18th Century History Overview

18th Century Agricultural Revolution

• Increased crop yields and crop rotation
• Led to population growth and urbanization
• Fueled by agricultural innovation stemming from the Scientific Revolution

18th Century Consumer Revolution

• Rise in consumerism
• Growth of the middle class
• Reshaped social identities and daily life

Seven Years' War

• Conflict between Britain and Prussia vs. France, Austria, Russia, and Spain (primarily Britain vs France)
• Driven by colonial rivalry in North America and India
• Austria sought to reclaim Silesia from Prussia
• Britain emerged victorious (Treaty of Paris), gaining territory in North America and India

Academies of Science

• Supported scientific research during the Enlightenment
• Women were excluded

Ancien Régime/Three Estate System

• Pre-revolutionary France's social structure
• Clergy (Catholic Church): most powerful, exempt from taxes
• Nobility: also tax-exempt
• Commoners (Third Estate): heavily taxed, no political representation
• Inequality fueled the French Revolution

Bourgeoisie

• Wealthy, educated commoners who made money through trade and commerce

Cardinal Richelieu

• Louis XIII's chief minister
• Weakened the nobility
• Strengthened France and diminished Habsburg power
• Established a centralized government, key to French absolutism

Christian Humanists

• Combined humanism (emphasizing human potential and classical texts) with Christian teachings

Northern Renaissance

• Examples include Erasmus, who emphasized the importance of education and the Bible

Columbian Exchange

• Transfer of plants, animals, goods, people, and diseases between the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the New World (Americas)

Committee of Public Safety

• Protected the newly established republic from enemies
• Led by Robespierre, using any means necessary

Continental System

• Blockade of Europe and Britain to cripple the British economy and military
• Failed; Britain established a counter-blockade

Crop Rotation

• Alternating crops to maintain soil fertility
• Transition from a two-field system to a three-field system
• Supported population growth and improved nutrition

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

• Defined natural rights (liberty, property, equality before the law) of French citizens
• Defined liberty as actions that don't harm others
• Called for a constitutional monarchy to limit royal power

Divine Right of Kings

• Belief that kings derive authority directly from God
• Inherent right to absolute rule

Dutch Republic

• Seven Dutch provinces that gained independence from Spain
• Major maritime power
• Confederation with religious tolerance
• Power declined in the 17th century due to war and instability

Economic Liberalism

• Arising during the Enlightenment
• Advocated for free trade and minimal government intervention
• Influenced by Adam Smith

Edict of Nantes

• Granted religious rights to French Protestants (Huguenots)
• Ended 36 years of religious conflict
• Revoked by Louis XIV, believing most Protestants had converted

Enclosure Movement

• Wealthy landowners fenced off common lands
• Focused on improving agriculture
• Displaced peasants and contributed to rural-urban migration

Enlightened Absolutism

• Monarchs incorporating Enlightenment ideals (religious tolerance, education) into their rule
• Demonstrated limitations in aspects like Jewish emancipation

Estates-General

• Representative assembly of pre-revolutionary France
• Composed of representatives from the three estates
• Key to the outbreak of the French Revolution when the Third Estate broke away

Fall of the Bastille

• Storming of the Bastille prison in Paris
• Triggered by fear of Louis XVI arresting the National Assembly
• Marked the beginning of the French Revolution

Ferdinand Magellan

• First to circumnavigate the globe
• Changed European understanding of Earth's shape and size

Galileo Galilei

• Key figure in the Scientific Revolution
• Promoted the heliocentric model (sun-centered universe)
• Developed the scientific method
• Faced conflict with the Catholic Church

Rousseau's General Will

• Concept of the common good
• Belief that people, when acting collectively, can determine what is best for society

Georges Danton

• First president of the Committee of Public Safety
• Later executed by Robespierre
• Opposed the Reign of Terror

Guillotine

• Execution method used to eliminate perceived enemies of the revolution

Haitian Revolution

• Successful slave revolt against European colonial rule
• Served as a potent example and feared by slave-holding societies

Henry VIII

• Broke from the Roman Catholic Church
• Established the Church of England
• Had six wives

Italian Humanists

• Emphasized the study and revival of classical Greek and Roman texts
• Petrarch considered the father of humanism

Jacobins

• Prominent political group during the French Revolution, notably the Girondists and the Mountain
• Advocated the Declaration of the Rights of Man
• Responded to the Declaration of Pillnitz

Jean-Paul Marat

• Supported the sans-culottes (common people)
• Fueled revolution through radical journalism

John Locke

• Advocated for natural rights
• Believed that government violating natural rights justifies revolution

Maria Theresa of Austria

• Reformed the Austrian Empire
• First woman ruler in her own right
• Mother of Joseph II
• Reforms aimed at a stronger, more efficient state

Martin Luther

• Sparked the Protestant Reformation
• Emphasized faith over works
• Criticized indulgences
• Believed scripture is the sole source of God's authority

Medici Family

• Powerful Italian banking family
• Influenced the Renaissance through patronage
• Three popes

Mercantilism

• System of state-controlled trade
• Maximize national wealth through a favorable balance of trade (exports exceeding imports)
• Increased state power, exemplified by Colbert

Montesquieu

• Advocated for the separation of powers (three branches of government)
• Challenged absolute rule

Napoleon's Civil Code of 1804

• Established equality before the law for men
• Removed feudal privileges
• Limited women's rights, making them subordinate to their husbands
• Spread to conquered territories & appealed to peasants defending revolutionary land/status gains.

Napoleon's Grand Empire

• Territory controlled by Napoleon at the height of power
• A vast European empire (except Great Britain and Russia)
• Led to the Continental System

National Assembly

• Legislative body formed during the French Revolution
• Composed of representatives from the Third Estate, which declared itself the National Assembly and wrote a new constitution.

Natural Philosophy

• Study of the natural world
• Included the growth of natural history, a major achievement of the scientific revolution

New Monarchs

• Powerful, centralized governments of the mid-15th century
• Weakened the nobility and the Church
• Marked a transition to absolutist rule
• Enabled economic growth

Northwest Passage

• Sought-after sea route through North America to Asia
• N. European nations competed for access

Partition of Poland

• Division of Poland among Russia, Prussia, and Austria
• Poland disappeared

Peace of Augsburg

• Recognized Lutheranism and allowed regional choice between Catholicism and Lutheranism
• Temporarily ended religious conflict

Peace of Westphalia

• Ended the Thirty Years' War
• Recognized religious tolerance and state sovereignty (self rule of states within a state)
• Weakened the Holy Roman Empire

Peter the Great

• Initiated Russian westernization
• Established St. Petersburg as a capital
• Increased military service requirements
• Created a strong navy
• Built a strong Russian fiscal-military state

Philosophes

• Enlightenment thinkers advocating for reform and reason
• Challenged traditional authority
• Examples include Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu (involved in Encyclopedias)

Predestination

• Belief that God predetermined who would achieve salvation

Printing Press

• Facilitated the rapid spread of ideas
• Increased the accessibility and affordability of books
• Responded to a rising demand for reading

Public Sphere

• Space for public discussion, especially important during the Enlightenment

Reign of Terror

• Period of radical violence during the French Revolution
• Execution of perceived enemies of the revolution using the guillotine

Robespierre

• Leader of the Reign of Terror and the Jacobins

Salons

• Gatherings for intellectual discussions
• Supported the spread of Enlightenment ideas
• Important role of women

Scientific Method

• Key method in the Scientific Revolution
• Involved inductive reasoning through observation of the natural world

Spanish Inquisition

• Intended to eliminate heresy
• Ferdinand and Isabella sought religious unity
• Enforcement influenced Spain's economic decline

Tennis Court Oath

• Gathering of the Third Estate
• Pledge to not separate until a new constitution was written
• Crucial moment in the French Revolution

Thermidorian Reaction

• End of the Reign of Terror
• Execution of Robespierre
• Move away from radicalism, toward moderation
• Establishment of the Directory, a weak government eventually replaced by Napoleon

Thomas Hobbes

• Believed humans are inherently violent
• Argued for a strong monarchy to prevent chaos
• Rejected natural rights concepts

Utopia

• Idealized society
• Reflection of Renaissance humanism

Universal Male Suffrage

• Voting rights for all men
• Advocated by the Jacobins to grant rights to the lower classes

Women's March on Versailles

• March fueled by high bread prices
• Forcing Louis XVI to return to Paris
• Significant event in the French Revolution

Explore the transformative events of the 18th century, focusing on the Agricultural and Consumer Revolutions, the Seven Years' War, and the social structure of pre-revolutionary France. This quiz examines how these elements interacted to shape modern society. Test your knowledge of key developments and historical contexts from this pivotal era.