New Years Vocabulary

Question 1

Louis XIV

Answer 1

(Biography) known as le roi soleil (the Sun King). 1638–1715, king of France (1643–1715); son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. Effective ruler from 1661, he established an absolute monarchy. His attempt to establish French supremacy in Europe, waging almost continual wars from 1667 to 1714, ultimately failed.

Question 2

Peter the Great

Answer 2

czar of Russia who introduced ideas from western Europe to reform the government; he extended his territories in the Baltic and founded St. Petersburg (1682-1725)

Question 3

William the Great Elector

Answer 3

(“the Great Elector”) 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg who increased the power and importance of Prussia.

Question 4

Czar

Answer 4

an emperor of Russia before 1917

Question 5

absolutism

Answer 5

the acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters.

Question 6

Boyar

Answer 6

a member of the old aristocracy in Russia, next in rank to a prince.

Question 7

Ivan IV

Answer 7

Biography) known as Ivan the Terrible. 1530–84, grand duke of Muscovy (1533–47) and first tsar of Russia (1547–84). He conquered Kazan (1552), Astrakhan (1556), and Siberia (1581), but was defeated by Poland in the Livonian War (1558–82) after which his rule became increasingly oppressive

Question 8

divine right

Answer 8

the belief that the monarch’s authority comes directly from God rather than from the people

Question 9

Henry IV

Answer 9

1553–1610), king of France 1589–1610; known as Henry of Navarre. 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.

Question 10

War of Spanish Secession

Answer 10

a war (1701–14) fought by Austria, England, the Netherlands, and Prussia against France and Spain, arising from disputes about the succession in Spain after the death of Charles II of Spain.

Question 11

Thirty Years War

Answer 11

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).

Question 12

Catherine the Great

Answer 12

known as Catherine the Great. 1729–96, empress of Russia (1762–96), during whose reign Russia extended her boundaries at the expense of Turkey, Sweden, and Poland: she was a patron of literature and the arts

Question 13

Window to the West

Answer 13

Whatever you call it, the original St. Petersburg was in Russia, not Florida. This city was never intended to be Russian at all - or rather, it was founded to exemplify Peter the Great’s vision for Russia . . . which was “Western.” Built on marshland with slave labor, Peter the Great, one of Russia’s emperors, established St. Petersburg city as the new capital of Russia. You may see the city referred to as St. Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Sankt-Peterburg, or Petersburg.

Question 14

Maria Theresa

Answer 14

(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).

Question 15

Pragmatic Sanction

Answer 15

an imperial or royal ordinance or decree that has the force of law.

Question 16

Hapsburgs

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Austria

Answer 17

a republic in central Europe; pop. 8,210,300 (est. 2009); capital, Vienna; official language, German.

Question 18

Seven Years Wars

Answer 18

war (1756–63) that set Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against Austria, France, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and Spain.

Question 19

Frederick the Great

Answer 19

Frederick the Great. n king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786; brought Prussia military prestige by winning the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years’ War (1712-1786).

Question 20

Frederick William I

Answer 20

(Biography) 1688–1740, king of Prussia (1713–40); son of Frederick I: reformed the Prussian army

Question 21

Glorious Revolution

Answer 21

in England, the overthrow of King James II in 1688 that established the power of Parliament over the monarch

Question 22

Spanish Armada

Answer 22

(Historical Terms) the great fleet sent by Philip II of Spain against England in 1588: defeated in the Channel by the English fleets and almost completely destroyed by storms off the Hebrides.

Question 23

James I

Answer 23

King of England (1603–1625) and of Scotland as James VI (1567–1625). The son of Mary Queen of Scots, he succeeded the heirless Elizabeth I as the first Stuart king of England.

Question 24

Queen Elizabeth

Answer 24

Definitions of Elizabeth I. n Queen of England from 1558 to 1603; daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; she succeeded Mary I (who was a Catholic) and restored Protestantism to England; during her reign Mary Queen of Scots was executed and the Spanish Armada was defeated; her reign was marked by prosperity and literary genius (1533-1603).

Question 25

Charles I

Answer 25

Charles I ©Charles I was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, whose conflicts with parliament led to civil war and his eventual execution. Charles I was born in Fife on 19 November 1600, the second son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark.

Question 26

Purtians

Answer 26

a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.