GWA Europe Vocab. Flashcards
Acropolis
Hilltop fortress in ancient Greece
Aristocracy
Small, privileged upper class that administered the government in ancient Greece
Direct Democracy
Decisions are not taken by representatives. All decisions are voted on by the people
Patrician
Wealthy landowner in ancient Rome, member of the group that controlled the government
Plebeian
Member of the group of common people in ancient Rome who could vote but could not hold office
Fief
In medieval times, an estate granted by the monarch to a powerful lord, who owned the monarch loyalty and military service in exchange
Vassal
In medieval Europe, a lesser lord who was granted estates by a powerful lord, to whom he owed loyalty and service
Charter
In the late middle ages, written document guaranteeing certain rights to townspeople
Indulgence
A pardon of sins, sold in the early 1500s by the Roman Catholic Church to raise money
Predestination
Belief, of Protestant reformer John Calvin, that God decides in advance whether an individual will be saved or condemned
Containment
U.S policy in the late 1940s and 1950s to stop Soviet expansion
Welfare State
Agreement in 1955 by the Soviet Union and the satellite nations of Eastern Europe to assist one another in case of invasion by the western powers
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System in which the government undertakes the well-being of its citizens
Romanticism
Nineteenth-century European movement that reacted against the Enlightenment and valued feelings and emotions above reason
Divine Right
Belief of European absolute monarchs that a ruler’s authority comes from God
Absolute Monarch
Ruler who had complete authority in government and over the lives of the people he or she governed
