Renaissance to Industrial Revolution Practice Flashcards

This flashcard set covers key vocabulary terms, historical figures, and concepts from the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Absolutism, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.

Francesco Petrarch

Often called the father of Italian Renaissance humanism.

Johannes Gutenberg

The inventor of the printing press.

Michelangelo Buonarroti

An accomplished painter, sculptor, and architect who was a master of the High Renaissance.

Raphael Sanzio

One of Italy's best painters, admired for his numerous madonnas (paintings of Mary, the mother of Jesus).

Frederick the Wise

Also known as Frederick III, the elector (or prince) of Saxony who protected Martin Luther and possessed more than $5,000$ relics.

Cosimo de Medici

A member of the wealthy family that controlled part of Italy and were important supporters of the Renaissance.

Machiavelli

Renaissance author of The Prince who wrote about power.

humanism

An intellectual movement of the Renaissance based on the study of the humanities, including grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy, and history.

Leonardo da Vinci

The quintessential Renaissance man; a painter, inventor, and sculptor.

Dante Alighieri

Renaissance writer famously known for writing the Divine Comedy.

Christine de Pizan

An Italian who lived in France and wrote in French, the language of everyday speech.

vernacular

The language of everyday speech in a particular region.

fresco

A painting done on fresh, wet plaster with water-based paints.

perspective

Artistic techniques used to give the effect of three-dimensional depth to two-dimensional surfaces.

Christian humanism

A movement in northern Europe during the Renaissance combining classical learning with the goal of reforming the Catholic Church.

fundamental

Basic or essential.

salvation

The state of being saved through faith alone or through faith and good works.

indulgences

A release from all or part of punishment for sin by the Catholic Church, reducing time in purgatory after death.

Martin Luther

Leader of the Reformation, founder of Lutheranism, and author of the 95 Theses.

Erasmus

A scholar who criticized the church prior to the start of the Reformation.

95 Theses

Martin Luther's writings against the church that initiated the Reformation.

Diet of Worms

The meeting where Luther was excommunicated; King Charles V declared him an outlaw and ordered his teachings burned.

Act of Supremacy

The law that made the king the most powerful secular ruler of the Church of England.

Counter Reformation

A Catholic movement that reformed the papacy and established clear doctrines to regain power lost to Protestants.

King Henry VIII

King of England who separated from the Catholic Church to start the Church of England (Anglican Church) to annul his marriage.

Queen Elizabeth I

English monarch who defeated the Spanish Armada and prioritized the loyalty of her subjects over religious persecution.

British East India Company

A joint stock company where many investors share the profit.

Divine Right of Kings

The belief that monarchs receive their authority to rule from God and are not answerable to the people.

Petition of Right

A document prohibiting forced loans, taxes without Parliament's consent, and imprisonment without cause.

Habeas corpus

A legal principle stating that evidence is needed to imprison someone.

Oliver Cromwell

Puritan leader of the New Model Army who disbanded Parliament and became the Military Dictator, known as Lord Protector.

Restoration

The historical event in $1660$ when Charles II restored the monarchy.

Armada

The Spanish fleet defeated by Queen Elizabeth and Sir Francis Drake.

Cavaliers

Supporters loyal to the king during the English Civil War.

Roundheads

Supporters loyal to Parliament during the English Civil War.

Puritans

A religious group unhappy with the church who wanted to purify church traditions.

Glorious Revolution

The bloodless revolution where William and Mary became King and Queen of England.

Absolutism

A system of unlimited, centralized authority typical of monarchs in the $1600s$ and $1700s$.

King Louis XIV

Known as the Sun King, he built Versailles and is the ultimate example of an absolute monarchy.

Cardinal Richelieu

The chief minister for King Louis XIII.

Jean Baptiste Colbert

The finance minister who helped strengthen the economy of France during the reign of Louis XIV.

geocentric

The theory of an Earth-centered universe.

heliocentric

The theory of a Sun-centered universe.

Johannes Kepler

German mathematician who destroyed the Ptolemaic system by arriving at the laws of planetary motion.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Mathematician who published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres and proposed a heliocentric conception.

Galileo Galilei

Scientist who discovered mountains on the moon, four moons of Jupiter, and sunspots.

Universal law of gravitation

Sir Isaac Newton's law explaining that planetary bodies continue in elliptical orbits because objects are attracted by gravity.

rationalism

A system of thought based on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge, expounded by René Descartes.

Boyle's Law

The principle that the volume of a gas varies with the pressure exerted on it.

Margaret Cavendish

Aristocratic scientist who wrote Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy and criticized the belief that humans are masters of nature.

Scientific method

A systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence crucial to modern science.

Inductive reasoning

The doctrine that scientists should proceed from the particular to the general by making systematic observations.

Francis Bacon

English philosopher who believed scientists should rely on observation rather than ancient authorities; associated with empiricism.

Montesquieu

Author of The Spirit of the Laws ($1748$) who studied governments and social relationships.

Separation of powers

A form of government where executive, legislative, and judicial branches control each other through checks and balances.

Voltaire

Philosophe known for criticizing Christianity and championing religious toleration.

Diderot

Editor of the Encyclopedia, a $28-volume$ collection of knowledge intended to change the general way of thinking.

Laissez faire

The concept that the state should not impose government regulations but should leave the economy alone.

Adam Smith

Author of The Wealth of Nations who wrote about capitalism and the economy.

Social contract

The concept that an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will.

salons

Elegant urban drawing rooms where writers, artists, and aristocrats gathered to discuss Enlightenment ideas.

estates

The three levels of French society before the Revolution: Clergy, Nobility, and Bourgeoisie/Peasants.

taille

A tax levied in France.

bourgeoisie

The middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professional people.

Sans culottes

Meaning "without breeches"; members of the Paris Commune who wore long trousers as a sign of patriotism.

Jacobins

A radical revolutionary group led by Robespierre that wanted extreme change.

Girondins

A conservative group that preferred little to no change during the French Revolution.

Marie Antoinette

The wife of King Louis XVI, known as Madame Deficit for her disregard of the struggles of the French people.

Tennis Court Oath

The oath sworn by the Third Estate/National Assembly to write a constitution.

Robespierre

The leader of the Jacobins and Committee of Public Safety whose death ended the Reign of Terror.

Bastille

A prison whose storming on July $14$, $1789$, was the first violent act of the French Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

A document guaranteeing equality under the law, property rights, and the removal of special Church privileges.

Directory

The executive committee of five that governed France from $1795$ to $1799$.

Napoleon

The military leader who overthrew the Directory in a coup d'etat in $1799$ and eventually became Emperor of France.

Continental System

Napoleon's plan to defeat Britain by stopping British goods from reaching the European continent.

Industrial Revolution

The period of important changes in the way work was done during the $18th$ and $19th$ centuries.

profit

The amount of money left over after paying for the cost of business.

locomotive

A self-propelled vehicle that runs on rails.

textile

Cloth made by weaving; a major industry during the Industrial Revolution.

Internal combustion engine

An engine that burns gas to produce power.