History and Enlightenment Flashcards (Scientific Revolution & French Revolution)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key figures, concepts, and events from the Scientific Revolution and French Revolution notes.

Galileo Galilei

Italian astronomer who supported the heliocentric theory using the telescope and challenged the Church’s geocentric view.

Heliocentric theory

Astronomical model in which the Sun is at the center of the universe; supported by Copernicus and Galileo.

Geocentric theory

Astronomical model in which Earth is at the center of the universe.

Copernicus

Polish astronomer who proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system.

Isaac Newton

English scientist who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation and helped develop calculus.

Laws of motion

Newton’s three laws describing the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it.

Universal gravitation

Newton’s law describing the attraction between all masses, proportional to their product and inversely to the square of distance.

Calculus

Mathematical method developed independently by Newton and Leibniz to study change and motion.

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier

Father of modern chemistry; named oxygen and hydrogen.

Oxygen

Gas element named by Lavoisier; essential for respiration and combustion.

Hydrogen

Lightest chemical element named by Lavoisier; component of water.

Francis Bacon

Philosopher who promoted the scientific method and empirical experimentation.

Scientific Method

Systematic process of observation, hypothesis formation, and experimentation to test ideas.

Observation

Careful noting of phenomena used as the starting point of the scientific method.

Hypothesis

Educated guess or proposed explanation tested by experiments.

John Locke

Philosopher who argued for natural rights such as life, liberty, and property.

Natural rights

Basic rights inherent to all humans, including life, liberty, and property.

Denis Diderot

Philosopher who edited the Encyclopédie to spread Enlightenment ideas.

Encyclopédie

Comprehensive Enlightenment encyclopedia edited by Diderot and d’Alembert.

William Harvey

Physician who described the circulation of blood through the heart.

Circulation of the blood

Movement of blood through the heart and vessels; central to physiology.

Andreas Vesalius

Anatomist who studied the human body and wrote Fabric of the Human Body.

Fabric of the Human Body

Influential anatomy text by Vesalius.

Robert Boyle

Founder of Modern Chemistry; formulated Boyle’s law on gases.

Boyle’s Law

Gas law stating that pressure and volume are inversely related at constant temperature.

First Estate

Clergy; privileged estate in prerevolutionary France.

Second Estate

Nobility; privileged estate in prerevolutionary France.

Third Estate

Commoners; paid most taxes and bore the burden of taxation in prerevolutionary France.

Estates-General

French representative assembly of the three estates; called in times of crisis.

Bastille

Parisian fortress-prison stormed on July 14, 1789; symbol of royal tyranny.

Reign of Terror

Period of mass executions during the French Revolution led by Robespierre.

National Convention

Radical French government that abolished the monarchy.

Olympe de Gouges

Author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen; executed.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Foundational revolutionary document proclaiming equality and rights for citizens.

The Directory

Post–Reign of Terror executive body governing France; often corrupt.

Jacobins

Radical revolutionary club; led by Robespierre.

The Mountain

Most radical faction of the Jacobins supporting the execution of the king.

Napoleonic Code

Napoleon’s civil code establishing equality before the law and a uniform legal system.

Guillotine

Execution device widely used during the French Revolution and symbol of the era.

Storming of the Bastille

July 14, 1789 event that symbolically began the French Revolution.

Continental System

Napoleon’s blockade aiming to weaken Britain by banning European trade with Britain.

Congress of Vienna

1815 meeting led by Metternich to restore order and balance of power after Napoleon.

Metternich

Austrian statesman who led the Congress of Vienna and favored balance of power.

Nationalism

Idea of pride and loyalty to one’s nation; grew during and after the French Revolution.

Cahiers

Grievance lists prepared by the Estates during the Estates-General.