White Plains Public Schools
NOTECARD TERMS!!
Unit 1 – 8,000 BCE to 600 B.C.E.
Abraham - Founder of Judaism who, according to the Bible, led his family from Ur to Canaan in obedience to God's command.
Aryans - Indo-European speaking nomads who entered India from the Central Asian steppes between 1500 and 1000 BC and greatly affected Indian society.
Austronesians - earliest inhabitants of New Guinea and Oceania; had remarkable seafaring skills and maritime technology; used canoes; later migrated to the Pacific Islands
Bantu - a family of languages widely spoken in the southern half of the African continent
Bible - The book that contains the writings or scriptures that Christians recognize as the written word of God.
Book of Songs - The Oldest of the Five Classics, preserves 305 of the earliest Chinese poems. Poems deal with political themes, ritual, and romance.
Brahmins - Priests, at the top of the caste system which the Aryans established
Caste - a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth
Catal Huyuk - One of first true cities in history, created in the Neolithic Era in 6500 to 5500 BC, from which were created agriculture, trading, temples, housing, and religions
Chavin cult - a new religion that appeared in the Andes mountains after 1000 BCE; enjoyed enormous popularity during the 900 to 800 BCE; spread in the area of modern Peru; vanished about 300 BCE; no information survives on the significance of the cults
Chichen Itza - Originally a Mayan city; conquered by Toltecs circa 1000 and ruled by Toltec dynasties; architecture featured pyramid of Feathered Serpent (Quetzacoatl).
cultural diffusion - The spread of cultural elements from one society to another
Cuneiform - an ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia and Persia
Dharma - In Hinduism, the duties and obligations of each caste
Dravidians - one of the main groups of people in India; probably descended from the Indus River culture that flourished at the dawn of Indian civilization over 4,000 yrs. ago
ethnocentrism - Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group
fertile crescent - Found along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, this was the first early river civilization. The cities in this area were governed by city-states and used irrigation to produced their corps.
Ganges River - Located in India, this river is considered sacred to Hindus and is used for spiritual cleansing, funeral rites, and other Hindu rituals.
Gilgamesh - a legendary Sumerian king who was the hero of an epic collection of mythic stories
Hammurabi - Amorite ruler of Babylon (r. 1792-1750 B.C.E.). He conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases. (p. 34)
Harappan - Civilization that developed along the Indus River (Present Day Pakistan), Controlled larges areas of land on both sides of the Indus River, Largest two settlements were _______ and Mohenjo Daro, Known for City planning, sewer systems, indoor plumbing, and fortresses around their cities
Hatshepsut - Queen of Egypt (1473-1458 B.C.E.). Dispatched a naval expedition down the Red Sea to Punt (possibly Somalia), the faraway source of myrrh. There is evidence of opposition to a woman as ruler, and after her death her name was frequently expunged. (p.66)
Hebrews - the ethnic group claiming descent from Abraham and Isaac (especially from Isaac's son Jacob)
Hieroglyphs - pictures, characters, or symbols standing for words, ideas, or sounds; ancient Egyptians used instead of an alphabet like ours
Homo sapiens - the only surviving hominid
Huang He - a major river of Asia in northern China
Ice Age - Any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface
Indra - chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a colossal, hard-drinking warrior God of thunder and strength
irrigation systems - Replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops
Jati - sub castes; were groups of people within each caste that worked together for one economic function
Jericho - a village in Jordan near the north end of the Dead Sea
karma - (Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation
Land bridges - long ago, after the Flood, little trails of land connecting the continents together
Lucy - A forty percent complete skeleton discovery of an Australopithecus afarensis, or a species within the category of hominid. She was rediscovered on November 24, 1974 in Hadar, Ethiopia.
Mandate of Heaven - People believed that heaven gave them the authority to rule. They also believed that heaven would take it away
Maya - a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between AD 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy
Menes - king of upper egypt united the two kingdoms of upper and lower egypt
Mesopotamia - first civilization located between the Tigris & Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means "land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture
Metallurgy - the science or art of metals. It includes the study of their properties and structure, the separation and refining of metals from their ores, the production of alloys, and the shaping and treatment of metals by heat and rolling.
Mohenjo-daro - Largest city of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large-scale implies central planning. Not Harappa
Nebuchadnezzar - A Babylonian king who conquered Jerusalem,and built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Neolithic Revolution - the shift from hunting of animals and gathering of food to the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis around 8,000 BC
Nile River - the world's longest river (4180 miles)
nomadic - (of groups of people) tending to travel and change settlements frequently
Nubia - an ancient region of northeastern Africa (southern Egypt and northern Sudan) on the Nile
Olmecs - (1400 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E.) earliest known Mexican civilization,lived in rainforests along the Gulf of Mexico, developed calendar and constructed public buildings and temples, carried on trade with other groups.
Oracle bones - cattle bones or tortoise shells on which Chinese priests would write questions and then interpret answers from the cracks that formed when the bones were heated
Paleolithic - second part of the Stone Age beginning about 750,00 to 500,000 years BC and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8,500 years BC
Palestine - an ancient country is southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean
Patriarchy - a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line
Period of the Warring State - Civil War broke out in during the Zhou Dynasty, beginning an age known in Chinese historical records as the "____________ of the ____________________ _____________________."
Pharaoh - a king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader
Phoenicians - Sailing and trading people who had many colonies on the Mediterranean coast
Sanskrit - (Hinduism) an ancient language of India (the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism)
Sargon of Akkad - an ancient Mesopotamian ruler who reigned approximately 2334-2279 BC, and was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran). He established the region's first Semitic dynasty and was considered the founder of the Mesopotamian military tradition.
Sati - a ritual that required a woman to throw herself on her late husband's funeral pyre or burn herself. This was done gladly and if a woman didn't comply with this she would be disgraced.
Shang dynasty - Second Chinese dynasty (about 1750-1122 B.C.) which was mostly a farming society ruled by an aristocracy mostly concerned with war. They're best remembered for their art of bronze casting.
Steppe lands - -semiarid grasslands -stretch from Russia to the Great Wall of CHina
Temple of the Giant Jaguar - a stepped pyramid rising sharply to a height of 47 meters (154 feet); dominated the skyline and represented Tikal's control over the surrounding region
Teotihuacan - first major metropolis in Mesoamerica, collapsed around 800 CE. It is most remembered for the gigantic "pyramid of the sun".
Tikal - the most important Maya political center between the 4th-9th centuries. It was a city that had temples, pyramids, palaces, and public buildings.
Torah - (Judaism) the scroll of parchment on which the first five books of the Hebrew Scripture is written
Upanishads - A group of writings sacred in Hinduism concerning the relations of humans, God, and the universe.
Vedas - sacred texts in the Hindu religion, they are a set of four collections of hymns and religious ceremonies transmitted by memory through the centuries by Aryan priests
Xia dynasty - This was the earliest known dynasty. There is no written evidence of this early time period, but artifacts have been found. The people of this time were farmers and made pottery.
Zhou dynasty - the imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to 221 BC; notable for the rise of Confucianism and Taoism
ziggurat - a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
Unit 2 – 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.
Achaemenids - Persian dynasty which traced its lineage back to an ancestor named Achaemenes; founded by Cyrus
Ahura Mazda - Main god of Zoroastrianism who represented truth and goodness and was perceived to be in an eternal struggle with the malign spirit angra mainyu.
Alexander the Great - Successor of Philip of Macedon; 1st global empire, but no lasting bureaucracy; spread of Hellenism is greatest achievement
Analects - a collection of excerpts from a literary work
Angra Mainyu - evil spirit in zoroastrianism, the explanation for the presence of evil in the world
Antigonid Empire - The empire in Greece after the breakup of Alexander's empire.
Aristotle - Greek philosopher. A pupil of Plato, the tutor of Alexander the Great, and the author of works on logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural sciences, politics, and poetics, he profoundly influenced Western thought. In his philosophical system.
Ashoka - The grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; extended conquests of the dynasty; converted to Buddhism and sponsored its spread throughout his empire.
Augustus Caesar - The first empreror of Rome, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, help Rome come into Pax Romana, or the Age of Roman Peace
Bhagavad Gita - The most important work of Indian sacred literature, a dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit.
Buddhism - a world religion or philosophy based on the teaching of the Buddha and holding that a state of enlightenment can be attained by suppressing worldly desire
Chandra Gupta - Laid the foundations for the Gupta empire, he forged alliances with powerful families in the Ganges Region and established a dynamic kingdom about the year 320 C.E. Golden Age
Chandragupta Maurya – (Much more important than the one above!) He founded India's first empire (Mauryan) in 322 BCE. He was an Indian prince who conquered a large area in the Ganges River valley soon after Alexander invaded western India.
Cicero - Rome's greatest public speaker; he argued against dictators and called for a representative government with limited powers
Confucianism - The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct.
Confucius - Chinese philosopher and teacher; his belifs,known as confusoinism greatly influenced chinese life
Constantine - Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)
Council of Nicaea - (325 CE) A council called by Constantine to agree upon correct Christian doctrine and settle some disputes of the time such as the issue of the Trinity
Cyrus - Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Between 550 and 530 B.C.E. he conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon. He allowed the Jews to return to their homeland
Daoism - Chinese School of Thought: Daoists believe that the world is always changing and is devoid of absolute morality or meaning. They accept the world as they find it, avoid futile struggles, and deviate as little as possible from the Dao, or 'path' of nature.
Darius - Persian ruler who brought order to the Persian Empire. He also built roads; established a postal system; and standardized weights, measures, and coinage.
Delian League - An alliance headed by Athens that says that all Greek city-states will come together and help fight the Persians
Edict of Milan - Issued by Constantine in 313, ended the "great persecution" and legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire
Etruscans - Beginning in the 700s BCE,first rulers of Roman Republic and Empire; Laid the foundation for Rome and Roman civilization
Eyes and Ears of the King - Inspectors who made unannounced visits to provinces in Persia and reported back to the king to check up on the local government
Gracchi brothers - two brothers (Tiberius and Gaius); they promoted giving land and voting reforms to the poor. Both were killed because they advocated these reforms
Gupta Empire - Powerful Indian state based, like its Mauryan predecessor, in the Ganges Valley. It controlled most of the Indian subcontinent through a combination of military force and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture. Golden Age
Han dynasty - A great and long-lasting rule, it discarded the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty and adopted Confucian principles. Han rulers chose officials on merit rather than birth. It was a time of prosperity
Han Wudi - The most important Han Emperor: expanded the Empire in all directions; created the Civil Service System based upon Confucian learning; established Imperial University; promoted the Silk Roads
Hellenistic Age - Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam.
Homer - ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)
Julius Caesar - Made dictator for life in 45 BCE, after conquering Gaul, assassinated in 44 BCE by the Senate because they were afraid of his power
Kushan Empire - Ruled central Asia to Northern India, important in spreading Buddhism to Chinese, took control of the Silk Road route.
Laozi - Chinese Daoist philosopher; taught that governments were of secondary importance and recommended retreat from society into nature.
Latifundia - Large farming estates owned by wealthy families in Ancient Rome
Legalism - In China, a political philosophy that emphasized the unruliness of human nature and justified state coercion and control. The Qin ruling class invoked it to validate the authoritarian nature of their regime. (p.52)
Mauryan Empire - The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes. (184)
Mencius - (371?-289 BCE), Chinese philosopher, who studied Confucianism. He later refined many of the ideas and spread them across China. He wrote the Analects
Minoan society - Inhabited the island of Crete (major city: Knossos); around 2200 B.C.E. they acted as the center of maritime trade in the Mediterranean; used Linear A, an undecipherable syllabic alphabet; through a series of both natural disasters (1700 B.C.E.) and foreign invaders, were conquered by 1100 B.C.E.
Mithradates I - The Parthians greatest conqueror; he had consolidated his hold on Iran and had also extended Parthian rule to Mesopotamia.
Mycenaean society - Indo-European invaders descend through Balkans into Peloponnesus c. 2200 B.C.E.; influenced by Minoan society; had a major settlement in Mycenae; used a syllabic alphabet called Linear B (evolved form of Linear A); inhabited Greece, Crete, Anatolia, Sicily, and Italy; c. 1200 B.C.E., engaged in conflicts with Troy
Nestorians - Early branch of Christianity, named after the fifth-century Greek theologian Nestorius, that emphasized the human nature of Jesus Christ.
Parthians - Persian dynasty. Based in Iran and extended to Mesopotamia. Had very heavy calvary (horses and armored troops). Government followed the example of the Achaemenid administration.
Patricians - A member of one of the noble families of the ancient Roman Republic, which before the third century B.C. had exclusive rights to the Senate and the magistracies.
Pax Romana - A period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire, lasting from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180.
Peloponnesian War - a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by the league centered on Sparta
Pericles - Athenian statesman whose leadership contributed to Athen's political and cultural supremacy in Greece
Persepolis - an ancient city that was the capital of the ancient Persian Empire
Persian - Of or relating to Iran or its people or language or culture
Persian War - King Darius of Persia wanted to conquer all of the Greek city-states but Athens and Sparta resisted. Greek city-states vs. Persia - Greek city-states won. Athens emerged as most powerful city state in Greece.
Persian Wars - Conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, ranging from the Ionian Revolt (499-494 B.C.E.) through Darius's punitive expedition that failed at Marathon. Chronicled by Herodotus. (131)
Plato - Student of Socrates, wrote The Republic about the perfectly governed society
Plebeians - Members of the lower class of Ancient Rome including farmers, merchants, artisans and traders
polis - Greek word for city-state
Ptolemaic Empire - The Hellenistic empire in Egypt area after Alexander's death; created by Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals.
Punic War - one of the three wars between Carthage and Rome that resulted in the destruction of Carthage and its annexation by Rome
Qin Dynasty - The dynasty that replaced the Zhou dynasty and employed Legalist ideas in order to control warring states and unify the country.
Qin Shihuangdi - Ruler of China who united China for the first time. He built road and canals and began the Great Wall of China. He also imposed a standard system of laws, money, weights, and writing.
Royal Road - A road for the government use built by the ancient Persian ruler Darius which helped unite the empire
Sasanids - Last powerful Persian dynasty of the classical period that would reach its peak under Shapur I and later fall to Islamic/Arabic expansion.
Satraps - under Darius's rule these were known as governors who ruled the provinces. They collected taxes, served as judges, and put down rebellions
Seleucid Empire - The empire in Syria, Persia, and Bactria after the breakup of Alexander's empire.
Seleucids - One of the regional dynasties that followed the death of Alexander the Great; founded in Mesopotamia
Siddhartha Gautama - founder of Buddism; born a prince; left his father's wealth to find the cause of human suffering; also know as Buddha
Silk roads - Trade routes stretching from China to the Mediterranean, which allowed for the exchange of goods and ideas from China to the Roman Empire
Socrates - Greek philosopher; socratic method--questioning; sentenced to death for corrupting Athens youth
Sparta - Greek city-state that was ruled by an oligarchy, focused on military, used slaves for agriculture, discouraged the arts
Trojan War - A war, fought around 1200 B.C., in which an army led by Mycenaean kings attacked the independent trading city of Troy in Anatolia
Twelve tables - the earliest written collection of Roman laws, drawn up by patricians about 450B.C., that became the foundation of Roman law
White Huns - Nomadic invaders from central Asia; invaded India; disrupted Gupta administration
Xerxes - son of Darius; became Persian king. He vowed revenge on the Athenians. He invaded Greece with 180,000 troops in 480 B.C and was eventually defeated
Yellow Turban Uprising - Large revolt throughout China during the Han dynasty led by desperate peasants wearing yellow turbans. This uprising tested the resilience of the Han state during the late second century CE. It weakened the Han state during the second and third centuries CE. Leads to fall of Han Dynasty
Zarathustra - Chief prophet of the Ancient Persian religion known as Zoroastrianism, which influenced Jewish and later Christian belief
Unit 3 – 600 to 1450 C.E.
Abbasid Caliphate - Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-Abbas, the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258.
Aden - Port city in the modern South Arabian country of Yemen. It has been a major trading center in the Indian Ocean since ancient times.
Alexander Nevskii - Prince of Novgorod (r. 1236-1263). He submitted to the invading Mongols in 1240 and received recognition as the leader of the Russian princes under the Golden Horde.
Anasazi - Important culture of what is now the southwest (1000-1300 C.E.). Centered on Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Colorado, the Anasazi culture built multistory residences and worshipped in subterranean buildings called kivas.
Ashikaga Shogunate - The second of Japan's military governments headed by a shogun (a military ruler). Sometimes called the Muromachi Shogunate.
Ayllu - Andean lineage group or kin-based community.
Aztecs - Also known as Mexica, they created a powerful empire in central Mexico (1325-1521 C.E.). They forced defeated peoples to provide goods and labor as a tax.
Beijing - China's northern capital, first used as an imperial capital in 906 and now the capital of the People's Republic of China.
Bubonic Plague - A bacterial disease of fleas that can be transmitted by flea bites to rodents and humans; humans in late stages of the illness can spread the bacteria by coughing. Because of its very high mortality rate and the difficulty of preventing its spread, major outbreaks have created crises in many parts of the world.
Byzantine Empire - Historians' name for the eastern portion of the Roman Empire from the fourth century onward, taken from 'Byzantion,' an early name for Constantinople, the Byzantine capital city. The empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453.
Caliphate - Office established in succession to the Prophet Muhammad, to rule the Islamic empire; also the name of that empire.
Champa Rice - Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state.
Charlemagne - King of the Franks (r. 768-814); emperor (r. 800-814). Through a series of military conquests he established the Carolingian Empire, which encompassed all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy. Illiterate, though started an intellectual revival.
Chiefdom - Form of political organization with rule by a hereditary leader who held power over a collection of villages and towns. Less powerful than kingdoms and empires, they were based on gift giving and commercial links.
Chinampas - Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.
Crusades - Armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land by Christians determined to recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The Crusades brought an end to western Europe's centuries of intellectual and cultural isolation.
Delhi Sultanate - Centralized Indian empire of varying extent, created by Muslim invaders.
Dhow - Ship of small to moderate size used in the western Indian Ocean, traditionally with a triangular sail and a sewn timber hull.
Fief - In medieval Europe, land granted in return for a sworn oath to provide specified military service.
Fujiwara - Aristocratic family that dominated the Japanese imperial court between the ninth and twelfth centuries.
Genghis Khan - The title of Temüjin when he ruled the Mongols (1206 - 1227). It means the "oceanic" or "universal leader". The founder of the Mongol Empire
Ghana - First known kingdom in sub-Saharan West Africa between the sixth and thirteenth centuries C.E. Also the modern West African country once known as the Gold Coast.
Golden Horde - Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan's. It was based in southern Russia and quickly adopted both the Turkic language and Islam. Also known as the Kipchak Horde.
Grand Canal - The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Empire.
Great Zimbabwe - City, now in ruins (in the modern African country of Zimbabwe), whose many stone structures were built between about 1250 and 1450, when it was a trading center and the capital of a large state.
Gujarat - Region of western India famous for trade and manufacturing; the inhabitants are called Gujarati.
Gunpowder - A mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, in various proportions. The formula, brought to China in the 400s or 500s, was first used to make fumigators to keep away insect pests and evil spirits. In later centuries it was used to make explosives and grenades and to propel cannonballs, shot, and bullets.
Hadith - A tradition relating the words or deeds of the Prophet Muhammad; next to the Quran, the most important basis for Islamic law.
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.
Horse Collar - Harnessing method that increased the efficiency of horses by shifting the point of traction from the animal's neck to the shoulders; its adoption favors the spread of horse-drawn plows and vehicles.
Ibn Battuta - Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.
Il-Khan - A "secondary" or "peripheral" khan based in Persia. The Il-Khans' khanate was founded by Hülegü, a grandson of Genghis Khan, and was based at Tabriz in modern Azerbaijan. It controlled much of Iran and Iraq.
Inca - Largest and most powerful Andean empire. Controlled the Pacific coast of South America from Ecuador to Chile from its capital of Cuzco.
Investiture Controversy - Dispute between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors over who held ultimate authority over bishops in imperial lands.
Islam - Religion expounded by the Prophet Muhammad (570-632 C.E.) on the basis of his reception of divine revelations, which were collected after his death into the Quran. In the tradition of Judaism and Christianity, and sharing much of their lore, Islam calls on all people to recognize one creator god--Allah--who rewards or punishes believers after death according to how they led their lives.
Junk - A very large flatbottom sailing ship produced in the Tang, Ming, and Song Empires, specially designed for long-distance commercial travel.
Kamakura Shogunate - The first of Japan's decentralized military governments. (1185-1333).
Kamikaze - The 'divine wind,' which the Japanese credited with blowing Mongol invaders away from their shores in 1281.
Khipu - System of knotted colored cords used by preliterate Andean peoples to transmit information.
Khubilai Khan - Last of the Mongol Great Khans (r. 1260-1294) and founder of the Yuan Empire.
Kievan Russia - State established at Kiev in Ukraine ca. 879 by Scandinavian adventurers asserting authority over a mostly Slavic farming population.
Koryo - Korean kingdom founded in 918 and destroyed by a Mongol invasion in 1259.
Lama - In Tibetan Buddhism, a teacher.
Li Shimin - One of the founders of the Tang Empire and its second emperor (r. 626-649). He led the expansion of the empire into Central Asia.
Malacca - Port city in the modern Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, founded about 1400 as a trading center on the Strait of Malacca. Also spelled Melaka.
Mali - Empire created by indigenous Muslims in western Sudan of West Africa from the thirteenth to fifteenth century. It was famous for its role in the trans-Saharan gold trade.
Mamluks - Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Mamluks eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517)
Manor - In medieval Europe, a large, self-sufficient landholding consisting of the lord's residence (manor house), outbuildings, peasant village, and surrounding land.
Mansa Kankan Musa - Ruler of Mali (r. 1312-1337). His pilgrimage through Egypt to Mecca in 1324-1325 established the empire's reputation for wealth in the Mediterranean world.
Maya - Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire. Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the calendar.
Mecca - City in western Arabia; birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and ritual center of the Islamic religion.
Medieval - Literally 'middle age,' a term that historians of Europe use for the period ca. 500 to ca. 1500, signifying its intermediate point between Greco-Roman antiquity and the Renaissance.
Medina - City in western Arabia to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca.
Ming Empire - Empire based in China that Zhu Yuanzhang established after the overthrow of the Yuan Empire. The Ming emperor Yongle sponsored the building of the Forbidden City and the voyages of Zheng He. The later years of the Ming saw a slowdown in technological development and economic decline.
Mit'a - Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of the ruler and religious organizations.
Moche - Civilization of north coast of Peru (200-700 C.E.). An important Andean civilization that built extensive irrigation networks as well as impressive urban centers dominated by brick temples.
Monasticism - Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. It was a prominent element of medieval Christianity and Buddhism. Monasteries were the primary centers of learning and literacy in medieval Europe.
Mongols - A people of this name is mentioned as early as the records of the Tang Empire, living as nomads in northern Eurasia. After 1206 they established an enormous empire under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.
Monsoon - Seasonal winds in the Indian Ocean caused by the differences in temperature between the rapidly heating and cooling landmasses of Africa and Asia and the slowly changing ocean waters. These strong and predictable winds have long been ridden across the open sea by sailors, and the large amounts of rainfall that they deposit on parts of India, Southeast Asia, and China allow for the cultivation of several crops a year.
Movable Type - Type in which each individual character is cast on a separate piece of metal. It replaced woodblock printing, allowing for the arrangement of individual letters and other characters on a page. Invented in Korea 13th Century.
Muhammad - Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam.
Muslim - An adherent of the Islamic religion; a person who 'submits' (in Arabic, Islam means 'submission') to the will of God.
Neo-Confucianism - Term used to describe new approaches to understanding classic Confucian texts that became the basic ruling philosophy of China from the Song period to the twentieth century.
Nomadism - A way of life, forced by a scarcity of resources, in which groups of people continually migrate to find pastures and water.
Ottoman Empire - Islamic state founded by Osman in northwestern Anatolia ca. 1300. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire was based at Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) from 1453 to 1922. It encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe.
Papacy - The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the pope is the head.
Pilgrimage - Journey to a sacred shrine by Christians seeking to show their piety, fulfill vows, or gain absolution for sins. Other religions also have pilgrimage traditions, such as the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the pilgrimages made by early Chinese Buddhists to India in search of sacred Buddhist writings.
Quran - Book composed of divine revelations made to the Prophet Muhammad between ca. 610 and his death in 632; the sacred text of the religion of Islam.
Rashid al-Din - Adviser to the Il-khan ruler Ghazan, who converted to Islam on Rashid's advice.
Schism - a formal split within a religious organization
Serf - In medieval Europe, an agricultural laborer legally bound to a lord's property and obligated to perform set services for the lord. In Russia some of them worked as artisans and in factories; in Russia it was not abolished until 1861.
Shi'ites - Muslims belonging to the branch of Islam believing that God vests leadership of the community in a descendant of Muhammad's son-in-law Ali. Shi'ism is the state religion of Iran.
Song Empire - Empire in central and southern China (960-1126) while the Liao people controlled the north. Empire in southern China (1127-1279; the "Southern Song") while the Jin people controlled the north. Distinguished for its advances in technology, medicine, astronomy, and mathematics.
Sunnis - Muslims belonging to branch of Islam believing that the community should select its own leadership. The majority religion in most Islamic countries.
Swahili Coast - East African shores of the Indian Ocean between the Horn of Africa and the Zambezi River; from the Arabic sawahil, meaning 'shores.'
Tang Empire - Empire unifying China and part of Central Asia, founded 618 and ended 907. The Tang emperors presided over a magnificent court at their capital, Chang'an.
Tenochtitlan - Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.
Teotihuacan - A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600.
Tibet - Country centered on the high, mountain-bounded plateau north of India. Tibetan political power occasionally extended farther to the north and west between the seventh and thirteen centuries.
Timbuktu - City on the Niger River in the modern country of Mali. It was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp sometime after 1000. As part of the Mali empire, Timbuktu became a major major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning.
Timur - Member of a prominent family of the Mongols' Jagadai Khanate, Timur through conquest gained control over much of Central Asia and Iran. He consolidated the status of Sunni Islam as orthodox, and his descendants, the Timurids, maintained his empire for nearly a century and founded the Mughal Empire in India.
Toltecs - Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 C.E.). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization.
Tributary System - A system in which, from the time of the Han Empire, countries in East and Southeast Asia not under the direct control of empires based in China nevertheless enrolled as tributary states, acknowledging the superiority of the emperors in China in exchange for trading rights or strategic alliances.
Tribute System - A system in which defeated peoples were forced to pay a tax in the form of goods and labor. This forced transfer of food, cloth, and other goods subsidized the development of large cities. An important component of the Aztec and Inca economies.
Tropics - Equatorial region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. It is characterized by generally warm or hot temperatures year-round, though much variation exists due to altitude and other factors. Temperate zones north and south of the tropics generally have a winter season.
tsar - From Latin caesar, this Russian title for a monarch was first used in reference to a Russian ruler by Ivan III (r. 1462-1505).
Uighurs - A group of Turkic-speakers who controlled their own centralized empire from 744 to 840 in Mongolia and Central Asia.
Ulama - Muslim religious scholars. From the ninth century onward, the primary interpreters of Islamic law and the social core of Muslim urban societies.
Umayyad Caliphate - First hereditary dynasty of Muslim caliphs (661 to 750). From their capital at Damascus, the Umayyads ruled one of the largest empires in history that extended from Spain to India. Overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate.
Umma - The community of all Muslims. A major innovation against the background of seventh-century Arabia, where traditionally kinship rather than faith had determined membership in a community.
Urdu - A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the 1300s.
Vassal - In medieval Europe, a sworn supporter of a king or lord committed to rendering specified military service to that king or lord.
Wari - Andean civilization culturally linked to Tiwanaku, perhaps beginning as colony of Tiwanaku.
Yi - The Yi dynasty ruled Korea from the fall of the Koryo kingdom to the colonialization of Korea by Japan.
Yongle - Reign period of Zhu Di (1360-1424), the third emperor of the Ming Empire (r. 1403-1424).Sponsored the building of the Forbidden City, a huge encyclopedia project, the expeditions of Zheng He, and the reopening of China's borders to trade and travel
Yuan Empire - Empire created in China and Siberia by Khubilai Khan.
Zen - The Japanese word for a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on highly disciplined meditation. It is known in Sanskrit as dhyana, in Chinese as chan, and in Korean as son.
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.
Unit 4 – 1450 to 1750
Absolute Monarchies vs. limited monarchies - absolute monarchies held complete control over their kingdom vs. the limited power.
Adam Smith - He analyzed the natural law of supply and demand that governed economies in his classic book, "The Wealth of Nations"
African Diaspora - The spreading of Africans to many other parts of the world, especially the Americas. This is one of the most important demographic changes during 1450 - 1750
Akbar - the grandson of Babur, who brought the height of the Mughal empire. Also expanded his empire to control much of the subcontinent.
Alternate attendance - Required Daimyos to spend every other year at the Tokugawa court, keeping their power in check. Weakened in two ways: their wealth was affected by having two households, and their ability to establish separate power bases was impaired
Anglican Church - A form of Christianity established by Henry VIII that was not decided on the grounds of religious belief, but because the pope would not allow him to divorce his wife.
Army of the Pure - an army led to challenge the Mughal army and to assert Sikh beliefs aggressively; combined with other upheavel of the 18th century to seriously weaken the Mughal empire
Asante - Produced insignificant amounts of gold and Kola nuts, they rose in West Africa on the Gold Coast.
Atahualpa - the leader of the Incas, who was seized by Pizzaro and gave gold to him, first baptized as a Christian, than strangled
Atlantic Circuit - a clockwise network of sea routs in the Atlantic Ocean
Babur - founded the Mughal empire, claimed to be a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan (1526)
Balance of Power - states forming a temporary alliance to prevent the state form being too powerful. (Russia emerged as a major power in Europe after its mediterranean armies got Sweden in the GNW)
Banraku - a pupper theater with a team of 3 that told a story through puppets in Japan
Bartholomew Dias - set out to find the tip of Africa and connect beyond it to the Indian Ocean, as well as discovering the fastest and safest ways back to Portugal
Battle at Lepanto - a famous sea battle with the Ottomans vs Philip II. Ottomans and their Muslim allies lost control of many ports in this war.
Benin - Not really a significant player in the slave trade - relied on traditional products, such as ivory, textiles, and their unique bronze castings
Bourgeoise - middle class; factory owners who put long hours and much of their profits into their businesses
Boyars - The nobility of the Russia feudal based economic system. They also had military responsibilities to overlords, including the tsar
Cape Colony - one of the two beachland colonies established by the Europeans in the 16th century, functioned as a major coastal for travelers.
Capitalism - an economic system based on private ownership of property and business that provide goods to be bough and sold in a free manner
Caravel - a new ship developed by the portuguese, which was much smaller than the junk, but size allowed for exploration of shallower coastal areas
Castas - a middle-level status between Europeans at the top; and Amerindians and blacks at the bottom
Catholic Reformation - the church's actions to revive their reputation and membership roles in 1545 (regained control of most of southern Europe, Austria, Poland, and much of Hungary)
Christopher Columbus - A Genoese mariner who convinced Isabella and Ferdinand to sponsor a voyage across the Atlantic after he was turned down by the Genoese and Portugal. He believed he could reach east Asia by sailing West.
Columbian exchange - the global diffusion of crops, other plants, human beings, animals, and distance that took place after the European exploring voyages of the New World
Conquistadors - went to search for gold and convert the natives to Christianity in the interior of Mexico
Constitutional Monarchy - States where rulers shared power with a parliament, a body of representatives selected by the nobility and urban citizens
Cortes - sought to find the Aztec capital, and took over the Aztec land - with help of Amerindians, disease, and technology
Cossacks - Peasants, who Ivan III consolidated land hold by recruiting them
Council of Indies - supervised all government and commercial activity in the Spanish colonies
Creoles - composed of those born in the new world; a quickly growing class
Dahomey - a kingdom that used firearms to create its powerbase, in Contrast to the Asante, the Dahomey leaders were authoritarian, and often brutal in forcing compliance to the royal court
Daimyo - power territorial lords, who held local control of areas. Some Daimyos had more influence than others, but each maintained his own governments and had his own samurai
De La Casas - a conquistador priest who dedicated himself to protecting Amerindian rights
Deism - God built the universe and let it run. Clockmaker theory.
Devshirme - a system that required Christian's of the area to contribute young boys to be the sultans slaves
Divine Faith - a combination religion consisting of Muslim, Zorastriam, Christian, Sikh beliefs, with the catch being cementing loyalty to the empreror
Divine Right - with God's blessing of the king's authority, the legitimacy of royalty across Europe was enhanced, and occurred under the reign of Louis XIV during the 17th and 18th centuries
Dutch East India Company - a joint stock company that specialized in the spice and luxury trade of the East Indies and quickly gained control of Dutch Trading in the Pacific
Early Modern Period - the time period of 1450 - 1750
(it is called this because events occurring in this time directly shape regional/political units of todays world)
Edict of Nantes - The granting of tolerance to Protestants through this, which was later revoked by King Louis XIV
Encomenderos - Spanish settlers who were in charge of the natives working on the encomiendas
Encomienda - the system in which conquistadors had forced natives to do work for them
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.
Enlightenment - the emphasis on human abilities and accomplishments and the importance of independent and rational thought
Erasmus - a humanist Dutch priest that published the first edition of the New Testament in Greek in 1516
Ethnocentrism - the term that describes the tendency of human beings to view their own culture as superior
Forbidden City - was the home of the emperor and his family, which expanded service people to 20,000; as the government returned to Beijing from Manjing
Franciscans - peoples who converted new world people to christianity, and took care of the poor.
Francisco Pizzaro - led a group of soldiers to the Andes to find the Inca. The Incas were weak; Pizzaro conquered and got gold.
Galileo - used the first telescope during the Renaissance in 1609, where he made many large discoveries in the solar system, until he was put under house arrest for spreading conflicting ideas
Gentry - the most powerful members of a society, and landowners that affected the style of the old aristocracy
Great Northern War - War that was long and costly which came from Peter's modernized armies breaking Swedish control of the Baltic Sea, forcing Europe to see Russia as a major power
Gunpowder Empires - an age of time where almost all powerful states used guns to build control/attack (included Russia, Ming and Qing, Japan, the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid and the Mughal empire)
Hapsburg - A powerful family with land claims all over Europe from Spain to Italy to the Netherlands to Hungary, as all the Holy Roman Emperor's had been Hapsburg since 1273
Henry the Navigator - the third son of the portuguese king; devoted his life to navigation, creating a navigation school, which became a magnet for the cartographers of the world
Hidden Imam - the 12th descendant of Muhammad, who in the end disappeared as a child
Holy Roman Empire - a place/time where religion remained very important, and religious issues continued to fragment, and strong kings emerged in the 16th century
House of Burgesses - the elected assembly in the colonies that initiated a form of democratic representation
Humanism - interest in the capabilities and accomplishments of individuals
Imams - heirs of Muhammad according to Shi'ite muslims
Indentured Servitude - a system which was usually ethnically the same as a free settler, but he or she was bound by an "indenture" (contract) to work for a person for four to seven years, in exchange for payment of the new world voyage
Indulgences - The Catholic Church's grants of salvation for money in the 1500s, and was part of the growing corruption of the church.
Iroquois Confederacy - Dutch merchants established trading relationships with these guys
Isaac Newton - discovered the basic principles of motion + gravity, where he captured the vision of a entire universe in simple laws
Isfahan vs. Istanbul - These two places differed in the sense the first was far from cosmopolitan, Shi'ite, and have international trade, while the latter had more numerous, and guilds organized merchants
Ismail - a person who united a large area south of the caspian sea and of the Ottoman empire. An army emerged under him, as well as declared Twelver shi'ism for his new Safavid realm
Ivan III - declared himself as "tsar" (means Caesar) with the claim he was establishing the "Third Rome"
Ivan IV - Ivan the Terrible (his nickname) reflected problems that tsars faced as power increased
Janissaries - Checked the military power of the sultan, being an elite military group
Jesuits - a religious order converting people to return to the church (went to Asia + Americas in 1500's)
Johan Gutenberg - a German goldsmith and printer, who created the printing press, in 1454
John Calvin - A protestant who established a variation of his beliefs on a stern and vengeful God.
John Locke - sought to understand the impact of the "laws of nature" on human liberties
Joint-stock Companies - these companies organized commercial ventures on a large scale by allowing investors to buy and sell shares. The new capitalist system largely replaced the old guild system of the middle ages.
Kabuki - a form of drama that consisted of several acts and separate skits with singing, dancing, and elaborate staging. (Actors became well known starts)
Kangxi - one of the rulers of the Manchu dynasty, helped to create a prosperous, powerful, and culturally rich empire. A sophisticated confucian scholar as well. His reign brought an empire that grew dramatically.
Kongo - Christian missionaries went to this kingdom just south of the Congo River, where Christian Missionaries converted its inhabitants to Christianity
Kowtow - a special, often deep bow to the Chinese emperor. In the Qing dynasty, those who came to see the emperor had to do a special bow consisting of 3 separate kneeling
Land-based Powers - A shift in land based powers where governments controlled lands by building armies, bureaucracies, road, canals, and walls that unified and protected
Lost Colony - The colony of Walter Raleigh, as well as the first venture to North America by the British on the Carolina Coast.
Louis XIV - Understood the importance of a "theatre state", by building a magnificent palace at Versailles, and the apex of absolutism occurred under him
Macartney Mission - the dispatch of Lord Macartney with other people to China, showing Britain's great interest in the Qing empire, as well the d Macartney esire to reuse the trade system
Magellan - had a ship that was first to circumnavigate the glove, even though Magellan himself died in the phillipines
Manila Galleons - ships that traveled across the pacific ocean picking up and trading goods, like Asian luxury goods, and silver
Mansabs - certain ranks in government by Akbar, which entitled their holder to revenue assignments
Manumission - legal grant of freedom to an individual slave
Maroons - runaway slaves in the Carribean
Martin Luther - a German monk who wrote the 95 theses in 1517, which were 95 propositions that criticized the Catholic Church
Matteo Ricci - A Jesuit missionary who helped to try and convert emperor Wudi. Though failed at primary goal, they did open the country to European influence, primarily through their gadgets and technology
Medici - was a powerful family of Florence in the mid to late 1400s that sponsored artists as a rich merchant family
Mercantilism - a system in which the government is constantly intervened in the market, with the understanding the goal of economic gain and to benefit the mother country
Mercantilism - the responsibility of government to promote the states economy to improve the revenues and limit imports to prevent profits from going to outsiders (allows industry to develop their own business)
Mestizos - composed of European and Amerindian children, part of the castas
Middle Passage - the first leg of the atlantic circuit, where ships took slaves to the new world
Moctezuma - the Aztec emperor, who welcome the Spaniards at Tenochtitlan, seeing them as god-like. This was a mistake, as this allowed everyone to conquer him.
Montesquieu - admired the British Parliament that had successfully gained power at the expense of the king, who also advocated a three-branch government with three branches that shared political power
Mughal Empire - an empire that that was a mixture of Mongol and Turkish peoples from Central Asia, which dominated India until the early 1700s
Mulattoes - composed of European and African children, also part of the castas
New Monarchies - Monarchies that emerged that differed from their medieval predecessors in having greater centralization of power, more regional boundaries, and stronger representative institutions
Nicholas Copernicus - a Polish monk who based tables on those by Nasir Al-Din, an Islamic scholar, to correct inaccurate calendars.
Nicolo Machiavelli - a Renaissance writer who wrote, "The Prince" which was a famous philosophical view of the ideal political leader in the 16th century, in Italian city states
Ottoman Lake - the Mediterranean Sea controlled by the empire with this name
Patrons - supporters of the arts, with payment and such, they found talented artists, often when they were young
Peninsularies - a fading social class in the new world, composed of the people born in the old world
Peter the Great - The tsar of Russia in 1682 to 1724, who was most responsible for transforming Russia into a great world power. He understood how things worked globally, and expanded water ports
Phillip II - ruled Spain at the height of its power in the 15th century
Pilgrims - settled first in New England, and wanted to break away completely from the Church of England, sought to pursue spiritual ends in new lands
Plantocracy - a small number of rich men owns most of the slaves and land, as well as had all the power
Protestant Reformation - a religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches
Protestant work ethic - a work ethic of the protestants that encouraged individual endeavors towards gaining wealth
Purdah - a woman's seclusion from society in India, which was more enforced for upper class women, who did not leave home unescorted
Puritans - wanted to purify Church of England, not break with it
Putting out system - the concept of producing goods in the countryside outside the guilds control by delivering raw materials to their homes, where they are transformed into finished products to be used up later
Qianlong - a ruler of the Manchu dynasty who helped to create a prosperous, powerful, and culturally rich empire. He brought much prosperity that he cancelled taxes 4 times
Qing Dynasty - The name of the empire after the Ming; seized China from the emperors who could no longer defend their borders from the Manchu
Qizilbash - fought against Janissaries in a great religious conflict. (Chaldiran)
Queue - a Manchu style patch of hair gathered long and uncut in the back, showing submission to the Qing dynasty
Rajputs - Hindu warriors from the north, who made up 15 percent of Mansabars
Reconquest - the retaking of land in Iberia by Spain and Portugal in a religious crusade to expand. This conquest advanced in waves over several centuries.
Renaissance - A heightened intellectual and artistic advance from about 1450s, that changed Europe forever
Renaissance Man - Title of a person who was smart and genius in the Renaissance Era.
Rosseau - the most radical of the common philosophers, he proclaimed in his social context that "Man is born free: and everywhere he is in chains". Since society had "Corrupted" human nature, he advocated a return to nature in a small, co-op community
Safavid Empire - an empire that grew from a turkish nomadic group, that were Shi'ite muslims
Sati - the ritual suicide of widows by jumping into their husbands pyres, representing the low status of women
Scholasticism - Scholars based their inquiry on the principles established by the church, which sometimes resulted in clases between science and religion
Scientific Revolution - a new vision of science developed during the renaissance in the 17th + 18th century
Sea-based Powers - Sea people built their power by controlling water routes, developing technology to cross the seas, and gaining wealth from trade and land claims.
Seasoning - a period of adjustment to a new environment, like with the slaves
Shah Abbas I - brought the Safavids to the peak of the power, slave infantrymen
Sikhism - started by Nanuk, who became the first Guru of Sikhism. Sikhism was a following of people who formed a community free of caste divisions
St. Petersburg - The "Window to the West" established by Peter the Great, which was a capital built on the shoes of the newly accessed Baltic Sea (a port for the new navy + allowed closer access to western countries)
Suleiman the Magnificent - ruled the Ottomans as the empire reached the height of its power. The Ottomans controlled much of the water traffic between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean sea
Table of Ranks - A system by Peter the Great that allowed officials to attain gov't posistions based on merit, not on aristocracy status (reorganization of Bureaucracy)
Taj Mahal - a building of beauty built as a tomb for Mumtaz Mahal's wife.
Thirty Years War - War within the Holy Roman Empire between German Protestants and their allies (Sweden, Denmark, France) and the emperor and his ally, Spain; ended in 1648 after great destruction with Treaty of Westphalia
Thomas 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)
Time of Trouble - The time of following Ivan's rule. Ivan executed his oldest son, touching off competition among Boyars for the throne.
Tokugawa leyasu - led the meetings of Daimyos after Hideyoshi's death, by the Togugawa shogunate
Tokugawa Shogunate - a centralized government established in 1603 in present day Tokyo. Also called "Ba***u", was a tent government, which was temporary
Toyotomi Hideyoshi - a competent, Daimyo general who broke the power of warring daimyos and eventually unified Japan under his own authority. His ambitions stretched far, and he sparked the Unification of Japan
Treaty of Tordesillas "Tortillas" - a treaty making Spain and Portugal land claim boundary. Portugal pushes its explorations to India and beyond.
Treaty of Westphalia - Ended the 30 years war, allowing principalities and cities to choose their own religion, creating a patchwork of religious affiliations through England.
Tsar - a derivative of "Caesar", establishing a "3rd rome". This was a major propaganda for Russia
Vasco da Gama - set out to find the tip of Africa and connect it to the Indian Ocean, and discovered the fastest and safest ways to travel to Portugal
Versailles - a place where Louis' palace was built symbolizing the French's triumph over the traditional rights of the nobility and clergy. This kept nobles away from plotting rebellions, and 'distracted europe'.
Vizier - head of the imperial administration in the Ottoman empire who took care of the day to day work of the empire, aiding the Sultan
Voltaire - wrote witty criticisms of the French monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church. He believed both institutions to be despotic and intolerant, limiting freedoms
Yongle - something of a renegade who supported a series of seven maritime expeditions. Chinese vessels started to take tribute from those they encountered.
Unit 5 – 1750 to 1900
"Scramble for Africa" - Sudden wave of conquests in Africa by European powers in the 1800s and 1900s; Britain obtained most of eastern Africa, France most of northwestern Africa; other countries (Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Spain) acquired lesser amounts
"Separate spheres" - Nineteenth-century idea in Western societies that men and women, especially of the middle class, should have different roles in society: women as wives, mothers, and homemakers; men as breadwinners and participants in business and politics
"White man's burden" - The idea that it is the responsibility of people of European descent to take care of people of other races due to their perceived superior culture, technology, government, etc.
19th Amendment - Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1920) extended the right to vote to women in federal or state elections
Abolitionists - Men and women who agitated for a complete end to slavery; their pressure ended the British transatlantic slave trade in 1808 and slavery in British colonies in 1834; in the US, the activities of these people were one factor leading to the Civil War
Adam Smith - Scottish political economist and philosopher. His Wealth of Nations (1776) laid the foundations of classical free-market economic theory, government should not interfere with economics. Advocates Laissez Faire and founder of "invisible hand"
Afrikaners - South Africans descended from Dutch and French settlers of the 17th century; their Great Trek founded new settler colonies in the 19th century; though a minority of South Africans, they held political power after 1910, imposing a system of racial segregation called apartheid after 1949
Balance of Power - The policy in international relations by which, beginning in the 18th century, the major European states acted together to prevent any one of them from becoming too powerful
Bastille Day - A large armory and state prison in the center of Paris that a mob of sans-culottes sacked on July 14, 1789, giving the masses arms for insurrection. had little practical consequence, but it was an enormous symbolic act against the ancien régime, inspired the revolutionaries, and is still celebrated today as the French holiday.
Berlin Conference - (1884-1885) Conference that German chancellor Otto von Bismarck called to set rules for the partition of Africa; led to the creation of the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium
Bessemer Process - An industrial process for making steel using a Bessemer converter to blast air through through molten iron and thus burning the excess carbon and impurities
Boxer Rebellion - Also known as The Boxer Uprising, this was the popular peasant uprising in China (supported nationally), that blamed foreign people and institutions for the loss of the traditional Chinese way of life. "Boxers" were traditionally skilled fighters that attacked Westerners, beginning with Christian missionaries
Business cycles - The periodic rises and falls that occur in all economies over time
Capitalism - The economic system of large financial institutions - banks, stock exchanges, investment companies - that first developed in early modern Europe
Cecil Rhodes - (1853-1902) British entrepreneur and politician involved in the expansion of the British Empire from South Africa into Central Africa; the colonies of Souther Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Nother Rhodesia (now Zambia) were named after him
Chaka of the Zulu - Leader of Zulu people, Around 1816 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.
Charles Darwin - English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
Chinese Revolution - Revolution sparked when Nationalists overthrow the Qing Dynasty. These nationalists then clash with the communists resulting in a civil war (Long March). With the dynasties now overthrown China's government was significantly reformed
Colonialism - Policy by which a nation administers a foreign territory and develops its resources for the benefit of the greater power
Committee of Public Safety - The leaders under Robespierre who organized the defenses of France, conducted foreign policy, and centralized authority during the period 1792-1795
Congress of Vienna - (1814-1815) Meeting of representatives of European monarchs called to reestablish the old order after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte
Crimea - A Ukrainian peninsula between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov
Crimean War - (1853-1856) Conflict between the Russian and Ottoman Empires fought primarily in the Crimean Peninsula; to prevent Russian expansion, Britain and France sent troops to support the Ottomans
Dependency Theory - A model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones
Dictatorship - A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
Emancipation Act of 1861 - Alexander II's reform, together with a related reform in 1861, amounted to the liquidation of serf dependence previously suffered by peasants of the Russian Empire
Estates-General - France's traditional national assembly with representatives of the three estates, or classes, in French society: the clergy, nobility, and commoners; the calling of this group in 1789 led to the French Revolution
Ethiopia - Only African state to successfully resist European attempts to colonize
Extraterritoriality - The right of foreign residents in a country to live under the laws of their native country and disregard the laws of the host country; in the 19th century and early 20th century, European and American nationals living in certain areas of Chinese and Ottoman cities were granted this right
Franco-Prussian War - 1870-71, war between France and Prussia; seen as German victory; seen as a struggle of Darwinism; led to Prussia being the most powerful European nation. Instigated by Bismarck; France seen as the aggressor.
French Revolution - The revolution that began in 1789, overthrew the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons and the system of aristocratic privileges, and ended with Napoleon's overthrow of the Directory and seizure of power in 1799
Germany - The spread of nationalism led to the unification of this central European nation, following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871
Haitian Revolution - Toussaint l'Ouverture led this uprising, which in 1790 resulted in the successful overthrow of French colonial rule on this Caribbean island. This revolution set up the first black government in the Western Hemisphere and the world's second democratic republic (after the US). The US was reluctant to give full support to this republic led by former slaves
Imperialism - A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries poitically, socially, and economically
Impressionism - A school of late 19th century French painters who pictured appearances by strokes of unmixed colors to give the impression of reflected light
Indian National Congress - A movement and political party founded in 1885 to demand greater Indian participation in government; its membership was middle class, and its demands were modest until WWI; led after 1920 by Mohandas L. Gandhi, it appealed increasingly to the poor, and it organized mass protests demanding self-government and independence
Industrial Revolution - The transformation of the economy, the environment, and living conditions, occurring first in England in the 18th century, that resulted from the use of steam engines, the mechanization of manufacturing in factories, and innovations in transportation and communication
Jacobins - Radical republicans during the French Revolution; were led by Maximilien Robespierre from 1793-1794
Janissaries - Christian boys, originally of slave origin, armed with firearms and constituting the elite of the Ottoman army from the fifteenth century until the corps was abolished in 1826.
Jose San Martin - South American general and statesman, born in Argentina: leader in winning independence for Argentina, Peru, and Chile; protector of Peru
Kaiser Wilhelm I - The King of Prussia who chose Otto Van Bismark to be his Prime Minister. He was eventually crowned Kaiser of Prussia and Germany
Karl Marx - (1818-1883) German journalist and philosopher; founder of a branch of socialism named after him; known for his two book: The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (Vols. I-III, 1867-1894)
Klemons Metternich - The Austrian foreign minister from 1809 to 1848, he was a strong conservative who greatly opposed both liberalism and nationalism in the vast Austrian empire. He represented Austria at the Congress of Vienna
Labor unions - An organization of workers in a particular industry or trade; created to defend the interests of members through strikes or negotiations with employers
Laissez-faire - The idea that government should refrain from interfering in economic affairs; classic exposition of its principles is seen in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations
Liberalism - A political ideology that emphasizes the civil rights of the citizens, representative government, and the protection of private property; derived from the Enlightenment, was especially popular among the property-owning classes of Europe and North America
Liberia - A West African nation founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society to serve as a homeland for free blacks to settle
Louis XVI - King of France (1774-1792). In 1789 he summoned the Estates-General, but he did not grant the reforms that were demanded and revolution followed; he and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793.
Marxism - The economic and political theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that hold that human actions and institutions are economically determined and that class struggle is needed to create historical change and that capitalism will untimately be superseded
Matthew Perry - A navy commander who, on July 8, 1853, became the first foreigner to break through the barriers that kept Japan isolated from the rest of the world for 250 years
Maximilien Robespierre - (1758-1794) Young provincial lawyer who led the most radical phases of the French Revolution; his execution ended the reign of terror
Meiji Restoration - The political program that followed the destruction of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868, in which a collection of young leaders set Japan on the path of centralization, industrialization, and imperialism
Mexican Revolution - This revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist and agrarianist movements, led by Fransico Madero, 1810 to 1823. They fought for independence from Spain and for social justice; they wanted equal rights for Indians, mestizos
Miguel Hildago - (1753-1811) Mexican priest who led the first stage of the Mexican independence war in 1810; was captured and executed in 1811
Monopoly - Complete control of a product or business by one person or group
Most favored nation status - A clause in a commercial treaty that awards to any later signatories all the privileges previously granted to the original signatories
Muhammad Ali - (1769-1849) Leader of Egyptian modernization in the early 19th century; ruled Egypt as an Ottoman governor but had imperial ambitions; his descendants ruled Egypt until overthrown in 1952
Napoleon Bonaparte - (1769-1821) General who overthrew the French Directory in 1799 and became emperor of the French in 1804; failed to defeat Great Britain and abdicated in 1814; returned to power briefly in 1815 but was defeated and died in exile
National Assembly - French Revolutionary assembly (1789-1791). Called first as the Estates General, the three estates came together and demanded radical change. It passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789
Nationalism - The doctrine that nations should act independently (rather than collectively) to attain their goals
Natural selection - A natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment
Open Door Policy - A policy, proposed by the United States in 1899, under which all nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China
Opium War - (1839-1842) War between Britain and the Qing Empire that was, in the British view, occasioned by the Qing government's refusal to permit the importation of opium into its territories; the victorious British imposed the one-sided Treaty of Nanking
Otto von Bismarck - (1815-1898) Chancellor (prime minister) of Prussia from 1862 until 1871, when he became chancellor of Germany; was a conservative nationalist, led Prussia to victory against Austria (1866) and France (1870) and was responsible for the creation of the German Empire in 1871
Panama Canal - Ship canal cut across an Isthmus by United States Army engineers; opened in 1914 and greatly shortened the sea voyage between the east and west coasts of North America
Pedro - Joao's son, remained in Brazil to rule and did not return to Portugal to be educated, declared himself emperor of Brazil after they became independent
Pedro II - Son of Pedro who became ruler of Brazil in 1831 when his father abdicated the throne to him; reformed Brazilian economy into a major exporter of coffee; abolished slavery in 1888; last monarch of Brazil as the land owners were enraged by the abolition of slavery and revolted in 1889 making Brazil into a republic
Racism - Discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race
Reign of Terror - A period during the French Revolution in which Robespierre led government, executed thousands of political figures and ordinary citizens
Revolutions of 1848 - Democratic and nationalist revolutions that swept across Europe; the monarchy in France was overthrown; in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Hungary, the revolutions failed
Russo-Japanese War - A 1904-1905 conflict between Russia and Japan, sparked by the two countries' efforts to dominate Manchuria and Korea
Sepoy Rebellion - The revolt of Indian soldiers in 1857 against certain practices that violated religious customs; also known as the Sepoy Mutiny
Sierra Leone - Founded in 1787 as the first colony for freed slaves by a British antislavery group. Remained a British colony for 150 years
Simón Bolivar - (1783-1830) The most important military leader in the struggle for independence in South America; born in Venezuela, led military forces there and in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
Sino-Japanese War - (1894-95) War fought between China and Japan. After Korea was opened to Japanese trade in 1876, it rapidly became an arena for rivalry between the expanding Japanese state and neighbouring China
Slave Trade Act of 1807 - Act for the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire
Social Darwinism - The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion
Socialism - A political ideology that originated in Europe in the 1830s; Followers advocated government protection of workers from exploitation by property owners and government ownership of industries; this ideology led to the founding of labor parties throughout Europe in the second half of the 19th century
Spanish American War - (1898) War fought between the US and Spain in Cuba and the Philippines. It lasted less than 3 months and resulted in Cuba's independence as well as the US annexing Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
Sphere of Influence - The area surrounding a settlement which is influenced by it in economic, political and social terms.
Suez Canal - Ship canal dug across an isthmus in Egypt; designed by Ferdinand de Lesseps; opened to shipping in 1869; shortened the sea voyage between Europe and Asia; held strategic importance in the British conquest of Egypt in 1882
Taiping Rebellion - (1851-1864) The most destructive civil war before the 20th century; a Christian-inspired rural rebellion that threatened to topple the Qing Empire
Tanzimat reforms - "Restructuring" reforms by the 19th century Ottoman rulers, intended to move civil law away from the control of religious elites and make the military and the bureaucracy more efficient
The Ashanti - West Africa sovereign state of people of Ashanti, Ghana. The Ashantis (or Asantefo) are of Akan origin, and are a powerful, militaristic and highly disciplined people of West Africa inhabiting an area known as 'Akanland'. Their military power, which came from effective strategy and an early adoption of European firearms
The Enclosure Act - Passed by English Parliament; made it so all agricultural lands had to be enclosed and if it could not be afforded then the lands had to be sold
The Enlightenment - A philosophical belief system in 18th century Europe that claimed that one could reform society by discovering rational laws that governed social behavior and were just as scientific as the laws of physics
Toussain L'Ouverture - (1743-1803) Leader of the Haitian Revolution; freed the slaves and gained effective independence for Haiti despite military interventions by the British and French
Transportation Revolution - Term referring to a series of nineteenth century transportation innovations-turnpikes, steamboats, canals and railroads-that linked local and regional markets, creating a national economy
Treaty of Nanking - (1842) The treaty that concluded the Opium War; awarded Britain a large indemnity from the Qing Empire, denied the Qing government tariff control over some of its own borders, opened additional ports of residence to Britons, and ceded the island of Hong Kong to Britain
Treaty of Nerchinsk - China/Russia, A treaty between China and Russia. It helped these countries establish trade with each other and establishes the Amur River as the official border between China and Russia
U.S. Independence Revolution - United States revolts against British colonialism and the monarchy
Unification of Germany - 1871, unified under Bismarck uses spirit of nationalism provoked by the Napoleonic wars; nationalist based on language and religion and culture (not civic nationalism like the French); what we get is "the worship of the state"; state not just agency that regulates relationships but a spiritual corporation; nationalism was an integrative force; Bismarck able to use reactionary nationalism to create modern nation-state; Huge German power in the center of Europe cause imbalance of power; threatened the system
Unification of Italy - In 1830s, nationalist leader, Giuseppe Mazzini, founded Young Italy whose goal was to constitute Italy as one free independent, republican nation. In 1860, ally of Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi recruited volunteers and won control of Sicily. Next, Garibaldi turned Naples and Sicily over to Victor Emmanuel.
Victor Emmanuel II - King of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia. Eventually became first king of a united Italy. Led the north in Italian unification and united with Garibaldi's south in 1861. Drove the pope into the Vatican city, and eventually made Rome the capital of Italy
Victorian Age - The reign of Queen Victoria of Great Britain (r.1837-1901); also used to describe late 19th century society, with its rigid moral standards and sharply differentiated roles for men and women and for middle-class and working-class people
Women's suffrage movement - International Movement of the 1880's, that sought to challenge the legal, political, and economic disabilities towards European and American women. This is historically significant because the women eventually gained the right to vote and the right to hold a job. The extension of enlightenment ideas onto women
Zulu Kingdom - A people of modern South Africa whom King Shaka united in 1818
Unit 6 – 1900 to Present
Adolf Hitler - Nazi leader of fascist Germany from 1933 to his suicide in 1945; created a strongly centralized state in Germany; eliminated all rivals; launched Germany on aggressive foreign policy leading to World War II; responsible for attempted genocide of European Jews.
African National Congress - Black political organization within South Africa; pressed for end to policies of apartheid; sought open democracy leading to black majority rule; until the 1990s declared illegal in South Africa.
Afrikaner National Party - Emerged as the majority party in the all-white South African legislature after 1948; advocated complete independence from Britain; favored a rigid system of racial segregation called apartheid.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Russian author critical of the Soviet regime but also of western materialism; published trilogy on the Siberian prison camps, The Gulag Archipelago.
Alexander Kerensky - Liberal revolutionary leader during the early stages of the Russian Revolution of 1917; sought development of parliamentary rule, religious freedom.
Alfred Dreyfus - French officer and Jew who was falsely accused of spying for Germany in the late 19th century; his mistreatment spurred Herzl and other Zionists to increase their call for a Jewish homeland.
Alliance for Progress - Begun in 1961 by the United States to develop Latin America as an alternative to radical political solutions; enjoyed only limited success; failure of development programs led to renewal of direct intervention.
Anwar Sadat - Successor to Gamal Abdul Nasser as ruler of Egypt; acted to dismantle costly state programs; accepted peace treaty with Israel in 1973; opened Egypt to investment by Western nations.
Apartheid - Policy of strict racial segregation imposed in South Africa to permit the continued dominance of whites politically and economically.
Archduke Ferdinand - Heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne whose assassination in Sarajevo set in motion the events that started World War I.
Armenian Genocide - Assault carried out by mainly Turkish military forces against Armenian population in Anatolia in 1915; over a million Armenians perished and thousands fled to Russia and the Middle East.
Ataturk - Also known as Mustafa Kemal; leader of Turkish republic formed in 1923; reformed Turkish nation using Western models.
Atlantic Charter of 1941 - World War II alliance agreement between the United States and Britain; included a clause that recognized the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they live; indicated sympathy for decolonization.
Augusto Sandino - Led a guerrilla resistance movement against U.S. occupation forces in Nicaragua; assassinated by Nicaraguan National Guard in 1934; became national hero and symbol of resistance to U.S. influence in Central America.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - Religious ruler of Iran following revolution of 1979 to expel the Pahlavi shah of Iran; emphasized religious purification; tried to eliminate Western influences and establish purely Islamic government.
Balfour Declaration - British minister Lord Balfour's promise of support for the establishment of Jewish settlement in Palestine issued in 1917.
Banana Republics - Term given to governments supported or created by the United States in Central America; believed to be either corrupt or subservient to U.S. interests.
Bangladesh - Founded as an independent nation in 1972; formerly East Pakistan
Battle of Britain - The 1940 Nazi air offensive including saturation bombing of London and other British cities, countered by British innovative air tactics and radar tracking of Germany assault aircraft.
Battle of the Bulge - Hitler's last-ditch effort to repel the invading Allied armies in the winter of 1944-1945.
Benazir Bhutto - Twice prime minister of Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s; first ran for office to avenge her father's execution by the military clique then in power.
Benito Mussolini - Italian fascist leader after World War I; created first fascist government (1922 - 1943) based on aggressive foreign policy and new national glories.
Berlin Wall - Built in 1961 to halt the flow of immigration from East Berlin to West Berlin; immigration was in response to lack of consumer goods and close Soviet control of economy and politics; torn down at end of cold war in 1991.
Blitzkrieg - German term for lightning warfare; involved rapid movement of troops, tanks, and mechanized carriers; resulted in early German victories over Belgium, Holland, and France in World War II.
Boris Yeltsin - Began to move up the ladder of the Communist party in Soviet Union in 1968, becoming First Secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee in 1985; initially a loyal backer of Gorbachev but increasingly criticized him for slow pace of reform; stood up to a coup attempt in 1991 but then managed to displace Gorbachev; in his position as president of the Russian republic, sponsored several subsequent constitutional provisions and weathered battles with opponents in parliament.
Chiang Kai-shek - A military officer who succeeded Sun Yat-sen as the leader of the Guomindang or Nationalist party in China in the mid-1920s; became the most powerful leader in China in the early 1930s, but his Nationalist forces were defeated and driven from China by the Communists after World War II.
Cold War - The State of relations between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies between the end of World War II and 1990; based on creation of political spheres of influence and a nuclear arms race rather than actual warfare.
Collectivization - Creation of large, state-run farms rather than individual holdings; allowed more efficient control over peasants, though often lowered food production; part of Stalin's economic and political planning; often adopted in other communist regimes.
Comintern - International office of communism under USSR dominance established to encourage the formation of Communist parties in Europe and elsewhere.
Communist Party of Vietnam - Originally a wing of nationalist movement; became primary nationalist party after decline of VNQDD in 1929; led in late 1920s by Nguyen Ai Quoc, alias Ho Chi Minh.
Convention Peoples Party (CPP) - Political party established by Kwame Nkrumah in opposition to British control of colonial legislature in Gold Coast.
Corazon Aquino - First president of the Philippines in the post-Marcos era of the 1980s; Aquino, whose husband was assassinated by thugs in the pay of the Marcos regime, was one of the key leaders in the popular movement that toppled the dictator.
Corporatism - Political ideology that emphasized the organic nature of society and made the state a mediator, adjusting the interests of different social groups; appealed to conservative groups in European and Latin American societies and to the military.
Cubist Movement - 20th century art style; best represented by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso; rendered familiar objects as geometrical shapes.
Cultural Revolution - Movement initiated in 1965 by Mao Zedong to restore his dominance over pragmatists; used mobs to ridicule Mao's political rivals; campaign was called off in 1968.
David Lloyd George - British prime minister at Versailles who attempted to mediate between Wilson's "peace without victory" stand and Clemenceau's, but with only partial success.
Deng Xiaoping - One of the more pragmatic, least ideological of the major Communist leaders of China; joined the party as a young man in the 1920s, survived the legendary Long March and persecution during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s, and emerged as China's most influential leader in the early 1980s.
Diego Rivera - Mexican artist of the period after the Mexican Revolution; famous for murals painted on walls of public buildings; mixed romantic images of the Indian past with Christian symbols and Marxist ideology.
Dien Bien Phu - Most significant victory of the Viet Minh over French colonial forces in 1954; gave the Viet Minh control of northern Vietnam.
movement.
Eastern Bloc - Nations favorable to the Soviet Union in eastern Europe during the cold war - particularly Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and East Germany.
Eastern Front - War zone that ran from the Baltic to the Balkans where Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Balkan nations fought.
Emiliano Zapata - Mexican revolutionary and military commander of peasant guerrilla movement after 1910 centered in Morelos; succeeded along with Pancho Villa in removing Diaz from power; also participated in campaigns hat removed Madero and Huerta; demanded sweeping land reform.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara - Argentine revolutionary; aided Fidel Castro in overthrow of Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba; died while directing guerrilla movement in Bolivia in 1967.
European Union - Began as European Economic Community (or Common Market), an alliance of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, to create a single economic entity across national boundaries in 1958; later joined by Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Austria, Finland, and other nations for further European economic integration.
F. W. de Klerk - White South Africa prime minister in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Working with Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress, de Klerk successfully dismantled the apartheid system and opened the way for a democratically elected government that represented all South Africans.
Fascism - Political philosophy that became predominant in Italy and then Germany during the 1920s and 1930s; attacked weaknesses of democracy, corruption of capitalism; promised vigorous foreign and military programs undertook state control of the economy to reduce social friction.
Fidel Castro - Cuban revolutionary; overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1958; initiated series of socialist reforms; came to depend almost exclusively on Soviet Untion.
Five - Year Plans - Stalin's plans to hasten industrialization of USSR; constructed massive factories in metallurgy, mining, and electric power; led to massive state-planned industrialization at cost of availability of consumer products.
Francisco Madero - Moderate democratic reformer in Mexico; proposed moderate reforms in 1910; arrested by Porfirio Diaz; initiated revolution against Diaz when released from prison; temporarily gained power, but removed and assassinated in 1913.
Free Officers Movement - Military nationalist movement in Egypt founded in the 1930s; often allied with the Muslim Brotherhood; led coup to seize Egyptian government from khedive in July 1952.
Fulgencio Batista - Dictator of Cuba from 1934 to 1944; returned to presidency in 1952; ousted from government by revolution led by Fidel Castro.
Gallipoli - Australian soldiers in support of the British were decimated by Turkish and German soldiers at this battle near the Dardanelles.
Gamal Abdul Nasser - Took power in Egypt following a military coup in 1952; enacted land reforms and used state resources to reduce unemployment; ousted Britain from the Suez Canal zone in 1956.
Gang of Four - Jiang Qing and four political allies who attempted to seize control of Communist government in China from the pragmatists; arrested and sentences to life imprisonment in 1976 following Mao Zedong's death.
Georges Clemeceau - French premier at Versailles peace conference who insisted on punishing Germany after the war; one of the Big Four.
Gestapo - Secret police in Nazi Germany, known for brutal tactics.
Getúlio Vargas - Elected president of Brazil in 1929; launched centralized political program by imposing federal administrators over state governments; held off coups by communists in 1935 and fascists in 1937; imposed a new constitution based on Mussolini's Italy; leaned to communists after 1949; committed suicide in 1954.
Glasnost - Policy of openness or political liberation in Soviet Union put forward by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s
Globalization - The increasing interconnectedness of all parts of the world, particularly in communication and commerce but also in culture and politics.
Good Neighbor Policy - Established by Franklin D. Roosevelt for dealing with Latin America in 1933; intended to halt direct intervention in Latin American politics.
Great Depression - International economic crisis following the First World War; began with collapse of American stock market in 1929; actual causes included collapse of agricultural prices in 1920s; included collapse of banking houses in the United States and western Europe, massive unemployment; contradicted optimistic assumptions of 19th century.
Great Leap Forward - Economic policy of Mao Zedong introduced in 1958; proposed industrialization of small-scale projects integrated into peasant communes; led to economic disaster; ended in 1960.
Green Movement - Political parties, especially in Europe, focusing on environmental issues and control over economic growth.
Green Revolution - Introduction of improved seed strains, fertilizers, and irrigation as a means of producing higher yields in crops such as rice, wheat, and corn; particularly important in the densely populated countries of Asia.
Guomindang - Nationalist party founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1919; drew support from local warlords and Chinese criminal underworld; initially forged alliance with Communists in 1924; dominated by Chiang Kai-shek after 1925.
Haganah - Zionist military force engaged in violent resistance to British presence in Palestine in the 1940s.
Harry Truman - American president from 1945 to 1952; less eager for smooth relations with the Soviet Union than Franklin Roosevelt; authorized use of atomic bomb during World War II; architect of American diplomacy that initiated the cold war.
Ho Chi Minh - Also known as Nguyen Ai Quoc; led Vietnamese Communist party in struggle for liberation from French and U.S. dominance and to unify north and south Vietnam.
Holocaust - Term for Hitler's attempted genocide of European Jews during World War II; resulted in deaths of 6 million Jews.
Homelands - Under apartheid, areas in South Africa designated for ethnolinguistic groups within the black African population; such areas tend to be overpopulated and poverty-stricken.
Hong Kong - British colony on Chinese mainland; major commercial center; agreement reached between Britain and People's Republic of China returned colony to China in 1997.
Hosni Mubarak - President of Egypt since 1982; succeeding Anwar Sadat and continuing his policies of cooperation with the West.
Hussein - Sherif of Mecca from 1908 to 1917; used British promise of independence to convince Arabs to support Britain against the Turks in World War I; angered by Britain's failure to keep promise; died 1931.
Hyundai - Example of huge industrial groups that wield great power in modern South Korea; virtually governed Korea's southeastern coast; vertical economic organization with ships, supertankers, factories, schools, and housing units.
Indira Gandhi - Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi); installed as a figurehead prime minister by the Congress party bosses in 1966; a strong-willed and astute politician, she soon became the central figure in India politics, a position she maintained through the 1970s and passed on to her sons.
Iron Curtain - Phrase coined by Winston Churchill to describe the division between free and communist societies taking shape in Europe after 1946.
Jawaharlal Nehru - One of Gandhi's disciples; governed India after independence (1947); committed to program of social reform and economic development; preserved civil rights and democracy.
Jiang Qing - Wife of Mao Zedong; one of Gang of Four; opposed pragmatists and supported Cultural Revolution of 1965; arrested and imprisoned for life in 1976.
Jomo Kenyatta - Leader of the nonviolent nationalist party in Kenya; organized the Kenya Africa Union (KAU); failed to win concessions because of resistance of white settlers; came to power only after suppression of the Land Freedom Army, or Mau Mau.
Jose Clemente Orozco - Mexican muralist of the period after the Mexican Revolution; like Rivera's, his work featured romantic images of the Indian past with Christian symbols and Marxist ideology.
Joseph Stalin - Successor to Lenin as head of the USSR; strongly nationalist view of communism; represented anti-Western strain of Russian tradition; crushed opposition to his rule; established series of five-year plans to replace New Economic Policy; fostered agricultural collectivization; led USSR through World War II; furthered cold war with western Europe and the United States; died 1953.
Juan D. Perón - Military leader in Argentina who became dominant political figure after military coup in 1943; used position as Minister of Labor to appeal to working groups and the poor; became president in 1946; forced into exile in 1955; returned and won presidency in 1973.
Juan José Arevalo - Elected president of Guatemala in 1944; began series of socialist reforms including land reform; nationalist program directed against foreign-owned companies such as United Fruit Company.
Kenya African Union (KAU) - Leading nationalist party in Kenya; adopted nonviolent approach to ending British control in the 1950s.
Korean War - Fought from 1950 to 1953; North supported by USSR and later People's Republic of China; South supported by United States and small international United Nations force; ended in stalemate and continued division of Korea.
Land Freedom Army - Radical organization for independence in Kenya; frustrated by failure of nonviolent means, initiated campaign of terror in 1952; referred to by British as the Mau Mau.
Lázaro Cárdenas - President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940; responsible for redistribution of land, primarily to create ejidos, or communal farms; also began program of primary and rural education.
League of Nations - International diplomatic and peace organization created with the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I; one of the chief goals of President Woodrow Wilson of the United States in the peace negotiations; the United States was never a member.
Lee Kuan Yew - Ruler of Singapore from independence in 1959 through three decades; established tightly controlled authoritarian government; ruled through People's Action party to suppress political diversity.
Leon Pinsker - European Zionist who believed that Jewish assimilation into Christian European nations was impossible; argued for return to Middle Eastern Holy Land.
Liberal Democratic Party - Monopolized Japanese government from its formation in 1955 into the 1990s; largely responsible for the economic reconstruction of Japan.
Liberation Theology - Combined Catholic theology and socialist principles in effort to bring about improved conditions for the poor in Latin America in 20th century.
Liu Shaoqui - Chinese Communist pragmatist; with Deng Xiaoping, came to power after Mao; determined to restore state direction and market incentives at local level.
Long March - Communist escape from Hunan province during civil war with Guomindang in 1934; center of Communist power moved to Shaanxi province; firmly established Mao Zedong as head of the Communist Party in China.
Lord Cromer - British High Commissioner of Egypt at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries; implemented many, but apparently not enough, social and economic reforms.
Mandates - Governments entrusted to European nations in the Middle East in the aftermath of World War I; Britain occupied mandates in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine after 1922.
Mao Zedong - Communist leader in revolutionary China; advocated rural reform and role of peasantry in Nationalist revolution; influenced by Li Dazhao; led Communist reaction against Guomindang purges in 1920s, culminating in Long March of 1934; seized control of all of mainland China by 1949; initiated Great Leap Forward in 1958.
Marcus Garvey - African American political leader; had a major impact on emerging African nationalist leaders in the 1920s and 1930s.
Marshall Plan - Program for substantial loans initiated by the United States in 1947; designed to aid Western nations in rebuilding from the war's devastation; vehicle for American economic dominance.
Mass Line - Economic policy of Mao Zedong; led to formation of agricultural cooperatives in 1955; cooperatives became farming collectives in 1956.
May Fourth Movement - Resistance to Japanese encroachments in China began on this date in 1919; spawned movement of intellectuals aimed at transforming China into a liberal democracy; rejected Confucianism.
Mexican Constitution of 1917 - Promised land reform, limited foreign ownership of key resources, guaranteed the rights of workers, and placed restrictions on clerical education; marked the formal end of the Mexican Revolution.
Mexican Revolution - Fought over a period of almost ten years from 1910; resulted in ouster of Porfirio Diaz from power; opposition forces led by Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.
Midway Island - World War II Pacific battle; United States and Japanese forces fought to a standoff.
Mikhail Gorbachev - USSR ruler after 1985; renewed attacks on Stalinism; urged reduction in nuclear armament; proclaimed policies of glasnost and perestroika.
Mohandas Gandhi - Successful leader of the Indian nationalist movement who combined religious, social, and political know-how into a massive nonviolent campaign.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah - Muslim nationalist in India; originally a member of the Nationalist Congress party; became leader of Muslim League; traded Muslim support for British during World War II for promises of a separate Muslim state after the war; first president of Pakistan.
Multinational Corporations - Powerful companies, mainly from the West or Pacific Rim, with production as well as distribution operations in many different countries. Multinationals surged in the decades after World War II.
Muslim Brotherhood - Egyptian nationalist movement founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928; committed to fundamentalist movement in Islam; fostered strikes and urban riots against the khedival government.
Muslim League - Founded in 1906 to better support demands of Muslims for separate electorates and legislative seats in Hindu-dominated India; represented division within Indian nationalist movement.
National Congress Party - Grew out of regional associations of Western-educated Indians; originally centered in cities of Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, and Madras; became political party in 1885; focus of nationalist movement in India; governed through most of postcolonial period.
National Liberation Front (FLN) - Radical nationalist movement in Algeria; launched sustained guerrilla war against France in the 1950s; success of attacks led to independence of Algeria in 1958.
National Socialist (Nazi) - Also known as the Nazi party; led by Adolf Hitler in Germany; picked up political support during the economic chaos of the Great Depression; advocated authoritarian state under a single leader, aggressive foreign policy to reverse humiliation of the Versailles treaty; took power in Germany in 1933.
Negritude - Literary movement in France that argued precolonial African societies were superior in many ways to European colonial societies in Africa; writers included L.S. Senghor, Leon Damas, and Aime Cesaire.
Nelson Mandela - Long-imprisoned leader of the African National Congress party; worked with ANC leadership and F. W. de Klerk's supporters to dismantle the apartheid system from the mid-1980s onward; in 1994, became the first black prime minister of South Africa after the ANC won the first genuinely democratic elections in the country's history.
Neocolonial Economy - Industrialized nations' continued dominance of the world economy; ability of the industrialized nations to maintain economic colonialism without political colonialism.
New Deal - President Franklin Roosevelt's precursor of the modern welfare state (1933 - 1939); programs to combat economic depression enacted a number of social insurance measures and used government spending to stimulate the economy; increased power of the state and the state's intervention in United States social and economic life.
New Economic Policy - Initiated by Lenin in 1921; state continued to set basic economic policies, but efforts were now combined with individual initiative; policy allowed food production to recover.
New Feminism - New wave of women's rights agitation dating from 1949; emphasized more literal equality that would play down domestic roles and qualities for women; promoted specific reforms and redefinition of what it meant to be female.
Ngo Dinh Diem - Political leader of South Vietnam; established as president with United States support in the 1950s; opposed Communist government of North Vietnam; overthrown by military coup supported by United States.
Nikita Khrushchev - Stalin's successor as head of USSR; attacked Stalinism in 1956 for concentration of power and arbitrary dictatorship; failure of Siberian development program and antagonism of Stalinists led to downfall.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Agreement that created an essentially free trade zone among Mexico, Canada, and the United States, in hopes of encouraging economic growth in all three nations; after difficult negotiations, went into effect January 1, 1994.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - Created in 1949 under United States leadership to group most of the western European powers plus Canada in a defensive alliance against possible Soviet aggression.
Pacific Rim - Region including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan; typified by rapid growth rates, expanding exports, and industrialization; either Chinese or strongly influenced by Confucian values; considerable reliance on government planning and direction, limitations on dissent and instability.
Pan-African - Organization that brought together intellectuals and political leaders from areas of Africa and African diaspora before and after World War I.
Pancho Villa - Mexican revolutionary and military commander in northern Mexico during the Mexican Revolution; succeeded in removing Diaz from power, as well as Madero and Huerte.
Party of the Institutionalized Revolution (PRI) - Party of the Institutionalized Revolution; dominant political party in Mexico; developed during the 1920s and 1930s; incorporated labor, peasant, military, and middle-class sectors; controlled other political organizations in Mexico.
Pearl Harbor - American naval base in Hawaii; attack by Japanese on this facility in December 1941 crippled American fleet in the Pacific and caused entry of United States into World War II.
People's Democratic Republic of Korea - Northern half of Korea dominated by USSR; long headed by Kim Il-Sung; attacked south in 1950 and initiated Korean War; retained independence as a communist state after the war.
People's Liberation Army - Chinese Communist army; administered much of country under People's Republic of China.
People's Republic of China - Communist government of mainland China; proclaimed in 1949 following military success of Mao Zedong over forces of Chiang Kai-shek and the Guomindang.
Perestroika - Policy of Mikhail Gorbachev calling for economic restructuring in the USSR in the late 1980s; more leeway for private ownership and decentralized control in industry and agriculture.
Persian Gulf War - 1991 war led by United States and various European and Middle Eastern allies, against Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. The war led to Iraqi withdrawal and a long confrontation with Iraq about armaments and political regime.
Politburo - Executive committee of the Soviet Communist party; 20 members
Popular Front - Combination of socialist and communist political parties in France; won election in 1936; unable to take strong measures of social reform because of continuing strength of conservatives; fell from power in 1938.
Porfirio Diaz - One of Juarez's generals; elected president of Mexico in 1876; dominated Mexican politics for 35 years; imposed strong central government.
Potsdam Conference - Meeting among leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union just before the end of World War II in 1945; Allies agreed upon Soviet domination in eastern Europe; Germany and Austria to be divided among victorious allies.
Pragmatists - Chinese Communist politicians such as Zhou Enlai, Deng Ziaoping, and Liu Shaoqui; determined to restore state direction and market incentives at the local level; opposed Great Leap Forward.
Primary Products - Food or industrial crops for which there is a high demand in industrialized economies; prices of such products tend to fluctuate widely; typically the primary exports of Third World economies.
Quit India Movement - Mass civil disobedience campaign that began in the summer of 1942 to end British control of India.
Red Army - Military organization constructed under leadership of Leon Trotsky, Bolshevik follower of Lenin; made use of people of humble background.
Red Guard - Student brigades utilized by Mao Zedong and his political allies during the Cultural Revolution to discredit Mao's political enemies.
Religious Revivalism - An approach to religious belief and practice that stresses the literal interpretation of texts sacred to the religion in question and the application of their precepts to all aspects of social life; increasingly associated with revivalist movements in a number of world religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism.
Republic of Korea - Southern half of Korea sponsored by United States following World War II; headed by nationalist Syngman Rhee; developed parliamentary institutions but maintained authoritarian government; defended by UN forces during Korean War; underwent industrialization and economic emergence after 1950s.
Salvador Allende - President of Chile; nationalized industries and banks; sponsored peasant and worker expropriations of lands and foreign-owned factories; overthrown in 1973 by revolt of Chilean military with the support of the United States.
Sandinista Party - Nicaraguan socialist movement named after Augusto Sandino; successfully carried out a socialist revolution in Nicaragua during the 1980s.
Sarajevo - Administrative center of the Bosnian province of Austrian Empire; assassination there of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 started World War I.
Satyagraha - "Truth force," a term used by Gandhi to describe peaceful boycotts, strikes, noncooperation, and mass demonstrations to promote Indian independence.
Secret Army Organization (OAS) - Organization of French settlers in Algeria; led guerrilla war following independence during the 1960s; assaults directed against Arabs, Berbers, and French who advocated independence.
Self-Determination - Wilson called for national independence from colonial rule before Versailles; this encouraged colonial subjects in Asia and Africa until they discovered Wilson intended his rhetoric only for Europe.
Socialist Realism - Attempt within the USSR to relate formal culture to the masses in order to avoid the adoption of western European cultural forms; begun under Joseph Stalin; fundamental method of Soviet fiction, art, and literary criticism.
Solidarity - Polish labor movement formed in 1970s under Lech Walesa; challenged USSR-dominated government of Poland.
Spanish Civil War - War pitting authoritarian and military leaders in Spain against republicans and leftists between 1936 and 1939; Germany and Italy supported the royalists; the Soviet Union supported the republicans; led to victory of the royalist forces.
Steve Biko - An organizer of Black Consciousness movement in South Africa, in opposition to apartheid; murdered while in police custody.
Supreme Soviet - Parliament of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; elected by universal suffrage; actually controlled by Communist party; served to ratify party decisions.
Syndicalism - Economic and political system based on the organization of labor; imported in Latin America from European political movements; militant force in Latin American politics.
Taiwan - Island off Chinese mainland; became refuge for Nationalist Chinese regime under Chiang Kai-shek as Republic of China in 1948; successfully retained independence with aid of United States; rapidly industrialized after 1950s.
Technocrat - New type of bureaucrat; intensely trained in engineering or economics and devoted to the power of national planning; came to fore in offices of governments during World War II.
Tehran Conference - Meeting among leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union in 1943; agreed to the opening of a new front in France.
Theodor Herzl - Prominent journalist who led the cause of Zionism in the late 19th century.
Third World - Also known as developing nations; nations outside the capitalist industrial nations of the first world and the industrialized communist nations of the second world; generally less economically powerful, but with varied economies.
Total War - Warfare of the 20th century; vast resources and emotional commitments of belligerent nations were marshaled to support military effort; resulted from impact of industrialization on the military effort reflecting technological innovation and organizational capacity.
Totalitarian State - A new kind of government in the 20th century that exercised massive, direct control over virtually all the activities of its subjects; existed in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union.
Tsar Nicholas II - Tsar of Russia (1894 - 1917); forcefully suppressed political opposition and resisted constitutional government; deposed by revolution in 1917.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - Federal system of socialist republics established in 1923 in various ethnic regions of Russia; firmly controlled by Communist party; diminished nationalists protest under Bolsheviks; dissolved 1991.
United Fruit Company - Most important foreign economic concern in Guatemala during the 20th century; attempted land reform aimed at United Fruit caused U.S. intervention in Guatemalan politics leading to ouster of reform government in 1954.
United Nations (UN) - International organization formed in the aftermath of World War II; included all of the victorious Allies; its primary mission was to provide a forum for negotiating disputes.
Vichy - French collaborationist government established in 1940 in southern France following defeat of French armies by the Germans.
Victoriano Huerta - Attempted to reestablish centralized dictatorship in Mexico following the removal of Madero in 1913; forced from power in 1914 by Villa and Zapata.
Viet Cong - Name given by Diem regime to communist guerrilla movement in southern Vietnam; reorganized with northern Vietnamese assistance as the National Liberation Front in 1958.
Viet Minh - Communist-dominated Vietnamese nationalist movement; operated out of base in southern China during World War II; employed guerrilla tactics similar to the Maoists in China.
Vietnamese Nationalist Party - Also known as the Vietnamese Quoc Dan Dong or VNQDD; active in 1920s as revolutionary force committed to violent overthrow of French colonialism.
Vo Nguyen Giap - Chief military commander of the Viet Minh; architect of the Vietnamese victory over the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
W. E. B. Du Bois - African American political leader; had a major impact on emerging African nationalist leaders in the 1920s and 1930s.
Wafd Party - Egyptian nationalist party that emerged after an Egyptian delegation was refused a hearing at the Versailles treaty negotiations following World War I; led by Sa'd Zaghlul; negotiations eventually led to limited Egyptian independence beginning in 1922.
Warsaw Pact - Alliance organized by Soviet Union with its eastern European satellites to balance formation of NATO by Western powers in 1949.
Welfare State - New activism of the western European state in economic policy and welfare issues after World War II; introduced programs to reduce the impact of economic inequality; typically included medical programs and economic planning.
Western Front - Front established in World War I; generally along line from Belgium to Switzerland; featured trench warfare and horrendous casualties for all sides in the conflict.
Winston Churchill - British prime minister during World War II; responsible for British resistance to German air assaults.
World Zionist Organization - Formed by Herzl and other prominent European Jewish leaders to promote Jewish migration to Palestine in advance of the creation of a Zionist state in Palestine.
Yalta Conference - Meeting among leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union in 1945; agreed to Soviet entry into the Pacific war in return for possessions in Manchuria, organization of the United Nations; disputed the division of political organization in the eastern European states to be reestablished after the war.
Yuan Shikai - Warlord in northern China after fall of Qing dynasty; hoped to seize imperial throne; president of China after 1912; resigned in the face of Japanese invasion in 1916.
Zapatistas - Guerrilla movement named in honor of Emiliano Zapata; originated in 1994 in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas; government responded with a combination of repression and negotiation.
Zhou Enlai - After Mao Zedong, the most important leader of the Communist party in China from the 1930s until his death in 1976; premier of China from 1954; notable as perhaps the most cosmopolitan and moderate of the inner circle of Communist leaders.
Zionists - Supporters of Jewish nationalism, especially a creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.
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