Absolutism
What type of government gives a monarch near unlimted power?
Absolute Monarchy
Who was the king of France when the French Revolution began in 1789?
King Louis XVI
What is a major reason people rebel against a government that they believe treats them unfairly?
Oppression, unfair laws, or lack of political rights.
What intellectual movement emphasized reason, natural rights, and individual liberty?
The Enlightenment
Which revolution began in 1775 when the American colonies fought against British rule?
American Revolution
What two people were in charge of France during the French Revolution? Hint: They were both beheaded.
King Louis XVI and Mary Antoinette
Which leader helped lead the Haitian Revolution and became a key figure in the fight against slavery in Saint-Domingue?
Toussaint Louverture
What financial problem helped spark the French Revolution, along with unequal taxation and rising food prices?
France's enormous government debt and financial crisis.
Which philosopher argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property?
John Locke
Which revolution resulted in the creation of an independent nation after a successful revolt by enslaved people against French colonial rule?
Haitian Revolution
What is the idea that these rulers believe they received all their authority from God?
Divine Right of Kings
Who was a major leader of the American Revolution and later became the first president of the United States?
George Washington
Why did many American colonists protest British policies before the American Revolution?
They objected to taxation without representation and British restrictions on colonial self-government.
Which Enlightenment thinker promoted the separation of powers into different branches of government?
Montesquieu
What document announced the American colonies' decision to separate from Great Britain in 1776?
Declaration of Independence
Which Russian ruler expanded Russia, modernized its military, and worked to make Russia more like Western Europe?
Peter the Great
Which military leader rose to power after the French Revolution and eventually became emperor of France?
Napoleon Bonaparte
Why did enslaved people and free people of color revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue?
They fought against slavery, racial inequality, and colonial oppression.
Which philosopher argued that government should be based on a social contract and the general will of the people?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
What was the name of the period during the French Revolution when thousands of people were executed as enemies of the revolution?
Reign of Terror
How did absolute monarchs use control over nobles and government officials to strengthen their power?
They centralized authority, reduced the independence of nobles, and increased their control over government.
Which French revolutionary leader became associated with the Reign of Terror?
Maximilien Robespierre
How could Enlightenment ideas, economic hardship, and political inequality work together to cause a revolution?
Enlightenment ideas gave people reasons to question authority, while economic hardship and inequality created frustration and motivated them to demand change.
How did Enlightenment ideas challenge absolute monarchies and influence revolutionary movements?
They questioned the divine right of kings and promoted popular sovereignty, natural rights, liberty, and representative government.
How did the Haitian Revolution challenge the ideas and practices of European colonialism in the late 1700s and early 1800s?
It overthrew French colonial rule, abolished slavery, and established an independent nation led by formerly enslaved and free Black people.