concepts of exploration, economics, religion, and politics

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering major historical treaties, ideologies, and events from the Renaissance through the Age of Imperialism.

Ninety-Five Theses

Written by Martin Luther in 1517 and posted in Wittenberg, Germany, this document criticized the sale of indulgences and sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Peace of Augsburg

Signed in 1555 within the Holy Roman Empire, it established the principle of “cuius regio, eius religio,” allowing rulers to choose the religion of their territory.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Signed by Spain and Portugal in 1494, it divided newly discovered lands outside Europe and explains why Brazil became Portuguese-speaking.

Edict of Worms

Issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1521, it declared Martin Luther a heretic and outlaw, banning his writings.

Act of Supremacy

Passed by the English Parliament in 1534, it declared King Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England, separating it from the Roman Catholic Church.

Napoleonic Code

A uniform legal system established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804 that promoted equality before the law and religious tolerance.

Line of Demarcation

An imaginary boundary established by Pope Alexander VI in 1493 to divide newly discovered territories between Spain and Portugal.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Adopted by France’s National Assembly in 1789, it proclaimed principles such as liberty, equality before the law, and popular sovereignty.

Concordat of 1801

An agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII that restored peaceful relations between France and the Catholic Church.

Communist Manifesto

Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, it argued that history is driven by class struggle and called for workers to overthrow capitalism.

Absolutism

A system of government in which a monarch held nearly unlimited power, often claiming authority came directly from God.

Ausgleich (Compromise of 1867)

An agreement between Austria and Hungary that created the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary with a shared monarch and military.

October Manifesto

Issued by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1905, it promised civil liberties and created an elected legislative assembly known as the Duma.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership, investment, and competition for profit where businesses and individuals control most economic activity.

Socialism

A political and economic ideology advocating for collective control of resources and industries to distribute wealth more evenly.

Conservatism

A political philosophy emphasizing tradition, stability, and gradual change to preserve monarchies and existing social structures.

Liberalism

A political ideology promoting individual rights, constitutional government, equality before the law, and political freedom.

Communism

A system based on the ideas of Marx and Engels that seeks a classless society with collective ownership of property and the means of production.

Nationalism

The belief that people sharing a common culture, language, or history should govern themselves as a nation.

Realpolitik

A political approach based on practical goals and power rather than ideology or moral principles, famously used by Otto von Bismarck.

Divine Right

The belief that monarchs received their authority directly from God, used to justify absolute monarchy.

Constitutional System

A form of government where the powers of rulers are limited by a constitution or body of laws.

Dual Monarchy

A government in which two states share a single monarch while maintaining separate governments and institutions.

Balance of Power

A diplomatic principle seeking to prevent any one nation from becoming overwhelmingly dominant.

Legitimacy

The principle that governments should be recognized as lawful and have a rightful claim to power.

Intervention

One nation becoming involved in the affairs of another to influence events or maintain stability.

Concert of Europe

An informal alliance system established after 1815 to maintain peace and the balance of power.

Predestination

The Calvinist belief that God has already determined who will be saved and who will not.

Annulment

A legal declaration that a marriage is invalid; Henry VIII sought one from Catherine of Aragon to produce a male heir.

Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement that emphasized individual achievement and the study of classical Greek and Roman texts.

Indulgences

Certificates issued by the Catholic Church to reduce punishment for sins, criticized by Martin Luther.

Counter-Reformation

The Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation, aiming to reform abuses and strengthen Catholic teachings.

Council of Trent

Meetings held between 1545 and 1563 where Catholic leaders clarified doctrine and reinforced the Church's response to Protestantism.

Jesuit Order

Also known as the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540 to focus on education, missionary work, and defending Catholic doctrine.

Inquisition

A series of Church tribunals established to identify and punish heresy and maintain religious unity.

White Man’s Burden

The imperialist belief that Europeans had a duty to “civilize” non-European peoples.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

A 1790 French law that placed the Catholic Church under government control and required clergy to swear loyalty to the state.

Kulturkampf

A campaign led by Otto von Bismarck in the 1870s to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church in Germany.

Proletariat

The working class, especially factory workers who sell their labor for wages.

Bourgeoisie

The middle and upper-middle classes, including merchants and businesspeople, who grew in influence during the Industrial Revolution.

Laissez-faire

An economic philosophy arguing that government should interfere as little as possible in the economy.

Mercantilism

An economic theory emphasizing that national wealth depends on accumulating gold and maintaining a favorable balance of trade.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and the Eastern Hemisphere after Columbus’s voyages.

Reconquista

The effort by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, ending with the capture of Granada in 1492.

Scramble for Africa

The rapid division and colonization of Africa by European powers during the late nineteenth century.

Sphere of Influence

A region where a powerful country exercises economic or political control without direct governing authority.

Protectorate

A territory that retains its local government but is controlled or protected by a stronger foreign power.

Renaissance

A period of cultural rebirth starting in 14th-century Italy that emphasized human potential and scientific inquiry.

Enlightenment

A 17th and 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights.

Congress of Vienna

An 1814-1815 meeting of European leaders to restore stability and the balance of power after Napoleon’s defeat.

Medici Family

A wealthy banking family in Florence that supported famous Renaissance artists and scholars.

Jacobins

A radical political group during the French Revolution led by Robespierre that supported the Reign of Terror.

Redshirts

Volunteer soldiers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi who fought to unify Italy.

Sans-Culottes

Working-class revolutionaries in France who supported the radical phases of the French Revolution.

Estates General

A representative assembly in pre-revolutionary France composed of the clergy, nobility, and commoners.

National Assembly

Formed in 1789 by representatives of the Third Estate who declared themselves the legitimate representatives of the French people.

Gutenberg Printing Press

Developed around 1450, it used movable type to print books efficiently, spreading Renaissance and Protestant ideas.

Zemstvos

Local government councils established in Russia in 1864 responsible for education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Directory

The French government from 1795 to 1799 that struggled with corruption before being overthrown by Napoleon.

Duma

An elected legislative assembly established in Russia after the October Manifesto of 1905.

Bloody Mary

The nickname for Queen Mary I of England, who attempted to restore Catholicism and executed hundreds of Protestants.

Bastille

A fortress-prison in Paris symbolized as a sign of tyranny, stormed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789.

Tennis Court Oath

A 1789 pledge by members of the Third Estate not to disband until France had a new constitution.

March on Versailles

An October 1789 event where thousands of Parisian women demanded bread and forced the royal family to return to Paris.

Bloody Sunday

A January 22, 1905 event in Russia where government troops fired on peaceful protesters presenting grievances to the tsar.

Reign of Terror

A 1793-1794 period of the French Revolution where thousands of suspected enemies were executed by the Committee of Public Safety.

Hundred Days

The period in 1815 when Napoleon returned from exile on Elba and briefly regained power before his defeat at Waterloo.

Abdication

The formal act of giving up a throne or position of power.

Berlin Conference

An 1884-1885 meeting where European powers established rules for dividing Africa without African representation.

Cottage Industry

A system where goods were produced in the home using simple tools before the Industrial Revolution.

Urbanization

The movement of people from rural areas into cities, which increased during the Industrial Revolution.

Serfdom

A labor system where peasants are legally tied to land owned by nobles.

Social Darwinism

The belief that "survival of the fittest" applies to human societies, used to justify imperialism and racial discrimination.

Social Contract

The theory that governments derive their authority from an agreement with the people they govern.

Natural Rights

The idea that people possess rights such as life, liberty, and property simply because they are human.