AP Euro Mega Vocab Notes

evangelized

The act of preaching a religious belief in hopes of winning converts.

lucrative

something that is profitable or valuable

caravel

Revolutionary Portuguese designed sailing ship capable of handling the dangers of ocean voyages. The vessels utilized three triangular sails, a rudder, and a rounded hull.

backstaff / astrolabe / sextant

Each are tools used by navigators to track speed and location using the sun, moon, stars, and the horizon.

portolani

Term for ancient, medieval maps used by early explorers in the 1300's and 1400's. They were highly inaccurate.

Cape of Good Hope

The strategic passage of water at the bottom of the African continent, marked by stormy seas caused by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Malacca

An old name for the islands of Indonesia coveted for their spices and strategic location.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement negotiated by Pope Alexander VI that split the unknown world between Spain and Portugal.

circumnavigate

The act of sailing around the world.

conquistadors

Spanish term for the soldiers who brutally conquered the New World native population in the 1500's.

encomienda

These were large land grants from the Spanish king to Spanish soldiers serving in the New World. They were given the right to demand labor from Native Americans living there.

Middle Passage

Term for the horrific journey of the captive African slaves across the Atlantic to the slave markets of the New World. Millions did not survive the voyages.

Mestizos

A mixed race people of European and Native American blood.

Mulattos

A mixed race people of European and African blood.

demographic

The study of people and population.

Columbian Exchange

Term for the back-and-forth, give-and-take relationship between Europe and the New World. It was marked by the movement of people, crops, and goods between both hemispheres.

Price Revolution

Term for an economic upheaval that struck Spain and then all of Europe in the 1500's and 1600's. It was marked by inflation that drove up prices.

barter

The economic system where goods are traded for other goods without the use of currency.

Global Economy

Term for the beginnings of an intertwined worldwide economy that linked the four corners of the world through the exchange of goods.

Triangle Trade

Term for the economic relationship between Europe, Africa, and the New World.

coffee houses

Businesses that emerged in European cities selling coffee, sugar, and tobacco products imported from the New World. They are good examples of the global economy.

commercial capitalism

An early form of trade that focused on the movement of goods from a place where had low value to a place where these same goods could be sold for more. It is a forerunner of free-trade.

joint-stock corporations

A business model that was based on shared risk and shared reward. Shares (a portion of ownership) were sold to investors who owned a share in the entire business.

British East Indies Company

First chartered by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, the company came to dominate trade in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore) and Qing China. At its peak, it accounted for 50% of all world trade.

Dutch East Indies Company

First chartered in 1602, this company is considered the world's first multinational conglomerate. It built ships, and transported goods such as Java coffee, Taiwanese sugar, Indian tea and cotton, and South African wines.

Fuggers

A powerful and wealthy family that dominated the banking industry in Northern Europe, especially Germany.

import

A good that is brought into a country from a foreign source.

domestic

Of, or pertaining to one's own country.

free-trade

A system of economics that rejected the theory of mercantilism. The idea is to put as few barriers to trade as possible. The system rejects all tariffs.

disce aut discede

Latin term that means "learn or leave"

Black Death

A bacterial disease that devastated many areas of the world. It's arrival in Europe in 1348 led to the death of millions and a profound change in society.

Bubonic Plague

a synonym for the Black Death

Constantinople

A city first established by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 300 CE. It was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and later the Ottoman Empire.

urban

of or pertaining to cities

rural

of or pertaining to the countryside

flagellants

an extremist Catholic religious movement that believed that physical punishment of the flesh (whipping) could attone for the sins of man. They believed that the plague was a punishment from God.

ghetto

originally is referred to a specific section of a European city where Jews were allowed to reside. It was often walled off from Christian areas.

pogrom

term for periodic violent attacks on the Jewish population. They were especially prominent in Eastern Europe (Russia).

anti-semitism

the hatred of the Jewish population

first-hand

something directly witnessed or experienced by the person relating it.

second-hand

something explained by someone who did not directly witness or experience it.

Florentine

of or pertaining to the city of Florence

Siege

A military tactic where an enemy is completely surrounded and starved into submission.

antiquity

Of, or pertaining to anything ancient, or to a period of ancient history.

Middle Ages

The European historical era following the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance (1400's).

Medieval

A synonym for the Middle Ages.

Transcribe

The action of copying by hand something written.

Literate

The ability to read.

Illiterate

Lacking the ability to read.

Classical

Of, or pertaining to ancient Greece and/or ancient Rome.

Italian Renaissance

A distinct period in the 1400's and 1500's in which there was a renewed interest in culture, art, and learning.

papal/papacy

Of, or pertaining to the office of the Pope of the Catholic Church.

lion's share

An expression that means the biggest and best portion of something.

Doge

The title held by the man elected as ruling prince of the city of Venice.

Medici

A powerful, wealthy family that dominated the politics of the city of Florence for much of the Renaissance.

humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement that rejected medieval focus on religious causes for all events and looked to Greek and Roman values for inspiration. Humanists emphasized the potential and goodness of man and sought rational ways to solve human problems.

oligarchy

Any government dominated by a few wealthy people.

S'forza

A powerful, wealthy family that dominated the politics of the city of Milan.

mercenary

A soldier who fights for anyone who pays for their services.

patron

Someone who supports the arts or a specific artist.

liberal arts

Courses of study that focus on man and his accomplishments.

skepticism

The philosophical belief that certain knowledge is impossible, to doubt.

theology

study of religion

ethics

The study of moral principles and behavior.

Dark Ages

A synonym for the Middle Ages.

philiology

The study of the historical development and origin of language.

Vatican

An independent state in the heart of the city of Rome that is ruled by the Pope. It is the center of the Catholic Church's governing authority.

Donation of Constantine

A medieval document that was falsely claimed to be a Roman deed that gave the Catholic Church control over much of Western Europe.

universal truths

Values that are common to all humanity, such as honesty and kindness.

"Renaissance Man"

Term coined by Castiglione to refer to the ideal man who can do everything and do it all well.

Civic Humanism

Renaissance intellectual movement that sought to design a more ideal form of government, inspired by classical Greek and Roman models.

political science

The study of different forms of government.

Flanders

An ancient name for a major region of modern Belgium.

Vulgate Bible

The ancient Latin translation of the Bible used by the medieval Catholic Church.

Northern Renaissance

Term for the spread of the Renaissance into Northern and Western Europe, especially Germany and the Netherlands. It was more focused on religious issues than was the Italian Renaissance.

hierarchical

A societal structure that divides people into different ranks from highest to lowest.

clergy

The formal leaders of any given religion. Examples of clergy would be priests, bishops, ministers, rabbis, and imams.

artisans

A type of skilled worker who produces items by hand, such as a tailor, a shoemaker, or a potter.

guild

A medieval trade organization made up of workers from a common industry. The guild controlled the training of new members, the quality of goods produced, and pricing.

rationalize

To attempt to explain or justify an action or belief that other might find offensive.

primogeniture

The ancient law that the first born male in a family inherited all property and titles.

feminist

The movement that seeks to elevate the status and opportunities for females.

perspective

The artistic technique of creating three-dimensional depth on a flat surface.

contrapposto

Artistic technique of showing a human figure with the weight on a single limb.

Gothic

Architectural style associated with the late-Middle Ages and often characterized with pointed arches, flying buttresses, and the use of stained glass windows.

New Monarchs

Historical term for those rulers who came to power in the 1500's and were able to establish stronger control over their nation's than medieval kings ever could.

War of Roses

A civil war in England from 1455 - 1485 fought for control of the throne.

Tudor

The family that controlled the English throne from 1485 - 1603.

usurper

Term refers to someone who seizes power that does not rightfully belong to them.

dynasty

A succession of members of a single family who control or rule a nation.

Moors

A Muslim people of North African origin who conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages and ruled much of the region for centuries.

Iberian Peninsula

Term for the geographic region of southwestern Europe that includes the nations of Portugal and Spain.

centralized

The concentration of authority and control in a single person or place.

Habsburg

The family that ruled over the Holy Roman Empire, Austria, and Spain for many centuries.

Convents

Buildings where Catholic nuns live in common

Monasteries

Buildings where Catholic monks live in common.

Christian Humanism

Renaissance intellectual movement that focused on trying to return the Church to earlier and more authentic practice of the faith.

Advocate

To argue in support of something.

Clergy

The formal leaders of any given religion. Examples of clergy would be priests, bishops, ministers, rabbis, and imams.

Layman

A member of a specific religion who is NOT a part of the clergy.