Ibn Battuta
Muslim explorer from Morocco; known for his extensive travels
Marco Polo
A Venetian merchant whose book introduced Europeans to China and central Asia
Colombian Exchange
A widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, slaves, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World.
Bubonic Plague
A disease that was the cause of the Black Death
Hongwu
Founder of the Ming dynasty of China
Eunuchs
A person born male and castrated
Fernando and Isabel
Known for completing the Reconquista
Reconquista
Crusade, ending in 1492, to drive the Islamic forces out of Spain
Erasmus
He publicized in 1516 a Greek-Latin New Testament.
Zheng He
Chinese admiral during the Ming Dynasty, he led great voyages that spread China's fame throughout Asia
Atlantic Slave Trade
The buying, transporting, and selling of africans for work in the Americas
Vasco da Gama
The first European to reach India by sea sailing around the tip of Africa.
Dias
Portuguese explorer who in 1488 was the first European to get round the Cape of Good Hope
Inca
Powerful South American empire that would reach its peak in the 15th century
Aztec
Central American empire constructed by the Mexica and expanded greatly during the 15th century
New Navigational Instruments
Compasses and astrolabes that made it easier for sailors
Prince Henry
Led the way in sponsoring exploration for Portugal
Magellan
This was the first person to lead an expedition that circumnavigated the world
James Cook
English navigator who claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain and discovered several Pacific islands
Joint Stock Company
A company made up of a group of shareholders. Each shareholder contributes some money to the company and receives some share of the company's profits and debts.
United East India Company
Chartered to control Dutch trading and to achieve a monopoly between the Cape of Good Hope and the Magellan straits
Manila
A bustling multicultural port city that quickly became the hub of Spanish commercial activity in Asia
Siberia
The part of Russia that lies on the continent of Asia which is subarctic
Seven Years' War
Worldwide struggle between France and Great Britain for power and control of land; known in America as the French and Indian War
John Calvin
This was a leader in the Reformation who believed in a simple faith and a simple method of worship
The Council of Trent
The group that met to examine and condemn the teachings of Martin Luther and other reformers
St. Ignatius Loyola
a Spainard who founded the religious order of Jesuits in the early A.D. 1530s
The Thirty Years' War
Conflict over religion and territory and for power among European ruling families.
King Phillip II
King of Spain who sent the Armada to attack England, he failed leading to the end of Spanish dominance in Europe
Henry VIII
Launched the English Protestant Reformation when he broke from the church in the 1530s
Spanish Inquisition
Brutal campaign led by Roman Catholic Church to punish nonbelievers including Jews and Muslims
The English Civil War
War in England between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists under Charles I
The Glorious Revolution
In this bloodless revolution, the English Parliament and William and Mary agreed to overthrow James II for the sake of Protestantism. This led to a constitutional monarchy and the drafting of the English Bill of Rights.
The Sun King
A nickname for Louis XIV that captures the magnificence of his court and of the Palace of Versailles, which he built. Louis himself adopted the sun as his emblem.
Versailles
A palace built in the 17th century for Louis XIV southwest of Paris
Catherine II
Seized throne from weak husband. Greatly influenced by Western European thinkers, considered freeing serfs, significantly expanded borders to the south and secured a warm-water port on the Black Sea
Peter I
Czar of Russia who introduced ideas from western Europe to reform the government
Peace of Westphalia
The peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War
Adam Smith
Scottish economist who wrote the Wealth of Nations and designed modern Capitalism; known as the father of capitalism
Ptolemy
Ancient scientist who said earth was the center of the universe
Galileo
Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars
Kepler
This mathematician and astronomer helped prove the sun-centered theory of the universe and said that planets orbited the sun in an eliptical manner
Copernicus
Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center
John Locke
English empiricist philosopher who believed that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience
Isaac Newton
Discovered gravity, laws of motion, calculus
Philosophies
Study of the processes and relationships of thought and the universe
Voltaire
French writer who was the embodiment of 18th century Enlightenment
Enlightenment
A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions