European History Academic Vocabulary

Governance, Sovereignty, and Statecraft

• Abdicate: To give up one's power or throne.
  • Historical Example: Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate his throne because of the March Revolution in 1917.
• Annex: To combine (territory) into the domain of a city, country, or state.
  • Historical Example: The US annexed Hawaii in 1898.
• Autonomy: The state or condition of having independence or freedom; or the right of self-government.
  • Historical Example: The founding fathers demanded autonomy from England.
• Bureaucracy: The body of officials and administrators of a government.
  • Historical Example: King Louis XIV used his large bureaucracy to help him keep the government firmly in control of all things in France.
• Concession: Something given up or yielded by a government, as a grant of land, a privilege, or a franchise.
  • Historical Example: In order to hold on to power, the king gave concession to his nobles, giving them control over their serf.
• Encroachment: To advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits.
  • Example: This new government is encroaching on the individual rights of its citizens.
• Sovereignty: Independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state.
  • Historical Example: Britain's repeated violation of America's sovereignty led to the War of 1812.

Religious Concepts, Church Hierarchy, and Theology

• Clergy: Church leaders who are ordained (trained and given authority by the pope).
  • Historical Impact: One important outcome of the Black death was the chaos that weakened the Church because of the loss of so many well-educated clergymen.
• Condemned: To express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of.
  • Historical Example: The Pope condemned Martin Luther's writings as heretical.
• Dogma: An official system of principles or tenets concerning faith, morals, behavior, etc., as of a church.
  • Context: Catholic dogma stated that the pope was infallible.
• Hindered: To prevent from doing, acting, or happening.
  • Historical Context: The Catholic Church hindered scientists from exploring new conceptions of the universe that challenged church doctrine.
• Infallible: When an individual cannot be wrong.
  • Historical Context: Some early church critics began to challenge the infallibility of the pope.
• Missionary: A person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities—such as educational or hospital work.
  • Historical Context: Christian missionaries who went to Africa, India and China were often incredibly ethnocentric and insulting to the native populations.
• Pious: To be sincerely devoted to God; one who is very religious.
  • Example: Mother Theresa was a wonderful example of a pious nun; her devotion to helping the poor in Bangladesh earned her the respect of Church leaders and the world.
• Schism: A division.
  • Historical Example: The greatest schism in church history occurred between the church of Constantinople (East) and the church of Rome (West) in 1054.
• Secular: Non-religious.
  • Historical Context: Secular music became more common during the 18th century.
• Vernacular: Language of the home country (e.g., in Italy-Italian, in France-French).
  • Historical Example: John Wycliffe was an early advocate for translation of the Bible into the vernacular. He completed his translation directly from the Vulgate (Catholic Church's official Latin version of the Bible) into English in the year 1382.

Economics, Trade, and Public Finance

• Export: To ship goods to other countries or places for sale, exchange, etc.
  • Data Point: In 2013, the largest American export was engines and machines.
• Fiscal: Of or pertaining to financial matters.
  • Historical Example: The fiscal policies of Jean Baptiste Colbert helped propel France to superpower status in the 17th century.
• Import: To bring in (merchandise, commodities, workers, etc.) from a foreign country for use, sale, processing, or services.
  • Data Point: In 2013, the US imported $2.6\text{ billion}$ worth of precious stones from South Africa.
• Inflation: A general rise in the price of goods which makes a consumer's purchasing power less.
  • Historical Example: Inflation was so terrible in Germany in the year 1923 that it led to unrest across the country.
• Levy: To impose.
  • Historical Example: In 1767, England levied a duty (tax) on tea, glass, paper and paint in its North American colonies.
• Scarcity: Rare, shortness of supply.
  • Example: The scarcity of diamonds in the world make them valuable, and thus expensive.
• Subsistence: The source from which food and other items necessary to exist are obtained.
  • Historical Context: Until the 2nd Agriculture revolution, subsistence farming was the norm. Farmers grew just enough to survive, nothing extra.
• Subsidized: Money furnished by a government to help a business or individual be successful.
  • Data Point: The United States currently pays around $20\text{ billion}$ per year to farmers in direct subsidies as "farm income stabilization."

Social Dynamics, Class Structures, and Human Rights

• Advocate: To speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.
  • Historical Example: John Stuart Mill ran for elected office in 1866 as an advocate of women's suffrage.
• Assimilation: The process of adapting or adjusting to the culture of a group or nation, or the state of being so adapted.
  • Example: American immigrants are expected to assimilate into mainstream culture as quickly as possible.
• Disdain: To look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn.
  • Historical Context: European nobles had disdain for the peasantry.
• Grievance: Complaint.
  • Historical Example: The grievances of the German peasants were not addressed by the nobility and so the peasants rebelled.
• Perpetuate: To preserve or to continue something on (to repeat).
  • Example: Unfortunately, racism is often perpetuated for generations by families passing on their beliefs to their kids.
• Rebellion: Resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition.
  • Historical Context: The desperate peasants started a rebellion against the king who ignored their plight.
• Suffrage: The right to vote.
  • Historical Example: Militant women in Britain took radical actions to demand suffrage in the early 20th century.

Conflict, Military Affairs, and International Relations

• Armaments: Weapons.
  • Historical Context: World War I soldiers suffered immensely from the high tech armaments produced in Europe's factories.
• Pacifist: A person who is opposed to war or violence.
  • Example: The movie, Hacksaw Ridge, is about pacifist Desmond Doss who served as a medic in World War 2.
• Reparations: Compensation in money, material, labor, etc., payable by a defeated country to another country or to an individual for loss suffered during, or as a result of war.
  • Historical Example: Germany was forced to pay impossibly high reparations to the Allied powers at the end of WWI.

Academic, Historical, and General Terminology

• Abroad: In a foreign country.
  • Example: College students have the opportunity to study abroad in many fascinating places.
• Antiquity: The period of history before the Medieval period, aka Middle Ages.
  • Historical Context: The two principal civilizations of early Antiquity are those of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• Catalyst: A person or event that causes change or action (to start something).
  • Historical Example: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo was the catalyst for World War I.
• Convene: To come together or assemble.
  • Example: The meeting will convene tomorrow morning.
• Eradicate: To remove or destroy.
  • Example: It is my hope that cancer be eradicated by the end of the 21st century.
• Inevitable: Sure to occur, happen, or come; unalterable.
  • Historical Context: It was believed that war was inevitable after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot on June 28, 1914.
• Legacy: Anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.
  • Historical Example: Social Security is an important part of President Franklin Roosevelt's legacy.

Assignment Guidelines and Course Policies

• Due Date: The assignment is due in its entirety on the 1st Monday of class.
• Late Policy: Late assignments will only receive half credit and will not be accepted after the first unit.