history content Flashcards
vocabulary
a list of difficult or unfamiliar words with an explanation of their meanings, accompanying a piece of specialist or foreign-language text.
Louis XIV
Definitions of Louis XVI. n king of France from 1774 to 1792; his failure to grant reforms led to the French Revolution; he and his queen (Marie Antoinette) were guillotined (1754-1793).
peter the great
Through a number of successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger empire that became a major European power.
William the Great Elector
Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously.
Czar
a person appointed by government to advise on and coordinate policy in a particular area:
absolutism
the acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters.
Boyar
a member of the old aristocracy in Russia, next in rank to a prince.
Ivan IV
Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Fearsome, was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, then “Tsar of All the Russias” until his death in 1584. The last title was used by all his successors.
divine right
the belief that the monarch’s authority comes directly from God rather than from the people
Henry IV
Although leader of Huguenot forces in the latter stages of the French Wars of Religion, on succeeding the Catholic Henry III, he became Catholic himself in order to guarantee peace. He established religious freedom with the Edict of Nantes (1598) and restored order after the prolonged civil war.
War of Spanish secession
The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II.
Thirty years war
Thirty Years’ War. (Historical Terms) a major conflict involving principally Austria, Denmark, France, Holland, the German states, Spain, and Sweden, that devastated central Europe, esp large areas of Germany (1618–48).
Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great definition. An empress of Russia in the late eighteenth century who encouraged the cultural influences of western Europe in Russia and extended Russian territory toward the Black Sea.
window to the west
St. Pete is called Russia’s “Window to the West” and it’s not difficult to see why. The city, with its boulevards, canals and Baroque buildings, feels like Europe. Street signs are in English and the woman behind the counter at the coffee shop this morning could actually explain what was in each pastry.
Maria Theresa
(1717–80), archduchess of Austria; queen of Hungary and Bohemia 1740–80. The daughter of Emperor Charles VI, she succeeded to the Habsburg dominions in 1740 by virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction. Her accession triggered the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), which led in turn to the Seven Years War (1756–63).
Pragmatic sanction
an imperial or royal ordinance or decree that has the force of law.
Hapsburgs
a member of a German royal family, prominent between the 13th and 20th centuries in Europe, that included rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and Austria-Hungary
Austria, seven years war
The Seven Years’ War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763.
Frederick the Great
official title Frederick II. 1712–86, king of Prussia (1740–86); son of Frederick William I. He gained Silesia during the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48) and his military genius during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63) established Prussia as a European power.
Charles I
His power struggles with Parliament resulted in the English Civil War (1642–1648) in which Charles was defeated. He was tried for treason and beheaded in 1649.
Petition of Rights
The Petition of Right is a major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing.
long parliament
the Parliament that assembled November 3, 1640, was expelled by Cromwell in 1653, reconvened in 1659, and was dissolved in 1660.
short parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks.
cavaliers
a small spaniel of a breed with a moderately long, noncurly, silky coat.
