Adam Smith
Scottish economist who advocated private enterprise and free trade
Frederick the Great
Prussian king who embraced culture and wrote poetry and prose. He gave religious and philosophical toleration to all subjects, abolished torture and made the laws simpler
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.
Louis XIV
Known as the Sun King, he was the epitomize of absolute monarchies (French)
Rene Descartes
French philosopher and mathematician, "I think therefore I am"
Voltaire
French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state
Jean Jacques Rousseau
French man who believed that Human beings are naturally good & free & can rely on their instincts. Government should exist to protect common good, and be a democracy
Ivan III
"Ivan the Great"; ruled as great prince and first ruler of the independent state called Russia
Ivan IV
the first czar of Russia
Peter the Great
ruled Russia from 1682 to 1725, wanted closer ties to western Europe, modernize and strengthen Russia
Catherine the Great
This was the empress of Russia who continued Peter's goal to Westernizing Russia, created a new law code, and greatly expanded Russia
Pedro Cabral
Portuguese leader of an expedition to India; blown off course in 1500 and landed in Brazil
Charles III
royal Spanish imperial reformer who attempted to end bureaucratic corruption by introducing the intendant system to the empire
Shaka Zulu
used highly disciplined warriors and good military organization to create a large centralized state. The Zulu land became part of British-controlled land in 1887.
Sail al Din
Early 14th century Sufi mystic; began campaign to purify Islam; first member of Safavid dynasty.
Abbas I
greatest of the Safavid rulers; tolerant of other religions/ groups; ruled during "Golden Age of the Safavids"; his paranoia led to this sons being blinded or exectuted
Sulieman the Magnificent
Ottoman Turk leader who modernized the army and conquered many new lands, and extended the Ottoman empire in the mid 16th century
Babur
founder of Mughal dynasty in India; descended from Turkic warriors; first led invasion of India in 1526; died in 1530.
Akbar
The greatest of the Mughald Emperors. Second half of 1500s. Descendant of Timur. Consolidated power over northern India. Religiously tolerant. Patron of arts, including large mural paintings.
Hongwu
First Ming emperor in 1368; originally of peasant lineage; original name Zhu Yuanzhang; drove out Mongol influence; restored position of scholar-gentry
Zheng He
An imperial eunuch and Muslim, entrusted by the Ming emperor Yongle with a series of state voyages that took his gigantic ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi; succeeded him as most powerful military figure in Japan; granted title of shogun in 1603 and established Tokugawa Shogunate; established political unity in Japan
Louis XVI
King of France. In 1789 he summoned the Estates-General, but he did not grant the reforms that were demanded and revolution followed. Louis and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793.
Maximillien Robespierre
one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his arrest and execution in 1794.
Napoleon Bonaparte
French general who became emperor of the French; known for shortness; lost against Russians
James Watt
Scottish engineer and inventor whose improvements in the steam engine led to its wide use in industry
Louis Pasteur
French chemist and biologist whose discovery that fermentation is caused by microorganisms resulted in the process of pasteurization
Camillo Di Cavour
known for leading Italian unification, he was named prime minister of Sardinia in 1852. Joined Napoleon III to drive Austria out of the northern Italian provinces in 1858
Otto von Bismarck
German statesman under whose leadership Germany was united
Charles Darwin
English naturalist. He studied the plants and animals of South America and the Pacific islands, and in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection set forth his theory of evolution.
Sigmund Freud
Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis
Toussaint L'Overture
Led a slave rebellion which took control of Haiti, the most important island of France's Caribbean possessions. The rebellion led Napoleon to feel that New World colonies were more trouble than they were worth, and encouraged him to sell Louisiana to the U.S.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
led a group of peasants in a revolt against the dominant Peninsulars under the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe. After clashes with the Creole people and other townspeople, the group disbanded. captured on 21 March 1811, and executed on 30 July. rebellion was the beginning of what would become the Mexican War of Independence.
Simon Bolivar
The most important military leader in the struggle for independence in South America. Born in Venezuela, he led military forces there and in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; North of S. America; Gran Colombia
Jose de San Martin
South American general and statesman, born in Argentina: leader in winning independence for Argentina, Peru, and Chile; protector of Peru; Rio de la Plata
Pedro I
Son and successor of Joao VI in brazil; aided in the declaration of Brazilian independence in 1822 and became constitutional emperor
Maximillian von Hapsburg
proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy. Many foreign governments, including that of the United States, refused to recognize his administration. This helped to ensure the success of Republican forces. was captured and executed in 1867
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Mexican president and general; fought at Alamo; lost many battles in Mexican War
Mahmud II
Ottoman sultan; built a private, professional army; fomented revolution of Janissaries and crushed them with private army; destroyed power of Janissaries and their religious allies; initiated reform of Ottoman Empire on Western precedents
Abdul Hamid
Ottoman sultan who attempted to return to despotic absolutism during reign from 1878 to 1908; nullified constitution and restricted civil liberties; deposed in coup in 1908
Muhammad Ali
Albanian soldier in the service of Turkey who was made viceroy of Egypt and took control away from the Ottoman Empire and established Egypt as a modern state
Cixi
Ultraconservative dowager empress who dominated the last decades of the Qing dynasty; supported Boxer Rebellion in 1898 as a means of driving out Westerners.
Sun Yat-sen
Head of Revolutionary Alliance, organization that led 1911 revolt against Qing dynasty in China; briefly elected president in 1911, but yielded in favor of Yuan Shikai in 1912; created Nationalist party of China (Guomindang) in 1919; died in 1925.
Hong Xuiquan
Leader of the Taiping rebelling; converted to specifically Chinese form of Christianity; attacked traditional Confucian teachings of Chinese elite
Alexander II
the son of Nicholas I who, as czar of Russia, introduced reforms that included limited emancipation of the serfs
Nicholas II
Last tsar of Russia, he went to the frontlines in WWI to try to rally the troops, but was forced to abdicate after his wife made horrible decisions under the influence of Rasputin.
Meiji
Emperor of Japan from 1867 to 1912. He was responsible for the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the rapid modernization and industrialization of Japan.
Matthew Perry
American commodore who visited Edo Bay with American fleet in 1853; insisted on opening ports to American trade on threat of naval bombardment; won rights for American trade with Japan in 1854
Vladimir Ilych Ulyana
Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years (1917-1924), as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a socialist economic system.