vocabulary Flashcards
King George III
The king of Britain during the American Revolutionary War. He was known for insisting on royal privilege.
Taxation without representaion
A slogan of the Revolutionary War and the years before. The colonists were not allowed to choose representatives to parliament in London, which passed the laws under which they were taxed.
the Stamp Act
an act regulating stamp duty (a tax on the legal recognition of documents).
George Washington
The first president of the United States, and the commanding general of the victorious American army in the Revolutionary War.
Red Coats
a British soldier.
Continental Army
formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America.
Seven year War
A war fought in the middle of the eighteenth century between the German kingdom of Prussia, supported by Britain, and an alliance that included Austria, France, and Russia. Prussia and Britain won, and their victory greatly increased their power.
Loyalists
American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War.
Patriots
a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.
Thomas Jefferson
A political leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; one of the Founding Fathers; the leader of the Democratic-Republican party.
Declaration of Independence
the formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain
The Three Estates
the three divisions of European society in the Middle Ages: the nobles (first estate), the clergy (second estate), and the commoners (third estate).
Louis XV
King of France (1715-1774) who led France into the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), during which France lost its colony in Canada.
Marie Antoinette
French queen, wife of Louis XVI. A daughter of Maria Theresa, she married the future Louis XVI of France in 1770.
Versailles
A city of north-central France west-southwest of Paris. It is best known for its magnificent palace, built by Louis XIV in the late 1600s, where the treaty ending World War I was signed in 1919.
National Assembly
an elected legislature in various countries.
Estates General
the legislative body in France until 1789, representing the three estates of the realm
Declaration of rights of man
a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights.
Constitution of 1791
French constitution created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution.
Emigres
a person who has left their own country in order to settle in another, usually for political reasons.
Radicals
a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform; a member of a political party or part of a party pursuing such aims.
Moderates
middle-of-the-road political faction or group during the French Revolution
Conservatives
a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics
Reign of Terror
a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, in particular Reign of Terror, the period of the Terror during the French Revolution
Jacobins
a member of a democratic club established in Paris in 1789. The Jacobins were the most radical and ruthless of the political groups formed in the wake of the French Revolution, and in association with Robespierre they instituted the Terror of 1793–4.
Maximillian Robespierr
was a French lawyer and politician. He was one of the best-known and most influential figures associated with the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
Guillotine
a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people.
Conscription
compulsory enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces.
Coup
a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
The Directory
a book listing individuals or organizations alphabetically or thematically with details such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers.
Napoleon Bonaparte
a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century.
Counter-Revolutionary
engaged in or promoting a revolution that opposes a previous one or reverses its results.
Napoleonic Code
French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. It was drafted by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force on 21 March 1804.
The Consulate Waterloo
Government established in France after the overthrow of the Directory in 1799, with Napoleon as first consul in control of the entire government.
Nationalism
patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts.
Duke of Wellington
a hereditary title of the senior rank in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Tennis court oath
vow by members of the 3rd estate not to disband until a constitution was written
Bastille
fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France.
