whap vocab sem 1

Unit 1 Vocab List

Abbasid Caliphate: dynasty of the Muslim empire of the caliphate that followed the Umayyad Caliphate; destroyed by the Mongol invasion in 1258
The Analects: the compilation of Confucius’ teachings after his death
Artisans: skilled manual workers in a particular craft who often work by hand
Bhakti Movement: Hindu devotional movement that flourished in the early modern era, emphasizing music, dance, poetry, and rituals as means by which to achieve direct union with the divine
Caste System: a rigid social system in India that gives every Indian a particular place in the social hierarchy from birth
Champa Rice: an Indian quick-maturing, very resistant rice that could be harvested twice in one growing season
Chan Buddhism: a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties
Civil Service Exam: a system of testing designed to select the most studious and learned candidates for appointment as bureaucrats in the Chinese government
Crusades: a series of Christian holy wars conducted against nonbelievers
Daoism: a Chinese philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Zi which taught that people should turn to nature and give up their worldly concerns; was largely a spiritual alternative to Confucianism
Delhi Sultanate: a Muslim kingdom that ruled parts of India from the 13th to the 16th centuries and was an Islamic state on the outside of the Caliphate system
Diaspora: The movement or scattering of a people away from their ancestral homeland
Ethiopia: Christian-led African kingdom that emerged in the 12th century; known for their rock hewn churches
Feudalism: a land system in which a king owned all the land a granted tracks to nobles in exchange for military loyalty, and nobles granted parts of their land to vassals or serfs who worked the land
Filial Piety: a Confucian virtue of respect, obedience, and care for one's parents and elderly family members
Grand Canal: an over 1,000 mile-long transportation waterway that allowed China to be the most populous trading area in the world during the Song Dynasty
Great Zimbabwe: a powerful state in the African interior that emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast
House of Wisdom: an academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun
Imperial Bureaucracy: large organization in China in which appointed officials carried out the policies of the empire
Inca Empire: largest imperial state in the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries. The empire spanned almost the entire coast of western South America
Kowtow: an act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground
Mahayana Buddhism: focuses on service and became popular in China and Korea
Majapahit Kingdom: Buddhist Kingdom from 1293-1520 based on Java that gained power by controlling sea routes
Mali: trading empire that flourished in western Africa from the 13th to the 16th century and was known for its wealth
Mamluks: enslaved soldiers from the Abbasid era
Mayans: established a series of independent states and city-states in Mesoamerica
Mesa Verde: the largest complex of Anasazi cliff-dwellings in the United States Southwest
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi: Persian mathematician; one of the most celebrated Islamic scholars
Neo-Confucianism: the revival of Confucian teachings during the Tang and Song dynasties and a subsequent synthesis of Confucianism with aspects of Buddhism and Daoism
Scholar Gentry: Confucian educated social class that became the most influential social class of China
Shinto: the indigenous religion of Japan in which people believed that kami (spirits) were present in their natural surroundings
Silk Road: a vast network of trading routes that connected the East to the West: Constantinople in Europe to Chang'an in Asia
Song Dynasty: a Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 960 to 1279 that preceded the Yuan Dynasty
Srivijaya Empire: an Indonesian Hindu sea-based empire based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia which was an important trade center
Sufis: a mystical Muslim group that had successful missionaries. They believed they could become closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life
Syncretism: the blending of elements from more than one religion into a distinct system of worship
Teotihuacan: a major city in Mesoamerica that was the center for cultural and religious activities
Theravada Buddhism: Buddhism focused on meditation found in Southeast Asia
Vijayanagara Empire: an empire in southern India between 1336 and 1646; founded by the brothers Harihara and Bukka Raya in 1336 to protect the people in the southern region from the Muslim states, or sultanates, in the north
Woodblock Printing: a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia that originated in China

Unit 2 Vocab List

Astrolabe: an instrument used to determine latitude by measuring the position of the stars
Banking Houses: issued bills of exchange; model for modern banks
The Bubonic Plague: Mongol conquests brought fleas that carried the bubonic plague to Asia and Europe
Calicut: city on the west coast of India that became a thriving center of trade
Caravans: groups of people traveling together for mutual protection, often with pack animals such as camels
Caravanserai: inns that popped up about 100 miles apart (the distance camels could go before they needed water) along the routes of the Silk Roads
Camel Saddle: saddles developed by South Arabians as the use of the camel spread
Composite Bow: a versatile weapon that provided the Mongol cavalry with superior range, accuracy, and mobility, contributing to their military dominance and conquests
Constantinople: the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and later the Ottoman Empire
Cultural Diffusion: the spread of ideas, religions and products often resulting from trade
Dhow Ships: Arab ships with lateen sails; strongly influenced European ship design; facilitated trade in the Indian Ocean networks
Diaspora: settlements of people away from their homeland arising from trade
Flying Money: a system of credit developed in China that allowed a person to deposit money at one location and withdraw it at another
Genghis Khan: name meaning “ruler of all” given to Temujin when he was elected khan of Mongolian Kingdom; also spelled Chinggis Khan
Ghana Empire: first of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa known as the Land of Gold
Gunpowder: invented in China in the 9th century; used in siege warfare like cannons in the Song Dynasty
The Hanseatic League: a commercial alliance that formed between northern German cities and Scandinavia in the 13th century
Ibn Battuta: Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time
Indian Ocean Slave Trade: slaves from eastern Africa were sold in northern Africa, the Middle east, and India. This led to African customs spreading throughout these areas
Junk: Chinese sailing ship that developed during the Song Dynasty
Khanates: the four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose after the death of Genghis Khan
Kublai Khan: grandson of Genghis Khan that sought to conquer China and finally achieved it in 1271 and established the Yuan Dynasty
Lateen Sail: triangular shaped sail that could catch wind from many different directions
Magnetic Compass: navigation tool for determining direction that allowed ships to travel without following the coast
Malacca: a Muslim city-state that became wealthy by building a navy and collecting fees from ships that passed through the Strait of Malacca
Mansa Musa: brought Mali to its peak of power and wealth from 1312 to 1337; displayed Mali’s wealth during an extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca
Marco Polo: an Italian native who traveled to China in the late 13th century and wrote about travels
Mecca: city in western Arabia that was the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad; ritual center of the Islamic religion and destination for pilgrimages
Ming Dynasty: Chinese dynasty from 1368-1644 founded by Zhu Yuanzhang after the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty
Monsoons: heavy winds that affected trade routes in the Indian Ocean
Nomadism: a central component of Mongol society, characterized by their mobile lifestyle, reliance on animal husbandry, and skilled horsemanship, which enabled the Mongols to establish a vast empire through their expertise in mounted warfare and strategic mobility
Pax Mongolica: the period of Mongolian peace between the 13th and 14th centuries
Songhai Kingdom: an Islamic empire established in the 1400s after the decline of the Mali Empire in West Africa
Stern Rudders: invented by the Chinese and made steering ships easier and more stable
Swahili City States: thriving city-states along the east coast of Africa created by Indian Ocean trade
Timbuktu: a very wealthy and world-renowned center for Islamic learning
Trans-Saharan Trade: route across the Sahara Desert; traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, economic benefit for controlling dessert, camels and camel saddles were crucial in the development of these trade networks; facilitated the spread of Islam
Uyghur Script: system of writing that Genghis Khan adopted for the Mongol Empire
Yuan Dynasty: established by Kublai Khan in 1271 and was tolerant towards various religious groups in China
Zheng He: a Muslim admiral, entrusted by the Ming emperor Yongle with a series of seven great voyages that took his many ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa

Unit 3 Vocab List

Absolutism: type of government stressing Divine Right and total control by a King
Anglican Church: the Protestant Church created by King Henry VIII in England
Catholic Reformation: the Catholic attempt to fix their own problems and combat Protestant Reformation
Cossacks: peasants recruited to migrate to newly seized lands in Russia and who combined agriculture with military conquests
Council of Trent: (1545-1563) corrected some of the worst of the Catholic church’s abuses and focused on reaffirming rituals such as marriage
Czar: The Russian word for Emperor (Caesar)
Daimyo: A powerful noble in early modern Japan
Devshirme: in the Ottoman Empire, a system (literally, "collection") of training talented children to be administrators or members of the sultan's harem. originally meritocratic, by the seventeenth century it had degenerated into a hereditary caste
Divine Right: the idea pushing Absolutism which says that God chose a specific king to rule
Gunpowder Empires: The Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires which relied heavily on gunpowder and firearms
Gutenberg Printing Press: allowed books to be printed instead of hand written and increased literacy
Henry VIII: King of England who created the Anglican Church so he could get a divorce from his wife and find another woman who could provide him with an heir
Hidden Imam: part of Shi'ite teaching that claims that all rulers appointed are temporary "fill ins" for the 12th descendent of Ali who is expected to return as a messiah
Indulgences: piece of paper someone could buy to be forgiven of sins
Intendants: royal officials in France sent out to provinces to execute orders of the central government
Janissaries: an elite core of eight thousand troops personally loyal to the sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Jizya: tax levied by Islamic stats on certain non-Muslim subjects (dhimmis) who were permanently residing in Muslim lands under Islamic law
Louis XIV: French king who is considered to be the best example of Absolutism due to how much control he had over his kingdom
Mansabs: grants of land in India given in return for military or government service to the Mughal Empire
Martin Luther: German monk who began Protestant Reformation with his written work, 95 Theses
Mehmet II: ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1451 who wanted to capture Constantinople and topple the Byzantine Empire
Millets: independent court of law in which members of the Ottoman community could have self-rule
Mughal Empire: Muslim empire ruling India from the 16th to 18th centuries
Osmanli: language of the court/government which shared basic grammar and vocabulary with the Turkish language but had distinct Arabic and Persian elements that made it different than local villagers
Ottoman Empire: Turkish empire in the Middle East and North Africa from 1453-1918
Peter the Great: Russian czar who built St. Petersburg and westernized Russia
Protestant Reformation: Religious movement when people broke away from the Catholic Church
Sikhism: developed from Hinduism and may have been influenced by the Islamic mysticism known as Sufism
Spanish Inquisition: organized in 1478 by Fernando and Isabel of Spain to hunt out heretical or contrary opinions from Protestants, Jews, and Muslims
Suleiman the Magnificent: tenth and longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Sultan: the title a king takes in the Ottoman Empire
Sunni Ali: king of the Songhai Empire in sub-Saharan Africa that controlled Timbuktu in the 15th century
Taj Mahal: located in Agra, India, this structure was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favorite wife
Tamerlane: Timur the Lame, a Mongol Turkic ruler who invaded Central Asia and the Middle East setting the stage for the rise of the Turkic Empires
Tax Farmers: process in which the highest bidder was granted permission to collect the taxes and then pay a portion to the government
Thirty Years’ War: war between Catholics and Protestants in and around the Holy Roman Empire
Tokugawa Ieyasu: the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which effectively ruled Japan from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868
Versailles: the palace of French King Louis XIV
Witch Hunts: a period when 110,000 women were tried as witches in Western Europe
Zamindars: Indian tax collectors who were assigned land from which they kept part of the revenue

Unit 4 Vocab List

Akbar the Great: 1556-1605 remembered for his military successes and administrative achievements in the Mughal Empire
Ana Nzinga: ruler of Ndongo in south-central Africa that became an ally to Portugal to stop Portuguese slave raids and attacks from other Africans
Atlantic Circuit: the network of trade routes connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas that underlay the Atlantic system
Aztec Empire: an empire in Mexico that was overthrown by Cortes in 1521
Bartolomé de Las Casas: (1474-1566) First bishop of Chiapas in southern Mexico who devoted most of his life to protecting Amerindian peoples from exploitation. His major achievement was the New Laws of 1542, which limited the ability of Spanish settlers to compel Amerindians to labor for them
Cash Crop: sellable crop that is grown and gathered for the market such as sugar and tobacco
Charter Companies: groups of private investors who paid an annual fee to France and England in exchange for a monopoly over trade to the West Indies colonies
Chattel Slavery: a system where individuals were considered property to be bought and sold
Christopher Columbus: navigator who explored the Americas under the flag of Spain
City of Potosi: located in Bolivia it was one of the richest silver mining centers and most populous cities in colonial Spanish America
Columbian Exchange: the exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages
Conquistadors: Spanish soldiers who conquered parts of the Americas in the 16th century
Creoles: those of European ancestry who were born in the Americas
Dutch East India Company: (1602) A mercantile company chartered by the Dutch to conduct trade missions throughout the East Indies
Dutch West India Company: (1621-1794) Trading company chartered by the Dutch government to conduct its merchants' trade in the Americas and Africa
Encomienda: a grant of authority over a population of Amerindians in the Spanish colonies that provided the grant holder with a supply of cheap labor and periodic payments of goods by the Amerindians. It obliged the grant holder to Christianize the Amerindians
Ferdinand Magellan: Portuguese navigator who led the Spanish expedition of 1519-1522 that was the first to sail around the world
Francisco Pizarro: Spanish explorer who conquered the Incas in what is now Peru and founded the city of Lima
Galleons: Spanish trading ships that made round-trip sailing voyages once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean
Henry the Navigator: (1394-1460) Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation at Sagres and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugal's colonial empire.
Indentured Servant: a migrant to British colonies in the Americas who paid for passage by agreeing to work for a set term ranging from four to seven years
Jesuit Missionaries: missionaries from the Society of Jesus, they tried and failed to bring Christianity to Japan, but were successful in reaching the elite and scholars in China
Joint-Stock Companies: businesses that sold shares to individuals to raise money for its trading enterprises and to spread the risks and profits among many investors
Manchus: Federation of Northeast Asian peoples who founded the Qing Empire
Manila: Spanish commercial center of the Philippines that attracted merchants
Manumission: A grant of legal freedom to an individual slave; more common in Brazil, Spanish, and French than in English colonies
Maroon: A runaway enslaved person who formed independent communities, often in remote areas, to resist recapture.
Mercantilism: European government policies of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries designed to promote overseas trade between a country and its colonies and accumulate precious metals by requiring colonies to trade only with their motherland country
Mestizos: the term used by Spanish authorities to describe someone of mixed Amerindian and European descent
Metacom’s War: also called King Philip’s war, English colonists used underhanded tactics to control Native American lands
Middle Passage: the part of the Atlantic Circuit involving the transportation of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas
Ming Dynasty: (1368-1644) Empire based in China that Zhu Yuanzhang established after the overthrow of the Yuan Empire. The Ming emperor Yongle sponsored the building of the Forbidden City and the voyages of Zheng He. The later years of the Ming saw a slowdown in technological development and economic decline
Mit’a System: labor obligation in Peru that required a percentage of the adult male Amerindians to work for two to four months each year in mines, farms, or textile factories
Mulatto: the term used in Spanish and Portuguese colonies to describe someone of mixed African and European descent
Peninsulares: those who were born on the Iberian peninsula and stood at the top of the social pyramid in Latin America
Plantocracy: in the West Indian colonies, the rich men who owned most of the slaves and most of the land, especially in the 18th century
Trading Post Empire: empire based on small outposts rather than control of large territories
Treaty of Tordesillas: 1494 treaty in which Spain and Portugal divided the Americas between them
Vasco Da Gama: landed in India in 1498 and claimed territory for Portugal’s empire
Viceroyalty: the highest ranking Spanish officials in the colonies who enjoyed broad power, but also faced obstacles to their authority in the vast territories they sought to control