ap euro unit 6: vocab A

Agricultural Revolution

Term that refers to dramatic improvements and modernization of farming techniques and technologies.  It led to significant increases in crop yields which improved the diet and health of the population.

capital

Money that is used for investment.

entrepreneurs

A person who organizes and operates a business.

hydropower

Energy that is generated by the flow of water.

textile

Of, or pertaining to cloth or to the production of cloth.

cottage industry

Economic term for the production of goods in the private homes of the peasants. Goods, such as cloth, were woven by families in order to raise additional income.

spinning jenny

One of the first industrial machines developed to speed up the production of cloth, it helped begin the factory production of textiles and started the Industrial Revolution.

steam engine

Designed by James Watt in 1769, this was the first generator of artificial power developed by man. The invention made the Industrial Revolution possible.

Claremont

Inventor Robert Fulton’s first successful steam powered boat, it completed a voyage up the Hudson River in New York in 1809.

Rocket

Inventor George Stephenson’s award-winning steam powered railroad that won a British national competition in 1829.

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

The first system of standardized world time, it divides the globe into 24 separate time zones.

Factory System

A new system of producing goods that appeared during the Industrial Revolution and led to the gradual disappearance of Cottage Industry. Workers came to work in factories using powered machinery.

“iron law of wages”

A famous expression found in David Ricardo’s Political Economy and Taxation. Ricardo asserted that workers were governed by the law of supply and demand just like any other commodity.

Great Exhibition (aka: Crystal Palace)

The world’s first World’s Fair, it ran from May-October 1851. Dozens of nations displayed their latest inventions and products for millions of daily visitors.

Irish Potato Famine (aka: The Great Hunger)

The potato crop of Europe was struck by a devastating fungus between 1845-1852, leading too mass hunger and political instability all over Europe. But nowhere was more devastated than Ireland. Over 1,000,000 Irish died.

Corn Laws

A series of tariffs passed by the British Parliament that were placed on imported grains in hopes of protecting British landowners and farmers. The tariffs kept bread prices higher for poor urban workers.

tenement

A run-down and typically overcrowded apartment building, usually in a poorer neighborhood of a city.

cholera

A bacterial disease usually caused by contaminated water.

typhoid

A bacterial disease usually caused by contaminated water.

tuberculosis (aka: TB)

A highly contagious bacterial infection that typically affects the lungs, it is one of the leading causes of death in the world. It devastated the overcrowded cities of the 19th century.

sanitation system

A complex system of pipes that supply clean, safe drinking water and separate pipes that remove waste.

Metropolitan Police of London (aka: “Bobbies”)

One of the first modern, urban police forces, they were first organized by Sir Robert Peel. The goal was to improve public safety in the city of London.

Factory Acts

A series of laws and regulations passed by the British Parliament in order to improve the working conditions and working hours of children and women.

Mine Acts

Laws passed by the British Parliament that banned the use of women, girls, and boys under the age of 10 in the mining industry.

exploitation

The action of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their labor.

labor unions

An organized association of workers, often in a specific trade or industry, formed to protect and advance the rights of members.

Combination Act

Passed by the British Parliament during the Napoleonic Wars, the law forbid workers from forming labor unions and banned collective bargaining.

strike

A labor protest caused when a large number of employees refuse to work in hopes of forcing company management to give in to demands.

Luddites

• A movement of British workers who smashed factory machinery as a form of labor protest.

• Anyone who is afraid of technology or technological progress.

bourgeoisie

Term referring to the urban, educated middle and upper classes. Karl Marx used the term to refer to the “oppressors” of workers.

proletariat

Term referring to the urban, working-class of Europe. Karl Marx used the term to refer to the oppressed class he hoped would embrace communism.