MUST KNOW TERMS (1648-1815)

Absolute Monarchy

Government where a single ruler holds unrestricted power, often by divine right. Examples: Louis XIV’s Versailles centralization (Edict of Nantes revoked, 1685); Peter the Great’s Table of Ranks (1722).

Nobility

Privileged class with inherited titles and land. Examples: French nobles at Estates-General (1789); Russian boyars under Peter’s Westernization.

Aristocracy

Elite ruling class, often noble. Examples: British lords post-Glorious Revolution (Bill of Rights, 1689); Hapsburg nobility under Maria Theresa.

Enlightened Absolutism

Absolute rule adopting Enlightenment reforms. Examples: Catherine the Great’s Nakaz (1767); Frederick the Great’s serfdom reforms.

Westernization

Adoption of Western European culture and technology. Examples: Peter the Great’s navy (Great Northern War); Catherine importing Voltaire’s works.

Parliament

Legislative body limiting monarchical power. Examples: English Civil War victory (Charles I executed, 1649); Glorious Revolution (1688–1689).

Oligarchy

Rule by a small elite group. Examples: British Whigs post-1688 (Walpole); French parlements pre-1789.

Traditional Rights

Long-standing privileges or customs. Examples: Magna Carta roots (1689 Bill of Rights); French feudal dues abolished (August Decrees, 1789).

Louis XIV’s Dynastic and State Interests

Policies enhancing Bourbon power and France. Examples: War of Spanish Succession (Treaty of Utrecht, 1713); Colbert’s mercantilism (French East India Company).

Enlightened Ideas

Reason, liberty, and progress from the Enlightenment. Examples: Locke’s Two Treatises (1688 influence); Rousseau’s Social Contract (1789 Declaration).

Constitutional Monarchy

Monarchy limited by a constitution. Examples: Britain post-1688 (Bill of Rights); France’s 1791 Constitution (Legislative Assembly).

Nationalism

Collective identity tied to culture or history. Examples: French levée en masse (1793); German resistance (Battle of Leipzig, 1813).

Legal Status of Women

Limited rights under law. Examples: Exclusion from National Assembly (1789–1791); Olympe de Gouges’ Declaration (1791).

Revolutionary Ideas

Radical concepts challenging authority. Examples: Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789); Robespierre’s terror speech (1793).

Emperor

Ruler of an empire, above a king. Examples: Napoleon’s coronation (1804); Hapsburg Leopold II at Westphalia (1648).

Facade

Superficial appearance masking reality. Examples: Versailles under Louis XIV; Napoleon’s Continental System (1812).

New Military Tactics

Innovative warfare strategies. Examples: Napoleon’s corps system (Austerlitz, 1805); Prussian tactics (Seven Years’ War).

Balance of Power

Strategy preventing one state’s dominance. Examples: Peace of Westphalia (1648); Congress of Vienna (1815).

Commercial Revolution

Economic expansion via trade and colonization. Examples: British Navigation Acts (1651); Dutch trade in Amsterdam.

Market Economy

System based on supply and demand. Examples: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776); Britain’s Corn Laws debate.

Mercantilism

Policy maximizing exports and state wealth. Examples: Colbert’s tariffs (1660s); British Sugar Act (1764).

Transatlantic Slave-Labor

Forced labor system for American plantations. Examples: Saint Domingue sugar (Haitian Revolution); British Triangular Trade.

Overseas Products

Colonial goods driving European economies. Examples: Caribbean sugar; Virginia tobacco.

Raw Materials

Unprocessed resources for manufacturing. Examples: Baltic timber (British navy); American cotton (textiles).

Population Growth

Increase due to food and medicine advances. Examples: British enclosures (18th century); French rural boom (pre-1789).

Inoculation

Early vaccination against smallpox. Examples: Montagu’s smallpox efforts (1721); Jenner’s vaccine (1796).

Illegitimate Birth Rate

Births outside marriage, rising in cities. Examples: Paris during Revolution; British urban shift (enclosures).

Rural/Urban

Divide between countryside and cities. Examples: French peasants vs. sans-culottes (1789); British enclosures.

Consumer Revolution

Rising demand for goods. Examples: British tea/sugar boom (18th century); French fashion (Versailles).

Commercial Rivalries

Competition for trade dominance. Examples: Seven Years’ War (1756–1763); Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1674).

Natural Rights

Inherent rights to life, liberty, property. Examples: English Bill of Rights (1689); French Declaration (1789).

Exclusion of Women from Political Life

Denial of women’s political participation. Examples: Estates-General exclusion (1789); Rousseau’s Emile (1762).

Salons

Intellectual gatherings hosted by women. Examples: Geoffrin’s salon (Voltaire); Prussian salons (Frederick II).

Literate Public

Educated class reading widely. Examples: Encyclopédie readers (1751–1772); What Is the Third Estate? (1789).

Divine Right

Monarchs chosen by God. Examples: Louis XIV’s Versailles; James II ousted (1688).

Natural Sciences

Empirical study of the world. Examples: Newton’s Principia (1687); Voltaire’s Letters (1733).

Free Trade and Free Market

Minimal government interference in trade. Examples: Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776); Post-1815 British debates.

Deism

Rational belief in a non-intervening God. Examples: Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary; Franklin’s deism.

Skepticism

Doubt toward authority or religion. Examples: Voltaire’s Candide (1759); Hume’s Enquiry (1748).

Atheism

Rejection of God. Examples: D’Holbach’s System of Nature (1770); De-Christianization (1793).

Christian Movements

Religious revivals countering secularism. Examples: German Pietism (18th century); Wesley’s Methodism (1730s).

Baroque

Ornate style reflecting absolutism. Examples: Versailles (Louis XIV); St. Peter’s Square (Counter-Reformation).

Bourgeois Society

Rising middle class. Examples: Third Estate’s Tennis Court Oath (1789); British merchants (post-1688).

Revolution

Radical societal change. Examples: Bastille storming (1789); Glorious Revolution (1688).

Romanticism

Movement valuing emotion and nature. Examples: Goethe’s Werther (1774); Wordsworth post-1815.

Mass Politics

Broad political participation. Examples: National Convention elections (1792); Napoleon’s plebiscites (1800, 1804).

Epidemic Diseases

Widespread illnesses. Examples: Smallpox pre-inoculation (18th century); Plague decline (post-1648).

English Civil War

Parliament vs. Charles I, ending in his execution. Examples: Charles I beheaded (1649); Cromwell’s Commonwealth.

The Glorious Revolution

Overthrow of James II for constitutional rule. Examples: Bill of Rights (1689); William and Mary’s reign.

Peace of Westphalia

Treaties ending the Thirty Years’ War. Examples: Dutch independence; Hapsburg decline.

Battle of Vienna

European defeat of Ottomans. Examples: Sobieski’s victory; Ottoman retreat.

Rivalry between France and England

Competition for dominance. Examples: Treaty of Utrecht (1713); Seven Years’ War (1763).

French Revolution

Overthrow of monarchy, radical change. Examples: Tennis Court Oath (1789); Bastille (1789).

Reign of Terror

Radical phase with mass executions. Examples: Louis XVI executed (1793); Committee of Public Safety.

De-Christianization

Suppression of Christianity. Examples: Festival of Reason (1793); Clergy executions.

Congress of Vienna

Restoration of stability post-Napoleon. Examples: Louis XVIII restored; German Confederation.

Agricultural Revolution

Farming advances boosting food supply. Examples: Tull’s seed drill (1701); Enclosure Acts.

Putting Out System/Cottage Industry

Home-based pre-industrial production. Examples: British wool; French textiles.

Scientific Revolution

Shift to empirical science. Examples: Copernicus’ heliocentrism (1543); Newton’s laws (1687).

Smallpox Mortalities

Deaths from smallpox pre-vaccination. Examples: 18th-century epidemics; Jenner’s vaccine (1796).

Louis XIV

French king of absolute monarchy. Examples: Edict of Fontainebleau (1685); Treaty of Utrecht (1713).

Jean Baptiste Colbert

Louis XIV’s mercantilist minister. Examples: Tariffs (1660s); Saint Domingue colonies.

Peter the Great

Russian tsar who Westernized. Examples: Poltava victory (1709); St. Petersburg (1703).

Catherine the Great

Enlightened absolutist empress. Examples: Partition of Poland (1772–1795); Nakaz (1767).

Hapsburgs

Austrian ruling dynasty. Examples: Maria Theresa’s reforms; Joseph II (1780s).

Louis XVI

French king executed in Revolution. Examples: Estates-General (1789); Execution (1793).

Jacobin Republic

Radical revolutionary government. Examples: Monarchy abolished (1792); Law of Suspects (1793).

Robespierre

Jacobin leader of the Terror. Examples: Terror speech (1794); Thermidor (1794).

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Haitian Revolution leader. Examples: 1791 revolt; Defeat of Napoleon (1802).

Saint Domingue

French slave colony (Haiti). Examples: 1791 slave revolt; Independence (1804).

Napoleon Bonaparte

French Emperor spreading revolution. Examples: 18 Brumaire (1799); Waterloo (1815).

Voltaire

Enlightenment advocate of rights. Examples: Letters on the English (1733); Church critique.

Diderot

Encyclopédie editor. Examples: Encyclopédie (1751); Anti-absolutism.

Locke

Natural rights philosopher. Examples: Two Treatises (1689); Bill of Rights (1689).

Rousseau

“General will” thinker. Examples: Social Contract (1762); Jacobin influence.

Adam Smith

Free market economist. Examples: Wealth of Nations (1776); Mercantilism critique.