History 121 - Short Identification Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards identifying key terms, definitions, and historical significance across African history and the Atlantic slave trade, political ideas of the French Revolution, and industrialization and global economic change.

Timbuktu

A major trading city in West Africa, located in present-day Mali. It became a center of trans-Saharan trade, Islamic scholarship, and education, with its wealth and libraries demonstrating the importance of African trade and learning prior to European colonization.

Chiefdom

A political system in which a chief leads a community or group of communities. Chiefdoms organized leadership, trade, and social relationships in many African societies before and during European contact.

Sundiata Keita

The founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa during the 13th century. He united groups and established a powerful empire that benefited from gold and trans-Saharan trade.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The forced transportation and sale of millions of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean, primarily to the Americas. It supplied enslaved labor to colonial plantations and generated wealth for European empires while devastating African communities and families.

Middle Passage

The brutal ocean voyage that transported enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas as a central part of the Atlantic slave trade, during which enslaved people endured overcrowding, disease, violence, and death.

Republic

A form of government in which the country is not ruled by a monarch and political authority is understood to come from the people or their representatives. It challenged hereditary monarchy and spread through both the American and French Revolutions.

Faction

A group within a larger political movement that has its own interests or goals. During the French Revolution, rival factions fought over how the country should be governed, contributing to political conflict and instability.

Federation

A political system in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments. Federalism became an important way to balance national and regional authority in large states, including the United States.

Conservatism

A political ideology that emphasizes preserving established traditions, institutions, and social order. After the French Revolution, conservatives often opposed radical revolutionary changes and sought to restore political stability and traditional authority.

General Will

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea of the collective interest of the people as a whole. It influenced revolutionary ideas regarding popular sovereignty and the principle that legitimate government should serve the common good rather than a monarch's personal interests.

Reign of Terror

A period during the French Revolution (1793–1794) when revolutionary leaders executed or imprisoned individuals considered enemies of the Revolution. Thousands were executed, including by guillotine, demonstrating how revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality could become associated with political violence.

Industrial Revolution

The transition from hand production and agricultural economies to machine production and factory-based industry, beginning in Britain in the 18th century. It transformed economies, labor, cities, and technology while increasing production and contributing to pollution, harsh working conditions, and inequality.

Outwork

A production system (also called the putting-out system) in which workers make goods at home or in small workshops for merchants who supply materials and pay them, allowing merchants to organize production before factories became widespread.

Stock Market

A marketplace where shares of companies are bought and sold. It helped businesses raise money for expansion and connected investors to commercial and industrial growth.

Cartel

An agreement among competing businesses to control prices, production, or markets. Cartels reduced competition and allowed businesses to increase profits, becoming important in the development of modern industrial capitalism.

Opium War

Two conflicts between China and Western powers—the First Opium War (1839–1842) and the Second Opium War (1856–1860). Britain and other powers forced China to open ports and grant foreign privileges, weakening Chinese sovereignty and expanding Western influence.

Taiping Rebellion

A massive civil war in China from 1850 to 1864 led by Hong Xiuquan and his movement. The rebellion challenged the Qing dynasty, caused millions of deaths and enormous destruction, and severely weakened the Chinese government.

Interchangeability of Parts

The use of standardized parts that can be substituted for one another when assembling or repairing products.