World History Honors Final Exam Study Guide

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the major units of the World History Honors semester including Imperialism, the World Wars, the Russian Revolution, and the Interwar Years.

Absolute Monarchy

A system of government where one person is in charge of a whole country.

Constitutional Monarchy

A system where both a King and a Government are in power.

Republic

A form of government where the power is held by the people or their elected representatives.

Imperialism

The seizure of a country or territory by a stronger country.

Paternalism

A policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing for their needs but not giving them rights.

Assimilation

A policy in which a nation forces or encourages a subject people to adopt its institutions and customs.

Social Darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and 'survival of the fittest' to human societies, particularly as a justification for imperialist expansion.

Berlin Conference

A meeting in $1884$-$1885$ at which representatives of European nations agreed upon rules for the European colonization of Africa.

Effective Occupation

A rule stated at the Berlin Conference requiring leaders to hold a police force, have treaties with local leaders, and hoist a flag to control a colony.

Sphere of Influence

An area in which an outside power claims exclusive investment or trading privileges.

Indirect Control

A management method that relied on existing political rulers and limited self-rule to develop future leaders.

Direct Control

A management method where foreign officials are brought in to rule and no self-rule is allowed, with the goal of assimilation.

Boer War

A conflict in which the Boers (Dutch settlers) and the British fought for control of territory in South Africa.

'Jewel in the Crown'

The British colony of India, so called because of its importance in the British Empire, both as a supplier of raw materials and as a market for British trade goods.

Sepoy Mutiny

An $1857$ rebellion of Hindu and Muslim soldiers against the British in India, triggered by the use of animal fat on rifle cartridges.

Raj

The British-controlled region in India in the years $1757$-$1947$.

Treaty of Nanking

An unequal treaty signed in $1842$ that forced China to pay war reparations, give Hong Kong to Britain, and allow free trading rights.

Extraterritorial Rights

An exemption of foreign residents from the laws of a country.

Taiping Rebellion

A mid-$19th$-century rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in China, led by Hong Xiuquan.

Boxer Rebellion

An $1900$ revolt in China, aimed at ending foreign influence in the country.

Meiji Era

The period of Japanese history from $1867$ to $1912$, during which the country was ruled by Emperor Mutsuhito and modernized rapidly.

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's military strategy at the outbreak of World War I, according to which German troops would rapidly defeat France and then move east to attack Russia.

Trench Warfare

A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield.

Zimmermann Telegram

A message sent by Germany to Mexico during WWI, promising to help Mexico 'reconquer' lost territory in the United States if Mexico allied with Germany.

Total War

A conflict in which the participating countries devote all their resources to the war effort.

Fourteen Points

A series of proposals in which U.S. President Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan for achieving a lasting peace after World War I.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace treaty signed by Germany and the Allied powers after World War I, which included the 'war guilt' clause.

Bolsheviks

A group of revolutionary Russian Marxists who took control of Russia's government in November $1917$.

Totalitarianism

Government control over every aspect of public and private life.

Five-Year Plan

Plans outlined by Joseph Stalin in $1928$ for the development of the Soviet Union's economy.

Collectivization

A system in which private farms are eliminated and peasants work land owned by the government.

Holodomor

A man-made famine conducted in Ukraine by Stalin that starved the population to gain farmland for industrialization.

Fascism

A political movement that promotes an extreme form of nationalism, a denial of individual rights, and a dictatorial one-party rule.

Nazism

The fascist policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party, based on totalitarianism, a belief in racial superiority, and state control of industry.

Appeasement

The making of concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid war.