MUST KNOW TERMS (1648-1815)

Here are the definitions for all the terms, people, and events you provided, formatted in the plain
text structure without bullet points, using AP European History-aligned examples. Each entry is
separated by a line break, labeled clearly, and designed to be easily copied.
Terms
Absolute Monarchy: Government where a single ruler holds unrestricted power, often by divine
right. Examples: Louis XIV’s Versailles centralization (Edict of Nantes revoked, 1685); Peter the
Great’s Table of Ranks (1722).
Nobility: Privileged class with inherited titles and land. Examples: French nobles at Estates-
General (1789); Russian boyars under Peter’s Westernization.
Aristocracy: Elite ruling class, often noble. Examples: British lords post-Glorious Revolution (Bill
of Rights, 1689); Hapsburg nobility under Maria Theresa.
Enlightened Absolutism: Absolute rule adopting Enlightenment reforms. Examples: Catherine the
Great’s Nakaz (1767); Frederick the Great’s serfdom reforms.
Westernization: Adoption of Western European culture and technology. Examples: Peter the
Great’s navy (Great Northern War); Catherine importing Voltaire’s works.
Parliament: Legislative body limiting monarchical power. Examples: English Civil War victory
(Charles I executed, 1649); Glorious Revolution (1688–1689).
Oligarchy: Rule by a small elite group. Examples: British Whigs post-1688 (Walpole); French
parlements pre-1789.
Traditional Rights: Long-standing privileges or customs. Examples: Magna Carta roots (1689 Bill
of Rights); French feudal dues abolished (August Decrees, 1789).
Louis XIV’s Dynastic and State Interests: Policies enhancing Bourbon power and France.
Examples: War of Spanish Succession (Treaty of Utrecht, 1713); Colbert’s mercantilism (French
East India Company).
Enlightened Ideas: Reason, liberty, and progress from the Enlightenment. Examples: Locke’s Two
Treatises (1688 influence); Rousseau’s Social Contract (1789 Declaration).
Constitutional Monarchy: Monarchy limited by a constitution. Examples: Britain post-1688 (Bill of
Rights); France’s 1791 Constitution (Legislative Assembly).
Nationalism: Collective identity tied to culture or history. Examples: French levée en masse
(1793); German resistance (Battle of Leipzig, 1813).
Legal Status of Women: Limited rights under law. Examples: Exclusion from National Assembly
(1789–1791); Olympe de Gouges’ Declaration (1791).
Revolutionary Ideas: Radical concepts challenging authority. Examples: Declaration of the Rights
of Man (1789); Robespierre’s terror speech (1793).
Emperor: Ruler of an empire, above a king. Examples: Napoleon’s coronation (1804); Hapsburg
Leopold II at Westphalia (1648).
Facade: Superficial appearance masking reality. Examples: Versailles under Louis XIV; Napoleon’s
Continental System (1812).
New Military Tactics: Innovative warfare strategies. Examples: Napoleon’s corps system
(Austerlitz, 1805); Prussian tactics (Seven Years’ War).
Balance of Power: Strategy preventing one state’s dominance. Examples: Peace of Westphalia
(1648); Congress of Vienna (1815).
Commercial Revolution: Economic expansion via trade and colonization. Examples: British
Navigation Acts (1651); Dutch trade in Amsterdam.
Market Economy: System based on supply and demand. Examples: Adam Smith’s Wealth of
Nations (1776); Britain’s Corn Laws debate.
Mercantilism: Policy maximizing exports and state wealth. Examples: Colbert’s tariffs (1660s);
British Sugar Act (1764).
Transatlantic Slave-Labor: Forced labor system for American plantations. Examples: Saint
Domingue sugar (Haitian Revolution); British Triangular Trade.
Overseas Products: Colonial goods driving European economies. Examples: Caribbean sugar;
Virginia tobacco.
Raw Materials: Unprocessed resources for manufacturing. Examples: Baltic timber (British navy);
American cotton (textiles).
Population Growth: Increase due to food and medicine advances. Examples: British enclosures
(18th century); French rural boom (pre-1789).
Inoculation: Early vaccination against smallpox. Examples: Montagu’s smallpox efforts (1721);
Jenner’s vaccine (1796).
Illegitimate Birth Rate: Births outside marriage, rising in cities. Examples: Paris during Revolution;
British urban shift (enclosures).
Rural/Urban: Divide between countryside and cities. Examples: French peasants vs. sans-
culottes (1789); British enclosures.
Consumer Revolution: Rising demand for goods. Examples: British tea/sugar boom (18th
century); French fashion (Versailles).
Commercial Rivalries: Competition for trade dominance. Examples: Seven Years’ War (1756–
1763); Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1674).
Natural Rights: Inherent rights to life, liberty, property. Examples: English Bill of Rights (1689);
French Declaration (1789).
Exclusion of Women from Political Life: Denial of women’s political participation. Examples:
Estates-General exclusion (1789); Rousseau’s Emile (1762).
Salons: Intellectual gatherings hosted by women. Examples: Geoffrin’s salon (Voltaire); Prussian
salons (Frederick II).
Literate Public: Educated class reading widely. Examples: Encyclopédie readers (1751–1772);
What Is the Third Estate? (1789).
Divine Right: Monarchs chosen by God. Examples: Louis XIV’s Versailles; James II ousted (1688).
Natural Sciences: Empirical study of the world. Examples: Newton’s Principia (1687); Voltaire’s
Letters (1733).
Free Trade and Free Market: Minimal government interference in trade. Examples: Smith’s Wealth
of Nations (1776); Post-1815 British debates.
Deism: Rational belief in a non-intervening God. Examples: Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary;
Franklin’s deism.
Skepticism: Doubt toward authority or religion. Examples: Voltaire’s Candide (1759); Hume’s
Enquiry (1748).
Atheism: Rejection of God. Examples: D’Holbach’s System of Nature (1770); De-Christianization
(1793).
Christian Movements: Religious revivals countering secularism. Examples: German Pietism (18th
century); Wesley’s Methodism (1730s).
Baroque: Ornate style reflecting absolutism. Examples: Versailles (Louis XIV); St. Peter’s Square
(Counter-Reformation).
Bourgeois Society: Rising middle class. Examples: Third Estate’s Tennis Court Oath (1789);
British merchants (post-1688).
Revolution: Radical societal change. Examples: Bastille storming (1789); Glorious Revolution
(1688).
Romanticism: Movement valuing emotion and nature. Examples: Goethe’s Werther (1774);
Wordsworth post-1815.
Mass Politics: Broad political participation. Examples: National Convention elections (1792);
Napoleon’s plebiscites (1800, 1804).
Epidemic Diseases: Widespread illnesses. Examples: Smallpox pre-inoculation (18th century);
Plague decline (post-1648).
Events
English Civil War (1642–1651): Parliament vs. Charles I, ending in his execution. Examples:
Charles I beheaded (1649); Cromwell’s Commonwealth.
The Glorious Revolution (1688): Overthrow of James II for constitutional rule. Examples: Bill of
Rights (1689); William and Mary’s reign.
Peace of Westphalia (1648): Treaties ending the Thirty Years’ War. Examples: Dutch
independence; Hapsburg decline.
Battle of Vienna (1683): European defeat of Ottomans. Examples: Sobieski’s victory; Ottoman
retreat.
Rivalry between France and England: Competition for dominance. Examples: Treaty of Utrecht
(1713); Seven Years’ War (1763).
French Revolution (1789–1799): Overthrow of monarchy, radical change. Examples: Tennis Court
Oath (1789); Bastille (1789).
Reign of Terror (1793–1794): Radical phase with mass executions. Examples: Louis XVI executed
(1793); Committee of Public Safety.
De-Christianization (1793–1794): Suppression of Christianity. Examples: Festival of Reason
(1793); Clergy executions.
Congress of Vienna (1815): Restoration of stability post-Napoleon. Examples: Louis XVIII
restored; German Confederation.
Agricultural Revolution (1700s): Farming advances boosting food supply. Examples: Tull’s seed
drill (1701); Enclosure Acts.
Putting Out System/Cottage Industry: Home-based pre-industrial production. Examples: British
wool; French textiles.
Scientific Revolution (1500s–1700s): Shift to empirical science. Examples: Copernicus’
heliocentrism (1543); Newton’s laws (1687).
Smallpox Mortalities: Deaths from smallpox pre-vaccination. Examples: 18th-century epidemics;
Jenner’s vaccine (1796).
People
Louis XIV (1638–1715): French king of absolute monarchy. Examples: Edict of Fontainebleau
(1685); Treaty of Utrecht (1713).
Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683): Louis XIV’s mercantilist minister. Examples: Tariffs (1660s);
Saint Domingue colonies.
Peter the Great (1672–1725): Russian tsar who Westernized. Examples: Poltava victory (1709);
St. Petersburg (1703).
Catherine the Great (1729–1796): Enlightened absolutist empress. Examples: Partition of Poland
(1772–1795); Nakaz (1767).
Hapsburgs: Austrian ruling dynasty. Examples: Maria Theresa’s reforms; Joseph II (1780s).
Louis XVI (1754–1793): French king executed in Revolution. Examples: Estates-General (1789);
Execution (1793).
Jacobin Republic (1792–1794): Radical revolutionary government. Examples: Monarchy abolished
(1792); Law of Suspects (1793).
Robespierre (1758–1794): Jacobin leader of the Terror. Examples: Terror speech (1794);
Thermidor (1794).
Toussaint L’Ouverture (1743–1803): Haitian Revolution leader. Examples: 1791 revolt; Defeat of
Napoleon (1802).
Saint Domingue: French slave colony (Haiti). Examples: 1791 slave revolt; Independence (1804).
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821): French Emperor spreading revolution. Examples: 18 Brumaire
(1799); Waterloo (1815).
Voltaire (1694–1778): Enlightenment advocate of rights. Examples: Letters on the English (1733);
Church critique.
Diderot (1713–1784): Encyclopédie editor. Examples: Encyclopédie (1751); Anti-absolutism.
Locke (1632–1704): Natural rights philosopher. Examples: Two Treatises (1689); Bill of Rights
(1689).
Rousseau (1712–1778): “General will” thinker. Examples: Social Contract (1762); Jacobin
influence.
Adam Smith (1723–1790): Free market economist. Examples: Wealth of Nations (1776);
Mercantilism critique.
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