Age of Absolutism and Historical Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering the Reconquest, Age of Discovery, Reformation, Thirty Years' War, and Absolutism.

Reconquest

Catholic goal from 711-1492 to expel Moors from Spain.

Moors

A group of Muslims from north Africa (Morocco) who invaded and conquered Spain.

Battle of Grenada

Battle in which Spanish Christians defeated Muslims to complete the Reconquest.

Ottoman Turks

Empire that conquered Constantinople in 1453 and blocked Christians from passing through to the east.

Bartholomew Dias

Explorer who made it around the Cape of Good Hope in 1486.

Vasco da Gama

Explorer who successfully reached India in 1498.

Arawaks and Tainos

Large group of docile Native Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus in the Bahamas in 1492.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement in which the pope divided the New World between Spain and Portugal.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between Europe and the Americas.

Bartolome de las Cases

Advocate who urged the king to stop enslaving Native Americans, leading to the New Laws of 1542.

New Laws of 1542

Legislation that made it illegal to enslave Native Americans.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Trade system beginning in 1447 in which roughly 11 million people from Africa were forcibly brought to the Americas under a racially based, perpetual system.

Arabian Slave Trade

Trade system that took over 12 million people from East Africa to Saudi Arabia to be enslaved.

Pontifex Maximus

Title used to refer to the pope.

Northern Renaissance Humanism

Movement that prioritized looking back at what the Bible says rather than following church tradition.

Erasmus

Christian humanist who taught the philosophy of Christ focused on daily living and wanted everyone to read the Bible.

Pluralism

The practice of higher church officials holding more than one office simultaneously.

Absenteeism

The neglect of official duties by church bishops as a result of pluralism.

Sale of Indulgences

The practice of paying money for forgiveness from God.

Double Predestination

John Calvin's teaching that if God predestined people to go to heaven, He also predestined some to go to hell.

Council of Trent

Catholic council convened to address and correct abuses within the Catholic Church.

Little Ice Age

Period characterized by a decrease in food everywhere, leading to widespread war, famine, and plague in Europe.

Thirty Years' War

The last of the religious wars (1618-1648), which took place mostly on German land and resulted in at least 7 million deaths.

Peace of Westphalia

Treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War and allowed 300 smaller states of the old Holy Roman Empire to determine their own religion.

Peace of Pyrenees

Treaty that ended the war between France and Spain, leaving Spain's army decimated.

Standing Army of Conscripts

Full-time military force composed of people forced to fight, initiated by Sweden.

Age of Absolutism

Historical period characterized by rulers holding absolute power to make laws, tax, administer justice, control the bureaucracy, and determine foreign policy.

Divine Right of Kings

Theory promoted by Bossuet stating that the king is placed by God and responsible to nobody but God.

Versailles

Palace built by Louis XIV that served as his home and the seat of the central government.

Parlements

French court system overseen by King Louis XIV.

Edict of Nantes

Decree granting tolerance for French Protestants (Huguenots) to worship freely, repealed by Louis XIV in 1685.

Edict of Fontainebleau

Decree issued in 1685 by King Louis XIV that repealed the Edict of Nantes.

Mercantilism

Economic system in which the government regulates the economy to benefit the state.

Tariff

A tax on imports.

Hernan Cortes

Conquistador associated with New Spain who conquered the Aztecs in Mexico.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquistador associated with Peru who conquered the Incas.