Europe vocab 2 Flashcards
polder
a low lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydro logical entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes
dike
a barrier used to regulate or hold back water from a river, lake, or even the ocean
European union
a unique partnership between 27 European countries, known as member states, or eu countries
city-state
an independent city, and sometimes its surrounding land, which has its own government, completely separate from nearby countries
nationalism
the attachment of a person to a particular nation, or a political action by such a group to achieve statehood (or national self- determination)
feudalism
the economic and political system of medieval europe
republic
form of government in which a state is ruled by representatives of citizen body
landlocked
completely surrounded by land, rather than by bodies of water
euro
the monetary unit and currency of the European union
ethnic
a social group or category of the population that, in a larger society, is set apart and bound together by common ties of race, language, nationality, or culture
ethnic cleansing
the attempt to get rid of, through deportation, displacement, or even mass killing, members of an unwanted ethnic group in order to establish an ethnically homogeneous geographic area
crusades
a series of religious wars between Christians and muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups
renaissance
a period of innovation in culture, art, and learning that took place between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, starting in Italy and then spreading to various other parts of europe
satellite nation
a country that is formally recognized as an independent and sovereign state but who is nevertheless under the strong influence or control of another state
Berlin wall
barrier that surrounded west Berlin and prevented access to it from east Berlin and adjacent areas of east Germany during the period from 1961 to 1989
