Gunpowder Empires

Def. Empires such as the Ottomans, Mughals, Safavids, and Qing China were known for their early use of gunpowder armies and weapons.

Shah

. to the title given to the monarch or king of Iran

Ivan IV (Russia)

Def. First Tsar of Russia, known for centralization of power and territorial expansion

Ismal (Safavid Empire)

Def. Founder of the Safavid dynasty, established Shia Islam as state religion

Akbar ( Mughal Empire)

Def. Notable Mughal emperor known for religious tolerance and administrative reforms

Divine Right of Kings

Def. A belief system where rulers claim their authority to govern directly from a higher power, such as the French Empire's Divine Right of Kings.

Absolute 

Def. Unrestricted power held by a single ruler

Louis XIV

. monarch, symbolizing absolute rule and luxury

Romanov Dynasty

Def. Ruling family in Russia from 1613 to 1917

Peter I

Def. Tsar modernizing and expanding Russia

Devshirme

Def. A system in the Ottoman Empire where young Christian boys were taken, converted to Islam, and trained to serve the state, particularly in the military.

Janissaries

Def. elite soldiers loyal to the Ottoman sultan

Tributes

. A system in which foreign countries paid tribute to the Chinese emperor as a sign of submission and to maintain peaceful relations, common in East Asia during various dynasties.

Versailles

Def. Lavish palace in France, built by Louis XIV, used for military demonstrations and as a symbol of royal power.

Boyars

Def. Noble class owning land in Russia

Serfdom

Def. Condition of laborers bound to land and master

Henry VII

Def. English king known for his six marriages and the English Reformation

Spanish Armada

Def. Failed naval invasion of England by Spain in 1588

Indulgences

. Payments for the remission of sins in the Catholic Church

Martin Luther

Def. German monk whose actions sparked the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

Def. Religious movement challenging the authority and practices of the Catholic Church

Anglican Church

Def. Protestant church formed in England, led by the monarch

Sikhism

Def. Religion founded in the 15th century in Punjab, combining Hindu and Islamic elements

Empiricism

Def. Philosophical approach emphasizing knowledge through sensory experience.

Unit 4 Vocabulary

Primogeniture Laws

Def. law in Europe that required estates to be passed down to the eldest son

Cartography

Def. mapmaking

Astronomical Chart

. a map of stars that improved navigation

Maritime Empires

Def. Empires such as the British, Spanish, and Portuguese Empires that gained power and wealth through overseas trade, colonies, and control of trade routes on the seas.

Trading Post Empire

Def Empires like the Portuguese and Dutch that established trading posts in regions without asserting direct control over land.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Def. 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.

Bartholomew

Def. sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 into unknown waters, then returned home for fear of a mutiny

Vasco Da Gama

Def. landed in India in 1498 and claimed territory for Portugal's empire

Ferdinand Magellan

Def. Portuguese navigator who led the Spanish expedition of 1519-1522 that was the first to sail around the world

Northwest passage

Def. a route through or around North America that would lead to East Asia and the trade there

Jacques Cartier

Def. French explorer who sailed from the Atlantic Ocean into the St. Lawrence River and claimed part of Canada for France in 1535

Samuel de Champlain

Def. French navigator known as "The Father of New France" who founded New France and Quebec City

John Cabot

Def. sailed for England in hopes of finding a northwest passage in 1497

Henry Hudson

Def. Dutch explorer that sailed up the Hudson River in search of a northwest passage in 1609

Quebec

Def. French trading post established in 1608

New France

Def. French colony in North America along the St. Lawrence River

Jamestown

Def. English colony in Virginia that was England's first successful colony in the Americas

Maize

Def., also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico

Cacao

Def. refers to the tropical tree "Theobroma cacao," whose seeds (cacao beans) are used to produce cocoa, the primary ingredient in chocolate; highly valued in Mesoamerica

Okra

Def. a food item that represents the transatlantic slave trade and the cultural continuity of enslaved Africans in the Americas (like gumbo)

Rice

Def. staple food crop, particularly in Asia but also worldwide

Sugarcane

Def. refers to a tropical plant that was a key cash crop during the Columbian Exchange

Columbian Exchange

Def. The exchange of goods, people, ideas, and diseases between the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) and the New World (the Americas) following Christopher Columbus' voyage in 1492.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

Def. The trade of African slaves to the Americas, primarily for labor on plantations, which significantly impacted the demographics and cultures of the Americas.

Atahualpa

Def. the last emperor of the Inca Empire, ruling until his capture and execution by Spanish conquistadors

Treaty of Tordesillas

Def. A treaty signed in 1494 between Spain and Portugal dividing the lands of the Americas between them, influencing the languages and cultures of the regions

Hispaniola

Def. name Columbus gave to the island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Conquistadors 

. Spanish soldiers who conquered parts of the Americas in the 16th century

Indentured Servitude

Def. 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

Chattel Slavery

. a system where individuals were considered property to be bought and sold

Encomienda

Def. A labor system established by the Spanish in the Americas, forcing Native Americans to work on plantations in exchange for food and shelter, similar to feudalism.

Encomenderos

Def. Spanish colonizers under the encomienda system

Coercive Labor System

Def. a system where people are forced to work against their will, often through threats, violence, or extreme debt, receiving little to no compensation for their labor (i.e. chattel slavery, serfdom)

Hacienda system

. a large landed estate system prevalent in colonial Latin America, where vast agricultural properties relied heavily on the labor of indigenous populations and sometimes enslaved Africans

Mit’a system

Def. a labor tribute system used by the Inca Empire, where communities were required to provide a certain number of workers for public projects (agricultural production, mining, and construction); form of tax through labor contribution instead of currency

Middle Passage

The part of the Atlantic Circuit involving the transportation of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas

Joint-stock Companies

Def. businesses that sold shares to individuals to raise money for its trading enterprises and to spread the risks and profits among many investors

Dutch East India Company

Def. (1602) A mercantile company chartered by the Dutch to conduct trade missions throughout the East Indies

Triangular Trade

Def. The consistent trade route between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, involving the exchange of goods, slaves, and cash crops.

Syncretism

Def. the combining of different religious practices and beliefs

Polygyny

Def. the practice of a man having multiple wives simultaneously

William III of Orange

Def. King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 to 1702, Dutch stadtholder (1672-1702), and prince of Orange.

Mary II

Def. queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–94) and wife of King William III

Pequot

. a Native American tribe originally located in present-day Connecticut, known for their significant role in early colonial history, especially during the Pequot War

Pugachev Rebellion

Def. Cossack, who began a peasant rebellion against Catherine the Great in 1774 for giving the nobility power over the serfs on their lands in exchange for political loyalty; Pugachev Rebellion

Pueblo Revolt

Def. The successful rebellion of the Pueblo community against Spanish conquest in present-day New Mexico in 1680, leading to a temporary retreat of the Spanish forces.

Maroon Wars

Def. slaves in the Caribbean and former Spanish territories in the Americas fought to gain freedom