AP World - Gunpowder Empires, Colonial Societies, Euro. Politics and Culture

Scientific Revolution

Shift from religious based beliefs to science based reasoning

A 17th-century intellectual shift toward using empirical research, reason, and natural laws rather than religious dogma to understand the physical universe.

Heliocentric model

The astronomical theory introduced by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 proposing that the Earth and planets orbit around the Sun.

Deism

A rationalist theological view developed by enlightenment thinkers positing that God created an orderly, law-governed universe but does not intervene through miracles or supernatural events.

Nation-state

A centralized political territory where sovereign governance aligns directly with a majority population bound by a shared language, culture, and national identity.

Absolute monarchy

A system of rule, exemplified by 17th-century France, in which the monarch claims divine right and maintains total centralized authority unchecked by legislative bodies.

Parliamentary monarchy

A system of rule, seen in England and the Netherlands, where constitutional law and a representative legislative body place limits on executive authority and regulate taxation.

The Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement that applied scientific reasoning and empirical analysis to reform society, individual rights, and governance.

Adam Smith

Scottish philosopher who published works in 1776 advocating for free-market capitalism, individual self-interest, and minimal government economic intervention as opposed to mercantilism.

John Locke

English philosopher who asserted that legitimate governments are formed to protect fundamental natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

Denis Diderot

French editor and thinker who compiled the Encyclopédie to systematically organize and democratize scientific and rationalist knowledge.

Voltaire

French writer and philosopher celebrated for his rigorous critique of religious superstition, clerical intolerance, and institutional dogma.

Baron de Montesquieu

French political philosopher who advocated for the separation of governmental powers and institutional checks and balances to prevent despotism.

Spanish Imperial Colonies location

Established in former Aztec and Inca lands (highland Mexico and Peru)

Spanish Imperial Colonies Political Structure

Ruled through a highly centralized royal bureaucracy under the Spanish crown

Spanish Imperial Colonies: Social Structure

A rigid hierarchy mirroring traditional Spanish society, marked by internal status conflicts between descendants of original colonizers and newly arrived settlers, alongside a significant mestizo population often marginalized as illegitimate.

Spanish Imperial Colonies: Role of Religion

An influential, centralized Catholic missionary network and institutional church leadership working alongside royal bureaucratic officials to evangelize native populations and reinforce imperial authority.