Humanism
the scholarly interest in the study of classical texts, values and styles of Greece and Rome. Humanism contributed to the promotion of a liberal arts education based on the study of the classics, rhetoric, and history
Christian Humanism
Northern European Reniassance. A branch of humanism. Like thier italian counterparts the christian humanists closely studied classical texts however they also sought to give it a specifically christian content. Christian humanists like Erasmus were commit
Vernacular
the everday language of a region or country. Miguel de Cervantes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante, and Martin Luther all encouraged the development of their national languages by writing in the vernacular. Erasmus however, continued to write in Latin
New Monarchs
European monarchs who created professional armies and a more centralized administrative bureaucracy. The new monarchs also negotiated a new relationship with the Catholic Church. Key new monarchs include Charles VII, Louis XI, Henry VII and Ferdinand/Isab
Taille
direct tax on french peasantry. Key sources of income for french monarchs until the french revolution
Reconquista
centuries long "reconquest" of spain from the muslims. The reconquista culminated in 1492 with the conquest of the last muslim stronghold, granada.
indulgence
a certificate granted by the pope in return for payment. the certificate stated that the soul of the dead relative or friend of the purchaser would have his time in purgatory reduced by many years or cancelled
Anabaptist
protestants who insisited that only adult baptism conformed to scripture. protestant and catholic leaders condemned anabaptists for advocating the complete separation of church and state
predestination
doctrine espoused by John Calvin that God has known since the beinning of time who will be saved and who will be damned. Calvin declared that "by an eternal and immutable counsel, God has once and for all determined, both whom he would admit to salvation,
huguenots
French protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin (French Calvinists)
Politiques
Rulers who put political necessities above personal beliefs. For example both Henry IV of France and Elizabeth I of England put theological controversies second in order to achieve political unity
Columbian Exchange
the interchange of plants, animals, diseases, and human populations between the Old World and the New World
Mercantilism
Economic philosophy calling for close government regulation of the economy. Mercantilist theory emphasized building a strong, self sufficient economy by max exports and min imports. mercantilists supported the acquistion of colonies as sources of raw mate
Putting out system
A preindustrial manufacturing system in which an entrepreneur would bring materials to rural people who worked on them in their own homes. For example, watch manufacturers in Swiss towns emplyed villagers to make parts for their products. The system enabl
Joint Stock Company
A business arrangement in which many investors raise money for a venture too large for any of them to undertake alone. They share the profits in proportion to the amount they invest. English entrepreneurs used joint stock companies to finance the establis
Absolutism
a system of gov in which the ruler claims sole and uncontestable power. Absolute monarchs were not limited by constitutional restraints.
Divine Right of Kings
The idea that rulers recieve their authority from God and are answerable only to God. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, a french bishop and court preacher to Louis XIV, provided the theological justification for the divine right of kings by declaring that "the sta
Intendants
French royal officials who supervised provincial governments in the name of the king. Intendants played a key role in establishing French absolutism.
Fronde
A series of rebllions against royal authority in France between 1649and 1652. The fronde played a key role in Louis XIV's decision to leave Paris and build Versailles palace
Robot
System of forced labor used in eastern Europe. Peasants usually owed three of four days a week of forced labor. The system was abolished in 1848.
junkers
Prussia's landowning nobility. The junkers supported the monarchy and served in the army in exchange for absolute power over their serfs.
Scientific Method
The use of inductive logic and controlled experiments to discover regular patterns in nature. These patterns or natural laws can be described with mathematical formulas.
Philosophes
18th century writers who stressed reason and advocated freedom of expression, religious toleration, and a reformed legal system. Leading philosophes such Voltaire fought irrational prejudice and blieved that society should be open to people of talent.
Deism
The belief that God created the universe but allowed it to operate through the laws of nature. Deists believed that natural laws could be discovered by the use of human reason.
General Will
A concept in political philosophy referring to the desire or interest of a people as a whole. As used by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who championed the concept, the general will is identical to the rule of law.
Enlightened Despotism
A system of government supported by leading philosophes in which an absolute ruler uses his or her power for the good of the people. Enlightened monarchs supported religious tolerance, increased economic productivity, administrative reform and scientific
Enclosure Movement
The process by which British landlords consolidated or fenced in common lands to increase the production of cash crops. The Enclosure Acts led to an increase in the size of farms held by large landowners.
Agricultureal Revolution
The innovations in farm production that began in 18th century Holland and spread to England. These advances replaced the open-field agriculture system with a more scientific and mechanicanized system of agriculture.
Physiocrats
Group of 18th century French economists led by Francois Quesnay. The physiocrats critized mercantilist regulations and called for free trade.
Invisible Hand
Phrase coined by Adam Smith to refer to the self-regulating nature of a free marketplace
Parlements
French regional courts (NOT A PARLIAMENT!) dominated by hereditary nobles. The Parlement of Paris claimed the right to register royal decrees before they could become law
Girondins
A moderate republican faction active in the French Revolution from 1791 to 1793. The Girondin Party favored a policy of extending the French Revolution beyond France's borders.
Jacobins
A radical republican party during the French Revolution. Led by Maximilien Robespierre, the Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror. Other key leaders included Marat, Danton, and the Comte de Mirabeau. The Marquis de Lafayette was not a Jacobin.
Sans-Culottes
The working people of Paris who were characterized by their long working pants and support for radical politics
Levee en Masse
The French policy of conscripting all males into the Army. The created a new type of military force based upon mass participation and a fully mobilized economy.
Thermidorian Reaction
Named given to the reaction against the radicalism of the French Revolution. It is associated with the end of the Reign of Terror and reassertion of bourgeoisie power in the Directory.
Legitimacy
The principle that rulers who have been driven from their thrones should be restored to power. For example, the Congress of Vienna restored the Bourbons to power in France
Liberalism
Political philosophy that in the 19th century advocated representative govt dominated by the propertied classes, minimal government interference in the economy, religious toleration, and civil liberties such as freedom of speech
Conservatism
Political philosophy the in the 19th century supported legitimate monarchies, landed aristocracies, and established churches. Conservaties favored gradual change in the established social order.
Balance of Power
A strategy to maintain an equilibrium, in which weak countries join together to match or exceed the power of a stronger country. It was one of the guiding principles of the Congress of Vienna.
Nationalism
Belief that a nation consists of a group of people who share similar traditions, history, and language. Nationalists argued that every nation should be sovereign and include all members of a community. A person's greatest loaylty should be to a nation-sta
Romanticism
Philosophical and artistic movement in late 18th early 19th century Europe that represented a reaction against the Neoclassical emphasis upon reason. Romantic artists, writers, and composers stressed emotion and the contemplation of nature.
Chartism
A program of political reforms sponsered by British workers in the late 1830s. Chartist demands included universal manhood suffrage, secret ballots, equal electoral districts, and salaries for members of the House of Commons.
Zollverein
A free-trade union established among the major German states in 1834
Carbonari
A secret revolutionary sociery working to unify Italy in the 1820s
Luddites
A social movement of British textile artisans in the earyl 19th century who protested against the changes produced by the industrial revolution. the Luddites believed that the new industrial machinery would elminate their jobs. The luddites responded by a
Utilitarianism
A theory associated with Jeremy Bentham that is based upon the principle of "the greatest happiness for the greatest number". Bentham argued that this principle should be applied to each nation's government, economy, and judicial system.
Utopian socialists
Early 19th century socialists who hoped to replce the overly competitive capitalist structure with planned communities guided by a spirit of cooperation. Leading French utopian socialits such as Charles Fourier and Louis Blanc believed that property shoul
Marxism
Political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They believed that history is the result of class conflict that will end with the triumph of the industrial proletariat over the bourgeoisie. The new classless society would abolish priv
2nd Industrial Revolution
A wave of late 19th century industrialization that was characterized by an increased use of steel, chemical processes, electric power, and railroads. This period also witnessed the spread of industrialization from Great Britian to western Europe and the U
Social Darwinism
The belief that there is a natural evolutionary process by which the fittest will survive. Wealthy business and industrial leaders used Social Darwinism to justify their success
Realpolitik
The politics of reality" used to describe the tough, practical politics in which idealism and romanticism play no part. Otto von Bismark and Camillo Benso di Cabour were the leading practitioners of realpolitik.
Syndicalism
A radical political movement that advocated bringing industry and government under the control of federations of labor unions. Syndicalists endorsed direct actions such as strikes and sabotage.
Autocracy
A government in which the ruler has unlimited power and uses it in an arbitrary manner. The Romanov dynasty in Russia is the best example of an autocracy
Duma
The Russian parliament created after the revolution of 1905
Imperialism
The policy of extending one country's rule over other lands by conquest or economic domination
Sphere of Influence
A region dominated by, but not directly ruled by, a foreign nation
14 Points
Wilson's idealistic peace aims. Wilson stressed national self-determination, the rights of small countries, freedom of the seas and free trade
Bolsheviks
A party of revolutionary Marxists, led by Lenin, who seized power in Russia in 1917
NEP
NEP (New economic policy) a program initated by Lenin to stimulate the economic recovery of the Soviet union in the 20s. The NEP utilized a limited revival of capitalism in light industry and agriculture
Existentialism
Philosophy that God, reason and progress are all myths. humans must accept responsibility for their actions. This responsibility causes an overwhelming sense of dread and anguish. Existentialism reflects the sense of isolation and alienation in the 20th c
Relativity
A scientific theory associated with Albert Einstein. Relativity holds that time and space dont exist separately. instead, they are a combined continuum whose measurement depends as much on the observer as on the entities being measured.
Totalitarianism
a political system in which the govt has total control over the lives of individual citizens.
Fascism
A political system that combines an authoritarian govt with a corporate economy. Fascist governments glorify their leaders, appeal to nationalism, control the media, and repress individual liberties.
Kulaks
Prosperous landowning peasants in czarist Russia. Stalin accused them of being class enemies of pooer peasants. Stalin "liquidated the kulaks as a class" by executing them and giving their land to form collective farms.
Keynesian Economics
An economic theory based on the ideas of British economist John Maynard Keynes. According to Keynesian economics, government can spend their economies out of a depression by using deficit spending to encourage employment and stimulate economic growth.
Appeasement
A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war. Associated with Neville Chamberlain's policy of making concessions to Hitler
Decolonization
The proces by which colonies gained their independ
DeStalinization
The policy of liberalization of the Stalinist system in the Soviet Union. As carried out by Nikita Krushchev, de-Stalinization meant denouncing Stalin's cult of personality, producing more comsumer goods, allowing greater cultural freedom and pursuing pea
Brezhnev Doctorine
Assertion that the Soviet Union and its allies had the right to intervene in any socialist country whenever they saw the need. The Brezhnev Doctorine justified the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968
Containment
The name of the U.S. foreign policy designed to contain or block the spread of Soviet policy. Inspired by George F. Kennan, containment was expressed in the Truman Doctorine and implemented in the Marshall Plan and the North American Treaty Organization (
Detente
The relaxation of tensions between the US and Soviet Union. Detente was introduced by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Nixon. Examples of detente include the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), expanded trade with the Soviet Union, and President
Solidarity
A Polish labor union founded in 1980 by Lech Walesa and Anna Walentynowicz. Solidarity contested Communist Party programs and eventually ousted the party from the Polish Government.
Glasnost
Policy initiated by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s. Glasnost resulted in a new openness of speech, reduced censorship, and greater criticism of Communist Party policies
Perestroika
An economic policy initiated by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid80s. Meaning "restructuring", perestroika called for less government regulation and greater efficiency in manufacturing and agriculture
Welfare State
A social system in which the state assumes primary responsibility for the welfare of its citizens in matters of health care, education, employment and social security. Germany was the first European country to develop a state social welfare system.