Finals

Absolutism (Absolute Monarchy)

Ruler with complete authority over the government and lives of the people he or she governs. No parliament to check royal power.

The Bourbon Dynasty

Dynasty in France started by the reign of King Henry IV

Intendants

French government agents who collected taxes and administered justice. Usually from the Middle Class or Nobles of the Robe.

Nobles of the Robe

French nobles whose nobility was either acquired by serving in the bureaucracy or had purchased them. The new nobility.

Nobles of the Sword

French nobles descended from the original medieval nobility. The old nobility, and the most troublesome for the monarchy.

Louis XIV

(r. 1643-1715) Known as the Sun King, he was an absolute monarch that completely controlled France. One of his greatest accomplishments was the building of the palace at Versailles. Also prone to fighting wars for no good reason.

The Fronde

(1648-1653) A French rebellion that was caused by Mazarin's attempt to increase royal revenue and expand state bureaucracy. A tax revolt, but led by nobles.

How did Louis XIV deal with his nobility?

He encouraged them to live at Versailles and take part in his royal court, living lives of pageants and parties. He corrupted them into chasing fashion while not allowing them a role in politics (nobles of the sword).

Personal rule

Louis ruled directly without a chief minister.

L'etat c'est moi

"I am the State" -Louis XIV. A reference to his personal rule.

Bishop Bossuet (1627-1704)

A Catholic bishop tied to the royal family, and a principle advocate of "divine right of kings" in France during the reign of Louis XIV.

"One king, one law, one faith."

Louis statement on religion. He revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and used the state to persecute the Huguenots. Most of them left France.

Jean Baptiste Colbert

French Finance Minister for Louis XIV; he supported mercantilism and tried to make France economically self-sufficient. He also increased tax revenues. He couldn't keep up with Louis' spending.

War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713)

A war fought over the Spanish throne. Louis XIV wanted it for his grandson and fought a war against the Dutch, English, and the Holy Roman Empire to gain the throne for France. The Peace of Utrecht ended the war.

The Peace of Utrecht (1713)

The pact concluding the War of the Spanish Succession, forbidding the union of France with Spain, and conferring control of Gibraltar on England. But Louis' grandson Philip did get Spain, starting a Spanish Bourbon dynasty that still reigns there.

Brandenburg-Prussia

Group of German territories, ruled by the Hohenzollern family, that became one of Europe's most powerful states in the seventeenth century. Later known just as Prussia. It will be the core of the future Germany.

The Hohenzollern Dynasty

Ruling family of Prussia, and later Germany

Junkers

The Prussian nobility, who often served the state in government offices and as military officers.

Muscovy

Russian principality that emerged gradually during the era of Mongol domination. Later it was the core of Russia.

Boyars

The old Russian landed nobility

The Romanov Dynasty

Dynasty elected in 1613 at end of Time of Troubles; ruled Russia until 1917

The Serf Code of 1649

It increased the control nobles had over serfs in Russia. Most Russian peasants were serfs, unlike in Western Europe.

Old Believers

Russians who refused to accept the ecclesiastical reforms of Alexis Romanov (17th century); many were exiled to Siberia or southern Russia, where they became part of Russian colonization.

Peter I (the Great)

Tsar from 1689 to 1725; continued growth of absolutism and the expansion of Russia; he sought to change selected aspects of the economy and culture through imitation of western European models.

The Window on the West

Peter the Great's city of St Petersburg with a port easily accessible to Europe through the Baltic Sea. It became Russia's capital until the Russian Revolution.

The Table of Ranks

Created by Peter, the table tied noble rank to state service. It is similar to the Nobles of the Robe concept in France, but not based on the middle class.

The Beard Tax

A tax on those men in Russian who wore beards by Peter the Great as a method of Westernizing Russia. Those who had beards were required to carry a token stating that they had paid their beard tax.

The Polish Anarchy

The chaos in Poland-Lithuania caused by the lack of a strong central government. The main cause was nobles jealous of their rights, and an elected monarchy.

The Dutch Golden Age

A period of Dutch History (1600s ) in which The Dutch Republic dominated world trade and used that wealth to become the world's center for arts and sciences.

The Stuart Dynasty

After Queen Elizabeth Tudor's death in 1603, the Stuart line of kings began with James I, who was also King James VI of Scotland. The two kingdoms were not politically unified until the early 1700s.

Causes of the English Civil War

Primarily arguments over religion (Anglican Church versus Puritans/Calvinists) and over the powers and rights of Parliament.

Charles I of England

1600-1649; King of England 1625-1649; numerous conflicts with Parliament; fought wars with France, Spain, and Scotland; eventually provoked Civil War, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1649.

Puritans

A religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England of its "Catholic" elements such as royally appointed bishops, the Book of Common Prayer, and required tithes. They were the core of the forces supporting Parliament against King Charles I.

The Petition of Right (1628)

A document drawn up by Parliament's House of Commons listing grievances against King Charles I and extending Parliament's powers while limiting the king's. It gave Parliament authority over taxation, declared that free citizens could not be arrested without cause, declared that soldiers could not be quartered in private homes without compensation, and said that martial law cannot be declared during peacetime. Signed by the king, who then violated it.

Ships money tax

A tax on parts of England to support the navy, imposed on all of England by Charles I. Opposed by some members of Parliament as an illegal tax.

Bicameral

A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses. In England, the Parliament was divided into a House of Lords and a House of Commons.

Habeas Corpus

The requirement that a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention. A basic right under English law that Charles I was accused of violating.

The English Civil War

A conflict, lasting from 1642 to 1649, in which Puritan supporters of Parliament battled supporters of England's monarchy

Royalists (Cavaliers)

The people who supported the King during the English Civil War

Parliamentarians (Roundheads)

The people who supported the English Parliament during the English Civil War

The Levellers

Disgruntled soldiers in Cromwell's New Model Army who wanted to "level" social differences and extend political participation to all male property owners.

Oliver Cromwell

English general and statesman who led the parliamentary army in the English Civil War. He later served as Lord Protector of England, essentially a military dictator.

Instrument of Government (1653)

Established the Protectorate and resulted in Cromwell's designation as Lord Protector. England's only written constitution, which made it a Republic.

Charles II

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1660-1685) who reigned during the Restoration, a period of expanding trade and colonization. But he had no legitimate children.

The Exclusion Crisis

Was a period between 1679 and 1681 where the Whigs tried to exclude James II from succeeding to the throne because he had converted to Catholicism.

Tories

English leaders who James succeeding to the throne, and generally supported a strong monarchy. They eventually became the Conservative Party.

Whigs

In the Exclusion Crisis, they tried to exclude James II and generally worked to limit the monarchy. They evolved into a pro-Parliament political party.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

The bloodless coup in 1688 in England when James II (a Catholic) gave up the throne and his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange (of the Netherlands) - both Protestants - replaced James II to reign jointly. No Catholic monarch has reigned in England since.

The English Bill of Rights

King William and Queen Mary accepted this document in 1689. It guaranteed certain rights to English citizens and declared that elections for Parliament would happen frequently. By accepting this document, they supported a limited monarchy, a system in which they shared their power with Parliament and the people.

William and Mary

King and Queen of England in 1688. With them, King James' Catholic reign ended. They were Protestant and willing to work with Parliament.

Thomas Hobbes

Author of Leviathan (1651). English political philosopher and scientist who advocated absolute sovereignty as the only kind of government that could resolve problems caused by the selfishness of human beings. But he didn't use divine right to justify the power of the ruler.

The State of Nature

An invention of Thomas Hobbes, it is a theoretical time of people living without man-made government, rules, or laws. Hobbes saw it as awful (war of every man against every man), while John Locke thought it was okay (humans were rational).

Social Contract

A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules. Basically government's right to rule comes from the consent of the people. Hobbes and Locke both saw this as the basis and beginning of government, as opposed to divine right.

John Locke

17th century English philosopher who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who asserted that people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property. He supported the Whigs in the Glorious Revolution, and he wanted a limited, constitutional government. He's very important in the history of American political thought.

Natural Rights

The idea that all humans are born with rights which, according to Locke, include the right to life, liberty, and property. A very important political theory that became more common after the Glorious Revolution.

Skepticism

A philosophy which suggests that nothing can ever be known for certain. It demands testable proof of knowledge. Don't confuse it with cynicism.

Secularism

A doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations in areas such as government and science.

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)

French Renaissance writer who developed the essay as a literary genre. He was also known his skeptical attitude and willingness to look at all sides of an issue.

Aristotle

The Greek Philosopher who was held to be essentially infallible by medieval scholars. His ideas had to be overcome for the Scientific Revolution to happen.

Ptolemy

A Greco-Roman scholar whose ideas on astronomy dominated until the Scientific Revolution. Some of his ideas were good, but he was wrong on geocentrism.

Geocentric Theory

The outlook that the earth was the center of the universe and every thing rotated around it.

Nicholas Copernicus

A Polish astronomer/astrologer who first postulated the Sun was the center of the universe (heliocentrism) in his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543). He was wrong, but less wrong than those supporting geocentrism.

Heliocentric Theory

The idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. Note this is still not correct, but it is less wrong than geocentric theory.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

Began his career as an assistant to the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Formulated three laws of planetary motion. Proved that planetary orbits are elliptical rather than circular. Note the application of complex math to astronomy (very scientific).

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher who worked out more laws of motion. He supported the Heliocentric Theory in his book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632). He was tried by the Inquisition and forced to recant his views.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and scientist- invented differential calculus and formulated the theory of universal gravitation, a theory about the nature of light, and three laws of motion. Author of Principia Mathematica (1687), which laid out his major ideas.

Universal Natural Laws

The scientific idea that the laws by which all objects in the universe and all interactions among these objects are governed is universal, that same everywhere and throughout time. No miracles!

The Clockwork Universe

For Isaac Newton, the universe is a vast machine that runs according to testable natural laws without requiring constant divine intervention. Reduces the role of God to creator and then bystander. Again, no miracles!

Inductive Reasoning

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations. Begin with evidence, then develop a theory.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

English politician and writer who formalized the empirical method into a general theory of inductive reasoning known as empiricism in his book Novum Organum (1620). The basis of the modern Scientific Method.

Empiricism

The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation. Very evidence based.

Star fortress or Italian trace

Fortresses designed very mathematically and scientifically to deflect cannon balls. An example of the application of early science to warfare.

Deductive reasoning

Reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.) Begin with theory, then look for evidence. Championed by Rene Descartes.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

French philosopher and mathematician who used deductive reasoning from self-evident principles to reach scientific laws. "I think therefore I am" was his first postulate in his book Discourse on Method (1637).

The Royal Society

An honorary English society (given a Royal Charter by Charles II in 1662) that supported and spread scientific research. It included most of the famous British scientists through history. An example of the British government supporting science.

The French Academy of Sciences

Similar to the Royal Society, patronized by Louis XIV starting in 1666.

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)

Wrote one of the most influential human anatomy books (De Humani Corporis Fabrica) and was considered the father of modern human anatomy.

William Harvey (1578-1657)

He discovered the circulation of blood through veins and arteries in 1628, and he was the first to explain that the heart worked like a pump. He also explained the function of its muscles and valves.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691)

Was a philosopher, physicist, chemist, and inventor. He is best know for Boyles Law which describes the inversely proportional relationship between pressure and volume of gas. His book The Skeptical Chemist helped to found modern chemistry, and proposed the idea of matter being made up of discrete elements.

The Enlightenment

A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions. Another term for the 18th century in Europe.

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights. He also supported the empiricist view that all knowledge came from experience.

Tabula rasa

John Locke's concept of the mind as a blank sheet ultimately bombarded by sense impressions that, aided by human reasoning, formulate ideas. All knowledge comes from experience. No one is born with innate knowledge or can really "know" things through pure reason. The foundational idea of public education.

Salons

Informal social gatherings at which writers, artists, philosophes, and others exchanged ideas. Usually organized by wealthy women, and a major way Enlightenment ideas spread.

The Republic of Letters

A phrase describing the phenomenon of increased correspondence in the form of letters exchanged between the influential philosophers and other thinkers during the Age of Enlightenment. The letters were often published in newspapers.

Newspapers

Printed products created on a regular (weekly or daily) basis and released in multiple copies They became an important means of spreading ideas and news during the Enlightenment.

Philosophes

Writers during the Enlightenment and who popularized the new ideas of the time. It's a French word for philosopher, but they weren't really philosophers.

Deism

A popular Enlightenment era belief that there is a God, but that God isn't involved in people's lives or in revealing truths to prophets. The idea comes from the observation of nature, not revelation (as in the bible).

First Great Awakening, 1730s-1760s

Evangelical religious revival that swept through Brtain and Britain's North American colonies. The Great Awakening strengthened beliefs in religious freedom and challenged the status of established churches.

Methodism

A Protestant Christian church founded by John Wesley. It emphasized an intense personal salvation and a life of thrift, abstinence, and hard work. An example of the continuing importance of religion in Enlightenment era society.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

A French philosophe and author of essays, letters, plays and stories that were widely read. He championed the enlightened principles of reason, progress, toleration, and individual liberty.

The Jean Calas case (1761)

Calas was a Huguenot tortured to death for allegedly killing his son. Voltaire took up his case and saw Calas exonerated. This was when Voltaire starting signing letters with "ecrasez l'infame" ("crush the infamous thing") meaning religious bigotry and superstition.

Candide

A novel by Voltaire that uses fiction as a method of critiquing society. It centered on the real Lisbon earthquake and the questionable response by European society.

Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

A French aristocrat who wanted to limit royal absolutism; he wrote The Spirit of Laws, urging that power be separated between executive, legislative, and judicial branches, each balancing out the others, thus preventing despotism and preserving freedom. This greatly influenced writers of the US Constitution. He greatly admired British form of government.

Cesare Beccaria

The Italian author of On Crimes and Punishment. He attacked both torture and capital punishment. He believed criminal justice should ensure speedy trial and sure punishment which was intended to deter further crime. Law was to secure the greatest good for the greatest number of human beings.

Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

Editor of the Encyclopedia, 28 volume set of collected knowledge of the era, which applied principles of the Scientific Revolution to society and human institutions; patronized by Catherine the Great of Russia when it was censored in France.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A Swiss-French author who believed that human beings are naturally good & free & can rely on their instincts. He did not trust reason. He thought government should exist to protect common good through what he called the "General Will."

General Will

According to Rousseau the general will is sacred and absolute, reacting the common interests of the people who have displaced the monarch as the holder of ultimate power. Based on social contract theory and laid out in his book The Social Contract (1762).

Emile (1762)

A novel Rosseau used to express his ideas about raising children and their education. Also shows his chauvinistic side, because he says that women should not learn about anything beyond the needs of the household and making men happy.

Separate Spheres

A gender division of labor with the wife at home as mother and homemaker and the husband as wage earner. Popularized by Rousseau.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

The British writer, philosopher, and proto-feminist who wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman". She argued that women are not naturally inferior to men, especially in intellect, and that women should be educated too.