World Studies: Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and Revolutions Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, concepts, events, and historical figures of the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, American Revolution, and French Revolution from the World Studies lecture notes.

Philosophes

The intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment who championed reason, freedom of speech, and religious tolerance while criticizing traditional institutions and absolute monarchy.

Scientific Revolution

A period of dramatic change in scientific thought and practice during the 16th and 17th centuries, marked by the rise of modern science, mathematics, and empirical observation.

Scientific Method

A systematic approach to research established during the Scientific Revolution, involving observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation, and data analysis.

Universal law of Gravitation

Isaac Newton's law stating that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Geocentric

An earth-centered model of the universe where the Earth is stationary at the center and other celestial bodies revolve around it.

Heliocentric

A sun-centered model of the universe, proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus, stating that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun.

Rationalism

A philosophical belief that reason and logic, rather than faith or experience alone, are the primary sources of knowledge.

Inductive reasoning

A logical process where specific observations and data are used to formulate broad generalizations and scientific laws, heavily advocated by Francis Bacon.

Empiricism

The theory that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience and must be tested through observation and experimentation.

Ptolemaic system

The ancient geocentric model of the universe developed by the astronomer Ptolemy.

Separation of power

A political principle championed by Montesquieu, dividing government authority into distinct branches (executive, legislative, and judicial) to prevent tyranny.

Deism

An 18th-century religious philosophy based on reason, viewing God as a "divine watchmaker" who created the universe and natural laws, but does not actively intervene in human affairs.

Laissez-faire

An economic philosophy advocating that governments should minimize interference in the free market, popularized by Adam Smith.

Wealth of Nations

The Wealth of Nations (1776) is Adam Smith's seminal work establishing the foundations of classical economics and free-market capitalism.

Social contract

An agreement among members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, typically by surrendering some individual freedom in exchange for state protection of their rights.

Rococo

An ornate, decorative 18th-century art and architecture style characterized by lightness, pastel colors, and asymmetrical designs.

Enlightened absolutism

A form of 18th-century absolute monarchy where rulers (such as Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great) adopted Enlightenment reforms while retaining supreme power.

Popular sovereignty

The political doctrine that the power of a government is created and sustained by the consent and will of its people.

Federal system

A system of government where power is constitutionally divided between a central national authority and constituent regional states.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British tax law requiring colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used, fueling colonial resistance.

Lexington and Concord

The opening military engagements of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775.

Common Sense

A highly influential 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine advocating American independence from Great Britain in plain language.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson in which the thirteen American colonies formally declared themselves independent from Britain.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States (ratified in 1781), which created a loose confederation with a weak central government.

Constitution

The supreme law of the United States, established in 1787, outlining the structure, powers, and limits of the federal government.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1791, guaranteeing essential civil liberties and individual rights.

Amendments

Formal modifications or additions made to a constitution or legal document.

Federalist Party

An early American political party led by Alexander Hamilton that favored a strong central government, a national bank, and commercial development.

The Seven Years War

A major global conflict (1756–1763) involving European powers, fought across Europe, the Americas, and India, resulting in a shift in global colonial power.

War of Austrian Succession

A European conflict (1740–1748) sparked by the ascension of Maria Theresa to the Austrian throne, highlighting the rise of Prussia.

French and Indian War

The North American theater of the Seven Years War (1754–1763), fought between Great Britain and France (alongside native allies), ending with British dominance in North America.

Anti-Federalist Party

A political faction that opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution, fearing that a powerful federal government would infringe upon individual liberties.

Three Estates

The traditional social and political class system of pre-revolutionary France, consisting of the First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (nobility), and Third Estate (commoners).

Taille

A direct land tax in pre-revolutionary France from which the nobility and clergy were largely exempt, placing the burden entirely on the Third Estate.

Bourgeoisie

The wealthy, educated middle-class members of the French Third Estate (merchants, lawyers, professionals) who drove the early stages of the French Revolution.

Sans-culottes

The radical, militant working-class men and women of Paris during the French Revolution who wore long trousers rather than aristocratic knee-breeches.

Clergy

Ordained religious leaders who formed the privileged First Estate in pre-revolutionary France.

Peasants

Agricultural laborers who made up the majority of the French population and bore heavy feudal and tax burdens.

Nobility

The aristocratic Second Estate in France, possessing significant land ownership, social status, and tax exemptions.

Estates General

The representative assembly of the three estates of the realm (the clergy, nobility, and commoners) in pre-revolutionary France, which last met in 1789.

Cahiers

Grievance lists drawn up by each of the three estates in France prior to the meeting of the Estates General in 1789.

Tennis Court Oath

A pivotal oath taken on June 20, 1789, by members of the Third Estate (who declared themselves the National Assembly), swearing not to disband until they had written a new constitution for France.

National Assembly

A revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate of the Estates General from June to July 1789.

Bastille

A medieval fortress and prison in Paris that was stormed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789, marking a flashpoint of the French Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

A fundamental document of the French Revolution, adopted in August 1789 by the National Assembly, setting out individual and collective rights.

Paris Commune

The municipal government of Paris that took power in 1789 and later became a radical insurrectionary government during the revolution.

Girondins

A moderate political faction during the French Revolution that campaigned for the end of the monarchy but resisted the intense radicalism of the Jacobins.

Jacobites / Jacobins

While historically "Jacobites" refers to supporters of the exiled Stuart kings of England/Scotland, in the context of the French Revolution this typically means Jacobins, the radical political club that led the Reign of Terror under Robespierre.

National Convention-France

The elected assembly that governed France from September 1792 to October 1795, during the most critical period of the French Revolution, which abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

Electors

Individuals chosen by voters to select representatives or officials in a governmental system.

Coup d'état

A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government, such as Napoleon's overthrow of the Directory in 1799.

Guillotine

An apparatus designed for efficiently executing people by decapitation, famously used during the French Revolution.

Reign of Terror

A period of violence (1793–1794) following the creation of the First French Republic, marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution" led by Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety.

de-Christianization

A campaign during the French Revolution to eliminate Christian practices, institutions, and symbols from French society.

The Directory

A five-member committee that governed France from 1795 until it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799.

Consulate

The top government of France from the fall of the Directory in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804, headed by Napoleon as First Consul.

Nationalism

A political, social, and economic ideology characterized by the promotion of the interests of a particular nation, particularly to gain and maintain sovereignty.

Napoleonic Code

The French civil code established under Napoleon I in 1804, emphasizing the rule of law, religious tolerance, and abolishing feudalism, which heavily influenced civil law worldwide.

Trafalgar

A major naval battle fought in October 1805, in which the British Royal Navy decisively defeated the combined fleets of the French and Spanish navies.

Continental System

A foreign policy enacted by Napoleon against the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars, aiming to paralyze Great Britain through a large-scale embargo.

The Grand Army (Grande Armée)

The formidable army commanded by Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.

Conservatism

A political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization, which gained momentum in post-Napoleonic Europe (e.g., at the Congress of Vienna).

Intervention

The interference by a state or states in the affairs of another nation, often used by European powers to suppress revolutionary movements in the 19th century.

Liberalism

A political and moral philosophy based on liberty, consent of the governed, and equality before the law.

Elba

A Mediterranean island off the coast of Tuscany to which Napoleon was first exiled in 1814 after his abdication.

St. Helena

A remote volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean where Napoleon was exiled for a second time from 1815 until his death in 1821.

Waterloo

The site in Belgium where Napoleon was finally defeated by a coalition of British and Prussian forces led by the Duke of Wellington in June 1815.

Congress of Vienna

An international conference held from 1814 to 1815 to reorganize Europe following the Napoleonic Wars and restore a balance of power.

Civil liberties

Basic rights and freedoms guaranteed to individuals by law, such as freedom of speech, press, and religion.

Copernicus

A Polish astronomer who formulated the heliocentric model, placing the Sun at the center of the universe.

Galileo

An Italian astronomer and physicist who used the telescope to support heliocentrism and advanced the study of motion.

Isaac Newton

An English mathematician and physicist who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

Montesquieu

A French political philosopher who championed the separation of powers to safeguard political liberty.

John Locke

An English philosopher whose theories on natural rights and the social contract shaped modern democratic ideals.

Rousseau

A Genevan philosopher whose concepts of popular sovereignty and the social contract heavily influenced the French Revolution.

Wollstonecraft

An English writer and early feminist philosopher who argued for women's educational and political equality.

Adam Smith

A Scottish economist often called the father of modern capitalism, known for advocating free markets and the division of labor.

Johannes Kepler

A German mathematician and astronomer who discovered the laws of planetary motion.

Robert Boyle

An Anglo-Irish natural philosopher considered a pioneer of modern chemistry, known for establishing the relationship between gas pressure and volume.

René Descartes

A French philosopher and mathematician who founded modern rationalism and coordinate geometry.

Voltaire

A prominent French Enlightenment writer who vigorously defended civil liberties, free speech, and religious tolerance.

Frederick II-Prussia

Also known as Frederick the Great, he was an enlightened absolute monarch who modernized Prussia's military and state administration.

Catherine the Great-Russia

Empress of Russia who expanded her empire's territory and engaged with Enlightenment ideas while maintaining autocratic rule.

Joseph II-Austria

An enlightened Holy Roman Emperor who instituted sweeping reforms, including the abolition of serfdom and the expansion of religious tolerance.

Thomas Paine

An Anglo-American pamphleteer whose influential work Common Sense galvanized support for American independence.

Thomas Jefferson

An American Founding Father who drafted the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third U.S. President.

King Louis XVI

The last monarch of France before the revolution, overthrown and executed by guillotine during the radical phase of the revolution.

Marie Antoinette

The Queen of France whose perceived extravagance made her a target of revolutionary anger; she was executed in 1793.

Robespierre

A radical Jacobin leader who headed the Committee of Public Safety and orchestrated the Reign of Terror.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A French military commander and emperor who expanded French dominance across Europe and instituted the Napoleonic Code.

King Louis XVIII

The Bourbon monarch restored to the French throne following Napoleon's final defeat.

Metternich

An Austrian statesman who orchestrated the Congress of Vienna and led the conservative effort to maintain the European balance of power.