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absolute monarchy

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a system of government where the ruler has total control of the state without needing to consult other leaders or representatives of the people

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compass

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a navigation instrument in which an iron needle would become magnetized and would always face north

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latitude

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the position north or south of the equator

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astrolabe

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an important navigation instrument that applied astronomy and geometry to navigation and allowed sailors to determine the relative apparent height of stars and planets

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galleys

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long ships that carried most European coastal trade that was propelled by slaves or prisoners of war

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commercial revolution

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the period from 1400 to 1750 where the European economy changed extensively

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joint stock company

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a business organization in which individual merchants combined their resources. It reduces exposure to risk and was used mainly in England and with the Dutch

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mercantilism

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economic theory stating that there is a fixed amount of wealth in the world and that in order to receive larger share, one country has to take some wealth away from another country

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subsidies

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government grants of money to help establish new industries and build ships

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favorable balance of trade

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situation that exists when a country sells more good than it buys from a foreign country

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tariff

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tax on imported goods

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treaty of tordesillas

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a document written in 1494 that moved the dividing line between Spain and Portugal farther west... established by Pope Alexander VI

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triangular trade

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a system of trade involving three stages: merchants ship goods to Africa in exchange for other goods; the Middle Passage; and the merchants sent the plantations' products to Europe so they could be manufactered and sold in the Americas

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Middle Passage

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the shipment of slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas; the second stage in the triangular trade

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Prince Henry the Navigator

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a member of the Portuguese royal family who hoped to acquire gold for Portugal and start a Crusade against the Muslims in Africa. He is thought to have founded a school of sailing and navigation in Sagres. His navigators began a series of explorations westward into the Atlantic and southward along the west coast of Africa in 1418.

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Bartholomeu Dias

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sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa in 1488 and even though he had to turn back, he had found the route to the Indian Ocean.

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Vasco da Gama

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in 1497 he sailed eastward past the Cape of Good Hope across the Indian Ocean and landed in India in 1498 and returned home with spices and jewels. His successful voyages represented a tremendous stroke of good fortune for the Portuguese.

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Amerigo Vespucci

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a navigator from Florence who, between 1497 and 1503, took part in several Spanish and Portuguese espeditions across the Atlantic. He was convinced that the land he saw was not Asia, but a New World. The land was called America.

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Vasco Nuñez de Balboa

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a Spaniard who, in 1513, crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached an ocean, naming it the South Sea, and claimed in for Spain. He explored the New World.

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Ferdinand Magellan

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a Portuguese navigator who proved that the New World was a distinct land mass, separate from Asia. He named the Pacific Ocean and reched the Philippine Islands, claiming them for Spain and died while fighting natives in in 1521.

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Columbian Exchange

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exchange of anything between the New and Old Worlds... food, trade, diseases, etc

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Juan Sebastián de Elcano

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the head of Magellan's crew who sailed on after Magellan died, completing the first round-the-world voyage and returning to spain in 1522.

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Cape of Good Hope

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at the southern tip of Africa where Dias sailed around to find a route to the Indian Ocean and de Gama sailed beyond to land in India

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Isthmus of Panama

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where Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed to reach what is now known as the Pacific Ocean

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viceroys

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representatives of the Spanish monarch who reported to the councile of the Indies in Spain

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Guerrilla Warfare

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military technique relying on swift raids by smal bands of soldiers

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Juan Ponce de Leon

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sailed northward from Puerto Rico in 1513 and explored what today is the state of Florida

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Hernán Cortés

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invaded Mexico in 1519 and kidnapped the Aztec ruler Moctezuma and destroyed the great capital of Tenochtitlanand eventually conquered the entire Aztec Empire

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Moctezuma

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the Aztec ruler in 1519 when he was captured by Cortes

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Francisco Pizarro

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led an expedition of 180 men and 37 horses in 1530 from the Isthmus of Panama to the Inca Empire in Peru and in 1532 he seized it for Spain, conquering the incan empire

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Charles V

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a member of the Hasburg family and one of the greatest spanish kings who expanded their authority in spain itself. he came to the spanish throne in 1516 and became the holy roman emperor three years later. he was mixed in with religious conflicts in germany including Martin Luther and was a secular ruler of the Christian Europe. He drove the Turks away from Vienna in 1529. He gave up the throne in 1556 and died in 1558 after joining a monastery

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Philip II

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son of Charles V who was born and educated in Spain. When he ruled he made the central government responsible to only the king. He built El Escorial 30 miles from Madrid. he saw himself as the leader of the Counter-Reformation and was a very devout Catholic. He was involved in wars that defended Catholicism and advance in Spain's glory. He defeated the Ottoman Turks and died in 1598 in a war with the Dutch

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Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

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walked from Tampa Bay Florida to Mexico City with his men.. the numbers reduced to half and then they were captured by Indians... 4 1/2 years later four of them reach Mexico

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tax farming

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selling the right to collect taxes to private individuals that was common in the French system of taxation and the Holy Roman Empire

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intendant

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regional administrator of a French province that were strengthened by Richelieu

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divine right of kings

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the belief that the power to rule was granted by God. Louis XIV believed the had this power to rule France

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balance of Power

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the maintenance of an equilibrium in international politics

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Marie de Medici

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mother of Louis XII who became a regent until he was of age to rule France and ruled three years after he was of age

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Cardinal Richelieu

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the chief minister of Louis XII who ran the French government from 1624 to 1642. he was a political genius who wanted to make the king supreme in France and France supreme in Europe. he set out to destroy the power of the nobles and the Huguenots who were protected by the Edict of Nantes. He strengthened France economically and appointed intendants.

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Edict of Nantes

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a special order issued by Henry IV that protected the religious and political rights of the Huguenots

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Cardinal Mazarin

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the successor of Cardinal Richelieu who helped him build a centralized government. he crushed the Fronde who were trying to threaten the centralized government

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Jean Baptiste Colbert

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an expert in fianance who advised Louis XIV. he was a member of the middle class who promoted economic development in France. he built and strengthened industries by granting government subsidies. he encouraged companies to establish colonies and trade with Canada, the west Indies, and East Asia. He tried to eliminate corruption and waste in the tax farming system. This resulted in having enough money for economic improvements, a large army, and exploration abroad

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Rene Robert de la Salle

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saled down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico between 1679 1683, claiming it for France. he named the area Lousiana after Louis XIV

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Versailles

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located a few miles outside of Paris where Louis XIV built an enormous palace. It is where he established his court and moved the French government.

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Peter the Great

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became the Russian czar at the age of ten and coruled with his half brother and sister, and in 1689 he became the sole ruler of Russia until 1925. He was a large man with a violent temper who could be very cruel. One of his major goals for Russia was to acquire warm water ports on the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. He built St. Petersburg.

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Sea of Azov and Black Sea

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the two seas with warm water ports

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Catherine the Great

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a princess from a small German state who married the heir to the Russian throne, Peter III, who was murdered by nobles who supported her. She supported art, science, literature, and theater. She extended serfdom into the new lands she acquired. The nobility became westernized and spoke French. She continued Peter's goal and won control of most of the northern shore of the Black Sea and a protectorate over the Crimea

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Maria Theresa

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daughter of Charles V who inherited Austria and the other Hasburg lands. The laws of the Holy Roman Empire prevented her from becoming empress, but she did become empress when her husband, Francis, became the emperor. She inherited the Hasburg lands which lead to conflict.

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the Great Elector

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the name given to Frederick William who was on the greatest Hohenzollerns. He reorganized the armies into one strong force and improved tax and encouraged agriculture, industry, and transportation

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Frederick William I

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the son and successor of Frederick I who disliked French ways and got rid of most of its luxury and used the saved money to strengthen Prussia by doubling the size of its army and makign it the most efficient fighting force in Europe. He also created an efficient government bureaucracy and encouraged trade and the development of new industries. He required that all parents send their children to school.

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Frederick the Great

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son and successor of Frederick William who wrote poetry, played the flute, and read philosophy. His father used very harsh methods of punishment so that he would become more interested in military and government, He became a better and stronger ruler than his father in 1740 and expanded the territory and prestige of Prussia

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St. Petersburg

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on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland where Peter the Great built a city that became the new capital.

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Bernal Diaz del Castillo

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wrote "The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico" about the life of the Aztecs and Montezuma Cortes' attack on the Aztecs

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John Newton

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wrote "Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade" and was involved with the transporting of slaves to the New World and later began to support abolitionism

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Malachy Postlethwayt

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wrote "Slavery Defended" which explained the positive aspects of slavery and showed that it wasn't all bad

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Olaudah Equiano

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wrote "Memoirs of a Former Slave" which told the story of his life as a slave

World History – Absolutism – Flashcards

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