history vocab

Absolute monarchy

A king or queen who has u limited power and seeks to control all respects of society

Bourgeoisie

The middle class typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitude

Continental system

Napoleons policy of preventing trade between Great Britain and continental Europe intended to destroy Great Britain’s economy

Constitutional monarchy

A monarchy in which the rulers power is limited by law

Coup d’etat

A sudden seizure of political power in a nation

Divine right

The idea that monarchs are gods representatives on earth and are therefore answerable only to god

Empiricism

The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense/experience

The enlightenment

An 18th century European movement in which thinkers attempted to apply the principles of reason and the scientific method to all respects of society

Estates general

An assembly of representatives from all three of the estates or social classes in France

Fredrick the great

Born-1712 king of Russia 1740-1786

Modernized Prussia through military administration and legal reforms

Guullotine

A machine for beheading people

Habeas corpus

A document requiring that a prisoner be brought before a court or judge so that it can be decided whether his or her imprisonment is legal

Jacobins

A member of a democratic club established in Paris in 1789

Louis XIV

Born 1638 ruled France from 1643 to 1715 centralized power and made palace of Versailles

Louis XVI

Born 1754 married Marie Antoinette king of frank 1774-1792 signed edict of Versailles got beheaded

Marie Antoinette

Queen of France 1774-1792 loves arts and fashion

Maximilian Robespierre

Bone 1758 French lawyer and statesmen campaigned for the voting rights of all men

Napoleon Bonaparte

Born 1769 a French military leader ruled France from 1799-1804 created a Napoleanic code a civil law system

Oliver Cromwell

Born 1599 an English statesmen politician and soldier led the parliamentarian army to victory in the English civil wars

Peter the great

Born 1672 tsar of all Russia first emperor from 1721-1725. Modernizing russia’s military and navy

Reign of terror

The period from mid 1793 to mid 1794 when Maximillian Robespierre ruled France nearly as a dictator and thousands of political figures and ordinary citizens were executed

Skepticism

A philosophy based on the idea that nothing can be know for certain

Social contract

The agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights thus creating an organized society or government

Westernization

An adoption of the social political or economic institutions of western especially European or American countries