| A | B |
|---|
| Scientific Revolution | an era between the 16th and 18th centuries that changed the way people viewed the world and their place in it with its emphasis on reasoned observation and systematic measurement |
| religious toleration | acceptance of people who hold different religious beliefs |
| absolutism | a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.) |
| divine right | belief that a ruler's authority comes directly from God |
| westernization | an adoption of the social, political, or economic institutions of Western—especially European or American—countries. |
| Glorious Revolution | the bloodless overthrow of the English King James II and his replacement by William and Mary. |
| Enlightenment | movement during the 18th century of thinkers who believed that human progress was possible through the application of scientific knowledge and reason to issues of law and government |
| Leviathan | Thomas Hobbes' written work that expresses the belief that humans exist in a primitive "state of nature" and consent to government for self protection |
| natural rights | The idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property. |
| Reign of Terror | the period, from mid-1793 to mid-1794, when Robespierre ruled France nearly as a dictator and thousands of political figures and ordinary citizens were executed |
| Nicolaus Copernicus | Polish astronomer who proposed the heliocentric theory |
| heliocentric theory | the idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. |
| Johannes Kepler | German astronomer who first stated laws of planetary motion |
| Galileo Galilei | Italian astronomer and mathematician who used the first telescope to support Copernicus' heliocentric theory |
| Isaac Newton | scientist who discovered the law of gravity |
| William Harvey | determined that heart pumps blood, which circulates through body |
| scientific method | a method of investigation involving observation and theory to test scientific hypotheses, formulated by Galileo Galilei, among others |
| Louis XIV | The French King who built and moved the capital to his Palace of Versailles, which became a symbol of royal power |
| Palace of Versailles | Lavish palace constructed in the 17th century by Louis XIV to reflect his royal power and might |
| Peter the Great | Czar of Russia who was responsible for the westernization of Russia in the 18th century |
| Oliver Cromwell | English general and statesman who led the parliamentary army in the English Civil War |
| political parties | groups of people who organize to help elect government officials and influence government policies |
| Charles I | son of James I who was King of England and Scotland and Ireland; was deposed and executed by Oliver Cromwell |
| Charles II | King of England and Scotland and Ireland during the Restoration (1630-1685) |
| William and Mary | King and Queen of England after the Glorious Revolution |
| Parliament | the lawmaking body of British government |
| English Bill of Rights | document that gave England a government based on a system of laws and a freely elected parliament |
| Thomas Hobbes | believed that people are born selfish and need a strong central authority |
| John Locke | English philosopher who argued that all men were born with natural rights and that a government's purpose was to protect these rights |
| Montesquieu | French political philosopher who advocated the separation of powers in his book, The Spirit of the Laws |
| Jean Jacques Rousseau | French philosopher who wrote The Social Contract, which explained that government is a contract between rulers and the people |
| Voltaire | French philosopher who believed that religious toleration should triumph over religious fanaticism, as well as the idea of church and state |
| planetary motion | Johannes Kepler's theory that says planets revolve around the sun in elliptical, not circular, paths |
