Hapsburg Empire
Definition: Central European empire that lasted from the 1400s to the 1900s and at its height included the lands of the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands.
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Charles V
Definition: King of Spain and ruler of the Hapsburg Empire in the 1500s.
Significance: Gave up his titles to become a monk. Divided his empire, leaving the Hapbsurg lands in central Europe to his brother Ferdinand. He gave Spain, the Netherlands, some sou
Phillip II
Definition: Son of Charles V. Ruler of the Hapsburg empire the Netherlands and some southern Italian states. King of Spain and Spain's overseas empire.
Significance: Made Spain the foremost power in Europe. Expanded Spanish influence, strengthened the Cat
Absolute Monarch
Definition: Ruler with complete authority over the government and lives of the people he or she governs.
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Cardinal Richelieu
Definition: Louis XIII's chief minister.
Significance: Strengthened France's central government. Destroyed the power of the Huguenots and nobles.
Louis XIV
Definition: King of France.
Significance: Resolved to take complete control over the government himself. Took the sun as a symbol of his absolute power. Expanded the bureaucracy and cemented his ties with the middle class. Built the palace of Versailles.
Intendants
Definition: Official appointed by French king Louis XIV to govern the provinces, collect taxes, and recruit soldiers.
Significance: These and other government jobs often went to wealthy middle-class men. In this way, Louis cemented his ties with the middl
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Definition: Louis XIV's finance minister.
Significance: Imposed mercantilist policies to bolster the economy. He had new lands cleared for farming, encouraged mining and other basic industries, and built up luxury trades such as lacemaking. To protect Fre
Versailles
Definition: Royal French residence and seat of government establish by King Louis XIV.
Significance: Became the perfect symbol of Louis' wealth.
Lev�e
Definition: Morning ritual during which nobles would wait upon French king Louis XIV.
Significance: At liberty on their estates, French nobles were a threat to the power of the monarchy. By luring them to Versailles, Louis turned them into courtiers angli
Balance of Power
Definition: Distribution of military and economic power that prevents any one nation from becoming too strong.
Significance: Countries feared that if one country took too much power, it would make it that they would take over all of Europe and the other c
Tudors
Definition: Monarchs who ruled England from 1485 to 1603.
Significance: Recognized the value of good relations with Parliament.
James I
Definition: The first Stuart Monarch. Ruling king of Scotland.
Significance: Repeatedly clashed with Parliament over money and foreign policy. When members wanted to discuss foreign policy before voting funds, James dissolved Parliament and collected taxe
Dissenters
Definition: Protestant whose views and opinions differed from those of the Church of England.
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Charles I
Definition: Inherited English thrown in 1625.
Significance: Absolute monarch. Signed the Petition of Right. Began the English Civil War against Parliament. Lost the War and was executed.
Petition of Right
Definition/Significance: This document prohibited the king from raising taxes without Parliament's consent or from jailing anyone without legal justification.
Oliver Cromwell
Definition: Leader of the Roundheads during the English Civil War. Leader of the English republic, Commonwealth.
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Cavaliers
Definition: Supporters of Charles I during the English Civil War. Many Cavaliers were wealthy nobles.
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Roundheads
Definition: Forces of Parliament. Composed of country gentry, town-dwelling manufacturers, and Puritan clergy.
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Glorious Revolution
Definition: The bloodless overthrow of the king of England, James II, by his daughter, Mary, and her husband, William.
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English Bill of Rights
1689. Definition: Series of acts passed by the English Parliament that limited the rights of the monarchy and ensured the superiority of Parliament.
Significance: Ensured the superiority of Parliament over the monarchy, required the monarch to summon Parl
Limited Monarchy
Definition: Government in which a constitution or legislative body limits the monarch's powers.
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Constitutional Government
Definition: Government whose power is defined and limited by law.
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Thirty Years' War
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Significance: France emerged as the clear winner, gaining territory in both Spain and
Germany. The Hapsburgs had to accept the almost total independence of all the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The Netherlands and the Swiss Federation won
Defenestration of Prague
Definition: A few rebellious Protestant noblemen tossed two royal officials out of a castle window in Prague.
Significance: This act sparked a general revolt, which Ferdinand moved to suppress. The following year, Ferdinand was elected Holy Roman Emperor
Peace of Westphalia
1648. Definition: Series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War.
Significance: Because so many powers had been involved in the Thirty Years' war, the treaties aspired both to bring about general European peace and to settle other international probl
Maria Theresa
Definition: Daughter of Charles VI. Ruler of Hapsburg Austria after the death of her father: 1740.
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War of Austrian Succession
Definition: Series of wars in which various European nations competed for power in Central Europe after the death of Hapsburg emperor Charles VI.
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Hapsburg Austria
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Hohenzollern Prussia
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Frederick the Great
Definition: A Prussian ruler who came to power upon the death of his father in 1713.
Significance: Gained the loyalty of the Prussian nobles, called Junkers, by giving them positions in the army and government. Placed great emphasis on military values and
Peter the Great
Definition:
Significance: Westernized Russia. Pushed through social and economic reforms. Imported WEstern technology, improved education, simplified the Russian alphabet, and set up academies for the study of mathematics, science, and engineering. Adopte
Westernization
Definition: Adoption of western ideas, technology, and culture.
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Boyars
Definition: Landowning nobles in Russia under the tsars.
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Great Northern War
Definition: A long war between Russia and Sweden, 1700.
Significance: Peter the Great defeated the Swedes and won territory along the Baltic Sea, 1709. On this land won from Sweden, Peter built a magnificent new capital city, St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg
Definition: Capital city and major port that Peter the Great established in 1703.
Significance: Peter located the city on the Baltic coast along the swampy shores of the Neva River. He forced tens of thousands of serfs to drain the swamps, then invited It
Catherine the Great
Definition: Monarch after the death of Peter the Great.
Significance: Reorganized the provincial government, codified laws, and began state-sponsored education for both boys and girls. Embrace Western ideas and worked to bring Russia fully into European c
Partition of Poland
Definition: Division of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772.
Significance: Catherine the Great took part of eastern Poland, Frederick II and Joseph II took control of Polish territory in the west. Poland was further partitioned in 1793 and
Divine Right
Definition: The belief that the authority to rule comes directly from God.
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Defeat of Spanish Armada
1588. Definition:
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Huguenots
Definition: French Protestants of the 1500s and 1600s.
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Edict of Nantes
1598. Definition: Law issued by French king Henry IV giving more religious freedom to French Protestants.
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Puritans
Definition: Members of an English Protestant group who wanted to "purify" the Church of England by making it more simple and more morally strict.
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