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Mercenaries

Soldiers who are paid to fight in foreign armies.

Constantinople 

Originally named the city of Byzantium but renamed for the Roman emperor Constantine who moved the capital of the eastern empire from Rome to Byzantium. Today it is called Istanbul.

William the Conqueror 

The Duke of Normandy in France who invaded England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and claimed the English throne.

Magna Carta

The Great Charter, it is a document signed by King John of England after being forced to by the Nobles guaranteeing basic political rights to all in England. For the first time in history everyone was equal under the law.

Parliament

A body of representatives that makes laws for a nation.

American Revolution

War between the 13 American Colonies and England in which the colonies overthrew the English King and Declared themselves an independent country.

Charles I

Was King of England from 1625 until his execution in 1649. From 1642, he fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War. he was tried, convicted, and executed for high treason in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and the Commonwealth of England was established as a republic.

English Civil War

A conflict, lasting from 1642-1649, in which Puritan supporters of Parliament battled supporters of England’s monarchy under King Charles I.

Oliver Cromwell

Led the Puritans to victory in the English Civil War, seizing power from Charles I and becoming military dictator.

Restoration

The period in England of Charles II rule after the collapse of Oliver Cromwell’s government after his death.

Habeas Corpus

A document requiring that a prisoner be brought before a court or judge so that it can be decided whether his or her imprisonment is legal.

Cabinet

A group of advisors or ministers chosen by the head of a country to help make government decisions.

Constitutional monarchy

A system of governing in which a ruler’s power is limited by law. Canada today uses this governing, where the King’s power is largely symbolic and parliament and the senate runs the country.

Cesar Becaria

Enlightenment philosopher who advocated for the right to a speedy trial, against cruel and unusual punishment and against the death penalty. He believed that punishment should be ethical and fit the crime.

Enlightenment 

European movement in the 1700’s in which thinkers attempted to apply the principles of Reason and the scientific method to all problems and aspects of society.

Social Contract

The agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights, thus creating an organized society or government.

John Locke

An English philosopher living in the 1600’s who argued that all people were equal, with three natural rights: life, liberty and property.

Jean Jaques Rousseau

A passionate defender of personal freedom during the enlightenment. In 1762 he explained his position on the social contract, disagreeing with Thomas Hobbes on the divine right of kings. Governments get their power from the people.

Mary Woolstonecraft

Wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” in 1972 arguing that women in order to be virtuous and useful, ought to be educated. She urged women to enter the male dominated fields of science and medicine.

Voltaire

French philosophe who advocated for the use of reason and defended freedom of speech, religion and liberty of all.

Baron de Montesquieu

An influential French philosophe who was concerned with political liberty. He advocated for the separation of government powers into the executive, legislative and judicial branches so that too much power would not be concentrated in one individual's hands.

Salons / Salon Society

A social gathering of intellectuals and artists, like those held in the houses of wealthy women in Paris and other European cities during the enlightenment.

Baroque

A grand, ornate design style that characterized European painting, music, and architecture during the enlightenment.

Enlightened despots

European monarchs of the 1700’s who were inspired by the enlightenment to attempt to rule justly and respect the rights of their subjects.

Catherine the Great

Empress of Russia from 1762-1796. She ruled with absolute authority but was also well-educated and wrote many philosophers of the enlightenment such as voltaire. She wanted reforms, but crushed rebellion and made Russia a great power.

Declaration of Independence 

July 4th 1776 a statement issued by the 13 American colonies outlining their reasons for their break with England.

Thomas Jefferson 

American political leader and primary writer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Checks and balances

Measures designed to prevent any one branch of government from having too much power and dominating the other branches.

Federal system

A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and a number of individual states.

American Bill of rights (1787)

The first ten amendments to the US constitution, which protect citizens’ basic rights and freedoms.

Thomas Hobbes

English philosopher who believed in the Divine Right of monarchs to rule. He believed that we are born naturally selfish and fearless. We need laws to promote peace and avoid conflict. We must give some of our freedoms away to ensure a peaceful society. This justified absolute monarchy.  

Constitution

defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom

English Bill of Rights (1689)

was a British Law, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in 1689 that declared the rights and liberties of the people and settled the succession of William and Mary following the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when James II abdicated the throne and fled England.

Feudalism

The dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.

Nobles

In the feudal system they were part of the aristocracy in medieval Europe and thus worked together to rule the land for the King. The upper-level were landowners who provided military assistance and soldiers to the monarch..

Rule by Divine Right

Divine right of kings/Queens, in European history, a political doctrine in defense of monarchical absolutism, which asserted that kings/Queens derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority such as a parliament.

Serfs

A medieval peasant legally bound to live on a lord/noble’s estate and work the land in return for protection.

Knight

In medieval Europe, an armored warrior who fought on horseback. they were granted land from a noble's estate in exchange for military service.

Glorious Revolution

The bloodless overthrow of the English King James II and his replacement by his daughter Mary and her husband William.

Guillotine

A device, invented in France, consisting of a sharp blade in a tall frame, used in the past for killing criminals by cutting off their heads: King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine along with 1000’s of aristocrats during the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.

Trebuchet

A medieval siege machine/weapon was used to toss stones and other objects at the walls of castles to break them down.