a man named Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. She holds a special place in the culture and religious life of many Mexicans and Mexican Americans.