AP Euro Chapter 3 Test

Absolutism

A form of government in which the monarch holds centralized, unrestricted authority over the state, claiming to rule by divine sanction and without checks from representative bodies.

Divine Right of Kings

The doctrine that monarchs derive their authority directly from God, making their rule sacred and placing them above earthly political challenge or rebellion.

Sovereignty

The supreme authority to govern within a state; in absolutist systems, sovereignty resides entirely in the monarch, who controls lawmaking, military power, and taxation.

Intendants

Royal officials in France who enforced the king’s policies in the provinces, weakened noble autonomy, and strengthened centralized royal administration.

Mercantilism

A state-directed economic system aimed at increasing national wealth through export promotion, protectionism, and government control of industry and trade.

Standing Army

A permanent, professional military kept in peacetime, enabling rulers to enforce domestic authority and wage large-scale wars without relying on nobles.

Versailles

Louis XIV’s palace that served as the political center of France and a tool for controlling nobles through court rituals, patronage, and social surveillance.

Table of Ranks

Peter the Great’s system ranking Russian nobles according to state service rather than birth, reducing hereditary privilege and strengthening autocratic control.

Westernization

Peter the Great’s effort to modernize Russia along Western European lines in government, military structure, technology, dress, culture, and education.

Serfdom

A hereditary labor system in which peasants were bound to land and lord; strengthened in Eastern Europe and Russia during absolutist rule.

Henry IV (France)

Restored stability after the French Wars of Religion, issued the Edict of Nantes, and began rebuilding the power of the monarchy.

Louis XIII

Strengthened royal authority with Cardinal Richelieu by curbing nobles and Huguenots, laying foundations for absolutism.

Cardinal Richelieu

Chief minister who centralized French power by weakening nobles, controlling Huguenots, and expanding royal bureaucracy.

Cardinal Mazarin

Successor to Richelieu whose taxes sparked the Fronde, shaping Louis XIV’s determination to solidify royal power.

Louis XIV (“Sun King”)

The epitome of absolutism; centralized government at Versailles, built a massive standing army, expanded French territory, and enforced strict royal control.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Louis XIV’s finance minister who strengthened France through mercantilist reforms, promoting manufacturing, trade, and naval expansion.

Ivan IV (Russia)

First tsar who expanded Russian territory and limited boyar power, setting precedents for autocracy.

Peter the Great

Modernized Russia through Westernization, built a strong military, created the Table of Ranks, founded St. Petersburg, and made Russia a major European power.

Frederick William (“Great Elector”)

Strengthened Brandenburg-Prussia by building a powerful military and centralized taxation to control regional nobles.

Frederick William

Militarized Prussia into a disciplined state, creating one of Europe’s strongest armies.

Maria Theresa

Habsburg ruler who centralized administration, strengthened state institutions, and fought the War of Austrian Succession.

Constitutionalism

A political system where government power is limited by laws and shared with representative bodies.

Parliament

England’s legislative body that gained supremacy over the monarchy after the Glorious Revolution.

English Civil War

Conflict between Charles I and Parliament over taxation and sovereignty, ending in parliamentary victory and temporary abolition of the monarchy.

Oliver Cromwell

Leader of the parliamentary forces who ruled England as a military dictator during the Commonwealth.

The Restoration

Return of the monarchy under Charles II after Cromwell’s death, restoring but limiting royal authority.

Glorious Revolution

Bloodless overthrow of James II and installation of William and Mary, establishing parliamentary supremacy.

English Bill of Rights

Document ensuring parliamentary power, rule of law, and limits on the monarchy after 1689.

Act of Settlement

Ensured Protestant succession to the English throne, further restricting monarchical power.

Act of Union

Merged England and Scotland into Great Britain under one parliament.

Dutch Republic

A commercial oligarchy run by wealthy merchants, characterized by decentralized government and economic prosperity.

War of Devolution

Louis XIV claimed Spanish Netherlands through his wife; gained minor territories before the Triple Alliance forced peace.

Franco-Dutch War

Louis XIV attempted to destroy Dutch commercial power but failed; France gained Franche-Comté but faced growing European opposition.

Nine Years’ War (League of Augsburg)

France fought a European coalition; ended in stalemate and signaled checks on Louis XIV’s expansion.

War of the Spanish Succession

Europe fought to prevent a Bourbon super-state; ended with the Peace of Utrecht, limiting France and elevating Britain.

Great Northern War

Peter the Great defeated Sweden, gaining Baltic ports and establishing Russia as a European power.

Austro-Turkish Wars

Habsburgs pushed back Ottoman control in Hungary and the Balkans, expanding Central European influence.

War of Austrian Succession

Triggered by Maria Theresa’s succession; Prussia seized Silesia, marking its rise as a major power.

The Fronde

Series of French noble and parliamentary revolts against Mazarin that convinced Louis XIV to centralize authority.

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

Louis XIV’s removal of Huguenot rights, weakening religious toleration and driving skilled workers out of France.

Navigation Acts

English laws restricting colonial and international shipping to English ships, aiming to undermine Dutch maritime dominance.

Dutch Golden Age

Period of Dutch commercial, cultural, and financial dominance driven by trade, banking, and religious toleration.

Founding of St. Petersburg

Peter’s new Western capital on Baltic territory seized from Sweden, symbolizing Russia’s modernization.

Copernicus

Proposed heliocentric model, challenging medieval cosmology and sparking the Scientific Revolution.

Kepler

Discovered laws of planetary motion, proving planets move in ellipses at variable speeds.

Galileo

Used the telescope to confirm heliocentrism; advanced physics and challenged church authority.

Newton

Unified physics with laws of motion and universal gravitation; symbolized the triumph of scientific reasoning.

Francis Bacon

Promoted empiricism and inductive reasoning, laying foundations for the scientific method.

René Descartes

Advocated rationalism, deductive reasoning, and separation of mind and matter; shaped modern philosophy and science.

Vesalius

Revolutionized anatomy through direct dissection; corrected ancient medical errors.

William Harvey

Demonstrated circulation of blood, transforming physiological science.

Margaret Cavendish

Female philosopher who criticized male-dominated science and argued women’s capacity for intellectual work.

Blaise Pascal

Sought to reconcile science with faith; known for probability theory and Pensées.

Spinoza

Dutch philosopher who argued that God and nature were unified; challenged traditional religion.

Leibniz

Co-developer of calculus and major rationalist thinker emphasizing reason and optimism.

Royal Society / French Royal Academy

State-supported scientific institutions promoting experimentation, publication, and collaboration.

Hobbes

Believed humans were naturally violent and required an absolute sovereign to maintain order (Leviathan); supported centralized power.

Locke

Argued that people possess natural rights and governments exist by consent; justified constitutionalism and revolution.

Social Contract

Idea that political authority comes from an agreement between rulers and the ruled; interpreted differently by Hobbes (authority) and Locke (rights).

Joint-Stock Companies

Businesses financed by multiple investors, enabling large-scale ventures like overseas trade.

Commercial Capitalism

Economic system based on private investment, expanding trade networks, and profit-driven markets.

Bank of England

Founded in 1694 to stabilize finances and fund military growth, symbolizing England’s financial modernization.

Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Powerful joint-stock company dominating Asian trade, representing Dutch commercial supremacy.

British East India Company

English trading company that expanded imperial influence in Asia.

Guilds

Urban craft organizations regulating production, quality, and labor, increasingly challenged by capitalist economies.

Bourgeoisie

Urban middle class of merchants and professionals who grew in power with expanding commercial economies.

Enclosure Movement

Process of consolidating farmland in England, promoting agricultural efficiency but displacing rural workers.