Period 2 Pt 2 Vocab Ap Euro

War of Austrian Succession

A major European conflict (1740–1748) triggered by Maria Theresa's ascension, contested by Prussia and others, ending with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Catherine the Great

Empress of Russia (1762–1796) known for expanding territory, modernizing administration, and promoting Enlightenment ideals.

Seven Years’ War

A global conflict (1756–1763) involving most European powers, often considered the first world war, ending with the Treaty of Paris.

Waterloo

The battle in 1815 where Napoleon was defeated, marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Federalist system

A system of government dividing power between a central authority and regional governments, as in the U.S. Constitution.

Dutch Patriots

A late 18th-century political movement advocating for democratic reforms in the Netherlands.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

A 1790 French law subordinating the Catholic Church to the state, requiring clergy loyalty to the government.

Jacobins

A radical political club during the French Revolution advocating for republicanism and known for the Reign of Terror.

Sans-culottes

Working-class revolutionaries of the French Revolution, named for rejecting aristocratic breeches.

Three estates

The social hierarchy in pre-revolutionary France: clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and commoners (Third Estate).

Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton's foundational work (1687) outlining the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

Bernard de Fontenelle

A French Enlightenment writer who popularized science and rational thought.

Letters on the English

Voltaire's 1734 work praising English freedoms while critiquing French society and government.

David Hume

Scottish philosopher known for skepticism and influence on Enlightenment thought.

Deism

Belief that God created the universe but does not intervene, emphasizing reason over dogma.

Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft's feminist work (1792) advocating for women's education and equality.

Original sin

Christian doctrine stating humans are born with a sinful nature from Adam and Eve's disobedience.

Atheists

People who do not believe in any deity or divine being.

Thomas Hobbes

Philosopher advocating for strong central authority in political theory.

Leviathan

Hobbes' 1651 work arguing that a powerful government is necessary to maintain order.

Daniel Defoe

English writer best known for his novel Robinson Crusoe.

Romanticism

An artistic and intellectual movement (late 18th–19th century) emphasizing emotion, nature, and individualism.

George Fox

Founder of the Quakers, emphasizing direct experience of God and rejecting formal structures.

Pogroms

Organized violent attacks against Jewish communities, often state-sanctioned.

Masonic lodges

Fraternal organizations promoting moral and philosophical ideals and serving as social networks.