| A | B |
|---|
| absolute monarch | ruler who has complete authority over the government and the lives of the people |
| absolutism | the belief that monarchs hold supreme power and are responsible only to God |
| acropolis | a hilltop fortress in a city-state of ancient Greece |
| agrarian | pertaining to land and the agricultural interests of farmers |
| alliance | any union, coalition, or formal agreement between nations in their common interest |
| annexation | to add to existing possessions or territories |
| apartheid | policy of racial segregation in the Republic of South Africa |
| appeasement | making concessions to an agressor in order to preserve the peace |
| anthropologist | scientist who studies the ways people organize societies |
| apprentice | young person who learns a trade from a master craftsman |
| archaeologist | scientist who studies the lives of early peoples by analyzing objects they left behind |
| aristocracy | government headed by a priveleged minority or upper class |
| archipelago | chain of islands |
| armistice | end to the fighting in a war |
| aritsan | skilled craftsman |
| artifact | object made by human beings |
| assimilation | policy whereby an imperial power tries to absorb a colony politically and culturally |
| astrolabe | instrument used to calculate a ship's latitude by measuring the positions of the stars |
| autocracy | government in which the ruler has unlimited power |
| autonomy | self-government, ruling self |
