Religion 1450-1750
German priest and theologian who inaugurated the Protestant Reformation in Europe.
Martin Luther
Built by Louis XIV, this lavish palace centralized power by forcing nobles to live under the king’s watch and depend on him for privilege.
Palace of Versailles
A special tax on non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire, this payment allowed conquered peoples to keep their own religion.
Jizya tax
This Portuguese royal sponsored navigation schools and early voyages along Africa’s coast, earning him a title that suggested he led exploration.... even though he never sailed himself.
Henry the Navigator
This Spanish labor system granted colonists the right to demand labor and tribute from Indigenous peoples in return for “protection”
Encomienda
This stunning white-marble mausoleum built by Shah Jahan to honor his wife became one of the most famous examples of monumental architecture used to legitimize power
Taj Mahal
Chinese policy that forced all Han Chinese men to shave the front of their heads and wear the rest of their hair in a long braid as a sign of submission to Manchu rule.
Queue ordinance
The unsuccessful attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to eradicate heresies (religious opinions contrary to the Church's dogma) including those of the Protestants.
Inquisition
The tsar who "westernized" Russia by enforcing Western reforms like modernizing the army, adopting European-style dress and grooming, and building a capital in St. Petersburg modeled on Western cities.
Peter the Great
Through this Ottoman practice, Christian boys were taken and trained into an elite military corps. Name both the system and the soldiers it produced.
Devshirme system, janissaries
These two Iberian rivals launched Europe into the Age of Exploration, with one sailing around Africa toward Asia and the other heading west across the Atlantic
Spain and Portugal
This three-legged trade system linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas, moving manufactured goods, enslaved Africans, and raw materials in a continuous loop
Atlantic Circuit
Term given to the three major Islamic empires of this time because they rose to power and expanded their territories by mastering new weapons technology, giving them a huge military advantage over rivals
Gunpowder empires
This massive transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres reshaped diets, economies, and populations on both sides of the Atlantic
Columbian Exchange
In the Mughal Empire, this great leader created the ultimate syncretic religion "The Divine Faith," bleding Hindu, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
Akbar The Great
Rulers justified absolute authority by asserting kings derived their authority from God, allowing them to centralize power without needing approval from nobles, clergy, or representative bodies.
Divine Right of Kings
This shogunate united Japan by ending centuries of civil war, forcing the daimyo under central control, and creating a centralized government that kept the country peaceful and unified for over 250 years.
Tokugawa Shogunate
Europeans sought a direct sea route to ____________ to bypass Muslim and Italian middlemen and gain cheaper access to Asian spices and luxury goods
The Indian Ocean
A new economic system developed in the 15th century that sought to increase the prosperity and power of a nation through restrictive trade practices. Its goal was to increase the supply of a state's gold and silver with exports rather than to deplete it through imports.
Mercantilism
This Mughal ranking and land-grant system required nobles to serve the emperor for their salary and status, preventing local elites from gaining independent power.
Mansabdari system
This rigid social hierarchy in Spanish America ranked people by racial ancestry as a way to maintain control: peninsulares at the top, enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples at the bottom
Casta system
The ___________ was the Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation, aiming to strengthen its authority and win back lost followers.
Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation
When King James II of England was deposed, replaced by Mary and William of Orange, it limited the monarchy and shifted power to Parliament, centralizing authority in a constitutional government rather than in an absolute king.
The Glorious Revolution
This Tokugawa-era policy sealed Japan off from most foreign contact and expelled Christian missionaries to protect the country from outside influence.
Isolation policy
This moment in 1492 marked the first sustained encounter between Spain and the peoples of the Western Hemisphere
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
These early investment companies allowed many individuals to pool their money for overseas ventures, spreading both the risks and the profits of exploration and colonization
BONUS: Name two of these companies
joint-stock companies
Dutch East India Company (VOC), Dutch West India Company, British East India Company
This Islamic empire unified its people by enforcing Shi’a Islam as the state religion, using it to legitimize the shah’s absolute authority
Safavid Empire
Blending African traditions with Christianity under colonial rule, name one of the belief systems that emerged in the Americas
The Ottoman Empire were ______ Muslims, whereas the Safavid were ______ Muslims.
Sunni; Shi'ite
Best known for transforming European ideas and culture, these four movements also weakened traditional authorities like the Church and nobles, helping monarchs centralize power.
The Renaissance, the Protestant Revolution, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment
Through this system, the Ottoman Empire allowed religious communities to govern themselves under their own laws while paying loyalty taxes to the sultan.
Millet system
Name three maritime technological innovations of the period 1450-1750.
caravel, astrolabe, magnetic compass, lateen sail, fluyt
Name at least two African states that grew more powerful as they expanded their participation in Atlantic maritime trade
Asante/Ashanti, Kongo, Benin, Oyo, Dahomey
This Mesoamerican empire strengthened its power by demanding tribute in the form of textiles, food, and luxury goods from conquered peoples
Mexica/Aztecs
Name two explorers from this time and where they traveled to
Christopher Columbus – Caribbean / Americas
Vasco da Gama – India
Ferdinand Magellan – Around the world
Jacques Cartier – St. Lawrence River / Canada
Henry Hudson – North Atlantic coast / Hudson River
Samuel de Champlain – Quebec / Great Lakes region