Untitled Flashcard Set
Neo-Confucianism :: Revival and reinterpretation of Confucian ideas during the Song Dynasty that blended Confucianism with Buddhist and Daoist concepts; emphasized order, morality, and filial piety.
Censorate :: Chinese government agency that monitored officials and investigated corruption in imperial China.
Hangzhou (Song capital) :: Capital of the Southern Song Dynasty; major center of trade, culture, and urban life in China.
Foot binding :: Chinese practice of tightly binding girls’ feet to keep them small as a sign of beauty and status.
“middle kingdom” :: Chinese belief that China was the cultural and political center of the world.
Kowtow :: Ritual bowing practice showing respect and submission to the Chinese emperor.
Xiongnu :: Nomadic confederation north of China that frequently fought with Chinese dynasties.
Sultanate of Delhi :: Muslim state that ruled much of northern India from the 1200s to the 1500s.
Sufis :: Islamic mystics who emphasized personal spiritual experience and helped spread Islam.
Kabir :: Indian poet and mystic who criticized religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims.
Sikhism :: Religion founded by Guru Nanak in India combining elements of Hinduism and Islam.
Timbuktu :: Major West African trading and Islamic learning center in Mali.
Mexica :: Indigenous people who founded the Aztec Empire.
Triple Alliance :: Alliance between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan that formed the Aztec Empire.
Tenochtitlan :: Capital city of the Aztec Empire located on an island in Lake Texcoco.
Chinampas, aka “floating gardens” :: Artificial farming islands used by the Aztecs to increase agricultural production.
Huitzilopochtli :: Aztec sun and war god who required human sacrifices.
Quechua :: Language of the Inca Empire and many Andean peoples.
Gender Parallelism :: Inca concept where men and women had separate but complementary roles.
Yuan Dynasty :: Mongol dynasty established in China by Kublai Khan.
Khubilai Khan :: Grandson of Genghis Khan who founded the Yuan Dynasty in China.
Hulegu :: Mongol ruler who conquered Baghdad and founded the Ilkhanate.
Khutulun :: Mongol princess and skilled warrior known for wrestling victories.
Kipchak Khanate/ Golden Horde :: Mongol state that ruled Russia and parts of Eastern Europe.
Monsoon winds :: Seasonal wind patterns in the Indian Ocean that facilitated trade.
Swahili language :: Language blending Bantu and Arabic influences used in East African trade cities.
Great Zimbabwe :: Powerful African trading kingdom known for massive stone structures.
Jenne-Jeno :: Early West African trading city in the Niger River region.
Camel caravans :: Groups of camels used to transport goods across deserts, especially the Sahara.
Encomienda and Repartimiento :: Spanish labor systems forcing Indigenous people to work for colonists.
Peninsulares, Creoles, & Mestizos :: Social classes in colonial Latin America: Spanish-born elites, American-born Spaniards, and mixed-race people.
Tupac Amaru Revolt :: Late 1700s Indigenous uprising against Spanish rule in Peru.
Middle Passage :: Forced voyage transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean.
Cowrie shells :: Shells used as currency in parts of Africa and Asia.
Kingdom of Dahomey :: West African kingdom involved heavily in the Atlantic slave trade.
Queen Nzinga :: Central African ruler who resisted Portuguese expansion and slave trading.
British East India Company :: English trading company that gained political and economic control in India.
Dutch East India Company :: Dutch trading company dominant in Asian trade during the 1600s.
Potosi, Bolivia :: Major Spanish silver mining center in the Andes.
Gunpowder empires :: Empires such as the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal that used gunpowder weapons to expand power.
Janissaries :: Elite Ottoman infantry troops recruited through the devshirme system.
Sati :: Hindu practice in which a widow burned herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
Jizya :: Tax paid by non-Muslims living under Islamic rule.
Devshirme :: Ottoman system of collecting Christian boys for military or government service.
Soft gold :: Fur traded from Siberia and northern Eurasia, especially valuable in Russia.
Qing Dynasty :: Last imperial dynasty of China founded by the Manchus.
Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) :: Agreement between Russia and Qing China establishing borders and trade relations.
Declaration of Independence :: 1776 document announcing the American colonies’ independence from Britain.
Creoles :: People of European descent born in the Americas.
Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Morelos :: Mexican priests who led early independence movements against Spain.
Simon Bolivar :: South American revolutionary leader known as “The Liberator.”
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen :: French Revolution document promoting liberty and equality.
Olympe de Gouges :: French activist who argued for women’s rights during the French Revolution.
Napoleon Bonaparte :: French military leader who became emperor and spread revolutionary ideas through Europe.
Toussaint Louverture :: Leader of the Haitian Revolution who fought to end slavery.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines :: Haitian revolutionary leader who declared Haiti independent.
“Independence debt” :: Money Haiti was forced to pay France after gaining independence.
Seneca Falls :: 1848 women’s rights convention in New York.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton :: American women’s rights leader and organizer of Seneca Falls.
National American Woman Suffrage Association :: Organization that campaigned for women’s voting rights in the United States.
Kartini :: Indonesian advocate for women’s education and rights.
Huda Sharawi :: Egyptian feminist leader who advocated for women’s rights and education.
Steam Engine :: Machine powered by steam that drove industrialization.
Second Industrial Revolution :: Period of rapid industrial growth in the late 1800s featuring steel, electricity, and chemicals.
Middle Class :: Social group between the wealthy elite and working class that grew during industrialization.
Robert Owen :: Early socialist reformer who improved factory conditions.
Karl Marx :: Philosopher who developed communism and criticized capitalism.
Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party :: Marxist political party in Russia that later split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
The Crimean War (1854-1856) :: Conflict involving Russia against the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and France.
caudillos :: Military strongmen who dominated politics in Latin America after independence.
Mexican Revolution of 1910 :: Revolution against dictatorship that led to major social and political reforms in Mexico.
King Leopold of Belgium :: Belgian king who brutally exploited the Congo Free State.
Taiping Uprising :: Massive rebellion against the Qing Dynasty led by Hong Xiuquan.
Opium Wars :: Wars between Britain and China over the opium trade that weakened Qing China.
Self-Strengthening :: Qing reform movement attempting to modernize China using Western technology.
Boxer Uprising :: Anti-foreign rebellion in China around 1900.
Hundred Days of Reform :: Short-lived Qing reform effort to modernize China in 1898.
Bolsheviks :: Radical Marxist faction led by Lenin that seized power in Russia.
Vladimir Lenin :: Leader of the Bolsheviks and founder of the Soviet Union.
Guomindang :: Chinese Nationalist Party led by Sun Yat-sen and later Chiang Kai-shek.
Mao Zedong :: Communist leader who founded the People’s Republic of China.
Stalin and Mao :: Communist leaders of the Soviet Union and China known for authoritarian rule and economic reforms.
Zhenotdel :: Soviet government department promoting women’s rights after the Russian Revolution.
Collectivization :: Soviet policy forcing peasants into collective farms.
Five-Year Plans :: Soviet economic programs focused on rapid industrialization.
Great Leap Forward :: Mao’s campaign to rapidly industrialize and collectivize China, causing widespread famine.
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution :: Mao’s movement to remove capitalist influences and reinforce communism in China.
Terror/Great Purges :: Stalin’s campaigns of political repression and executions in the Soviet Union.
Rape of Nanjing :: Mass killings and atrocities committed by Japanese troops in Nanjing during World War II.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki :: Japanese cities destroyed by U.S. atomic bombs in 1945.
Rosie the Riveter :: Symbol representing women workers during World War II.
The Holocaust :: Nazi genocide that killed six million Jews and millions of others.
United Nations :: International organization founded after World War II to promote peace and cooperation.
Indian National Congress :: Political organization that led the Indian independence movement.
Mohandas Gandhi :: Leader of Indian independence who used nonviolent resistance.
Satyagraha :: Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.
Muslim League :: Political organization advocating for Muslims in India and creation of Pakistan.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah :: Leader of the Muslim League and founder of Pakistan.
Deng Xiaoping :: Chinese leader who introduced market-oriented economic reforms.
Mikhail Gorbachev :: Last leader of the Soviet Union who introduced reforms.
perestroika :: Gorbachev’s policy of economic restructuring in the Soviet Union.
glasnost :: Gorbachev’s policy of openness and increased freedom of expression in the Soviet Union.