| A | B |
|---|
| bourgeoisie | in Marxism, the social class opposed to the proletariat or working class |
| brahma | in Hinduism, the single, supreme force uniting everything in the universe |
| bushido | the way of the warrior; during the feudal period in Japan, a code of conduct for samurai, stressing obedience to one's lord |
| caliph | successor to the prophet Muhammad who acted as both religious and political leader |
| capital | money that can be invested in business |
| capitalism | an economic system characterized by the private ownership of property and wealth |
| cash crop | a crop that can be sold on the world market for money |
| caste | social group based on birth in India, which determined the jobs people could hold and was related to Hinduism |
| caudillo | during the 1800s in Latin America, a military dictator |
| chivalry | code of conduct during the Middle Ages that combined Christian values with the values of a warrior |
| civil disobedience | peaceful refusal to obey an unjust law, and acceptance of the consequences |
| civilization | an advanced form of human culture in which some people live in cities, have complex social institutions, use some form of writing, and are skilled in science and technology |
| cold war | state of tension and hostility among nations without armed conflict; the period from 1945 to 1991 involving tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. |
| collective farm | large government-run farm; created in the Soviet Union in the 1930s |
| collective security | group of nations acting together to preserve peace |
| collectivization | a system in which the state owns and controls the means of production and distribution |
| command economy | state controlled economic system (communism) |
| communism | form of complete socialism in which there is public ownership of all land and all the means of production; believes eliminating private property can end class struggle |
| conquistador | conqueror; person given the right by rulers of Spain to establish outposts in the Americas |
| containment | policy whereby the United States tried to prevent the Soviet Union from expanding beyond its borders; first applied in the 1940s |
| coup d'etat | revolt by military leaders to overthrow a government |
| creole | descendant of Spanish settlers born in the Americas - wealthy and educated but not allowed to hold high positions during colonial times |
| crusades | series of wars launched by Christians against Muslims who controlled the Holy Land - effect - rise of trade with Europe |
| cultural diffusion | when a custom or item of a culture moves from one part of the world to another |
| cultural diversity | variety of customs, ideas and ways of living amony the people within a region or a nation - often caused by geographic barriers |
| culture | customs, ideas and way of life of a group of people |
| Cyrillic alphabet | alphabet invented by Greek monks Cyril and Methodius for the Russian people |
| czar | Russian word for Caesar; title of the ruler of the Russian empire |
| daimyo | powerful warrior knights directly below the shogun in Japan during the feudal period |
| deforestation | to clear land of forests and trees |
| democracy | government in which citizens participate in government decisions either by voting directly on them or by electing people to represent them, first developed in ancient Athens (Greece) |
| desertification | the spread of desert into semi-arid (dry) regions nearby |
| detente | easing of international tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States |
| developed countries | countries that have established agriculture, industries, advanced technology and a strong education system |
| developing countries | countries that have limited resources and face obstacles such as overpopulation, natural disasters, and debt in achieving modern industrial economies ("Third World") |
| dissident | person who speaks out against a government |
| dictator | ruler with absolute power |
| dynastic cycle | rise and fall of Chinese dynasties according to the Mandate of Heaven |
| dynasty | ruling family that passes the right to rule from one member to another |
| empire | group of territories or peoples controlled by one ruler |
| encomienda | right the Spanish government granted settlers in the Americas to demand taxes or labor services from Indians living on the land |
| Enlightenment | a period in the 1700s when philosophers emphasized the use of reason, which they believed would free people from ignorance and lead to a perfect society |
| entrepreneur | merchant willing to take financial risks in the hope of making large profits |
| extended family | large family group usually made up of a husband and wife, their unmarried children, their married sons, and the sons' wives and children |
| extraterritoriality | the right of foreigners to be protected by the laws of their own nations |
| ethnic group | a group of people united by a common culture, which may be based on race, religion, language or a common history |
| fascism | a European political movement 1919-1939 that believed the state was supreme, that an absolute leader best expressed the needs of the state, and that citizens should make sacrifices for the state - ex. Nazi Germany |
| feudalism | system of rule by local lords who were bound to a king by ties of loyalty |
| fief | during the Middle Ages, an estate that a lord provided a vassal |
| genocide | the systematic extermination or destruction of an entire people or national group |
| glasnost | policy of openness domestically and toward the West begun by Mikhail Gorbachev in the USSR during the 1980s |
| Green Revolution | the use of hybrid seeds, new fertilizers and machinery to increase the amount of food produced |
| Golden Age | a peaceful period in the history of a culture in which its literature, the arts and sciences flourish |
| Global Interdependence | each nation depends on selling and buying goods from other nations |
| guerrilla warfare | fighting comprised of hit-and-run attacks |
| guild | association of merchants or artisans that governed a town or craft in the Middle Ages |
