history of the modern world test

King Philip II of Spain

Dedicated his reign to defending Catholicism across Europe.

Spanish Golden Age Wealth

Primary source was silver and gold from New World colonies (or American colonies).

Causes of the Dutch Revolt

High taxes imposed by Spain and Spanish suppression of Protestantism.

17th-Century Dutch Republic

Governed as a merchant-led republic that practiced religious tolerance.

Elizabethan Settlement

Established a moderate Protestant church to avoid religious warfare in England.

Queen Elizabeth I's foreign policy

Angered Philip II by providing secret support to Dutch Protestant rebels.

Spanish Armada Goal (1588)

Launched by Philip II to overthrow Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism in England.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Caused by a combination of maneuverable English ships and severe storms.

Huguenots

French Protestants.

King Henry IV's famous quote

"Paris is well worth a mass" (said upon converting to Catholicism to claim the throne).

Edict of Nantes (1598)

Granted religious tolerance and legal rights to the Huguenots.

Divine Right of Kings

Political theory stating that a monarch’s authority comes directly from God.

King Louis XIV

Absolute French monarch famously known as the "Sun King."

Palace of Versailles

Used by Louis XIV to control nobility by forcing them to live at court, keeping them distracted from plotting rebellions.

Structure of the Holy Roman Empire

A loose confederation of semi-independent states (German kingdoms, duchies, free cities).

Defenestration of Prague (1618)

Protestant nobles threw Catholic imperial officials out of a window in Prague, triggering the Thirty Years' War.

Evolution of the Thirty Years' War

Shifted from a religious war into a political effort to curb the power of the Catholic Habsburgs family (Catholic France joined Protestants against Habsburgs).

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Established the principle of national sovereignty, granted official Dutch independence, and ended major European religious wars.

As a result of the Peace of Westphalia

The Netherlands (or Dutch Republic) gained official independence from Spain.

Primary Role of English Parliament

Approving taxes and passing laws.

English Civil War (1642–1651)

Conflict fought between King Charles I (advocating absolute power) and Parliament over taxation and authority.

Outcome of English Civil War

Execution of Charles I and a brief Commonwealth rule under Oliver Cromwell.

King James II

Removed from power primarily because he promoted the religion of Catholicism and appointed Catholic officials.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

The bloodless transfer of power; Parliament invited William and Mary of Orange to replace James II.

English Bill of Rights (1689)

Established a constitutional monarchy, placing strict legal limits on royal power.

Prohibitions of English Bill of Rights

Monarch could no longer suspend laws, levy taxes, or raise a peacetime army without consent of Parliament.

Absolute Monarchy

Ultimate political power is held by the monarch alone (e.g., France under Louis XIV based on Divine Right).

Constitutional Monarchy

Royal power is limited by laws, charters, and an elected parliament (e.g., England post-1689).

Natural Rights (John Locke)

According to Locke, all humans possess natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

Social Contract Theory (Locke)

States that a government's power comes from the consent of the governed; citizens can alter/overthrow unjust rule.

17th-Century European Political Divergence

France became absolute, while England became constitutional.

Protestant Europe (Geography)

Great Britain (Anglican), Dutch Republic / Netherlands (Calvinist), Northern German states (Lutheran).

Catholic Europe (Geography)

Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal.

Philip II (Detailed Role)

Catholic monarch who sought to spread Catholicism and counter Protestantism.

Henry IV (Detailed Role)

Originally Protestant (Huguenot), converted to Catholicism to unite France; issued Edict of Nantes (1598).

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

Established "cuius regio, eius religio" ("whose realm, his religion"), allowing princes to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism.

National Sovereignty Definition

Granted rulers complete supreme authority over their own territory without foreign interference.

Modern European State System

Established by the Peace of Westphalia (1648), ending major religious wars.

Scientific Revolution Shift

Shifted worldview away from religious texts/ancient Greeks (Aristotle, Ptolemy) toward empirical observation, math, and experimentation.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Proposed the Heliocentric Model (Sun at the center of the solar system).

Galileo Galilei

Improved the telescope, observed Jupiter's moons/craters, supported heliocentrism, tried by Inquisition in 1633.

Francis Bacon

Developed empiricism and championed the modern Scientific Method through inductive reasoning.

René Descartes

Focused on mathematical logic and rationalism ("Cogito, ergo sum" — "I think, therefore I am").

Isaac Newton

Published Principia Mathematica, detailing laws of motion and universal gravity.

Age of Enlightenment Core Belief

Emphasized using reason, logic, and scientific methods to improve human society, law, and government.

Baron de Montesquieu

Proposed Separation of Powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny.

Voltaire

Championed freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and religious tolerance.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Believed legitimate government must be guided by the general will of the people.

Adam Smith

Wrote The Wealth of Nations; promoted free-market capitalism, supply/demand, and laissez-faire economics without government interference.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; advocated for equal educational opportunities for women.

Cesare Beccaria

Demanded judicial reform; argued against judicial torture and cruel or unusual punishments.

Salons

Social gatherings hosted primarily by wealthy women to debate Enlightenment ideas.

Diderot's Encyclopédie

A massive collection of articles spreading Enlightenment philosophy throughout Europe.

Heliocentric vs. Geocentric

Heliocentric = Sun at center; Geocentric = Earth at center (Ptolemy/Aristotle).

Mercantilism vs. Free-Market Capitalism

Mercantilism = state control of trade and gold bullion; Free-Market = laissez-faire, supply/demand (Adam Smith).

Absolute Monarchy vs. Constitutional Monarchy

Absolute = unchecked monarch authority via Divine Right; Constitutional = royal power limited by laws and Parliament.

Divine Right vs. Social Contract

Divine Right = power from God to King; Social Contract = power from Consent of the Governed to Government.

Ireland, Dublin

Great Britain, London

Netherlands, Amsterdam

Germany, Berlin

France, Paris

Spain, Madrid

Portugal, Lisbon

Switzerland, Bern

Italy, Rome, Milan

Austria, Vienna

Ukraine, Kyiv

Russia, Moscow

Turkey, Istanbul

Hungary, Budapest