AP Euro Review

Renaissance

the era from around 1300 to 1600 in which the art and culture of the ancient Greeks and Romans were rediscovered and celebrated; began in Italy

Hanseatic League

commercial/military alliance between many northern German towns which dominated trade in the Baltic (around 1300-1600)

House of Medici

prominent banking family from Florence; founded most successful European bank of the 15th century

Peace of Lodi

1434 balance of power in Italy: ended 50 years of war between Italian states by outlining an alliance system

Machiavelli

Renaissance writer/political scientist who wrote "The Prince," arguing a ruler should be feared rather than loved (men are selfish); believed in a more realistic approach to politics, refusing the Christian idea of a "moral" leader

Petrarch

called the father of Italian Renaissance humanism; pursuit of classic texts and their secular content; first to characterize the Middle Ages as a period of darkness/ignorance

Gutenberg

invented the movable type printing press 1450

High Renaissance

final stage of Renaissance art; characterized by the increasing importance of Rome as a cultural center; dominated by artists da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo (idealization of nature, less realism) and Donato Bramante's architectural work (columns, dome)

Spanish Inquisition

instituted 1478; Ferdinand and Isabella used this as a tool for cruel, forced conversion to Catholicism to create religious uniformity in Spain

Habsburgs

1440-1740; powerful royal family in Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, and Spain through marital alliances

John Wyclif and John Hus

first to express discontent with the Catholic Church/papacy before Luther; killed for heresy 1415

Desidirius Erasmus

most influential christian humanist; believed that Christianity should be a guide in all ways of life rather than a strict system of dogmatic beliefs; edited the Greek text of the new testament from the earliest available manuscript and published it along with a new latin translation

Martin Luther

German theologian credited with starting the Protestant Reformation with his Ninety-Five Theses (1517)

Diet of Worms

meeting convened by Emperor Charles V in Worms, Germany to determine how to respond to Luther's teachings, expected Luther to recant but he refuses

The Peasant's War (1534)

social discontent in Germany (peasants still poor, high taxes) becomes entangled with religious revolt as peasants believe Luther will support their ideas, but he issues "Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants" to side with the German princes instead (hoping to maintain their power and influence in his place of vulnerability) who crush peasants and support Luther back

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

temporarily ended religious warfare in Germany; representing a turning point in the Reformation as it officially recognized the division of Christianity, with Lutheranism and Catholicism on equal standing and accepted the right of each German ruler to determine the religion of his subjects

Act of Supremacy (Henry VIII)

1534; stated that the English monarch now controlled the church in all matters/made the English monarch the supreme head of the church of England, broke the church of England from Rome

Thomas Cromwell

advisor of king Henry viii; helped him come up with act of supremacy to skirt divorcing through the pope; came up with the dissolution of monasteries (king reaps their land and possessions)

Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary)

henry viii's first daughter (with catherine of aragon); hoped to restore england to roman catholicism; burned hundreds of Protestant heretics

Catholic Reformation

aimed to address internal corruption and respond to the theological challenges posed by Protestantism

Council of Trent

key event of the Catholic Reformation;(1545-1563); clarified Catholic doctrine, condemned Protestant beliefs, and initiated significant reforms within the Catholic Church, such as improving the education and training of clergy, addressing abuses of power, and reaffirming the authority of tradition alongside Scripture

Huguenots

French Calvinists

St. Bartholomew Day Massacre

mass killing of huguenots in Paris by Catherine d' Medici's catholic nobles who were hoping to prevent a Protestant takeover

Edict of Nantes

1598; Henry IV recognizes catholicism as the official religion of france but also allows huguenots the right to worship in selected places

Elizabeth

Queen mary's half-sister who takes england's throne after her death, elizabeth's reign brings england to prominence, becomes leader of protestant nations of europe, lays the foundations for a world empire, and experiences a cultural renaissance (considered one of the most glorious reigns in english history)

Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots)

Elizabeth's catholic cousin who was next in line for the throne, continuously tried to kill elizabeth and replace her until elizabeth beheaded her to eliminate the threat

Pacification of Ghent

treaty in which the provinces of the netherlands unify against the spanish (who had colonial power over them), but religious differences prove too great for lasting union and northern and southern provinces split along catholic and protestant lines

Marco Polo

most famous medieval traveler to the east, wrote Travels which was the most informative of all descriptions of Asia by medieval european travelers

Bartholomew Dias

Portuguese navigator who took advantage of westerly winds to round the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa

Vasco de Gama

Portuguese explorer who was first to reach India by sea (rounded the Cape of Good Hope); brought a ship full of spices (ginger, cinnamon) back to Europe for a massive profit

Alfonso de Albuquerque

set up first land base in India which became the headquarters for Portuguese operations throughout the whole region

Christopher Columbus

believed the world was smaller than it was and used his incorrect knowledge to go west from Spain to India, landed in the modern Caribbean instead and still believed it was India- leading the pervasive misnomer that native Americans have today as "Indians," believed he could find gold in this area and easily convert the natives to Catholicism

John Cabot

explored the New England coastline under King Henry the VII of England

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panama and was first to reach the Pacific Ocean that way in 1513

Ferdinand Magellan

sailed past the southern tip of South America to the Philippines; first explorer to circumnavigate the world

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494; divided South America into Portuguese and Spanish areas of influence (Brazil was Portuguese and everything else Spanish)

Hernan Cortes

Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and conquered Mexico (1485-1547); triumphant because of his alliances with city-states that disliked the Aztecs and diseases like smallpox that the natives had no immunity to

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish explorer who conquered the Inca Empire; triumphant because of better weapons, horses, and smallpox

Encomienda System

socio-economic system that the Spanish implemented in Mexico, allowed the Spanish to use the natives for labor if they protected the natives and allowed them to worship their own gods, horribly misused by the conquistadors which caused backlash (las Casas)

Viceroys

governed Spanish colonies

Audiencias

advisory groups who helped the viceroys function and served as supreme judicial bodies in Spanish colonies

Triangular Trade

trade route connecting europe, africa, and the american continents that characterized the new atlantic economy, European merchant ships carried manufactured goods (guns, gin, cloth) to africa where they were traded for a cargo of slaves, slaves were then taken to america and sold and european merchants bought tobacco, molasses, sugar, rum, coffee, and raw cotton (raw materials) to bring back to europe

British East India Company

A joint stock company that controlled most of India during the period of imperialism; controlled the political, social, and economic life in India for more than 200 years; rich from spice trade

Robert Clive

chief representative of the British East India Company

Asiento

English granted the "privilege" in the pretty closed-off Spanish market to transport 4,500 slaves a year to Spanish Latin America

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by creating a favorable balance of exports/imports; protectionist; government intervention

Columbian Exchange

reciprocal importation/exportation between the new and old worlds (english take home potatoes, corn, chocolate) which lead to new markets, animals brought over from europe (horses, sheep, goats, pigs, cattle) flourish in the americas, cattle farming supplements the growing of maize, europeans carry from new world to other places: bring sweet potatoes and maize to africa in 1500s, native population decimated by diseases that europeans bring over

Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)

devastating conflict in Central Europe involving most major European powers, extremely costly, started as a religious war and evolved into a struggle for political power and territory, occurred in four phases involving different regions (bohemian, danish, swedish, franco-swedish); last war of religion

Gustavus Adolphus

1594-1632, King of Sweden, known for his military reforms and innovative tactics during the Thirty Years' War (first standing army of conscripts) which influenced the outcome of the conflict, also revived sweden and transformed it into a baltic power, lutheran who wanted to help other protestants in germany which leads to his involvement in the war

Peace of Westphalia

1648, ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire (all states free to determine their own religion, religion and politics separate)

Conscripts

individuals compulsorily enrolled into military service, formed a significant part of the armed forces during wartime especially for Adolphus

Cardinal Richelieu

1585-1642, chief minister to King Louis XIII of France, key figure in strengthening the central authority of the monarchy and pursuing an absolutist agenda

Cardinal Mazarin

1602-1661, Italian-French cardinal and chief minister to Louis XIV, played a crucial role in consolidating royal power during Louis XIV's minority and continued richelieu's legacy, received opposition bc of his background

The Fronde

1648-1653, series of civil wars and uprisings in France led by nobles against mazarin, marked by political and social unrest, challenging the absolute power of the monarchy, crushed easily when nobles start fighting each other

Louis XIV

1638-1715, "Sun King," one of the longest-reigning monarchs in European history, reign characterized by absolutism, lavish court life, and cultural flourishing in France w/ palace of versailles, racked with economic issues from overspending on wars and palace

Edict of Fontainebleau

1685, issued by Louis XIV (toleration did not fit his vision of autocracy), revoking the Edict of Nantes and ending religious tolerance for French Protestants/Huguenots, leading to their persecution, destruction of their churches and schools

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

1619-1683, Louis XIV's minister of finance and a key figure in promoting mercantilist economic policies in France, focused on state intervention and protectionism

War of Spanish Succession

a conflict, lasting from 1701 to 1713, in which a number of European states fought to prevent the Bourbon family from controlling Spain as well as France (balance of power)

Peace of Utrecht

1713 agreement ending the War of Spanish Succession, redistributing territories and solidifying a new balance of power in europe- philip v as the spanish ruler (bourbon dynasty) and affirmed that the thrones of spain and france were to remain separated, england gains significant possessions (gibraltar, newfoundland, nova scotia) and emerges as a big naval force, france remains a great power

Frederick William

1620-1688, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, known for strengthening and expanding the territories of the Hohenzollern dynasty

Hohenzollerns

ruling family of Prussia; evolution of Brandenburg into a powerful state was largely the work of their dynasty.

Peter the Great

1672-1725, Tsar of Russia, known for modernizing and westernizing Russia and expanding its influence in Europe and Asia, absolute monarch

Great Northern War

1700-1721, conflict in Northern Europe involving Russia (under Peter the Great), Sweden, Denmark-Norway, and Poland-Lithuania,;affected power in the Baltic region as coalition led by Russia contested Swedish power there; Russia emerges as a major power by defeating Sweden (Swedish power declines)

Sejm

parliament of Poland

William of Orange

Dutch prince who helped lead the Dutch revolt/80 years war (1568-1648) in establishing their independence from Spain

English Civil War

1642-1651, conflict between the monarchy/royalists, led by King Charles I, and Parliament, resulting in the temporary overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republican government

Oliver Cromwell

English military, political, and religious figure who led the Parliamentarian victory in the English Civil War (1642-1651) and called for the execution of Charles I. As lord protector of England (1653-1658) he ruled as a virtual dictator.

Levelers

During Cromwell's reign, this group wanted universal male suffrage, the church and state separate, and alcoholic prohibition. More radical than radical Cromwell, and crushed by Cromwell.

Restoration

1660, marked the return of the English monarchy (Charles II) after the collapse of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell

James II

Catholic king of Protestant England after Charles II that wanted to expand rights for Catholics, leading to Glorious Revolution

Glorious Revolution

1688, peaceful overthrow of James II and the ascension of William III and Mary II to the English throne, establishing parliamentary sovereignty

Thomas Hobbes

believed that people are born selfish and need a strong central authority; social contract where people give up individual rights for the protection of the state

John Locke

key figure in the Enlightenment, known for his ideas on natural rights, tabula rasa (individuals are born as a clean slate/nurture over nature), and the social contract (gov should protect ppl's natural rights and citizens have a right to revolt)

Baroque

European art style 16-1700s characterized by complex forms, elaborate ornamentation, and contrasting elements

Alchemy and Hermetic Magic

two ideas fused together that may have made the Scientific Revolution possible; increased belief in a human's own ability to achieve.

Ptolemaic/Geocentric Universe

a view of the universe put forth by medieval scholar Ptolemy that saw the universe as a series of concentric spheres with a motionless earth at its center

Aristotle

ancient greek philosopher, believed in the existence of heavenly spheres moving in circular orbits

Nicolaus Copernicus

Polish astronomer who proved that the Ptolemaic system was inaccurate; he proposed the theory that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system.

Heliocentric Universe

sun-centered conception with the sun motionless at the center, other planets revolved around the sun, controversial bc it conflicted with the status quo of the time set forth by the catholic church

Tycho Brahe

influenced by Copernicus and attempted to prove his heliocentric theory by collecting data about the movements of the stars and planets

Johannes Kepler

Created the laws of planetary motion from Brahe's data; confirmed heliocentric theory

Galileo Galilei

first european to make systematic observations of the heavens with a telescope, discovered craters on the moon (moon's craters mean the universe is composed of material substance rather than ethereal substance- more controversy)

Isaac Newton

formulated the theory of universal gravitation/three laws of motion in the Principia; idea of world-machine

Newton's World-Machine

the universe is one gigantic, regulated, uniform machine which operated according to the natural laws in absolute time, space, and motion. dominated Western worldview until 1900s

Paracelsus

discovered antibodies/disease kills disease

Andreas Vesalius

emphasized practical research in understanding human anatomy; wrote the first book of correct anatomy (On the Fabric of the Human Body)

Antoine Lavoisier

named the chemical elements (founder of modern chemistry) in the system still used today; conservation of matter?

Margaret Cavendish

educated scientist and astronomer; excluded from English Royal Society, regardless of her many accomplishments; wrote several books contrasting her knowledge with the knowledge of other scientists and attacked the idea that man can control nature

Maria Sybilla Merian

traveled to the dutch colony of Surinam in south america to study its plant and insect life

Maria Winkelmann

The most famous of the female astronomers in Germany who discovered a comet.

Querelles des Femmes

"arguments about women." A centuries-old debate about the nature of women that continued during the Scientific Revolution as those who argued for the inferiority of women found additional support in the new anatomy and medicine.

Rene Descartes

1600s French philosopher; called the father of modern rationalism as he believed man could use reason/mathematical thinking to understand the world; "I think, therefore I am"; believed one could start with self-evident truths to deduce more complex conclusions (scientific method)

Blaise Pascal

tried to keep science and religion united; developed a "wager" against atheism

Immanuel Kant

German philosopher, called the Enlightenment a movement where intellectuals "dared to know," ppl would use their own intelligence

Reason

intellectual movement that emphasized the use of human intellect and rational thinking as the primary means of understanding and improving the world, used by enlightenment thinkers in application to society, economics, and politics

James Cook's Travels

presented the idea of a "natural man"/"noble savage" much happier than europeans, europeans find that there were highly developed civilizations with different customs in other parts of the world (china) and people begin believing in cultural relativism (no culture is superior to another bc culture is a matter of custom not reason and derives its meaning from the group holding it) and religious skepticism (christian perception of god just one of many)

Philosophes

term for the intellectuals/social reformers of the enlightenment, french word as paris was the center for intellectual thought during this time,

Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws:

1748, attempted to apply the scientific method to the social and political arena to find the natural laws that governed social relationships, praised england as a monarchy with a consititution (loved separation of powers!!!)

Voltaire's Treatise on Toleration

followed the Calas Affair; showed Voltaire's dedication to the cause of religious toleration

Deism

religious outlook shared by most philosophes, built on newton's world-machine which suggested the existence of a mechanic/god who created the universe; they believed god created the world and allowed it to run according to its own natural laws, but was not divine