AP World History Vocabulary: Unit 3 Topics 3.1-3.3

Anne Boleyn

her marriage to King Henry VIII was the catalyst for the English Reformation and the creation of the Church of England

Cardinal Richelieu

he centralized royal power in France, diminished the authority of the nobility and Huguenots, strengthened France's position in Europe through his role as chief minister to King Louis XIII, and engaged in foreign policy during the Thirty Years War

Devshirme

an Ottoman Empire system of taking Christian boys from their families, converting them to Islam, and training them for military or administrative service, most notably in the elite Janissary corps

Divine Right

asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God

Emperor Qianlong

emperor who oversaw the golden age of the Qing dynasty, valued art and culture, and rejected trade with Britain

Gunpowder Empires

the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires were large, multi ethnic states that used firearms and artillery to conquer and control territories

Henry VIII

King of England who initiated the English Reformation, breaking with the Roman Catholic Church to establish the Church of England

Intendants

royal officials in France, Spain, Portugal, who served as agents of the central government, oversaw local administration, and enforced royal policies to centralize power

Janissaries

elite infantry soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, formed from Christian boys conscripted through the devshirme system, who were converted to Islam and trained to be loyal to the Sultan

Louis XIV

known as the Sun King, believed in absolute monarchy and the belief in the divine right of kings, built the Palace of Versailles to control the nobility

Ming Dynasty

a powerful Chinese dynasty that restored native Han Chinese rule after the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty

Mughal Empire

a dominant gunpowder empire that ruled the Indian subcontinent and was founded by Babur

Ottoman Empire

a vast, powerful Islamic empire that controlled parts of Europe, Asia, and was founded by Osman I

Philip II

King of Spain who sought to expand Spanish power and consolidate his centralized monarchy by defending the Counter-Reformation against Protestantism

Peter the Great

Tsar of Russia who significantly westernized and modernized Russia through military reforms, administrative changes, and cultural imports and moved the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg

Qing Dynasty

the last imperial dynasty of China, founded by the Manchus, a non-Han people from northeast China

Safavid Empire

a Persian empire that established Twelver Shi'ism as its state religion, distinct from its Sunni neighbors like the Ottomans

Spanish Armada

the massive Spanish fleet launched with the goal of invading England, overthrowing Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, and re-establishing Catholicism

Sultan

the supreme ruler of a Muslim country, especially the Ottoman Empire, holding significant political and religious authority

Versailles

a grand royal residence built by King Louis XIV to symbolize French absolute monarchy and the centralization of power

Zamindar

a powerful landowning noble and intermediary in the Mughal Empire and British India, responsible for collecting taxes and managing land from peasants on behalf of the government

Zheng He

Chinese admiral, explorer, and diplomat of the early Ming Dynasty who led seven major maritime expeditions across the Indian Ocean

Predestination

the Calvinist belief that God has already decided who will be saved and who will be damned

Ivan IV

the first Russian Tsar who centralized the Russian state by weakening the boyar nobility and expanding Russian territory

John Calvin

a French theologian and key figure in the Protestant Reformation who developed the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. His teachings of predestination, the absolute sovereignty of God, and the importance of a disciplined Christian life are discussed in his work “Institutes of the Christian Religion”