Absolute Monarchs
He provided financial support to artists during Spain's Golden Age and increased Spanish power using silver from the Americas.
Philip II
This 1641 legislation required Parliament to meet at least once every three years.
the Triennial Act
In "The Wealth of Nations", Adam Smith advocated for this policy based on a French phrase where forces of supply and demand operate without government interference.
Laissez-faire
This 1776 American document directly challenged the authority of Britain's King George III.
Declaration of Independence
During the French Revolution, this social change eliminated this traditional system of privileges and social orders.
Feudalism or the Estate System
He famously asserted his absolute authority by stating that he stood at the center of France like the sun stands at the center of the solar system.
Louis XIV (14)
In 1649, Parliament took this radical step that shocked royalists across Europe.
Executing King Charles I or Executing the King
The laissez-faire economic theory favored by physiocrats and Adam Smith was a direct reaction against this economic system.
Mercantilism
Paul Revere's famous engraving of this 1770 event inflamed anti-British public opinion by depicting colonists as unarmed victims.
Boston Massacre
In 1804, during his coronation, Napoleon took this item from the Pope's hands and placed it on his own head to signify that he was the source of his own authority
The Crown
This Russian tsar modernized his country and expanded its territory by creating a powerful imperial navy.
Peter the Great
Absolute monarchs viewed this document as radical because being limited by a legislative body was unthinkable to them.
the English Bill of Rights
This Enlightenment philosopher's idea that the government rests on the protection of natural rights (life, liberty, and property) directly inspired the American Declaration of Independence.
John Locke
This 1777 battle was the turning point of the American Revolution because it persuaded European nations like France to ally with the colonists.
Battle of Saratoga
Neighboring European monarchs feared that this from the French Revolution would spread across borders and threaten their own rule
Radical (Revolutionary) Ideas
Louis XIV centralized power at Versailles and strengthened absolute monarchy by preventing this governing body from meeting
The Estates-General
The Long Parliament directly challenged royal authority prior to the civil war by taking this drastic measure against the king's advisors.
Executing (Them)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" and favored this type of government to ensure freedom.
Popularly Elected Government
Congress rejecting a nominee to the Supreme Court is a modern example of this constitutional principle designed to prevent absolute rule.
Checks and Balances
Napoleon's expanding empire across Continental Europe was ultimately kept from growing even larger due to this force.
British naval power
This British monarch told Parliament in 1610 that "Kings are justly called gods" because they exercise divine power upon earth.
James I
England successfully transitioned toward a limited monarchy in the 1600s because of Parliament's control over taxation, legal traditions, and because the king lacked this.
Large Standing Army (Army)
An advantageous island location encouraging trade and light market regulation helped this nation become a dominant global economic power in the 1700s.
Great Britain
The Declaration of Independence's assertion of unalienable rights—"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"—rephrased this philosopher's core thesis.
John Locke
Following the fall of Napoleon, European leaders met at this 1814–1815 assembly to restore order and balance of power by redrawing European maps.
Congress of Vienna