Enlightenment and Revolutions Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering key Enlightenment thinkers, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.

Isaac Newton

1660s scientific icon who personified the Enlightenment; worked on calculus (math of change), gravity, optics, and authored Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.

Spirit of the Laws (1748)

Political treatise written by Montesquieu describing forms of government, arguing that government power should be divided among branches and supporting 'liberal' republics or monarchies.

St. Domingue

Wealthy French colony focused on the sugar trade, which had a mixed race population and 800,000 slaves by 1750.

The Encyclopedie

Work published between 1751 and 1772 by Denis Diderot that organized human knowledge into Memory, Reason, and Imagination, treating religion as a system of philosophy.

Discourse on Inequality

1755 work written by Rousseau asserting that men live solitary but free lives and that private property is the basis of inequality.

The anatomy of the the horse

1766 publication by George Stubbs providing the first comprehensive, scientifically accurate study of the horse's internal structure in over two centuries, used for comparative anatomy, equine art, and veterinary science.

British east india company

A British trading company dealing in cotton that became extremely powerful in India, controlling trade and eventually large territories.

Watts streams engine

Significantly improved by James Watt in the 18th century to be more efficient and practical, becoming a major force behind industrialization in factories and transportation.

Cahiers de doléances

A list of grievances submitted by the three estates in 1789 before the French Revolution to express complaints such as unfair taxation.

Estates

The three social orders in France: the first estate (clergy), second estate (nobility), and third estate (everyone else).

Declaration of the rights of man

1789 document containing principles such as liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty.

Jean paul marat

Radical journalist and revolutionary during the French Revolution who published L'Ami du peuple (Friend of the People) and pushed for more radical revolutionary action.

National constituent assembly

Body created in 1789 when the Third Estate declared itself a national assembly.

The meter

The unit of length developed during the French Revolution as a universal and natural standard rather than local measurements to help with weight and price.

cotton gin

Machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 that quickly separated cotton fibers from seeds, expanding cotton production and slavery in the American South.

Sans culottes

Radical working-class/urban revolutionaries, especially in Paris, whose name means 'without knee breeches' referring to their rejection of aristocratic clothing.

Maximilian robespierre

Leading Jacobin revolutionary associated with the Reign of Terror (1793–94) who argued for defending the Revolution against its enemies.

Congress of vienna

1814–1815 meeting of European powers after Napoleon's defeat to reorganize Europe and attempt to establish a stable balance of power.

Klemens von metternich

Austrian diplomat and statesman at the Congress of Vienna who supported political stability and opposed revolutionary and nationalist movements.

Luddite protests

Early 19th-century protests by workers who destroyed industrial machinery believing machines would threaten their jobs and livelihood.

Louis XVI

King of France when the French Revolution began who faced severe financial crisis and debt, and was executed by guillotine in 1793.

Storming of the Bastille

Event on July 14, 1789, where Parisian revolutionaries attacked the Bastille prison, becoming an important symbol of the French Revolution.

Tennis Court Oath

1789 pledge by members of the Third Estate vowing not to separate until they had created a constitution for France.

Reign of Terror

Period of extreme revolutionary violence from 1793–1794 associated especially with Robespierre and the Jacobins, during which thousands were executed.

Jacobins

Radical political group during the French Revolution led prominently by Robespierre.

Industrial Revolution

Major shift from hand production to machines and factories that began in Britain in the late 18th century, involving steam power, textiles, and mechanization.

Why Britain?

Factors including access to coal and iron, capital, markets, colonies, and technological innovation that enabled Britain to become the first major industrial power.