Unit 6.1 Between Europe & China (1500-1700), Unit 5.2 The Atlantic System & Africa (1500-1800), Unit 5.1 Transformations in Europe (1500-1700), Unit 4 - Spanish America, Unit 3.2, Unit 3.1 Latin Europe, Unit 2.2 Mongol Eurasia & Aftermath (1200-1500)...
Triangle Trade
trade between Europe, Africa and America; material goods from Europe to Africa, slave from Africa to America, and raw materials from America to Europe;
Charter Company
Groups of private investors who paid an annual fee to France and England in exchange for a monopoly over trade to the West Indies colonies; provided passage to the colonies for poor Europeans who were obligated to work three or four years as indentured servants; caused populations in colonies to soar
Shah
emperor of the Safavid Empire/ Shia people; generally weak after Abbas II; also title for ruler of the Mughal Empire
Janissaries
mid 15th century imperial forced made up of infantry in the Ottoman Empire; boys were legally slaves even though they were well educated and converted to Islam; formed by Ottoman Sultan Murad I around 1380; taken into Ottoman service in periodic levies on Christian peasant families; predominantly from Bulkans
Tsar
named Ivan IV gave himself at 16; from the word Julius Caesar; czar
Mehmed I
1432- 1481; captured Constantinople and renamed to Istanbul; one of the greatest military geniuses of world history; consolidated the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor and in 1453 organized the siege of Constantinople; personally directed the combined land and naval assault and brilliantly improvised the tactics that led to the fall of the city; the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans was a watershed; improved the city via Muslim advancements in architecture (Hagia Sophia)
Edict of Nantes
1598; granted the Huguenots liberty of conscience and worship; revoked by Louis XIV by which his grandfather, Henry IV had granted religious freedom to his Protestant supporters in a Catholic society (Louis supported the Catholic Church)
Shah Jahan
1605-1627 Mughal ruler; patron of the Arts... Building of the Taj Mahal (for wife and took 22 years), Blends Persian and Hindu traditions, and Blends Islamic geometry with Hindu ornamentation;
Mikhail Romanov
1613-1645; first Romanov czar, ends the "Time of Troubles" in which there is chaos over who should rule Russia
Royal African Company (RAC)
1672; royal charter; all English trade with West Africa; established headquarters at Cape Coast Castle, east of Elmina on the Gold Coast
Joint-stock company
A business, often backed by a government charter, that sold shares to individuals to raise money for its trading enterprises and to spread the risks (and profits) among many investors; includes Dutch East India Company; private mercantilist tools with a guarantied trade monopoly in exchange of rights paid to their respective governments
Little Ice Age
A century-long period of cool climate that began in the 1590s; its ill effects on agriculture in northern Europe were notable
Dutch East India Company (VOC)
A joint-stock company chartered by the Dutch government to control all Dutch trade in the Indian and Pacific Oceans; known by its Dutch initials VOC for Verenigde Oostendische Compagnie; richest in history; had its own army and navy (almost a country themselves); benefited Netherlands; first true multinational corporation; initial goal was to develop trade links for prized commodities such as pepper and as time progressed they became increasingly involved in the control and development of their respective territories
Songhai
A people, language, kingdom, and empire in western Sudan in West Africa; at its height in the sixteenth century, the Muslim Songhai Empire stretched from the Atlantic to the land of the Hausa and was a major player in the trans-Saharan trade; Islamic; drew it's wealth from trans-Saharan trade; defeated in 191 by Morocco
Bornu
A powerful West African kingdom at the southern edge of the Sahara in the Central Sudan, which was important in trans-Saharan trade and in the spread of Islam. Also known as Kanem-Bornu, it endured from the ninth century to the end of the nineteenth.
Driver
A privileged male slave whose job was to ensure that a slave gang did its work on a plantation.
Maroons
A slave who ran away from his or her master; often a member of a community of runaway slaves in the West Indies and South America; punishments included whipping and masks
Abbas I
Abbas the Great; 1587-1629; empire reaches the height of its strength and prosperity; moved capital to Isfahan; founded several colleges; supported the arts, architecture, etc; rapid decline of Safavid Empire after rule
Sudan (Hausa People)
An agricultural and trading people of central Sudan in West Africa. Aside from their brief incorporation into the Songhai Empire, the Hausa city-states remained autonomous until the Sokoto Caliphate conquered them in the early nineteenth century; prime destination for caravans bringing textiles, hardware, and weapons across the Sahara after Songhai defeat; similar to coast trade items (no alcohol b/c Muslim); gold, textiles, leather, and slaves
Seasoning
An often difficult period of adjustment to new climates, disease environments, and work routines, such as that experienced by slaves newly arrived in the Americas; one third on average died mainly of diseases
Sharia
Body of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life; had to be followed by Muslim rulers
Delhi
Capital of the Mugal empire in Northern India under Babur; cultural center; location of the Red Fort; controlled by various Muslim dynasties before the Mughal empire
Istanbul
Capital of the Ottoman Empire; named this after 1453 and the sack of Constantinople; built on seven hills beside Golden Horde inlet; gray stones domes and thin, pointed minarets of the great imperial mosques; royal plaza of unobtrusive minarets and brightly tiled domes; harbor teemed with ships (European); scarce wheeled vehicles; narrow streets; crowded; guilds;
Isfahan
Capital of the Safavid Empire under Abbas I; besieged by Afghani tribes in 1722; far from Sea; occasionally visited by Europeans; trade between Jews, Hindus, and Jain from India; no wheeled vehicles; narrow streets; crowded; guilds;
Heliocentric
Earth is not center of the universe Earth is just another planet Earth revolves around the Sun Night and day caused by Earth's rotation; proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus; Galileo gathered observational data that supported it;
Plantocracy
In the West Indian colonies, the rich men who owned most of the slaves and most of the land, especially in the eighteenth century; had the power
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV; came to power when he was only 3; young age led nobles to want to take control; he took over officially when he was 16 and gave himself the name "Czar"; accused the boyars of poisoning dead wife; made own police force that would kill people that Ivan considered traitors (oprichniki); killed thousands of people - you had to stay loyal or he'd kill you; killed his oldest son and only competent heir (accident); reformed the gov and reduced corruption and influences of the boyar families; reformed the church and army creating an elite force (Streltsi); conquered lands and started trading directly with England
Rajputs
Members of a mainly Hindu warrior caste from northwest India. The Mughal emperors drew most of their Hindu officials from this caste, and Akbar I married a Rajput princess.
Sultan
Military and political leader with absolute authority over a Muslim country; Ottoman title
Gunpowder Empires
Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal; dominated parts of Europe, Africa, & Asia from 1300 to 1700; able to conquer neighboring people because they formed strong armies using rifles & artillery; Islamic & ruled by Muslim leaders with well-organized gov'ts made up of loyal; blended their culture with neighboring societies to create a high point of Islamic culture
Cossack
Peoples of the Russian Empire who lived outside the farming villages, often as herders, mercenaries, or outlaws. Cossacks led the conquest of Siberia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; conducted campaign against ethnic peoples of Siberia;
St. Petersburg
Peter the Great named after himself; serfs forced to work there (Many people died due to harsh working conditions and widespread disease); 1712 - 1918 - the Capital of Russia, 1917 - October Revolution, 1924 - 1991 - Leningrad, and 1941 - 1943 - Blockade of Leningrad; "Cultural capital of Russia"; about 5 million people; more than 50 universities
"Window to the West"
Peter the Great's city of St Petersburg with a port easily accessible to Europe; "Window to Europe"; established on May 27, 1703 by Peter I
Great Northern War
Peter's modernized armies broke Swedish control of the Baltic Sea, making possible more direct contact between Russia and Europe; victory forced the European powers to recognize Russia as a major power for the first time; St. Petersburg built on newly acquired land in the eastern end of the Baltic; Vitus Bearing served in both the Black and Baltic seas during it
Gold Coast
Region of the Atlantic coast of West Africa occupied by modern Ghana; named for its gold exports to Europe from the 1470s onward; still exported gold along with slaves; kept from substantial European penetration; merchants were particular about goods
Muscovy
Russian principality that emerged gradually during the era of Mongol domination; the Muscovite dynasty ruled without interruption from 1276 to 1598; led the movement against the Golden Horde and ruthlessly annexed the territories of the neighboring Russian state Novgorod in 1478
Jesuits
Society of Jesus; designed by Spanish noblemen Ignatius of Loyola; they played an important part in the Catholic Reformation and helped stem the Protestant tide by their teaching and preaching; gained converts through missions in Asia, Africa, and the Americas
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Lawgiver; 1520-1566; longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; nder his administration, the Ottoman state ruled over at least 25 million people; issued a single legal code, all the while being careful not to violate the basic laws of Islam; entered into an alliance with Francis I of France to control the powers of Charles V of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire; captured Budapest and threatened Europe.
Papacy
The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the pope is the head; religious and intellectual authority in the 1500s
Siberia
The extreme northeastern sector of Asia, including the Kamchatka Peninsula and the present Russian coast of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Strait, and the Sea of Okhotsk; Peter I asked Bering to command the first Kamchatka expedition to expand this land; Catherine the Great expanded; cossacks conducted campaign against ethnic peoples of Siberia
French East India Company
Used to expel Dutch and English traders from French colonies
Middle Passage
West Africa to America; slaves forced to perform a slave dance to keep in shape; peaked form 1700-1800; about 12-14 million people total; largest of the three markets; 70,000 people a year from 1700-1800 60 percent male; became slave for wars, punishment for crimes, raids, kidnapping, and tribute; led to a decrease in coastal African population
Dahomey
West African kingdom that became strong through its rulers' exploitation of the slave trade; strengthened militarily by firearms acquired in slave trade and annexed Wydah in 1727; overran by Oyo kingdom b/c they were too dependent on it; forced to pay annual tribute to keep its independence
Slave Coast
West coast of Africa from which Portuguese snatched slaves to ship to Europe and the Americas; especially referring to Togo/Benin/Western Nigeria; taken out of West Africa from the 16th to the early 19th century.
Ivory Coast
West coast of Africa where Ivory was traded along with slaves???
Ismail
a boy of Kurdish, Iranian, and Greek ancestry; proclaimed himself Shah of Iran at 16 and declared that from the time forward his realm would be devoted to Shi'ite Islam; revered Ali; created a deep chasm between Iran and Sunni neighbors; ruthless leader of the Safavid Empire who executed all Sunni Muslims in his empire; brought the Safavids to power; tension with Selim I
Genocentric
a description of the solar system in which all of the planets revolve around Earth
Manumission
a grant of legal freedom to an individual slave; more common in Brazil, Spanish, French colonies than English; most saved up money and payed off their slave owners; slave women sometimes let off for sexual relations
British East India Company
a joint stock company that controlled most of India during the period of imperialism; controlled the political, social, and economic life in India for more than 200 years; no trade in the West Indies; reason for English language
Stock exchange
a place where shares in a company or business enterprise are bought and sold
"Loose Packing"
a plan that called for fewer slaves loaded on a slave ship to keep the death rate down; in healthier condition; could make more than tight packing (50/50)
"Tight Packing"
a plan that called for loading as many slaves on a ship as possible; Slave Ship Brookes; more people, but more could die; often in worse shape and not worth as much
Coffle
a train of slaves or of beasts driven along together; Ibo slaves; many died from hunger and fatigue; others offered up as sacrifices by the king of Bonny, some committed suicide
Din-i-ilahi
aka divine Faith-; intending to merge some of the elements of the religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects; Combined Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Jainism; only under Akbar
Devshirme System
aka the blood tax or tribute in blood; Young Balkan, Christian males between the ages of 8 and 15; educated in Palace schools, converted to Islam learned several languages (Turkish, Arabic, Persian); trained in military techniques; pledged absolute allegiance to Sultan; received highest offices in Empire; others were forced to work for farmers; some become the elite infantry of the Ottoman Empire - Janissary Corps (ended c. 1800)
Ottoman
around 1300, the Muslim Turks of Anatolia were unified & formed the Ottoman Empire; used muskets & cannons to form a powerful army & expand their territory; Ottomans gain ground in Asia Minor (Anatolia) throughout the 1350's; 1453: capture of Constantinople under the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II; a major power in the Arab World, the Balkans, and around the Black and Red Seas; sultans were absolute monarchs; the Grand Vizier; Ottoman conquest usually meant effective administration and tax relief; political succession was vague and often contested however (sons often battled after the death of their father); military leaders directly affected the economy (warrior aristocracy/ warriors were granted control over lands and peasants in order to support their households and military retainers); warrior aristocracy compete for power (revenue and labor control); mid 15th century Janissaries; Millet System; great wealth from trade routes with India and rest of Asia; mostly religiously tolerant (rare to find non Muslims in important roles); 1400-1700 gained large amounts of territory in Europe; sieged the city of Vienna twice, but defeated by Holy Roman Empire and Poland; defeat kept Islam from becoming the dominant religion in Europe; influx of silver bullion in the 16th and 17th centuries from the New World destabilized the economy; not overly concern themselves with developments in Europe (fell behind in trade and warfare)
Absolutism
autocratic rulers have COMPLETE authority over government and the lives of the people; resisted by Parliament and Puritans in England; in the 1500s and 1600s, monarchs in Europe and Asia sought to centralize their power leading to it; wealth from Spain's colonies in the Americas helped Spain's power to grow with absolutism under Charles V and Phillip II; Magna Carta pushed against along with Parliament in 1500-1600s; Charles I promoted and led to English Civil War; French most powerful in late 1600s with absolute monarchs (Louis XIV)
Moscow
became capital in Russia in 1918 after St.Petersburg (too close to borders); Muscovy principality based on Moscow; lay in the forest zone north of the treeless steppe
Vitus Bering
born in the Danish town of Horsens in the summer of 1681; became a lieutenant in the Russian navy in 1704; during the Great Northern War he served in both the Black and Baltic seas; in January 1725 Peter I asked Bering to command the first Kamchatka expedition, the aim of which was to determine the extent of the Siberian mainland and its relationship to North America; the Bering Strait, the Bering Sea, Bering Island, the Bering Glacier and the Bering Land Bridge were all named in his honor;
Dutch East India Company
charter in 1602; had monopoly on trade in the Indian Ocean; richest in history; own army and navy; almost a country themselves; benefited Netherlands; first true multinational corporation; initial goal was to develop trade links for prized commodities such as pepper and as time progressed they became increasingly involved in the control and development of their respective territories; VOC; Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie; gained a foothold in Batavia and conquered most of the island of Ceylon; replaced local trade with fortified trading posts; nutmeg & cinnamon (spice islands); faced bankruptcy in 1599 for corruption and mismangement; textiles, pepper and yarn from India; larger ships for larger and longer hauls (fluit/fly boat: big, cheap, and small crew)
Dutch West India Company
charter in 1621 by the Dutch government to conduct its merchants trade in the Americas and Africa; seized sugar-producing areas in Brazil; took African slaving ports from the Portuguese
Sikhism
combination of Hinduism and Islam; developed as an anti-Muslim force on the subcontinent in the Mughal Empire
"Grass Gang"
composed of children under the supervision of an elderly slave; lighter work (weeding and collection grass for animals)
Agra
cultural center for the Mughals under Jahangir and Shah Jahan
Bright of Biafra
densely populated interior contained no regionally dominant polities; merchant princes made European traders give them rich peasants; early slave trade (criminals and convicts); expanded inland into the late eighteenth century
Scientific Method
developed by Francis Bacon; steps: Observation, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, and Conclusion; can be applied to society as well
Millet System
different communities based on religionthroughout the empire; each millet was headed by its own religious dignitary; advised sultan on affairs in the community; was punished by sultan for problems of the community; each community was responsible for taxes, education, and legal Matters: Marriage, Divorce, Inheritance
Mughal
founded by Babur through military conquest by 1526; ruled various parts of India for some 300 years; reaches its zenith under the rule of Akbar's son Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (r.1627-1658); Delhi, Agra, and Lahore are cultural centers; poverty amongst lower classes was rampant; lack of discipline and training in Mughal armies; lagged behind the west in invention and the sciences; India was a trading post for the world, particularly exporting cotton, and other goods imported from Asia; Taj Mahal; religious policies weakened the internal alliances and disrupted the social peace from Akbar; revival of sectarian violence (not conversion, as Aurangzeb had hoped for); forbade the building of new temples (Hindu), reinstated the head tax on Hindus; development of Sikhism as an anti-Muslim force on the subcontinent; under attack from all areas, and ultimately was too weak to do anything about it; decline of the Mughals leads to growing military and economic intervention by the Europeans (like, the British).
Babur
founded the Mughal Dynasty through military conquest by 1526; used Ottoman military tactics; was less motivated by religion than the other Muslim Dynasties; 1st Mughal emperor of India; claimed heritage to rule parts of central Asia from Chinggis Khan (mother's side) and Timur (father's side); lost lands to the powerful Muslim Safavid dynasty in the early 1500's; wanted to control northern India which had been controlled by various Muslim dynasties out of Delhi; won by using cannons which panicked the elephants causing them to trample their own warriors; had superior firepower which allowed him great advantage; ruler of northern India by 1530 and was the founder of the Mughal dynasty of India
Osman
founder of the Ottoman Empire; shrewd; created an army that took advantage of the traditional skills on the Turkish cavalryman and the new military possibilities presented by gunpowder
Sophia
governed as regent for Peter the Great; tried to take complete control of the government in 1689; sent to a monastery
Peter the Great
great reformer (came to power after the Romanovs had calmed things down); land of boyars and serfs when he came to power, you could give serfs away or use a serf to pay a debt, and Russia was not connected to the rest of Europe b/c was geographically isolated, and different religiously (Eastern Orthodox Christians- not Catholics or Protestants); wore traditional modern Europe clothes; wanted to have a warm water port - thought trade was necessary in order to compete with the West; went to Europe to learn about modern technology and industrial techniques; did traveling undercover to not attract attention; hired European officers to come train Russian officers (lifetime commitment with heavy taxes); asked Bering to command the first Kamchatka expedition; fought Sweden for a port on the Baltic Sea; named St. Petersburg and every year would force thousands of serfs to go to St. Petersburg and work; many people died due to harsh working conditions and widespread disease; by time of death in 1725, Russia was a power that could compete with the rest of Europe
Grand Blancs
great whites; white plantation owners (made money from them); top of the social hierarchy; mostly French nationals who dominated the economy and society of the island
Versailles
huge palace outside of Paris for Louise XIV to symbolize both French power and triumph of royal authority over nobility; Louis XIV moved court their in 1682 (emphasized royal power); capable of holding 10,000 people and surrounded landscaped gardens and parks; became an effective symbol of growing royal grandeur and power; left France in debt along with the parties thrown there
Safavid
in 1501, Isma'il led the Sh'ia followers to victory in the city of Tabriz to start Empire; after Abbas the Great (I), the decline of the empire was rapid; Weak shahs (although Abbas II from 1642-1666 was rather effective); by 1722 Isfahan was besieged by Afghani tribes; area becomes battleground for surrounding empires, and nomadic raiders for years; similar w/ Ottomans: ruled by absolute monarchs, had warrior aristocracy and powerful slave army; established imperial workshops were products including weapons, rugs, and silks were manufactured; created policies to encourage international trade; economy not as developed as the Ottoman economy and remained backward; patronized the arts and architecture; women were disadvantaged legally and socially (subordinate to fathers, husbands, no real political or religious power; in settled areas patriarchal and restrictive practices like seclusion and veiling were imposed on women, especially the elite; many women active in trade and even money-lending; wives and concubines influence rulers and princes; women had Islam laws that protected their rights to inheritance, decent treatment by spouse, and divorce in extreme cases but exceptions were made and most women lived lives of low contact and full of domestic chores and hobbies)
Estates General
like parliament; represented the traditional rights of the clergy, nobility, and towns; lopsided power; clergy, nobility, and towns all got one vote so clergy and nobility teamed up; France
Petits Blancs
little whites; served as colonial officials, retail merchants, or small-scale agriculturalists; earned money (merchant class); still owned slaves
Russian
lol literally everything already mentioned; time of troubles to Romanov rule to Westernization and St. Petersburg capital (power to compete with Europe)
"Great Gang"
made up of the strongest slaves in the prime of life; did the heaviest work (breaking up soil at the beginning of planting season); ran sugar plantations (hardest work), and most tobacco plantations (2nd hardest)
Boyar
nobles in Russia under the Czars; wanted to take control under Ivan IV rule; accused of poisoning Ivan IV's wife; there with serfs when Peter came to power; hierarchy made 52 Boyar families the top class
The Counter-Reformation
religious reform movement within the Latin Christian Church, began in response to the Protestant Reformation; clarified Catholic theology and reformed clerical training and discipline; aka Catholic Reformation
Puritans
resisted absolutism; members of the Anglican Church (Calvinists) who wanted all Catholic rituals removed; active members of Parliament & were angered when James I arranged marriage of son (Charles) to a Catholic princess (wanted to weaken hierarchy by eliminating bishops); ideas shaped the development of the colonies that became the United States in the 1700s; forced strict religious rules on people of England
Ivan V
special lol; co-czar with Peter the Great until he completely took over;
Akbar
takes over at age 13; imperiled by enemies; one of the greatest leaders in history; ruled at the same time as Elizabeth I, Philip of Spain, Suleyman the Magnificent, and Abbas I; a vision of uniting India under his rule; patronized the arts; pursued policies of reconciliation and cooperation with Hindu princes and the Hindu majority; encouraged intermarriage; promoted Hindus to the highest ranks; ended a long-standing ban on the building of Hindu temples; religious tolerance was but a means to end sectarian divisions on the subcontinent; new faith: Din-i Ilahi or Divine Faith; sons reached height of the empire
Grand Vizier
the Ottoman sultan's chief minister, who led the meetings of the imperial council; the true head of "state"
Augsburg Confession
the basis of Lutheranism created with this document; opposed Thomas Aquinas view and believed in the primacy of faith, the inadequacy of reason, the unknowableness of God, and God's mystery and his overwhelming power and majesty
Gentry
the class of landholding families in England below the aristocracy; class of prosperous families; loaned money to impoverished peasants and to members of the nobility and in time increased their own land ownership; some sought aristocratic husbands for their daughters
Bourgeoisie
the class of well-off town dwellers whose wealth came from manufacturing, finance, commerce, and allied professions in early modern Europe; middle class
Indulgences
the forgiveness of the punishment due to past sins; granted by the Catholic Church authorities as a reward for a pious act; Martin Luther's protest against the sale of indulgences is often see as touching off the Protestant Reformation; church did because they needed money after building St. Peter's Basilica; started by Pope Leo X
Dowry
the money and household goods (the amount varied by social class) that enabled a young couple to begin marriage independent of their parents; property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage
The Peace of Westphalia
the peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648
Westernization
the policy of Peter the Great after trip to the West; adoption of western ideas, technology, and culture; increased power of monarchy to make everyone comply with his ideas; took over the Russian church; reduced power of the great landowners and gave new land/power to the lower-class in order to make them loyal; Introduced the potato to Russia; started first newspaper; allowed women to attend social gatherings; made nobles dress more like people from Europe; men had to remove their beards to pay a tax; seen during Catherine the Great's reign with Enlightenment
Witch-hunts
the pursuit of people suspected of witch-craft, especially in Northern Europe in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; included protestant, puritans, and jewish; mostly women
Deforestation
the removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves; caused by the expanding iron industry in England; encouraged smelters to use coal as an alternative for fuel due to high price; became an issue in Sweden and Russia in the late eighteenth century
Mercantilism
the theory and system of political economy prevailing in Europe after the decline of feudalism, based on national policies of: accumulating gold and silver, establishing colonies, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade; early policies included a private, capitalist empire; seventeenth-century approach
Divine Right
theory used by monarch to justify power; Phillip II believed he ruled by divine right; the idea that monarchs are God's representatives on earth and are therefore answerable only to God
"Time of Troubles"
time between Ivan IV killing heir and in 1613 when Michael Romanov took power and was appointed czar; marked the end on the old line of Muscovite rulers
French West India Company
used to expel Dutch and English traders from French colonies
Social Contract Theory
written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762; stated that government is a contract between people and rulers; the belief that people are free and equal by natural right, and that this in turn requires that all people give their consent to be governed;
95 Thesis
written by Martin Luther in 1517, they are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation; Luther used these theses to display his displeasure with some of the Church's clergy's abuses, most notably the sale of indulgences; this ultimately gave birth to Protestantism; proposed to give to poor instead of indulgences
