The Enlightenment
a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries
emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was
heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes,
Locke, and Newton, and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe,
Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.
The American Revolution
political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783 during which
colonists in the Thirteen American Colonies rejected
the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great
Britain, and founded the United States of America.
The French Revolution
an uprising in France against the monarchy from 1789
to 1799 which resulted in the establishment of France
as a republic. An example of the French Revolution is
the storming of the Bastille by the French citizens.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
passed by France's National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is a
fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of
human and civil rights.
The Haitian Revolution
the only country where slave freedom was taken by force, and marks
the only successful slave revolt in modern times.
The Haitian Declaration of Independence
proclaimed on 1 January 1804 in the port city of Gona�ves by
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, marking the end of 15 year long
Haitian Revolution. ... Notably, the Haitian
Declaration of Independence signalled the culmination of
the only successful slave revolution in history.
Napoleon Bonaparte
a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in
the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica,
Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the
military during the French Revolution (1789-1799).
Napoleonic Wars
wars which were fought during the rule of
NapoleonBonaparte over France. They started after the
French Revolution ended and Napoleon Bonaparte became
powerful in France in November 1799. War began
between the United Kingdom and France in 1803.
Abolition
the action or an act of abolishing a system, practice, or institution.
Anti-Slavery
opposed to the practice or system of slavery.
Portuguese Empire
was the first colonial empire, spanning almost six
centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau
in 1999 and the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002.
Dutch Empire
comprised the overseas territories controlled by the
DutchRepublic and, later, the modern
Netherlands from the 17th century to the mid-1950s.
The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing
an overseas colonial empire.
British Empire
he empire of Britain, which began
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the establishment of
colonies in North America and ended in the twentieth century as dozens
of nations, formerly British possessions, became independent.
French Empire
a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or
other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater
extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire,
French Empire, Russian Empire,
Byzantine Empire, or Roman Empire
Imperialism
a policy of extending a country's power and influence through
diplomacy or military force.
Nationalism
patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts
East India Company
was originally a private companygranted a trade
monopoly with the East Indies by Queen Elizabeth I.
Its success in extracting concessions from native rulers eventually
led to its de facto control over much of modern India
between 1757 and 1858.
Indian National Congress
A broad-based political party in India. Founded in 1885, it dominated
the independence movement in the 1930s under Mahatma Gandhi, and has
been the principal party in government since 1947.
Mohandas Gandhi
more commonly known as 'Mahatma'
(meaning 'Great Soul') was born in Porbandar,
Gujarat, in North West India, on 2nd October 1869, into a Hindu Modh family.
Otto von Bismark
uke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815 � 30 July 1898), known as Otto
von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who
dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890.
Franco-Prussian War
The war of 1870�71 between France (under Napoleon
III) and Prussia, in which Prussian troops advanced
into France and decisively defeated the French at Sedan. The defeat
marked the end of the French Second Empire.
The Berlin Conference
1884�85, also known as the Congo Conference (German:
Kongokonferenz) or West Africa Conference
(Westafrika-Konferenz), regulated European colonization and trade in
Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's
sudden emergence as an imperial power.
Imperial Civilizing Mission
is a rationale for intervention or colonization, purporting to
contribute to the spread of civilization
World War I
A war fought from 1914 to 1918 between the Allies,
notably Britain, France, Russia, and Italy (which entered in 1915),
and the Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the
Ottoman Empire.
Armistice Day
formerly observed in the United States in commemoration of the
signing of the armistice ending World War I in 1918. Since
1954, it has been incorporated into the observances of Veterans Day
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
was one of the peace treaties at the end of World
War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied
Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
The League of Nations
An international organization established after World War I under the
provisions of the Treaty of Versailles
Pan-Africanism
he principle or advocacy of the political union of all the indigenous
inhabitants of Africa.
Emperor Haile Selassie
23 July 1892 � 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael ,
was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor
from 1930 to 1974.
Josephine Baker
A twentieth-century African-American actress, dancer, singer, and
civil rights activist. She gained her international reputation first
in Europe.
The Great Depression
the financial and industrial slump of 1929 and subsequent years.
Fascism
an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government
and social organization.
Nazism
the body of political and economic doctrines held and put into effect
by the Nazis in Germany from 1933 to 1945 including
the totalitarian principle of government, predominance of especially
Germanic groups assumed to be racially superior, and supremacy of the f�hrer.
Adolf Hitler
n German Nazi dictator during World War II (1889-1945) Synonyms: Der
Fuhrer, HitlerExample of: dictator, potentate. a
ruler who is unconstrained by law. German Nazi, Nazi. a German member
of Adolf Hitler's political party.
World War II
A war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Axis
powers � Germany, Italy, and Japan � and the Allies, including France
and Britain, and later the Soviet Union and the United States.
Allied Powers
refers to coalitions of primarily North American nations victorious
over rival, central-European forces in World War I and World War II.
The four nations that recurred as the main forces of the
Allied Powers in both wars were France,
Russia/USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Tripartite Pact
also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement
between Germany, Japan and Italy signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940
by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Sabur? Kurusu and Galeazzo Ciano.
Lend-Lease Act
was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign
nations during World War II.
Pearl Harbor
When the Japaneses had attack our navel ships. This had pushed the
U.S.to join the war
Yalta Conference
a conference held in Yalta in February 1945 where Roosevelt, Stalin,
and Churchill plannedthe final stages of World War II and agreed to
the territorial division of Europe
Atomic Bomb
a bomb that derives its destructive power from the rapid release of
nuclear energy by fission of heavy atomic nuclei, causing damage
through heat, blast, and radioactivity.
The Cold War
the state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc
countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1990.
First, Second and Third world
1st -U.S. and other western-style democracies, especially those in NATO
2nd- UUSK, Warsaw pact allies + other communist countries such as China.
3rd- Everyone else, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East,and South
east Asia
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in
which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing
sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and
the defender
Proxy Wars
war instigated by a major power that does not itself become involved.
Non-Aligned Movement
is an international organization (group of countries) who do not want
to be officially aligned (friends) with or against
any major power bloc (group of countries). Founded in 1961
Fraz Fanon
Radical, anti-racist humanist that opposed both mainstream white
supremacy and the reactionary pan-africanism which asserted black superiority.