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Webner's AP World
Key Terms AP WORLD
Question | Answer |
---|---|
refers to complex society with traits such as cities, specialization of labor, status distinctions based on wealth, monumental building, etc | civilization |
learned patterns of action and expression | culture |
people who hunt and gather | foragers |
domestication of plants and animals and the change from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled farming society is known as___ | Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic Revolution) |
early river valley civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers | Mesopotamia |
self-governing urban centers (as opposed to large territories governed by a central authority) | city-states |
Early legal code in Mesopotamia | Hammurabi's Code |
early step pyramids found in Mesopotamia | ziggurats |
The earliest civilization of South Asia was formed around the ___ river valley | Indus |
The longest lasting and most revered dynasty in Chinese history | Zhou (ca. 1000-200 BC) |
Chinese philosophy emphasizing duty, public service, hierarchy, and moral government | Confucianism |
Chinese political philosophy emphasizing wickedness of human nature and advocating for strict laws | Legalism |
Chinese philosophy urging people to accept the world as they find it, to avoid useless struggles, and to adhere to the "path" of nature | Daoism (Taoism) |
Early civilization located South of Egypt | Nubia |
Most influential early Mesoamerican civilization | Olmec |
Most impressive early South American civilization of the Andes Mountain region | Chavin |
common domesticated animal of the Andes | llama |
Western Asian civilization known for developing horse-drawn chariot technology and a technique for making tools and weapons of iron | Hittites |
Earliest European civilization to have complex political and social structures and advanced technologies like those in western Asia and northeaster Africa | Minoan Crete |
First advanced civilization in Greece | Mycenaean |
First western Asian empire located in Mesopotamia | Assyrian Empire |
belief in only one god | monotheism |
First civilization to develop a written alphabet | Phoenicians |
Early empire in Iran | Persian empire |
monotheistic religion practiced by Persian kings | Zoroastrianism |
Greek term for city-state | polis |
conflict between Greece and Persia in which Persia was ultimately defeated by an alliance of Greek city-states, including Sparta and Athens. It ultimately led to Athens' rise as a dominant power in Greece. | Persian Wars |
struggle for dominance between Athens and Sparta and their allies | Peloponnesian War |
Macedonian king who conquered lands from Greece east through Persia and into northern Africa, spreading Greek culture. | Alexander "the Great" |
period of influence of Greek rule from Greece through western Asia and northeastern Africa, characterized by long-distance trade, great cities, powerful rulers, development of culture, etc. | Hellenistic Age |
Before Rome became a large empire, it was a ____, in which civic officials were elected each year. | republic |
elite in Roman society | patricians |
majority of people in Roman society (non-elite) | plebeians |
The center of power in the Roman government, technically an advisory council to the kings. | Roman Senate |
Julius Caesar's grandnephew and heir, he ruled over Rome for 45 years, expanding the empire, and essentially changing it from a republic to an empire. | Augustus (Octavian) |
period of relative peace in the Roman empire, during which trade/commerce was expanded | pax romana |
Spread of the Latin language and Roman way of life--one of the most lasting consequences of the Roman empire | Romanization |
technology used to carry water from a source to an urban center developed by the Romans | aqueduct |
Eastern part of the Roman Empire, that lasted for centuries after Rome's decline | Byzantine Empire |
negative term for non-Christian polytheists | pagan |
The Chinese dynasty from ~200 BC to 220 BCE, credited for beginning the long history of imperial China (political and cultural unity and continuity that lasted until the 20th century) | Han Dynasty |
period from 1500 to 500 BC in India | Vedic Age |
religious texts that are our main source of information about early India and the "Vedic Age" | Vedas |
belief that living creatures will be reborn after death, depending on the deeds done in life. common in Hindu religion, with origins in the Vedic tradition | reincarnation |
deeds done during life that will lead a person to their next life--either better or worse, depending on the deeds. common in Hindu religion, with origins in the Vedic tradition | karma |
belief system that arose as a challenge to Vedic religious tradition, which emphasized extreme nonviolence, and even starvation in some who refused to eat any living thing | Jainism |
"The Enlightened One" | Buddha |
Religion that emphasizes the importance of living life in moderation, rejecting desire and suffering, and searching for spiritual truth through meditation and self-discipline, ultimately to reach the goal of nirvana. Arose in contrast to Vedic tradition. | Buddhism |
In response to challenges from both Jainism and Buddhism, the Vedic tradition evolved into ____. | Hinduism |
India's first centralized empire (~320-180 BC) | Mauryan empire |
Modeled after the Mauryan empire, although never controlled territories as extensive as the Mauryan. | Gupta empire |
term describing a way of maintaining power by 'persuading' others to follow its lead through splendor and beauty of the capital, dramatic ceremonies, and exciting cultural events | theater-state |
geographical peninsula zone in Southeast Asia | Malay peninsula |
first major Southeast Asian center, which flourished between the first and sixth centuries CE. | Funan |
long distance trade route linking lands of the Mediterranean with China, passing through Mesopotamia, Iran, and Central Asia | Silk Road |
Empire in Iran/western Asia (~200-600 CE), established Zoroastrianism as official state religion | Sasanid empire |
important invention allowing for greater stability of horse riding. invented in Central Asia | stirrup |
trade network linking Indian Ocean and South China Sea. traders in this network included Chinese, Malays, Indians, Persians, and Arabs | Indian Ocean Maritime System |
Long distance trade routes across the great desert of northern Africa | Trans-Saharan caravan routes |
Africa south of the Sahara desert | Sub-saharan Africa |
family of languages common throughout sub-Saharan Africa | Bantu |
Shi'ites and Sunnis | Main religious division in Islam is between these two groups |
City in the Arabian peninsula where Muhammad was born | Mecca |
Islamic prophet | Muhammad |
person who practices the religion of Islam | Muslim |
Islamic beliefs that include loyalty to only one god (Allah), prayer 5 times a day, fasting during holy month Ramadan, giving charity, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca | 5 Pillars of Islam |
holy book of Islam | Quran (Koran) |
Term for the early Islamic empires | caliphates |
Earliest Islamic empires (caliphates) | Umayyad (~680 - 630) and Abbasid (~630-1250) |
Early Turkish kingdom stretching from northern Afghanistan into Syria and Anatolia. They conquered the Byzantine empire. | Suljuk Turks |
successor to Muhammad as leader of Islam | Abu Bakr |
First in western Europe to bear the title "emperor" since the fall of the Roman Empire. His rule marked a shift of focus in Europe away from the Mediterranean toward the north and west. | Charlemagne |
Time period between the Greco-Roman civilization and the Renaissance | Medieval or Middle Ages |
name for the Eastern Roman Empire | Byzantine Empire |
split between the Latin Church (of western Europe) and the Orthodox Church (Eastern) resulting in 2 versions of Catholicism-- Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox | Great Schism |
Greatest Byzantine architectural monument -- cathedral in Constantinople built by Justinian | Hagia Sophia |
Family of Frankish rulers that included Charlemagne | Carolingian family |
sea raiders from Scandinavia (northern Europe) | Vikings |
self sufficient farming estates during the middle ages | manors |
agricultural workers tied to the land | serfs |
system of land ownership in which kings and lords gave land to "vassals" in return for sworn military support. common during Middle Ages in Europe. | feudalism |
noble followers of kings that promised military support in return for land grants | vassals |
the office of the pope | papacy |
Loose confederation of Germanic kingdoms during the Middle Ages | Holy Roman Empire |
system of groups of monks or nuns living together in organized communities, often practicing celibacy (no sex), devotion to prayer, living apart from society | monasticism |
Early Russian kingdom (900-1200) characterized by Orthodox Christianity, Slavic language | Kievan Russia |
technology that emerged in western Europe during Middle Ages that allowed more efficient horse plowing for farming | horse collar |
series of religiously inspired Christian military campaigns against Muslims in the eastern Mediterranean (1095-1204). Had a huge impact on Europe because they led to exposure to Muslim culture and bringing back of new ideas, goods, and increase in trade. | Crusades |
Chinese empire (600-750) succeeding Han and Sui. Used Buddhism, built Grand Canal, produced fine goods like porcelain, etc. | Tang Empire |
Turkic group that took control over much of Inner Asia (600-900). They excelled as merchants and translators. | Uighurs |
Central Asian rival to Tang power in China. Alphabet and artistic styles derived from India, with influences from China and Islam as well. Known for strong Buddhist influences. | Tibet |
Chinese empire following the Tang. Historians consider it a premodern state and society because of many innovations, including gunpowder, advances in astronomy, development of the compass for long distance travel, movable type, etc. | Song |
Chinese ocean going ship | junk |
New interpretations of Confucianism | neo-Confucianism |
fast-maturing rice variety developed in Vietnam/SE Asia and brought to China. Improved Chinese rice farmers crop production | champa rice |
largest pre-Aztec American city, located about 30 miles NE of Mexico City | Teotihuacan |
Mesoamerican civilization of the Yucatan peninsula, and present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize | Maya |
Aztec capital | Tenochtitlan |
system of imposing taxes on conquered peoples to maintain power and to support urban center (used in Aztec civilization and others) | tribute system |
ancient culture of North American southwest | Anasazi |
ancient culture of North American eastern woodlands | Mississippian |
political system in which a territory as large as 10,000 people is ruled by a chief, a hereditary leader with both religious and non-religious responsibilities | chiefdom |
system of labor involving a rotational labor draft that organized workers to work on fields owned by the wealthy and powerful (used in Andean cultures) | mit'a |
Powerful Andean empire by 1400-1500. Culturally similar to earlier Andean civilizations. Known for extensive road system that connecting parts of the empire. | Inca |
Central Asian nomadic people who conquered much of Eurasia by 1300 | Mongols |
Mongol rule over China known as ____ empire | Yuan |
disease carried by rats from Asia to Europe, killing much of the population ~1300s | bubonic plague |
name for Russian autocratic ruler (like the Russian emperor) | tsar / czar |
Chinese empire after fall of Mongol Yuan empire (1368-1500). Known for producing high achievement in literature and the arts, and fine trade goods such as porcelain and silk. | Ming |
Chinese maritime explorer who voyaged throughout SE Asia, the Indian Ocean. Established commercial relations with the Middle East and served as a publicist showing off Chinese leader's wealth and power | Zheng He |
part of the earth near the equator, characterized by rainy and dry seasons | tropics |
alternating winds affecting the Indian Ocean region | monsoons |
Muslim traveler who kept extensive journals of his travels throughout the Islamic world during the 1300s | Ibn Battuta |
Centralized Indian empire created by Muslim invaders (1206-1526) | Delhi Sultanate |
West African empire founded by indigenous Muslims from 13th to 15th century. Famous for role in trans-Saharan gold trade | Mali |
Ruler of Mali known for his pilgrimage to Mecca to show off Mali's exceptional wealth | Mansa Musa |
Arabic ship | dhow |
name for culture group along east-African coast | Swahili |
African city (now in ruins) whose stone structures were built between 1250 and 1450, when it was a trading center and capital of a large state | Great Zimbabwe |
West African city that was a center of learning, home to a great library, and many Islamic scholars | Timbuktu |
another name for the bubonic plague that killed off a third of western Europeans | Black Death |
Association of trading cities and merchants in northern Europe during the late Middle Ages | Hanseatic League |
association of craft specialists such as silversmiths that regulated business practices and prices. common during the late middle ages and into the Renaissance | guild |
style of architecture (primarily cathedrals) characteristic of the late Middle Ages that featured flying buttresses, pointed arches, gargoyles, and giant stained glass windown | Gothic architecture |
Literally means "re-birth." Period following the Middle Ages, starting in the Mediterranean and spreading throughout western Europe, that saw a growth in learning, arts, and literature. | Renaissance |
mechanical device that revolutionized printing, leading to many more books being made and read. was perfected by Johann Gutenberg in the 1400s. | printing press |
well known Renaissance artists | Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Jan van Eyck |
long conflict between king of France and his vassals from 1337-1453. it is a key example of the transformation in politics leading to more centralized power. | Hundred Years War |
Early Amerindians who settled the islands in the Caribbean | Arawak |
Portuguese prince who established schools to study navigation in the 1400s | Prince Henry "the Navigator" |
New type of ship -- small, fast, and maneuverable -- used by European sailers starting in the 1400s | caravel |
Nickname of the West African coast, became the headquarters of Portuguese trade in West Africa | Gold Coast |
First Portuguese explorer to round the tip of Africa and enter the Indian Ocean | Bartolomeu Dias |
Portuguese explorer who sailed around Africa and reached India in the late 1400s | Vasco da Gama |
Sailer sponsored by Spain, whose voyages established the existence of the "New World" | Christopher Columbus |
Imaginary line drawn down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which split the world between Spanish and Portuguese control--lands to west of line were reserved for Spain, while lands to the east of the line were reserved for Portugal | Treaty of Tordesillas line |
His voyage was first to circumnavigate (sail around) the world. Set the precedent for Spanish colonization of the Philippines | Ferdinand Magellan |
Portuguese trading post in China in the 1500s | Macao |
Conquistador who conquered the Aztecs in the 1520s | Hernan Cortes |
Aztec emperor at the time of Spanish arrival and subsequent conquest of the empire | Moctezuma |
spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca empire in the 1530s | Francisco Pizarro |
Inca emperor at the time of Spanish conquest | Atahualpa |
Movement of rejection of the Catholic Church, started in Europe by Martin Luther in early 1500s | Protestant Reformation |
The Intellectual movement in Europe, initially associated with planetary motion, that by the 17th century (1600s) had laid the groundwork for modern science | Scientific Revolution |
Intellectual movement in Europe associated with the belief that human reason could discover laws that governed social behavior | Enlightenment |
French term for the urban middle class | bourgeoisie |
Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities, headed by an emperor elected by the princes (962-1806) | Holy Roman Empire |
Conflict over royal versus Parliamentary rights in England. Led to a check in the power of the monarchy and England eventually becoming a constitutional monarchy | English CIvil War |
Palace of Louis XIV. Symbol of absolute power of the French monarch | Versailles |
Transfer of peoples, animals, plants, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds | Columbian Exchange |
administrative jurisdictions of Spanish and Portuguese colonies in teh Americas (the Spanish empire in the Americas was divided into ___) | Viceroyalties |
A grant of authority over a population of Amerindians in the Spanish colonies that provided the grant holder with a supply of cheap labor and payments by the Amerindians. The grantholder had to Christianize the Indians | encomienda |
system of labor under which 1/7 of adult male Amerindians were forced to work for 6 months each year in mines, farms, or factories | mita |
whites born in America to European parents and people of mixed ancestry | creoles |
Offspring of European and Amerindian parents | mestizos |
Offspring of European and African parents | mulattos |
system of labor where a young man or woman (from Europe) agrees to work for a period of time (4-7 years) in exchange for passage to the Americas | indentured servitude |
Amerindian leader of rebellion against Spanish rule and the mita labor system in 1780 | Tupac Amaru II |
The network of trading links after 1500 that moved goods, wealth, people, and cultures around the Atlantic Ocean | Atlantic system |
groups of private investors given monopolies over trade by the government in exchange for payment of annual fees (example: Dutch West India Company) | chartered companies |
small number of rich men who owned most of the slaves and most of the land in West Indian plantation colonies, and who therefore, had all of the power | plantocracy |
period of adjustment to a new environment that all enslaved Africans had to go through upon reaching the Americas | seasoning |
legal grant of freedom to an individual slave | manumission |
runaway slaves in the Caribbean | maroons |
economic policy adopted by European states to promote their citizens' overseas trade, while restricting them from trading with foreign merchants | mercantilism |
Part of the triangular trade in which slaves were transported across the Atlantic to the plantation colonies of the Americas | Middle Passage |
Successor to the Mali empire in West Africa, which drew its wealth from the trans-Saharan trade and was ruled by a Muslim dyansty | Songhai |
Islamic state founded after the fall of the Byzantine empire. It encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe (lasted from 1453-1922) | Ottoman Empire |
Elite Ottoman soldiers, originally of slave origin | Janissaries |
Iranian empire (1502-1722) characterized by strong army and multi-lingual population | Safavid Empire |
Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising control over most of India in 16th and 17th centuries | Mughal Empire |
Indian religion started in the Punjab region of NW India. After Mughal emperor ordered beheading of Sikh guru in 1675, Sikh warriors mounted armed resistance to Mughal rule | Sikhism |
Japanese warlords | daimyo |
Japanese warriors | samurai |
Japanese military government that arose in 1603 after civil war, unifying Japan | Tokugawa Shogunate |
Successor to the Ming empire in China, established by the Manchus in the north. The last Chinese empire | Qing |
Russian tsar (1689-1725) who made major changes, attempting to "westernize" Russia | Peter the Great |
Leader of the Haitian Revolution | Toussaint L'Ouverture |
French colony in the Caribbean, now known as Haiti | Saint Domingue |
France's traditional national assembly with representatives of the 3 estates, or classes, in French society. | Estates General |
French revolutionary assembly (1789-91). Passed Declaration of RIghts of Man in 1789 | National Assembly |
Similar to the US Declaration of Independence, it was a French document that proclaimed natural rights such as liberty, property, security, free expression of ideas, equality before the law, etc | Declaration of the Rights of Man |
Most radical phase of the French Revolution, in which people accused of being enemies of the revolution were sentenced to death | The Terror |
Most radical political party in France during French Revolution | Jacobins |
Became emperor of France in 1804 | Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) |
meeting of European leaders after the defeat of Napoleon. Attempted to reestablish political order in Europe and maintain the traditional power of the monarchy. Conservative reaction to the French Revolution. | Congress of Vienna |
Movement that started in Paris to overthrow the king and create the 2nd French Republic. Reformers in other countries also demanded changes such as more rights. | Revolutions of 1848 |
Transformation of the economy, environment, and society starting in England in the 18th century. Led to innovations in transportation, communication, and mechanization of factories | Industrial Revolution |
revolution in farming that provided more food for growing populations, based on acceptance of potato farming in Europe. Significant because it allowed the Industrial Revolution to occur | agricultural revolution |
making of many identical items by breaking the process into simple, repetitive tasks | mass production |
subdividing work into specialized and repetitive tasks that lower the cost of products | division of labor |
use of machines to do work that had previously been done by hand | mechanization |
recurrent swings from economic hard times to recovery and growth | business cycles |
"invisible hand" economic theory that states that the government should refrain from interfering in business, except to protect private property | laissez faire |
revolutionary leader of many Latin American independence movements | Simon Bolivar |
charismatic leaders who relied on their ability to persuade the masses rather than on the authority of constitutions and laws (example: Andrew Jackson of USA, Jose Antonio Paez of Venezuela) | personalist leaders |
name for a personalist leader in Latin America | caudillo |
men and women who wanted to outlaw slavery | abolitionists |
the modification of the language, customs, and behaviors of a group of people as a result of contact with people of another culture | acculturation |
meeting to discuss women's rights in 1848 that created a declaration declaring the equality of men and women | Women's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, New York (Seneca Falls Convention) |
prosperous and industrialized nations v. nations dependent on exporting raw materials and low-wage industries | developed v. underdeveloped |
Leader of Egyptian modernization in the early 19th century. Ruled Egypt as an Ottoman governor | Muahmmad Ali |
Name for Indian troops hired by private companies for protection | sepoys |
Name for British rule over India | British raj |
The revolt of Indian soldiers in 1857 against certain practices that violated religious customs (based on controversy over opening gun cartridges greased with animal fat) | Sepoy Rebellion |
British name for native Australians | Aborigines |
"reorganization" - refers to a series of reforms in the Ottoman empire in the mid-1800s to move civil law away from control of religious elites | Tanzimat |
Conflict between the Russian and Ottoman empires fought over Russian expansion (1853-1856) | Crimean War |
Movement of young intellectuals to institute liberal reforms and build a feeling of national identity in the Ottoman empire in the second half of the 19th century | Young Ottomans |
Political doctrine advocating unity of all Slavic peoples | Pan-Slavism |
Intellectuals who opposed westernization, instead viewing peasant life, the Orthodox faith, and the tsar's absolute rule to be the proper bases of Russian civilization. | Slavophiles |
Failed attempt by army officers to take control of Russian government after death of Tsar Alexander in 1825. | Decembrist revolt |
War between Britain and China in mid 1800s that exposed the weaknesses of the Chinese army and showed the superiority of the British military. Ended with China being forced to open itself more widely to international trade | Opium War |
cities open to foreign residents that expanded after Opium War and Treaty of Nanking | treaty ports |
"unequal" treaty after the Opium war that allowed more open access to British traders in China | Treaty of Nanking |
Chinese civil war in mid-19th century that weakened the Qing government | Taiping Rebellion |
The man responsible for German unification | Otto von Bismarck |
Technologies associated with the 2nd Industrial Revolution | steel, chemical industries, and electricity |
Time period from late 19th to early 20th centuries characterized by rules of behavior surrounding the family and relations between men and women, with home seen as the domain of women while the the marketplace was strictly the domain of men | VIctorian Age |
The Victorian idea that men and women had clearly defined and distinct roles in society--men as "breadmakers" and women as in charge of domestic duties | "separate spheres" |
German writer and economic theorist who wrote the Communist Manifesto, which criticized capitalism and argued that history was a long series of conflicts between social classes | Karl Marx |
ideology developed by radical thinkers who questioned the idea of private property and argued in support of industrial workers against their employers | Socialism |
organizations formed by industrial workers to defend their interests in negotiations with employers | labor unions |
political philosophy that believed in the abolition of all governments | anarchism |
political ideology that stresses people's membership in a nation--a community defined by a common culture and history as well as by territory | nationalism |
middle class ideology that asserted the sovereignty of the people and demanded a constitutional government, a national parliament, and freedom of expression | liberalism |
These countries were the Great Powers of Europe (1871-1900) | France, Great Britain (liberal powers) and Russia, Austria-Hungary (conservative powers) |
Following the destruction of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan, this political program set Japan on the path of centralization, industrialization, and imperialism by copying western techniques | Meiji Restoration |
Historians' term for the late-19th and early-20th century wave of conquests by European powers, the US, and Japan | New Imperialism / neo-imperialism |
Sudden wave of conquests in Africa by European powers in the 1880s and 90s. | "Scramble for Africa" |
Conference called to set rules for the partition of Africa (1884-5) | Berlin Conference |
descendants of Dutch settlers in southern Africa | Afrikaners |
Statement issued by Britain's Foreign Secretary in 1917 favoring the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine | Balfour Declaration |
Radical Marxist political party founded by Vladimir Lenin in 1903. They seized power of Russia In 1917 during the Russian Revolution | Bolsheviks (later Communist Party) |
Leader of the Bolshevik (later Communist) Party in Russia that gained control of Russia after the revolution | Vladimir Lenin |
US President during WWI that wanted to stay out of conflict at first and after the war advocated for the creation of a peace keeping international organization | Woodrow Wilson |
World organization to protect peace and international cooperation. Formed after WWI | League of Nations |
Treaty reluctantly signed by Germany after WWI. It reduced the size of the German military, forced Germany to give up territory, and included a "guilt clause" that forced Germany to accept responsibility for the war and pay reparations | Treaty of Versailles |
Economic policy of Lenin during early years of USSR (Soviet Union) that encouraged the revival of the Soviet economy by allowing small private enterprises | New Economic Policy (N.E.P) |
System that allocated former German colonies and Ottoman possessions to the victorious powers after WWI, to be administered under the League of Nations supervision | Mandate system |
Leader of the Soviet Union in 1930s who industrialized the country but is remembered also for oppressive tactics | Joseph Stalin |
Economic plans devised by Stalin in order to rapidly industrialize the USSR | 5 Year Plans |
Labor camps in the Soviet Union where millions of people accused of counterrevolution were sent under Stalin's rule | gulags |
Leader of the Fascist Party in Italy | Benito Mussolini |
Political party that glorified warfare and the Italian nation. Used publicity and mass communications to gain support for the radical government | Fascist Party |
Leader of the Nazi Party in Germany | Adolf Hitler |
Chinese leader who was head of Guomindang party and leader of China from 1928-48. Fought against the Communists and Japanese invasions | Chiang Kai-shek |
Leader of Chinese Communist Party who led the Communists to victory over Guomingdang Party after WWII | Mao Zedong |
The 6000 mile flight of Chinese Communists led by Mao Zedong as they were being pursued by the Chinese army. Survivors of the journey formed the nucleus of the Communist movement that eventually took control of China | The Long March |
WWII battle that ended in German surrender and the shift of advantage on the Eastern Front to the Soviet Red Army | Stalingrad |
US Naval base attacked by Japanese planes that led to US joining the Allies in WWII | Pearl Harbor |
Japanese city where the United States dropped the first atomic bomb | Hiroshima |
Largest Nazi extermination camp | Auschwitz |
Name for the mass extermination of Jews by the Nazis that claimed some 6 million lives | the Holocaust |
Leader of the peasant rebellion in the Mexican Revolution | Emiliano Zapata |
Leader of the Indian independence movement | Mahatma Gandhi |
Organization dedicated to obtaining equal voting and civil rights for black inhabitants of South Africa | African National Congress |
Emperor of Ethiopia and symbol of African independence. He fought the Italian invasion in 1935. | Haile Selassie |
Movement founded in 1885 to demand greater Indian participation in government | Indian National Congress |
Political organization founded in India in 1906 to defend interests of India's Muslim minority | All-India Muslim League |
Leader of Mexican Revolution in the north | Francisco "Pancho" Villa |
flat, fertile land of Argentina | pampas |
Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between Soviet-dominated East and US-dominated West | iron curtain |
Ideological struggle between communism (USSR) and capitalism (USA) for world influence | Cold War |
military alliance between US and countries of western Europe | NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) |
International organization founded in 1945 to promote world peace and cooperation. Successor to the League of Nations | United Nations (UN) |
Top group within the United Nations, made up of 5 permanent members (China, France, Great Britain, USA, & USSR) and 7 rotating members and possessing veto power over decisions made by the General Assembly | Security Council |
Agency of the UN that makes loans to countries for economic development, trade promotion, and debt consolidation | World Bank |
US program to support the reconstruction of western Europe after WWII | Marshall Plan |
NATO's Soviet counterpart | Warsaw Pact |
Offer of military aid to Turkey and Greece to help them resist Soviet military pressure | Truman Doctrine |
conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea and came to involve the UN allying with South Korea and China allying with North Korea | Korean War |
Conflict pitting North Vietnam and South VIetnamese communist guerrillas against the South VIetnamese government, aided after 1961 by the United States | VIetnam War |
Confrontation between the US and USSR over placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba | Cuban Missile Crisis |
Political and human rights agreement by the USSR and western European countries that was an attempt to relax the tensions of the Cold War | Helsinki Accords |
policy of racial separation in South Africa | apartheid |
Cuban dictator in power prior to the Cuban Revolution of 1959 | Fulgencio Batista |
Leader of the Cuban Revolution | Fidel Castro |
campaign in China ordered by Mao Zedong to purge the Communist Party of his opponents and instill revolutionary values in the younger generation | Cultural Revolution |
Leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that opposes the state of Israel and often uses guerrilla tactics and acts of terrorism | Yasir Arafat |
Organization of oil-producing states formed to promote their interests in higher revenues | OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) |
Site in Beijing where Chinese students and workers gathered to demand greater political openness in 1989. The demonstration was crushed by the Chinese military | Tiananmen Square |
Leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution | Ayatollah Khomeini |
Democratically elected Chilean president in 1970 who was ousted by a military overthrow in part sponsored by the CIA | Salvador Allende |
revolutionary group in Nicaragua who nationalized properties owned by the elite and by US citizens | Sandinistas |
Leader of China after Mao Zedong who undertook economic reforms that relaxed state control over the economy, allowing some accumulation of wealth | Deng Xiaoping |
Nickname for rapidly developing nations including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea | Asian Tigers |
"restructuring" policy of Mikhail Gorbachev that attempted to address economic problems by moving away from state planning and toward a more open economic system | perestroika |
economic, political, and cultural integration and interaction of all parts of the world | globalization |
International body established in 1995 to foster and bring order to international trade | World Trade Organization (WTO) |
1946 UN document binding signing nations to observing specified rights of all humans | Universal Declaration of Human Rights |