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AP World History Vocab Flashcards

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10502477057annexationThe adding of a region to the territory of an existing political unit. • To add to something earlier, larger, or more important.0
10502477058aristocracyGovernment headed by the most wealthy and privileged class. • The highest class in certain societies, especially those holding hereditary titles or offices.1
10502477715autocracyA system of government in which the power to rule is in the hands of a single individual.2
10502477716bourgeoisieThe middle class used during the French Revolution including merchants, industrialists, and professional people. • In early modern Europe, the class of well-off town dwellers whose wealth came from manufacturing, finance, commerce, and allied professions.3
10502478100bronze and iron metallurgyBronze: Material made from copper and tin used for weapons and agricultural tools. Iron: Cheap metallurgy that became the primary metal for tools and weapons around 1000 B.C.E. • The process of extracting metals (iron and bronze) from their ores to refine and use them for various purposes such as weapons and tools. • Example: Metallurgy became prominent during the Neolithic Bronze Age.4
10502550994bureaucracyA large, complex system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.5
10502550995capitalismAn economic system based on private ownership and on the investment of money in business ventures in order to make a profit. • An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.6
10502551800caste systemA Hindu social class system that controlled every aspect of daily life and divided Indian society into groups based on a person's birth, wealth, or occupation. • Divided into four main categories: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras.7
10502551801cartelA formal organization of producers or companies that agree to coordinate prices and production. • The purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.8
10502552492centralized governmentA government in which a central authority controls the running of a state. • Power is concentrated in a central authority to which local governments are subject.9
10502605839city-stateA city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state. • A small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. • Example: A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic and Classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy.10
10502605840civilizationA society with cities, a central government, job specialization, and social classes. • The stage of human social development and organization that is considered most advanced.11
10502608769coercive laborPeople employed against their will by the threat of destitution, detention, violence, or other extreme hardship to themselves, or to members of their families, migrating to America. • Example: Indentured slaves and serfs.12
10502608770command economyAn economy in which production, investment, prices, and incomes are determined centrally by a government.13
10502609239commoditiesA raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold. • Agricultural, mined, and mass-produced marketable goods before they are processed. • Example: Copper, coffee, grain, livestock, and precious metals.14
10502637911communismAn economic system in which all means of production - land, mines, factories, railroads, and businesses - are owned by the people, private property does not exist, and all goods and services are shared equally. • A political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.15
10502637912coup d'etatA sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power, especially one resulting in a change of government or by force. • Also known simply as a coup, a putsch, golpe de estado, or an overthrow.16
10502638438cultural diffusionThe spread of the beliefs and social activities of one culture to different ethnicities, religions, nationalities, etc.17
10502638439decentralized governmentA type of government that disperses power over a legislative body instead of maintaining power amongst a few individuals. • Its top level decision-making processes are dispersed throughout the system rather than being concentrated on one person, place or legislative body.18
10502639061democracyA political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them.19
10502695592diasporasEnclaves of ethnic groups settled outside of their homelands. • Example: The scattering of the Jews to countries outside of Palestine after the Babylonian captivity.20
10502696018dynastyA series of rulers from the same family. It is a line of hereditary rulers of a country.21
10502696019empireA group of different states or territories controlled by one leader/government. • An extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority.22
10502696475entrepreneurshipThe process of starting, organizing, managing, and assuming the responsibility for a business. • The process of bringing together the three factors of production (natural resources, labor and capital). • The process of recognizing a business opportunity, testing it in the market, and gathering the resources necessary to start and run a business. • The process of taking risks to try to create a new enterprise.23
10502696476ethnocentrismThe belief in the superiority of one's own nation or ethnic group. • The tendency to view all other cultures from the perspective of one's own.24
10507341028extended family systemA family where relatives, kin, and other family members (such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) are connected to the family system. • They all live nearby or in one household. • Consists of multiple generations.25
10507417838feudalismA political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land. • This is the dominant social system in medieval Europe. • The social system developed in Europe in the 8th Century.26
10507443382filial pietyIn Confucianism, one of the virtues to love and respect one's parents and ancestors. • It is the important virtue and primary duty of respect, obedience, and care for parents and elderly family members.27
10507454753genocideThe deliberate attempt of killing a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.28
10507460373globalizationThe trend toward increased cultural and economic connectedness between people, businesses, and organizations throughout the world. • The process in which countries are increasingly linked to each other through culture and trade.29
10507488611hegemonyLeadership or superior influence by one nation over others (its allies), as in a confederation. • Example: Britain's hegemony over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.30
10507535374ideologyA consistent set of opinions or beliefs by a group or an individual. • Often refers to a set of social or political beliefs or a set of ideas that characterize a particular culture.31
10507537904infrastructureThe basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (such as buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. • Helps support power, communications, transportation, water, sanitation, and education systems.32
10507537905interdependenceA relationship between countries in which they rely on one another for resources, goods, knowledge, or services.33
10507539056market economyAn economy in which the greater part of production, distribution, and exchange is controlled by individuals and privately owned corporations. • Government interference in the market is minimal. • System is based on free enterprise, in which businesses are privately owned, and production and prices are determined by supply and demand.34
10507600981matriarchyA form of social organization in which the mother rules the family or tribe, descent being traced through the mother. • A form of social organization in which females dominate males. • Cultural, political, and economic structures are controlled by women.35
10507610669mercantilismAn economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought. • This economic system was created in Europe in 18th Century to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests.36
10507614522monotheismThe doctrine or belief of the existence of only one god.37
10507614523nationalismThe loyalty, devotion, and pride of people to their culture, traditions, ethnicity, geographic territory, and the idea of self-rule.38
10507615862nation-stateA sovereign state inhabited by a relatively homogeneous (same kind) group of people who share a feeling of common nationality. • These people share a common language or descent, and share a feeling of nationality.39
10507737435nuclear family systemFamily that only consists of a mother, father, and their children. • It is also known as immediate family. • Example: I am part of a nuclear family system because I live with only my parents and siblings.40
10507737436pastoralismA type of agricultural activity based on nomadic animal husbandry or the raising of livestock to provide food, clothing, and shelter. • A nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.41
10507738411patriarchalRelating to a society in which men hold the greatest legal and moral authority. • A system of society or government controlled by men. • Relating to a social system in which the father is head of the family.42
10507738412periodizationThe division of history into periods of time (historical eras) for purposes of analysis and study.43
10507739404polytheismThe belief in or worship of more than one god (many gods).44
10507739405pre-ColumbianRelating to the North and South American history and cultures before the arrival of Columbus (the Europeans) in 1492.45
10507740881primary sourceAn original document containing the observations, ideas, and conclusions of an individual. It was written or created during the time under study by someone who experienced the event. • Examples: Manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, and personal journals.46
10507740882proletariatThe industrial working class who do manual labor or work for wages.47
10507741919scholar-gentryCivil servants appointed by the emperor of China to perform day-to-day governance from the Han dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. • They were often administrators, and guided the merchants, farmers, and craftsman in how they should behave, morally and ethically. • They set standards in order to limit wealth and overconsumption based on Confuscious beliefs. • Respected for their education and expertise, these officials became a privileged group and made the government more efficient and responsive than in the past.48
10507757064secondary sourceA secondhand account of an event or a retelling of another person's observations written by someone who did not witness or actually participate in the events. Includes sources that combine, synthesize, and or interpret information from primary sources. • Examples: Encyclopedias, textbooks, and reviews.49
10507973355secularDenoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.50
10507973356Silk RoadAn ancient network of trade route, through various regions of the Asian continent, mainly connecting Chang'an in China, with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. • Formally established during the Han Dynasty of China. • It extends over 8,000 km on land and sea. • Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Indian subcontinent, and Rome, and helped to lay the foundations for the modern world.51
10507974598sinificationThe extensive adaption of Chinese culture in other regions, such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. • A process whereby non-Han Chinese societies come under the influence of Han Chinese state and society.52
10507974599slaveryA system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people. • The condition of being owned by another person as property and being made to work without wages.53
10507986081socialismA system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production, distribution, and exchange. • A system of society or group living in which there is no private property.54
10507986082specialization of laborThe segmenting of large, labor-intensive tasks into workable subtasks that may be done by different workers or different groups of workers. • To train or specialize people in certain areas of work so that people can accomplish tasks quicker. • Uses division of labour to produce large number of goods at the lowest possible cost.55
10507975614social stratification (hierarchy)A hierarchical arrangement that classifies groups of people into varying classes. Placement can depend on factors such as occupation, income, wealth, birth, or social status. • Certain individuals (elites) have more power and influence than other individuals. • Examples: Feudalism and India's caste system. • In Neolithic times, social stratification emerged when food surpluses allowed some members of society to do things other than farm. This led to job specialization and the beginnings of a class system featuring elites, merchants, artisans, farmers and slaves.56
10507986635terrace farmingA farming system that is in the form of steps going up a mountain. • Invented by the Inca people who lived in the South American mountains to grow enough food for their large populations.57

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