Chapter 15: Reordering the World, 1750-1850 CE Vocab Flashcards
popular sovereignty
The idea that the power of the state resides in the people.
free trade (laissez-faire)
Domestic and international trade unencumbered by tariff barriers, quotas, and fees.
social contract
The idea, drawn from the writings of British philosopher John Locke, that the law should bind both ruler and people.
Napoleon Bonaparte
(1769–1821) General who rose to power in a postrevolutionary coup d’état, eventually proclaiming himself emperor of France. He placed security and order ahead of social reform and created a civil legal code. Napoleon expanded his empire through military action, but after his disastrous Russian campaign, the united European powers defeated Napoleon and forced him into exile. He escaped and reassumed command of his army but was later defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.
bourgeoisie
A French term originally designating non-noble city dwellers (Bürger in German). They sought to be recognized not by birth or aristocratic title but by property and ability. In the nineteenth century, bourgeois came to refer to non-noble property owners, especially those who controlled modern industry. A bourgeois was an individual. We can refer to “bourgeois values.” Bourgeoisie refers to the entire class, as in the French bourgeoisie as a whole.
industrial revolution
Gradual accumulation and diffusion of old and new technical knowledge that led to major economic changes in Britain, northwestern Europe, and North America. It resulted in large-scale industry and the harnessing of fossil fuels, which allowed economic growth to outpace the rate of population increase.
Muhammad Ali
(r. 1805–1848) Ruler of Egypt who initiated a set of modernizing reforms that sought to make it competitive with the great powers.
East India Company
(1600–1858) British charter company created to outperform Portuguese and Spanish traders in Asia; in the eighteenth century the company became, in effect, the ruler of a large part of India.
Opium Wars
(1839–1842, 1856–1860) Wars fought between the British and Qing China over British trade in opium; the result was that China granted to the British the right to trade in five different ports and ceded Hong Kong to the British.
