Unit 1: Development of Capitalism and Nationalism (1815 to 1914)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, economic systems, socio-economic classes, and historical events surrounding the development of capitalism and industrialization.

Capitalism

The dominant economic system in the Western world since the collapse of feudalism, in which most means of production are privately owned and production is guided by supply and demand, competition, profit motive, and minimal government interference.

Industrial Revolution

The historical period beginning in England in the 18th century that was mainly responsible for the major economic transformation of Western Europe and the United States of America in the nineteenth century.

Domestic System

A system of production in which individual workers used hand tools or simple machinery to fabricate goods in their own homes or workshops attached to their homes.

Factory System

A system created to replace the domestic system, driven by industrialization and powered by new energy sources like coal and steam rather than wind and water.

Bourgeoisie

The socio-economic class consisting of a small group of wealthy individuals, also known as capitalists, who own the means of production in a capitalist system.

Proletariat

The socio-economic class of workers in a capitalist system who receive wages for their labor.

Capital

Accumulated riches gained through transatlantic commerce, colonial networks, and sugar, cotton, and tobacco plantations that were used to fund industrialization in Europe.

Liverpool

A British port town that delivered tremendous riches as a result of its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Manchester

A city whose rise played a key part in the expansion of industrialization due to its textile mills.

Command Economy

An economic structure, also known as a socialist economy, characterized by central planning where the government controls the volume of production, distribution, and prices.

Mass Militarization and Nationalism

Factors linked to industrialization in countries like Germany and Italy that motivated them to build colonial empires to compete with Great Britain and France, ultimately leading to World War I.