Empire
A Mesoamerican civilization based in central Mexico (14th–16th centuries), known for its advanced agriculture, tribute empire, and capital city of Tenochtitlan. Conquered by Spain in 1521.
Aztecs
A Renaissance intellectual movement emphasizing human potential, classical learning, and secular scholarship.
Humanism
A 16th‑century religious movement sparked by Martin Luther that challenged Catholic authority and created Protestant denominations.
Protestant Reformation
The massive transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after 1492.
Columbian Exchange
An explosive mixture that revolutionized warfare by enabling firearms and cannon.
Gunpowder
The Prussian statesman who engineered the unification of Germany (1871). Known for Realpolitik and forming alliances.
Otto von Bismarck
A Renaissance political thinker best known for “The Prince,” advocating pragmatic, sometimes ruthless political leadership.
Niccolò Machiavelli
Members of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic order founded in 1540 focused on education, missionary work, and defending Catholic doctrine.
Jesuits
An economic policy arguing that national power depends on accumulating wealth by controlling trade and colonies that provided raw materials for the mother country.
Mercantilism
An Italian scientist who improved telescopes, supported heliocentrism, and advanced the scientific method.
Galileo Galilei
Islamic empire founded c. 1299 in Anatolia that expanded across the Middle East, North Africa, and southeastern Europe. Famous for military elites, capturing Constantinople in 1453, and long-lasting rule until 1922.
Ottomans
An 18th‑century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, natural rights, and critiques of absolute monarchy.
Enlightenment
A major Catholic council (1545–1563) that reformed church practices, affirmed doctrine, and responded to the Reformation.
Council of Trent
An economic philosophy arguing for minimal government intervention in markets. Often associated with Adam Smith.
Laissez-Faire Economics
A mid‑15th‑century movable‑type printing technology that drastically increased the spread of information and literacy.
Printing Press
A Central European dynasty that ruled large territories including Austria, Spain, and parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Led by Charles V. Known for dynastic marriages, Catholic power, and global colonial influence.
Habsburg Empire
Enlightenment philosopher who emphasized emotion, education, and the idea of the “general will” as the basis of legitimate political authority.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A long series of Christian military campaigns to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, ending in 1492 with the fall of Granada.
Reconquista
Uprising against slavery in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (1791–1804) led in part by Toussaint Louverture.
Haitian Revolution
Elite infantry soldiers of the Ottoman Empire known for discipline and loyalty to the sultan.
Janissaries
A diplomatic meeting in 1814–1815 after Napoleon’s defeat. European powers reinstated the traditional monarchical powers, redrew borders, and created a balance-of-power system to prevent future continent‑wide wars.
Congress of Vienna
A French philosopher and mathematician, known for rationalism and the statement “I think, therefore I am.”
René Descartes
A Mughal emperor (r. 1556–1605) known for military expansion, administrative reforms, and policies of religious tolerance.
Jalal Ud-Din Akbar
A colonial Spanish labor system that required Indigenous communities to provide labor for limited periods, replacing the harsher encomienda system.
Repartimientos
A 16th‑century Chinese fiscal reform that consolidated various taxes into a single annual silver payment to simplify state revenue collection.
Single-Whip Tax System