Untitled Flashcard Set

Neo-Confucianism

Revival and reinterpretation of Confucian ideas during the Song Dynasty that blended Confucianism with Buddhist and Daoist concepts; emphasized order, morality, and filial piety.

Censorate

Chinese government agency that monitored officials and investigated corruption in imperial China.

Hangzhou (Song capital)

Capital of the Southern Song Dynasty; major center of trade, culture, and urban life in China.

Foot binding

Chinese practice of tightly binding girls’ feet to keep them small as a sign of beauty and status.

Middle Kingdom

Chinese belief that China was the cultural and political center of the world.

Kowtow

Ritual bowing practice showing respect and submission to the Chinese emperor.

Xiongnu

Nomadic confederation north of China that frequently fought with Chinese dynasties.

Sultanate of Delhi

Muslim state that ruled much of northern India from the 1200s to the 1500s.

Sufis

Islamic mystics who emphasized personal spiritual experience and helped spread Islam.

Kabir

Indian poet and mystic who criticized religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims.

Sikhism

Religion founded by Guru Nanak in India combining elements of Hinduism and Islam.

Timbuktu

Major West African trading and Islamic learning center in Mali.

Mexica

Indigenous people who founded the Aztec Empire.

Triple Alliance

Alliance between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan that formed the Aztec Empire.

Tenochtitlan

Capital city of the Aztec Empire located on an island in Lake Texcoco.

Chinampas, aka "floating gardens"

Artificial farming islands used by the Aztecs to increase agricultural production.

Huitzilopochtli

Aztec sun and war god who required human sacrifices.

Quechua

Language of the Inca Empire and many Andean peoples.

Gender Parallelism

Inca concept where men and women had separate but complementary roles.

Yuan Dynasty

Mongol dynasty established in China by Kublai Khan.

Khubilai Khan

Grandson of Genghis Khan who founded the Yuan Dynasty in China.

Hulegu

Mongol ruler who conquered Baghdad and founded the Ilkhanate.

Khutulun

Mongol princess and skilled warrior known for wrestling victories.

Kipchak Khanate/ Golden Horde

Mongol state that ruled Russia and parts of Eastern Europe.

Monsoon winds

Seasonal wind patterns in the Indian Ocean that facilitated trade.

Swahili language

Language blending Bantu and Arabic influences used in East African trade cities.

Great Zimbabwe

Powerful African trading kingdom known for massive stone structures.

Jenne-Jeno

Early West African trading city in the Niger River region.

Camel caravans

Groups of camels used to transport goods across deserts, especially the Sahara.

Encomienda and Repartimiento

Spanish labor systems forcing Indigenous people to work for colonists.

Peninsulares, Creoles, & Mestizos

Social classes in colonial Latin America: Spanish-born elites, American-born Spaniards, and mixed-race people.

Tupac Amaru Revolt

Late 1700s Indigenous uprising against Spanish rule in Peru.

Middle Passage

Forced voyage transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean.

Cowrie shells

Shells used as currency in parts of Africa and Asia.

Kingdom of Dahomey

West African kingdom involved heavily in the Atlantic slave trade.

Queen Nzinga

Central African ruler who resisted Portuguese expansion and slave trading.

British East India Company

English trading company that gained political and economic control in India.

Dutch East India Company

Dutch trading company dominant in Asian trade during the 1600s.

Potosi, Bolivia

Major Spanish silver mining center in the Andes.

Gunpowder empires

Empires such as the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal that used gunpowder weapons to expand power.

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman infantry troops recruited through the devshirme system.

Sati

Hindu practice in which a widow burned herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

Jizya

Tax paid by non-Muslims living under Islamic rule.

Devshirme

Ottoman system of collecting Christian boys for military or government service.

Soft gold

Fur traded from Siberia and northern Eurasia, especially valuable in Russia.

Qing Dynasty

Last imperial dynasty of China founded by the Manchus.

Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689)

Agreement between Russia and Qing China establishing borders and trade relations.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document announcing the American colonies’ independence from Britain.

Creoles

People of European descent born in the Americas.

Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Morelos

Mexican priests who led early independence movements against Spain.

Simon Bolivar

South American revolutionary leader known as 'The Liberator.'

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

French Revolution document promoting liberty and equality.

Olympe de Gouges

French activist who argued for women’s rights during the French Revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte

French military leader who became emperor and spread revolutionary ideas through Europe.

Toussaint Louverture

Leader of the Haitian Revolution who fought to end slavery.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Haitian revolutionary leader who declared Haiti independent.

Independence debt

Money Haiti was forced to pay France after gaining independence.

Seneca Falls

1848 women’s rights convention in New York.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

American women’s rights leader and organizer of Seneca Falls.

National American Woman Suffrage Association

Organization that campaigned for women’s voting rights in the United States.

Kartini

Indonesian advocate for women’s education and rights.

Huda Sharawi

Egyptian feminist leader who advocated for women’s rights and education.

Steam Engine

Machine powered by steam that drove industrialization.

Second Industrial Revolution

Period of rapid industrial growth in the late 1800s featuring steel, electricity, and chemicals.

Middle Class

Social group between the wealthy elite and working class that grew during industrialization.

Robert Owen

Early socialist reformer who improved factory conditions.

Karl Marx

Philosopher who developed communism and criticized capitalism.

Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party

Marxist political party in Russia that later split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

The Crimean War (1854-1856)

Conflict involving Russia against the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and France.

Caudillos

Military strongmen who dominated politics in Latin America after independence.

Mexican Revolution of 1910

Revolution against dictatorship that led to major social and political reforms in Mexico.

King Leopold of Belgium

Belgian king who brutally exploited the Congo Free State.

Taiping Uprising

Massive rebellion against the Qing Dynasty led by Hong Xiuquan.

Opium Wars

Wars between Britain and China over the opium trade that weakened Qing China.

Self-Strengthening

Qing reform movement attempting to modernize China using Western technology.

Boxer Uprising

Anti-foreign rebellion in China around 1900.

Hundred Days of Reform

Short-lived Qing reform effort to modernize China in 1898.

Bolsheviks

Radical Marxist faction led by Lenin that seized power in Russia.

Vladimir Lenin

Leader of the Bolsheviks and founder of the Soviet Union.

Guomindang

Chinese Nationalist Party led by Sun Yat-sen and later Chiang Kai-shek.

Mao Zedong

Communist leader who founded the People’s Republic of China.

Stalin and Mao

Communist leaders of the Soviet Union and China known for authoritarian rule and economic reforms.

Zhenotdel

Soviet government department promoting women’s rights after the Russian Revolution.

Collectivization

Soviet policy forcing peasants into collective farms.

Five-Year Plans

Soviet economic programs focused on rapid industrialization.

Great Leap Forward

Mao’s campaign to rapidly industrialize and collectivize China, causing widespread famine.

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

Mao’s movement to remove capitalist influences and reinforce communism in China.

Terror/Great Purges

Stalin’s campaigns of political repression and executions in the Soviet Union.

Rape of Nanjing

Mass killings and atrocities committed by Japanese troops in Nanjing during World War II.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities destroyed by U.S. atomic bombs in 1945.

Rosie the Riveter

Symbol representing women workers during World War II.

The Holocaust

Nazi genocide that killed six million Jews and millions of others.

United Nations

International organization founded after World War II to promote peace and cooperation.

Indian National Congress

Political organization that led the Indian independence movement.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of Indian independence who used nonviolent resistance.

Satyagraha

Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

Muslim League

Political organization advocating for Muslims in India and creation of Pakistan.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Leader of the Muslim League and founder of Pakistan.

Deng Xiaoping

Chinese leader who introduced market-oriented economic reforms.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union who introduced reforms.