"Somebody Stole My Schmunguss" - Sun Tzu The Art Of War

Patriarchy

Literally “rule of the father” (1); a social system of male dominance (1).

Diaspora

A scattered population (1) of a common origin (1) away from their homeland (1).

Foot Binding

Chinese practice of tightly wrapping girls’ feet to keep them small (1); prevalent in the Song dynasty (1); an emphasis on small size and delicacy was central to views of female beauty (1).

Tribute System

Chinese method of dealing with foreign lands and peoples (1) that assumed the subordination of all non-Chinese authorities (1) and required the payment of tribute (1) to the Chinese emperor (although the Chinese gifts given in return were often much more valuable (1)).

Champa Rice

Quick-maturing, drought resistant (1) rice that can allow two harvests of sixty days each(1) in one growing season. Originally from Vietnam (1), it was later sent to China (1) as a tribute gift.

Columbian Exchange

The massive transatlantic interaction (1) between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia (1) that began in the period of European exploration and colonization (1).

Indian Ocean Trading Network

The world’s largest sea-based system (1) of communication and exchange before 1500 c.e. (1) , Indian Ocean commerce stretched from southern China to eastern Africa (1) and included not only the exchange of luxury and bulk goods (1) but also the exchange of ideas and crops (1).

Mit’a

Mandatory public service (1) in the society of the Inca Empire (1). A form of coerced labor (1).

Great Dying

The devastating demographic impact (1) of European-borne epidemic diseases (1) on the Americas (1).

Plantation Complex

Agricultural system (1) based on African slavery (1) that was used in Brazil (1), the Caribbean (1), and the southern colonies of North America (1).

Settler Colonies

Colonies in which the colonizing people settle with the purpose of territorial occupation (1) rather than the extraction of labor or resources (1). Examples: Afrikaners in South Africa (1), British in Australia (1).

Devshirme

The tribute of boy children (1) that the Ottoman Turks (1) levied from their Christian subjects in the Balkans (1); the Ottomans raised the boys for service in the civil administration or in the elite Janissary infantry corps (1).

Trading Post Empire

Form of imperial dominance (1) based on control of trade (1) rather than on control of subject peoples (1).

East India Companies

Private trading companies (1) chartered by the governments of England and the Netherlands (1) around 1600(1); they were given monopolies on Indian Ocean trade (1), including the right to make war and to rule conquered peoples (1).

Silver Drain

The siphoning of money from Europe (1) to pay for the luxury products of the East (1); eventually, the bulk of the world’s silver supply made its way to China (1).

Vodou

Syncretic religion (1) in Haiti (1)

European Enlightenment

European intellectual movement (1) of the 18th century (1) that applied the lessons of the Scientific Revolution to human affairs (1) and was noted for its commitment to open-mindedness and inquiry (1) and the belief that knowledge could transform human society (1).

Nationalism

The focusing of citizens’ loyalty (1) on the notion that they are part of a “nation” with a unique culture, territory, and destiny (1); first became prominent in the nineteenth century (1).

Karl Marx

The most influential proponent of socialism (1), Marx advocated a working-class revolution as the key to creating an ideal communist future (1). Communist Manifesto (1848) (1).

Indian Rebellion

1857–1858 (1) Massive uprising of much of India against British rule (1); also called the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny (1). The rebellion first broke out among Indian troops serving the British (1).

Apartheid

The system that developed in South Africa (1) of strictly limiting the social and political integration of whites and blacks (1).

Treaty of Versailles

1919 (1) treaty that officially ended World War I (1); the immense penalties it placed on Germany are regarded as one of the causes of World War II (1) .

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1), a military and political alliance founded in 1949 (1) that committed the United States to the defense of Europe in the event of Soviet aggression (1).

United Nations

International peacekeeping organization (1) and forum for international opinion (1), established in 1945 (1).

Great Leap Forward

Major Chinese initiative (1958–1960) (1) led by Mao Zedong (1) that was intended to promote small-scale industrialization (1); in reality, it caused a major crisis and worsened the impact of a devastating famine (1).

Decolonization

Process in which many African and Asian states won their independence from Western colonial rule (1), in most cases by negotiated settlement (1) with gradual political reforms (1) and a program of investment rather than through military confrontation.

Green Revolution

Innovations in agriculture (1) (chemical fertilizers; high-yielding crops (1) )during the 20th century (1) that enabled global food production to keep up with growing human population (1).

Influenza Pandemic (Spanish Flu)

The worst pandemic in human history in 1918 and 1919 (1). Carried by people returning home from WWI. (1) Between 50 million and 100 million deaths (1).

Religious Fundamentalism

Occuring within all the major world religions (1), it is a self-proclaimed return to the alleged "fundamentals" of a religion (1) and is marked by a militant piety and a sense of threat from the modern secular world (1).

Economic Globalization

Deepening economic entanglement of the world's peoples since 1950 (1); accompanied by the spread of industrialization in the Global South (1) and extraordinary economic growth following WWII (1); the process has generated increased living standards for many as well as various forms of resistance and inequality (1).