Western Civilization final

Sola Scriptura

The belief that the Bible alone is the ultimate religious authority, not church leaders or tradition.

John Tetzel

A German priest famous for selling indulgences, which helped spark Martin Luther’s Reformation

Indulgence

A certificate sold by the Catholic Church that people believed could reduce punishment for sins.

Treaty of Tordesillas

The 1494 agreement dividing new world lands between Spain and Portugal.

Peace of Augsburg

A 1555 treaty allowing German princes to choose a religion for their territories

Copernicus

The astronomer who proposed the heliocentric theory, stating the Earth orbits the sun.

Gustavus Adolphus

The king of Sweden who became a major Protestant military leader in the Thirty Years’ War.

James II

The last Catholic king of England, whose overthrow in the Glorious Revolution ensured Protestant rule.

Frankfurt Diet

A meeting where Martin Luther was ordered to stop his teachings but refused.

Toleration Act

A 1689 English law allowing freedom of worship for most Protestants, but not Catholics.

Bill of Rights (1689)

Document limiting the power of the English monarchy and protecting the rights of Parliament and citizens

Frederick II(Frederick the Great)

The Prussian king known for military strength, Enlightenment ideas, and expanding his kingdom

The Fronde

A series of French rebellions against royal power during the childhood of Louis XIV.

Estates General

France’s traditional representative assembly for clergy, nobility, and commoners; called in 1789 for the first time in 175 years.

Congress of Vienna

The 1815 meeting that redrew Europe after Napoleon and tried to restore old monarchies and stability

Luddites

English workers who destroyed machines during the Industrial Revolution fearing they would lose their jobs.

Adam Smith

The author of Wealth of Nations and the father of modern capitalism and free-market economics.

Opium War

Conflict between Britain and China after China tried to stop British opium trade; ended with unequal treaties favoring Britain.

The Somme

One of the bloodiest World War I battles—over one million casualties with very little land gained.

Ministry of Munitions

A British government agency created during WWI to control factories and increase weapon production

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 peace treaty that punished Germany heavily and redrew the map of Europe after WWI

Final Solution

Nazi Germany’s plan to exterminate Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Triple Entente

The WWI alliance linking France, Russia, and Britain against the Central Powers.