The document defines key terms related to religious dissent, the Protestant Reformation, scientific revolution, European colonization of the Americas, and major political revolutions in France and England such as the English Civil War, Glorious Revolution, and French Revolution. It provides definitions for concepts like heretic, indulgence, heliocentric theory, scientific method, colony, mercantilism, absolute monarchy, Declaration of the Rights of Man, and Reign of Terror.

1. Heretic one who disagrees with or denies the basic teachings of a religion

2. Power Center Nations that possessed the ability to conduct overseas exploration during the 15 th century.

3. Vernacular everyday language of ordinary people Not Latin!

4. Protestant Reformation A 16 th century European religious movement aimed at reforming the Catholic Church.

5. Indulgence pardon sold by the Catholic Church to reduce one’s punishment for sins

6. Lutheran a member of a Protestant church founded on the teachings of Martin Luther

7. Council of Trent a meeting of Roman Catholic leaders, called by Pope Paul III to rule on doctrines criticized by the Protestant Reformers (1545)

8. Peace of Augsburg a 1555 agreement declaring that the religion of each German state would be decided by its ruler

9. Edict of Nantes a 1598 declaration in which the French king Henry IV promised that Protestants could live in peace in France and could set up houses of worship in some French cities.

10. Thirty Years’ War European conflict over religion, territory and power among ruling families (1618-1648)

11. Scientific Revolution Starting in the mid-1500’s, a major change in European thought, in which the study of the natural world began to be characterized by careful observation and the questioning of accepted beliefs.

12. Heliocentric Theory The idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun.

13. Scientific Method A logical procedure for gathering information about the natural world, in which experimentation and observation are used to test hypotheses.

14. Conquistadors the Spanish soldiers, explorers, and fortune hunters who took part in the conquest of the Americas in the 16th century

15. Encomienda a grant of land made by Spain to a settler in the Americas, including the right to use Native Americans as laborers on it

16. Colony land controlled by a distant nation

17. Columbian Exchange the global transfer of plants, animals, and diseases that occurred during the European colonization of the Americans

18. Balance of Trade The relationship between a country’s exports and imports. A positive balance of trade is when a country’s exports exceed their imports.

19. Mercantilism economic policy of European nations in the 1600s, equating wealth and power

20. Capitalism An economic system based on private ownership and on the investment of money in business ventures in order to make a profit.

21. Joint-stock company a business in which investors pool their wealth for a common purpose, then share the profits

22. Absolute Monarch ruler with complete and unrestricted authority over the government and lives of the people he or she governs

23. Magna Carta “ Great Charter”- a document guaranteeing basic political rights in England, drawn up by nobles and approved by King John in 1215

24. Enlightenment 18th century, European movement in which thinkers attempted to apply the principles of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of society.

25. Natural rights the rights that all people are born with- according to John Locke, the rights of life, liberty, and property

26. Glorious Revolution 1688, the bloodless overthrow of the English king James II and his replacement by William and Mary (Protestant)

27. Old Regime the political and social system that existed in France before the French Revolution

28. Bourgeoisie The middle class. Well-educated and sometimes wealthy, but part of the third estate.

29. Estates-General an assembly of representatives from all three of the estates, or social classes, in France

30. National Assembly French congress established by representatives of the Third Estate on June 17, 1789, to enact laws and reforms in the name of the French people.

31. French Revolution the French war for democracy that began in 1789 and ended with the overthrow of the monarchy

32. Reign of Terror 1793-1794 Maximilien Robespierre ruled France nearly as a dictator and thousands of political figures and ordinary citizens were executed

33. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen a statement of revolutionary ideals adopted by France’s National Assembly in 1789

34. Sans-culottes in the French Revolution, a radical group made up of Parisian wage-earners and small shopkeepers who wanted a greater voice in government, lower prices, and an end of food shortages

35. Napoleonic Code a comprehensive and uniform system of laws established for France by Napoleon

36. Congress of Vienna A series of meetings in 1814-1815 (8 months!), during which the European leaders sought to establish long-lasting peace and security after the defeat of Napoleon. (Prussia, Russia, Austria, Britain and France- Metternich * ) Results: legitimacy, Balance of Power, use of diplomacy to restore peace….like the UN!

37. Estate one of three social classes in France before the French Revolution- the First Estate consisting of the clergy; the Second Estate, of the nobility; and the Third Estate, of the rest of the population

38. Proletariat the working class

39. Tennis Court Oath Pledge made by the members of France’s National Assembly in 1789, in which they vowed to continue meeting until they had drawn up a new constitution