Global History Vocabulary

Here's a summary of the most important points from each topic:

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

  • Emphasized logic and reason, leading to new ideas about human rights, government, and economics.
  • Inspired revolutions by promoting the desire for natural rights and political reform.

FRENCH REVOLUTION

  • Driven by the monarchy's failure to meet the people's needs, leading to demands for suffrage and equality.
  • Key events included the Storming of the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, and the rise of Napoleon.

NATIONALISM & REVOLUTION

  • Nationalism is a strong devotion to one's country, unifying or dividing forces.
  • Inspired movements for self-determination and independence, influencing revolutions worldwide.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

  • Shift from hand-made to machine-made products, starting in Victorian England due to resources and technology.
  • Led to urbanization, capitalism, socialism, and, eventually, imperialism.

AGE OF IMPERIALISM

  • Driven by industrialization, the need for raw materials, and markets, leading to the conquest of Asia and Africa.
  • Justified by the White Man's Burden and Social Darwinism, with significant exploitation and abuse in colonies.

WORLD WAR I

  • Caused by nationalism, militarism, alliances, and imperialism, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
  • New weapons and trench warfare led to massive casualties, ending old empires and creating new republics.

RISE OF TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENTS

  • Resulted from WWI's devastation, leading to political and economic difficulties and the rise of leaders like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini.
  • Characterized by one-party states, censorship, propaganda, and purges.

WORLD WAR II

  • Caused by appeasement, imperialism, and the desire for world domination by Axis powers.
  • Key events included the invasion of Poland, Pearl Harbor, and the use of the atomic bomb, leading to the creation of the United Nations and the Cold War.

COLD WAR

  • Conflict between the USA and the USSR for global control, marked by the Iron Curtain and the threat of nuclear war.
  • Key events included the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

END OF THE COLD WAR/FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION

  • Caused by economic problems and nationalism within the USSR.
  • Gorbachev's policies of Perestroika and Glasnost led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of communism in Eastern Europe.