Ch. 7 Vocab

European Enlightenment - European intellectual movement of the eighteenth century that applied the principles of the Scientific Revolution to human affairs and was noted for its commitment to open-mindedness and inquiry and the belief that knowledge could transform human society.

Enlightenment Philosophy - shared belief in the power of knowledge to transform human society, idea of progress, attacked established political and religious authority - opposed superstition, ignorance, and corruption of established religion

Belief in deism, pantheism, etc - ”Natural religion”: devoid of mystery, revelation, ritual, and spiritual practice, while proclaiming a God that could be “proven” by human rationality, logic, and the techniques of scientific inquiry

Empiricism - theory that emphasizes the role of experience and evidence from the senses in the formation of ideas, rather than relying solely on intuition or revelation, thus laying the groundwork for modern scientific methods.

Social Contract Theory v. Divine Right Theory:

Social Contract Theory - in political philosophy, an actual or hypothetical compact, or agreement, between the ruled or between the ruled and their rulers, defining the rights and duties of each

Divine Right Theory - in European history, a political doctrine in defense of monarchical absolutism, which asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority such as a parliament

Political & Gender Hierarchy - political power was largely concentrated in the hands of men and favor of patriarchal structures, women were often excluded from political participation despite involvement in revolutionary movements; the emphasized values of liberty & equality of the revolutions still mainly benefited men - reinforcing gender inequalities

Maternal Feminism - Movement that claimed that women have value in society not because of an abstract notion of equality but because women have a distinctive and vital role as mothers; its exponents argued that women have the right to intervene in civil and political life because of their duty to watch over the future of their children

Slavery - a system that dehumanized individuals by treating them as property, denying them basic rights and freedoms, and was often justified through economic, racial, and social ideologies

Serfdom - a system of agricultural labor that bound peasants to the land and their landlords, limiting their freedoms and opportunities for social mobility, often characterized by a lack of personal rights and obligations to provide service in exchange for protection and sustenance

Nationalism - arose during this time period, the focus of citizens’ loyalty on the notion that they are part of a nation that merits an independent political life that was unique to each nation; was facilitated by Europe’s modern transformation

Political unification - the consolidation of political entities into a single state, driven by shared cultural or historical identities; established nation-states seeking independence from colonial power; influenced by Enlightenment ideas of popular sovereignty and nationalism

Abolition movement - movement to end/abolish slavery

Secularism - the principle of separating religion from political, social, and educational institutions, which gained traction as societies began to prioritize reason and scientific inquiry over religious dogma

Liberalism (19th century) - political idealogy that emphasized individual liberty, equal rights, democracy, and limited government; also advocating for civil rights, economic freedom, and expansion of suffrage; challenged absolute authority of monarchs, influenced revolutions, and established constintutional governments.

Reform movement - social/political campaign aimed at making change, especially to address issues that can enhance individual freedoms and equal rights

Natural rights - the right to life, liberty, and property; originally proposed by John Locke

Political rights - the rights of individuals to engage in governance (voting and running for office), women and people of color were excluded from these

Abolitionism - movement aimed at ending slavery and freedom for enslaved people, advocating for equal rights through reforms and social campaigns

Women’s suffrage - movement advocating for women’s right to vote; gaining momentum during the revolutions, this sought to address gender inequalities with activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott who campaigned for equal voting rights

Democratic ideals nation-state - the concept of a political entity characterized by a democratic government, where the authority of the state is derived from the will of the people, often emphasizing popular sovereignty, equality, and individual rights; contrasted with monarchial and colonial systems that concentrate power in a single ruler or governing body

Napoleon Bonaparte - French head of state and general (r. 1799–1815); Napoleon preserved much of the French Revolution under a military dictatorship and was responsible for the spread of revolutionary ideals through his conquest of much of Europe

Robespierre - Leader of the French Revolution during the Terror; his Committee of Public Safety executed tens of thousands of enemies of the revolution until he was arrested and guillotined

Tupac Amaru - Leader of a Native American rebellion in Peru in the early 1780s, claiming the last Inca emperor as an ancestor

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Leading figure of the early women’s rights movement in the United States. At the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, she drafted a statement paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence, stating that men and women were created equal

Mary Wollstoncraft - British writer who was stimulated by the French Revolution to write the Vindication of the Rights of Woman, one of the earliest expressions of a feminist consciousness

Olympe de Gouges - French playwright and journalist who appropriated the language of the Declaration of Rights to insist that “woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights”, drafter the Declaration of the Rights of Woman & Female Citizen

Lucretia Mott - American social reformer, Quaker, and abolitionist who organized the women’s rights movement in the U.S. with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in the 1800s

Lola Rodriguez de Tio & Writings (Puerto Rico) - A prominent poet and activist, she used her literary talents to advocate for Puerto Rican independence, women's rights, and abolition of slavery, often addressing social injustices in her works.

Simon Bolivar - a leading figure in Spanish American struggles for independence who visited Haiti twice, where he received military aid from the first Black government in the Americas; wrote the “Letter from Jamaica” in 1815

Toussaint Louverture - former slave who, with his successor, overcame internal resistance, outmaneuvered foreign powers, and defeated an attempt by Napoleon to reestablish French control among the brutalities of the Haitian Revolution

John Locke (“Right to revolution”, Consent of the Governed, Natural Rights, Limited Government) -

King George III - British king who lost the American colonies in 1793 and was a significant figure in the conflicts leading up to the American Revolution, facing opposition from colonists advocating for independence and self-governance

Thomas Jefferson - American revolutionary leader during the Atlantic Revolutions, also was U.S. ambassador to France on the eve of the French Revolution - provided advice and encouragement to French reformers/revolutionaries; reported that France had “been awakened by [the American] revolution”; famously known as author of the Declaration of Independence

King Louis XVI - kng of France who was executed along with his wife during the French Revolution, the Terror of 1793 followed this

Diffusion of Enlightenment Thought/Ideas - Enlightenment ideas served as the basis of the ideas of the Atlantic revolutions, they were shared across the ocean through newspapers, books, pamphlets; incited endless controversy in terms of equality and government, specifically popular sovereignty, natural rights, and the consent of the governed spread and became conflicts among people of the Americas, France, and Latin America

American Revolution - Successful rebellion against British rule conducted by the European settlers in the thirteen colonies of British North America, starting in 1775; a conservative revolution whose success preserved property rights and class distinctions but established republican government in place of monarchy

French Revolution - Massive upheaval of French society (1789–1815) that overthrew the monarchy, ended the legal privileges of the nobility, and for a time outlawed the Catholic Church. The French Revolution proceeded in stages, becoming increasingly radical and violent until the period known as the Terror in 1793–1794, after which it became more conservative, especially under Napoleon Bonaparte

Haitian Revolution - The only fully successful slave rebellion in world history; the uprising in the French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue (later renamed Haiti, which means “mountainous” or “rugged” in the native Taino language) was sparked by the French Revolution and led to the establishment of an independent state after a long and bloody war (1791–1804). Its first leader was Toussaint Louverture, a former enslaved person

Great Jamaica Revolt - Slave rebellion in the British West Indies (1831–1832) in which around 60,000 enslaved people attacked several hundred plantations; inspired by the Haitian Revolution, the discontent of the enslaved population and the brutality of the British response helped sway the British public to support the abolition of slavery

Hidalgo-Morelos Rebellion - Socially radical peasant rebellion in Mexico (1810) led by the priests Miguel Hidalgo and José Morelos

Latin American Revolutions - Series of risings in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of Latin America (1808–1825) that established the independence of new states from European rule but that for the most part retained the privileges of the elites despite efforts at more radical social change by the lower classes.

Seneca Falls Conference (1848) - first women’s rights convention, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, asserting that men and women were created equal (Declaration of Sentiments)

Maori Nationalism (New Zealand) - 20th century political and social movement aiming to promote and protect the rights, culture, and identity of the Maori people, emerging in response to colonial policies that marginalized the Maori, revitalized the Maori culture and shaped New Zealand’s political landscape

Propaganda Movement (Philippines) - reformist campaign in the late 1800s led by Filipino intellectuals advocating for political, social, and economic reforms under the Spanish rule; they used literature and journalism to demand autonomy, civil rights, and secularization that laid the groundwork for the Philippine Revolution against colonial rule

Balkan nationalisms - the movement of various ethnic groups seeking independence from Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rule; fostered national consciousness and determination among Serbs, Bulgarians, and Greeks, leading to fragmentation of the Balkan region

Ottomanism - idealogy in which loyalty to the sultan was replaced with loyalty to the Ottoman state, aimed at fostering unity among diverse ethnic groups and religions by promoting equality and a common Ottoman identity

Declaration of the Rights of Man & Citizen - Charter of political liberties, drawn up by the French National Assembly in 1789, that proclaimed the equal rights of all male citizens; the declaration gave expression to the essential outlook of the French Revolution and became the preamble to the French constitution completed in 1791

Declaration of Independence - Document adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced the separation of the thirteen American colonies from British rule and articulated the principles of individual liberty and government by consent

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman - Written in 1792 by Mary Wollstonecraft, this tract was one of the earliest expressions of feminist consciousness

Declaration of the Rights of Woman & Female Citizen - drafted in 1791 by Olympe de Gouges, asserted that women should be granted equal rights and opportunities as men, challenging the gender norms and patriarchal society, laying the groundwork for future feminist movements

Letter from Jamaica - A letter written by Simón Bolívar in 1815, outlining his vision for Latin America’s independence and unity, advocating for a united Latin American republic with emphasis on self-governance and liberty; laid the foundation for independence, freedom, unity across South America