World History Review Flashcards

95 Theses

A list of propositions by Martin Luther in 1517 criticizing Catholic Church practices, especially indulgences; sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Absolute Monarchy

A form of government where the monarch has total power, unrestricted by laws or legislature.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist and philosopher; wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776), advocating for capitalism and the 'invisible hand.'

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)

Leader of Nazi Germany; initiated World War II and orchestrated the Holocaust.

Agrarian

Related to farming and agriculture; often used to describe societies based on agricultural production.

Alice Seeley Harris

British missionary who exposed abuses in the Congo Free State through powerful photography.

Alliance System

Network of political and military agreements between countries, especially significant before World War I.

Allied Powers

Nations allied against the Axis Powers in WWII, including the U.S., U.K., USSR, and France.

Alsace Lorraine

Region between France and Germany; contested territory leading to tensions in WWI and WWII.

Anthropocene Era

Proposed epoch highlighting significant human impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems.

Antisemitism

Hostility or prejudice against Jews; central to Nazi ideology and the Holocaust.

Appeasement

Policy of conceding to aggression to avoid conflict; associated with British policy toward Hitler pre-WWII.

Aristocracy

A privileged ruling class; typically landowning nobility with inherited titles and wealth.

Armenian Genocide

Mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during WWI (1915–1917); over 1 million deaths.

Asia for Asians

Slogan used by Imperial Japan to justify its expansion during WWII, framing it as anti-colonial liberation.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Surprise Japanese military strike on U.S. naval base (Dec. 7, 1941); led to U.S. entering WWII.

Auschwitz

Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Poland; over 1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

Authoritarianism

System of government with strong central power and limited political freedoms.

Axis Powers

Military alliance in WWII including Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo

West African Muslim who was enslaved, later freed, and became notable for his writings and story in Britain.

Aztec Double-Headed Serpent

Aztec ceremonial object symbolizing duality and power; important religious artifact.

Aztec Empire

Mesoamerican civilization centered in Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City); conquered by the Spanish in 1521.

Bastille Prison

French prison stormed on July 14, 1789; symbol of the French Revolution and monarchy's oppression.

Battle of Stalingrad

Major WWII battle (1942–1943); Soviet victory marked turning point against Nazi Germany.

Benito Mussolini

Italian Fascist dictator (1922–1943); allied with Hitler during WWII.

Berlin Conference (1884–85)

Meeting where European powers divided Africa into colonies without African input, initiating the 'Scramble for Africa.'

Blitzkrieg

German “lightning war” tactic in WWII, using fast-moving infantry, tanks, and airpower for quick victories.

Bolsheviks

Radical socialist group led by Lenin; seized power in the 1917 Russian Revolution and founded the USSR.

Bourgeoisie

In Marxist theory, the capitalist class that owns the means of production and exploits workers (proletariat).

Boxer Uprising

Anti-foreigner and anti-Christian revolt in China (1899–1901), crushed by foreign powers.

Bread Riots

Public protests due to food shortages and rising bread prices, especially during the French Revolution.

British East India Company

Powerful trading company that controlled large parts of India before direct British rule.

British Textile Industry

Key driver of the Industrial Revolution, using mechanized factories to produce cloth.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership, free markets, and profit motive.

Cash-Crop Agriculture

Farming for profit rather than sustenance; common in colonies (e.g., cotton, sugar, tobacco).

Casta System

Racial and social hierarchy in colonial Latin America that ranked people by ancestry and birthplace.

Cecil Rhodes

British imperialist and businessman in southern Africa; promoted colonization and white supremacy.

Chinampas

Aztec floating gardens used for agriculture on shallow lake beds.

Chinese Revolution of 1949

Communist victory under Mao Zedong that established the People’s Republic of China.

Collectivization of Agriculture

Stalin’s policy to consolidate farms into state-run collectives; caused famine and resistance.

Colonialism

Control by one country over another territory, often exploiting it economically and culturally.

Colonies of Sugar

Caribbean colonies like Haiti and Jamaica that produced sugar with enslaved labor; highly profitable and deadly.

Columbian Exchange

Widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

Commodity

Raw material or product that can be bought and sold (e.g., sugar, cotton, oil).

Communism

Political and economic ideology advocating for a classless society and communal ownership of resources.

Communist Manifesto

1848 pamphlet by Marx and Engels calling for proletarian revolution against capitalism.

Congo Free State

Brutally exploited colony under King Leopold II of Belgium; site of massive human rights abuses.

Consumerism

Cultural focus on the acquisition and consumption of goods; expanded during industrialization and post-WWII.

Copernicus

Polish astronomer who proposed the heliocentric (sun-centered) model of the universe.

Council of Trent

Catholic response to the Reformation (1545–1563); reformed Church practices and reaffirmed doctrine.

Counter-Reformation

Catholic Church’s effort to reform itself and fight the Protestant Reformation; included the Council of Trent and Jesuits.

Creoles

People of European descent born in the Americas; often sought independence from European rule.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

1789 French document asserting liberty, equality, and fraternity as natural rights.

Divine Right of Kings

Belief that monarchs are chosen by God and answer only to Him, not the people.

Division of Labor

The specialization of tasks in production; key concept in capitalism and industrial factories.

Doña Marina

Indigenous woman who helped Hernán Cortés as translator and advisor during the conquest of the Aztecs.

Dreadnought

A powerful British battleship launched in 1906 that started a naval arms race before WWI.

Encomienda System

Spanish labor system in the Americas where colonists could demand tribute/labor from Indigenous people.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights over tradition and religion.

Estates General

French representative assembly with three estates: clergy, nobility, and commoners; called in 1789 by Louis XVI.

Exploitation

The unfair use of people or resources for profit or power, especially in colonial or labor systems.

Fascism

Far-right authoritarian ideology focused on nationalism, dictatorial power, and suppression of opposition.

Feudalism

Medieval political system where nobles offered protection in return for service and labor from peasants.

Five-Year Plan (Stalin)

Economic plans to industrialize the USSR rapidly through state control and quotas.

Flappers

Young Western women in the 1920s who defied traditional norms with fashion, behavior, and attitudes.

Florentine Codex

16th-century document by Bernardino de Sahagún recording Aztec culture and the conquest of Mexico.

Francisco Franco

Spanish military dictator (1939–1975); led fascist forces to victory in the Spanish Civil War.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Heir to Austro-Hungarian throne; his 1914 assassination triggered World War I.

Galileo Galilei

Italian scientist who supported heliocentrism; condemned by the Church for challenging geocentric beliefs.

Gens de couleur

“People of color”; free people of mixed race in French colonies, especially Haiti, with limited rights.

Grand Blancs

Wealthy white landowners in colonial Saint-Domingue (Haiti); opposed equality for gens de couleur and slaves.

Great Depression

Global economic crisis beginning in 1929; led to mass unemployment, poverty, and political upheaval.

Great Jamaica Revolt

Large-scale 1831 slave uprising in Jamaica; helped push Britain toward abolishing slavery.

Great Purges (Stalin)

1930s campaign of political repression, arrests, and executions of perceived enemies in the USSR.

Guomindang

Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek; rivaled the Communists before and after WWII.

Hacienda System

Large landed estates in Latin America worked by peasants; similar to feudalism, with deep inequalities.

Haitian Revolution

1791–1804 slave revolt in Saint-Domingue that led to the first Black republic and abolition of slavery.

Heliocentric Theory

Scientific idea that the sun is at the center of the universe; challenged Church authority.

Herero Genocide

Early 1900s genocide by German colonial forces in Namibia; tens of thousands of Herero people killed.

Heretic

A person who holds beliefs contrary to established religious teachings; often persecuted by the Church.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 1500s.

Hidalgo-Morelos Rebellion

Early 1800s Mexican independence movement led by priests Miguel Hidalgo and José Morelos.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities destroyed by U.S. atomic bombs in August 1945; led to Japan’s surrender in WWII.

Hobbes

English philosopher who argued in Leviathan (1651) that people need a strong central authority to avoid chaos.

Holocaust

Systematic genocide of 6 million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany during WWII.

Huguenots

French Protestants who faced persecution from the Catholic majority, especially during the 16th century.

Huitzilopochtli

Aztec sun and war god; central to Aztec religion and justification for human sacrifices.

Imperialism

Policy of extending a country’s power through colonization, military force, or economic dominance.

Incan Empire/Incas

Powerful South American empire in the Andes (1200s–1500s); known for roads, engineering, and terraces.

Indian National Congress

Political party in British India that led the independence movement; included Gandhi and Nehru.

Indian Rebellion (1857–58)

Widespread revolt against British rule in India, sparked by cultural and political grievances.

Indulgences

Payments to the Catholic Church for forgiveness of sins; one of the main causes of the Protestant Reformation.

Industrial Revolution

Period of rapid industrial growth (1700s–1800s) featuring factories, machines, and urbanization.

Invasion of Manchuria

1931 Japanese occupation of Manchuria, China; early act of WWII aggression.

Invisible Hand

Adam Smith’s idea that self-interest in free markets unintentionally benefits society.

Isaac Newton

English scientist who formulated laws of motion and gravity; key figure in the Scientific Revolution.

Jacques Necker

Finance minister under Louis XVI; tried to reform royal spending and supported the Third Estate.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Enlightenment thinker who argued for social contracts and that governments should reflect the general will.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who emphasized natural rights (life, liberty, property) and inspired modern democracy.

Joseph Stalin

Totalitarian leader of the Soviet Union (1924–1953); led collectivization, purges, and WWII efforts.