AP World Unit 5 Vocab

Mfecane

A series of wars and forced migrations in southern Africa during the early 1800s, caused by conflicts over land and power among African groups.

Popular sovereignty

The Enlightenment idea that the authority of a government comes from the consent of the people it governs, not from divine right or hereditary rule.

John Locke

A 17th-century English Enlightenment philosopher who argued that all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. His ideas greatly influenced democratic revolutions, especially in America and France.

Social contract

The Enlightenment concept that governments exist based on an agreement between rulers and the people: citizens give up some freedoms in exchange for protection of their natural rights. If a government fails to do this, citizens have the right to rebel.

American Revolution

Successful rebellion against British rule conducted by the European settlers in the thirteen colonies of British North America; a conservative revolution whose success preserved property rights and class distinctions but established republican government in place of monarchy.

Declaration of Independence

A 1776 document written by Thomas Jefferson announcing the American colonies’ separation from Britain. It justified the revolution by listing grievances against King George III and declaring all men have equal rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791. They guarantee individual rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and due process, reflecting Enlightenment ideas about protecting citizens from government abuse.

Estate System

The rigid social hierarchy in pre-revolutionary France, divided into three estates: the clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and commoners (Third Estate). Inequality within this system fueled resentment leading to the French Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Charter of political liberties, drawn up by the French National Assembly, that proclaimed the equal rights of all male citizens; the declaration gave expression to the essential outlook of the French Revolution and became the preamble to the French constitution

Louis XVI

The King of France (1774–1792) whose poor leadership and financial mismanagement contributed to the French Revolution. He was executed by guillotine in 1793.

Marie Antoinette

The queen of France and wife of Louis XVI, known for her extravagance and disconnection from the French people’s suffering. She was executed during the French Revolution in 1793.

The Bastille

A medieval fortress and prison in Paris that symbolized royal tyranny. Its storming by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789, marked the start of the French Revolution.

Robespierre

Leader of the French Revolution during the Terror; his Committee of Public Safety executed tens of thousands of enemies of the revolution until he was arrested and guillotined.

Olympe de Gouges

French feminist and writer who authored the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791), calling for gender equality during the French Revolution. She was later executed for her activism.

Women’s March on Versailles

1789 protest where thousands of Parisian women marched to the royal palace at Versailles demanding bread and reforms. They forced the king and queen to return to Paris, symbolizing the power of popular action.

Napoleon Bonaparte

French head of state and general; He preserved much of the French Revolution under a military dictatorship and was responsible for the spread of revolutionary ideals through his conquest of much of Europe.