History Exam Flashcards
What were the financial collapse of the Western Roman Empire?
Battles with groups in the Western Borders
Huge debt for Roman Empire
Rome’s infrastructure was old and they didn’t have any money to fix it.
What is a guild?
An association of merchants created to oversee and self - regulate trade.
Describe how the development of new technologies and innovations were impacted with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
After the collapse there was a major decrease in the production of new technologies.
How did the collapse of the Western Roman Empire impact trade in Western Europe?
Since the soldiers weren’t there the roads were a lot more dangerous for traders. Unstable government also created a challenge for long term trading.
Why was the Eastern Roman Empire (The Byzantine Empire) able to last longer than the Western Roman Empire?
They had more modern infrastructure and a good diverse set of goods. The silk road was also connected to the capital of constaninople
What was the Silk Road?
a set of routes on land and sea that connected Asia all the way to Europe.
What was the Black death?
A bacteria that was spread by fleas on rats
How did the Black Death Spread?
due to trade from Asia on the silk road and cities in Europe were overcrowded and lacked sanitation.
Charlemagne
Was a European king who united most of Europe during his reign.
Xuanzang
Was a Buddhist Monk who is known for his travels in Central Asia. His translations and works have aided historians and archaeologists.
The Vikings
Were a seafaring group that raided coastal communities in Europe. They were also skilled explorers and traders.
Marco Polo
Was a European explorer who traveled through Asia on the Silk Road. He wrote a famous book detailing the cultures of the Eastern World.
Nomadic Pastoralization
Is when livestock are herded to find fresh grazing pastures in an irregular pattern of movement.
What is feudalism?
A lord would govern the surrounding lands, they were wealthy and were in charge of social gatherings.
Describe the farming innovations of Western Europe following the collapse of Western Rome?
Utilizing a field rotation technique ensured that the lands were not stripped of minerals and provided with an increased consistent crop. Horses also began to be used instead of oxen which proved to be more efficient.
What is urbanization?
is a movement of people to cities from rural areas and smaller towns. It created overcrowding in major cities along with increased competition for food and jobs.
What contributed to the spread of disease in large cities?
Overcrowding and poor hygiene/sanitation in major cities
What structures were on top of the mounds of the Mississippian Indians?
The chief’s house
Where did the Mississippians live?
by rivers/creeks in Southeastern United States
Describe how the Mississippians traded with each other?
using canoes on creeks and rivers
Describe a fish trap.
was when stones were placed in a creek or river that directed fish to a central opening. People with nets/baskets would be waiting for the fish in the opening.
Where were the Maya located?
The central area of Mexico
What caused the Maya to grow from small villages into large city-states? What connected the Maya together?
When they started Trading with other places.
Describe the features of a Maya City-state?
Stepped Pyramids, temples, houses, and other structures. The city would be organized with Market/gathering areas and laid out with grids.
What mathematical concept did the Maya discover?
Zero
Describe the calendars created by the Maya?
Two Calendars:
1) Shorter for religious ceremonies/dates
2) A 365 Day Calendar for farming
Where were the Inca located?
South America
What connected the Inca cities?
A network of roads that were developed.
Where were the Aztec located?
Central America
What kind of structures would you see in an Aztec City?
Stepped Pyramids, Temples, palaces, amd houses. A ball court and a market area.
What killed more Inca and Aztec than military conflict?
Smallpox
Why did the European nations begin looking for another route to Asia?
The Ottoman-Turks began obstructing access to land routes to Asia and sea routes in the Med. Sea
Who were the first Europeans travel to North America?
The vikings were the first Europeans to travel to North America.
Caravel
was a small highly-maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean.
Carrack
was a three- or four-masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe.
Fluyt
is a Dutch type of sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated cargo vessel.
What country explored the coast of West Africa?
Portugal
What is mercantilism?
An economic policy that was designed to maximize and minimize the exports for an economy.
What is the headright system?
The Headright system was where a person who paid for his/her travel to America would be given a set amount of land for each person that arrived in the colonies.
What caused the colonists to become upset over British taxation?
- The sudden increase of taxes on the Colonist
- and a lack of help from the Parliament
Who is Alexander Hamilton?
He was the first secretary of the Treasury in the USA. He borrowed the idea of a central bank from Europe and proposed that a central government bank be created in the United States.
What were Labor Unions?
Labor Unions were established to support the worker’s rights and advocate for better pay and working conditions. They were typically an organized group of employees at a specific workplace or type of work.
What was the Columbian Exchange?
The exchange of diseases, ideas, food, crops, and populations between The New World and Old World.
What is a Joint Stock Company?
Companies that were formed when multiple individuals invest money in a company in exchange for partial ownership of the company.
What was the Virginia Company?
was a joint stock company that founded the colony of Jamestown, VA
Who was John Stuart Mill?
He was a Scottish Philosopher and economist best known for his book, “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”
What was the cotton gin?
was a machine that was created to separate the seeds and stem from the cotton.
What was the cotton gin’s impact?
- increased the production of cotton.
- increase of slaves in the south.
Cotton became a major export to the northand Europe.
Who invented the cotton gin?
Eli Whitney
What is a telegraph?
- was an invention that allowed for people to communicate quickly over large distances.
- It sent a series of signals along a wire called Morse Code.
Railroads
Connected cities and allowed for transportation of larger amounts of goods quicker and more efficient than using horse and carriages. People would also be transported more comfortably and quicker to various locations over great distances.
Ships
No longer relied on the wind to power vessels, which created more reliable means of transporting larger amounts of good over greater distances. More trade across the Atlantic Ocean occurred between America and Europe
What did railroads do to transportation and shipping?
Provide a more reliable means to transport larger amounts of goods and people over greater distances.
Describe the Industrial Revolution
was a time period in the 1800’s where substantial innovations were made in the areas of technology. The result was an increase in manufacturing and urbanization.
Describe the working conditions for factory workers in the Gilded Age.
Worker would work long hours for low wages. Workplace safety was a major concern and many jobs were not safe by today’s standards.
Describe how human migration changed during the industrial Revolution?
people began moving into major cities and out of rural areas.
As a result the cities became overcrowded and this created habits of bad hygiene.
Describe the plantation system in the south?
this system mirrored that of the “feudal system” in Europe. A wealthy landowner would own a large estate with thousands of acres. He would employ many people and have thousands of slaves who would work the fields/lands around the plantation.
What contributed to the French Revolution?
- increased taxes on the poor
- the idea of democracy vs. the monarchy
- a food shortage that increased the prices of many goods.
