Renaissance
The great period of rebirth in art, literature, and learning in the 14th-16th centuries, which marked the transition into the modern periods of European history
Reformation
A religious reform movement which challenged political and ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.
Humanism
an intellectual movement at the heart of the Renaissance that focused on education and the classics
Gutenburg
Created the first printing press with moveable type in Europe
Machiavelli
Wrote "The Prince", a book that recommended harsh and arbitrary rule for princes
Erasmus
(1466?-1536) Dutch Humanist and friend of Sir Thomas More. Perhaps the most intellectual man in Europe and widely respected. Believed the problems in the Catholic Church could be fixed; did not suport the idea of a Reformation. Wrote Praise of Folly.
Luther
The founder of Protestantism whose religion, based on 95 Theses, rejected Catholic orthodoxy, the sale of indulgences, and papal authority.
Calvin
Wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion; created the idea of predestination(God already who knows whos going to heaven and hell) through the elect; no free will
Counter Reformation
the reform movement within the roman catholic church whose goals were to abolish abuses and reaffirm traditional beliefs
Scientific Revolution
the era of scientific thought in europe during which careful observation of the natural world was made, and accepted beliefs were questioned
Copernicus
Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center (1473-1543)
Isaac Newton
English mathematician and scientist who invented differential calculus and formulated the theory of universal gravitation, a theory about the nature of light, and three laws of motion. His treatise on gravitation, presented in Principia Mathematica (1687), was supposedly inspired by the sight of a falling apple.
Deism
The religion of the Enlightenment (1700s). Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws. Denied that God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life.
Enlightenment
An intellectual movement concentrated in France during the 1700's developed rational laws to describe social behavior and applied their findings in support of human rights and liberal economic theories.
Social Contract
the notion that society is based on an agreement between government and the governed in which people agree to give up some rights in exchange for the protection of others
Hobbes
English materialist and political philosopher who advocated absolute sovereignty as the only kind of government that could resolve problems caused by the selfishness of human beings (1588-1679)
John Locke
English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.
Prince Henry the Navigator
(1394-1460) 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.
Cortes and Pizarro
Spanish conquerors of great Indian civilizations
Encomienda System
system in Spanish America that gave settlers the right to tax local Indians or to demand their labor in exchange for protecting them and teaching them skills.
African Slave trade
African people were taken as slaves to be sold in America, in America they would work in mines & plantations. The profit went to europe where they built goods to then be sold to Africans. It was a triangle.
Commericial Revolution
resulted from the Age of Exploration; changes in business practices. Increased standard of living for European merchants.
Mercantilism
an economic system (Europe in 18th C) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests
English Civil War
This was the revolution as a result of whether the sovereignty would remain with the king or with the Parliament. Eventually, the kingship was abolished
Glorius Revolution
The overthrow of English King James II in 1688 and his replacement by Willian and Mary.
Edict of Nantes
1598, decree promulgated at Nantes by King Henry IV to restore internal peace in France, which had been torn by the Wars of Religion; the edict defined the rights of the French Protestants
Louis XIV
king of France from 1643 to 1715; his long reign was marked by the expansion of French influence in Europe and by the magnificence of his court and the Palace of Versailles (1638-1715)
Versailles
Palace constructed by Louis XIV outside of Paris to glorify his rule and subdue the nobility.
Holy Roman Empire
Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities, headed by an emperor elected by the princes. It lasted from 962 to 1806.
Suleiman the Magnificant
powerful ruler of the Ottoman Empire during the 16th Century
Ivan III, Ivan IV
Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible
Peter the Great
ruled Russia from 1682 to 1725, wanted closer ties to western europe, modernize and strengthen Russia
Mughal Empire
Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Akbar
Most illustrious sultan of the Mughal Empire in India (r. 1556-1605). He expanded the empire and pursued a policy of conciliation with Hindus.
Zheng Hue
Chinese Explorer who searched for sea routes to Africa and australia.
Ming dynasty
A major dynasty that ruled China from the mid-fourteenth to the mid-seventeenth century. It was marked by a great expansion of Chinese commerce into East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia
Qing Dynasty
the last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries; during the Qing dynasty China was ruled by the Manchu
Qianlong
Chinese Qing emperor (r. 1736-1795), grandson of Kangxi who continued his grandfather's conquests by consolidating hold on Xinjiang province (westernmost). He made Vietnam, Burma and Nepal vassal states of China, and delegated responsibilities to his favorite Eunuchs, marking the decline of the Qing Dynasty
Tokugawa Shogunate
shogunate started by Tokugawa Leyasu; 4 class system, warriors, farmers, artisans, merchants; Japan's ports were closed off; wanted to create their own culture; illegal to fight; merchants became rich because domestic trade flourished (because fighting was illegal); had new forms of art - kabuki and geishas