History Midterm

Honors Modern World History Midterm Vocab

Compass

device that always points Northward

Astrolabe

device that allows sailors to pinpoint their location using the stars in relation to the horizon

Caravel

light, fast sailing ship used for exploration

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince, founded navigation schools and financed voyages

B. Dias

Portuguese, sailed to Southern tip of Africa, 1488

V. de Gama

Portuguese, sailed around Africa to reach India, 1497

P. Cabral

Portuguese, Accidentally discovered Brazil, 1500

C. Columbus

Spanish, discovered N. America, 1492

A. Vespucci

Spanish, charted the Americas, 1502

F. Magellan

Spanish, first to circumnavigate the world, 1519

J. Cabot

English, attempted to find Asia through sailing North, 1497

F. Drake

English, circumnavigated the world, established privateering, 1577

H. Hudson

English/Dutch, claimed Canadian land while looking for a Northwest Passage, 1607

Encomienda system

Colonists were given land and natives to work it in exchange for shelter and religious teachings

Aztecs

powerful, militaristic Mesoamerican empire, conquered by Spanish

Hernan Cortes

Spanish conquistador, led expedition to defeat the Aztec Empire, 1519

Incas

powerful, merchant Mesoamerican empire, conquered by Spanish

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador, led expedition to defeat Incan Empire, 1532

Bartolome de las Casas

Spanish priest, spoke out against poor treatment of natives

Treaty of Tordesillas

Line of demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal, 1494

Columbian Exchange

the exchange of plants, animals, disease and culture due to a long period of prolonged contact between Europe and the Americas

Mercantilism

economic policy where a nation’s strength depended on profitable trade

Balance of trade

the difference in value between a country's imports and exports

Tariffs

tax on imported goods

Colony

territory under the control of a foreign state

Capitalism

economic system where business is carried out by private individuals or organizations in order to seek a profit

Joint-stock companies

multiple investors pool their money to share in the profit or loss

Triangular trade

route that traded manufactured goods to Africa for slaves for the European colonies

Middle Passage

the voyage that carried slaves from Africa to the American colonies

African Diaspora

the dispersal of the African people and culture around the world

Ming Dynasty

powerful Chinese dynasty, rebuilt China, isolated against Europeans, 1368-1644

Hongwu

Chinese general/emperor, overthrew the Mongols and built the powerful Ming Dynasty, 1368-1398

Yonglo

Chinese emperor who expanded China’s power, 1402-1424

Zheng He

Chinese explorer who led a large fleet to demonstrate Chinese superiority to neighbor kingdoms

Isolationism

a policy of withdrawal from world affairs

Qing Dynasty

overthrew Ming Dynasty, continued Chinese traditions, promoted Chinese supremacy, 1644-1911

Kangxi

tolerant Chinese emperor, founded the Qing Dynasty, 1661-1722

Confucianism

Chinese way of life that emphasized tradition, respect for authority, education and humanistic values

Qianlong

Chinese emperor, allowed limited interaction with foreigners, explanded China’s power, 1736-1796

Samurai

trained professional warriors of Feudal Japan “those who serve”

Bushido

code of ethics for samurai to be courageous, honorable, obedient “the way of the warrior”

Daimyo

powerful Japanese warlords who controlled large territories

Kamakura Shogunate

first united gov’t of Japan, ruled by a shogun, weakened by Mongol invasions, 1192-1333

Tokugawa Shogunate

united Japan, led by a shogun, withdrew into isolation, 1603-1867

Shogun

military ruler

Oda Nabunaga

powerful daimyo, attempted to unite Japan through force with firearms

Tokugawa Ieyasu

powerful daimyo, successful in uniting Japan, founded Tokugawa Shogunate

Haiku

3 line, 17 syllable poetry honoring nature, harmony

Noh Drama

slow moving tales of heroes, used masks and music

Kabuki

day long plays, used face paint and audience interaction

Zen Buddhism

religion that stressed self discipline and meditation to focus the mind

Choson Kingdom

dynasty of Korea, was a vassal of China, 1392-1910

Vassalize

to force submission to a more powerful state

Yi Song-gye

first Korean emperor

Scientific Revolution

era of new developments transformed thinking about the natural world based on careful observation and a willingness to question

Geocentric theory

belief that the universe revolved around the Earth

Heliocentric theory

belief that the Earth revolves around the sun

Francis Bacon

(English) developed empiricism, 1561

Empiricism

knowledge can only come from personal experience

Rene Descartes

(French) believed everything should be doubted until it can be proven so by reason, 1596

scientific method

logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas

Nicolaus Copernicus

(Polish) developed heliocentric theory, 1473

Tycho Brahe

(Danish) attempted to disprove Copernicus, 1546

Johannes Kepler

German, discovered the movement of planets to be ellipses, 1571

Galileo Galilei

Italian, invented telescopes, forced to recant his work by the Church, 1564

Isaac Newton

English, developed calculus and universal gravitation laws, 1642

Andreas Vesalius

dissected and documented corpses, 1539

William Harvey

described the working of the circulatory system, 1632

Antony von Leeuwenhoek

developed the microscope, 1674

Robert Hooke

coined the term cell, 1665

Robert Boyle

described matter as a cluster of tiny particles, 1661

Antoine Laurent-Lavoisier

French, developed Law of Conservation of Mass, periodic table, 1778

Enlightenment

an intellectual movement that centered on the use of reason in forward thinking ideas

Reason

logical thinking

Thomas Hobbes

English, believed that a strong gov’t is needed to preserve order,1588-1679

John Locke

English, believed gov’ts exist to protect natural rights, people can overthrow poor gov’ts, 1632-1704

natural rights

Rights that all human possess and they cannot be taken away (life, liberty, property)

Salons

social gatherings in public places to discuss new ideas

Philosophes

philosophers of the Enlightenment

social contract

citizens give up rights in exchange for gov’t protection, gov’t power comes from the people

Baron de Montesquieu

French, believed in separation of powers and checks and balances, 1689-1755

separation of powers

dividing power in a gov’t will ensure that no on branch can abuse their power

checks and balances

branches have powers over each other to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful

Voltaire

French, gov’t critic and advocate for freedom of speech, religion, 1694-1778

Denis Diderot

French, promoted learning with the Encyclopedia, 1713-1784

Mary Wollstonecraft

English, spoke out for equal treatment for women in society, 1759-1797

Adam Smith

Scottish, wanted gov’ts to play a lesser role in the economy, 1723-1790

free market

prices of goods are determined by consumers, free from higher authority

Laissez-faire

• belief that economies work best without gov’t regulation, “hands off”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

French, believed in the social contract, 1712-1778

Boston Tea Party

colonial rebels dump tea into Boston harbor in protest, 1773

Boston Massacre

British soldiers fire on protesting colonists, 1770

Thomas Paine

author of Common Sense, helped gain popular support for independence for colonies

Thomas Jefferson

author of the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

document declaring a separation between Britain and colonies, used Enlightenment ideals, 1776

American Revolution

war for independence between Britain and the 13 colonies, 1776

George Washington

American general, first president of the USA

Treaty of Paris

granted the 13 colonies independence, 1783

Articles of Confederation

failed, weak governing document of the USA, 1781

confederation

a union of independent states, united for common purpose