Topic 5: Europe

form of government in which citizens have the right to vote and elect officials

worship of many gods or deities

a system of rule in which powerful lords divided their lands among lesser lords, or vassals

hereditary class of rulers

collection of myths or stories that people tell about their gods and heroes

the application of machine power to manufacturing in the 1800s and the resulting transformation of societies

French for "rebirth"; refers to period a cultural revival in Europe from the 1300s to the 1500s

form of teaching in which the teacher asks students question after question to force them to think more clearly

process of creating an empire by taking over other areas

a system of basic rules and principles by which a government is organized

epidemic, or widespread outbreak, of bubonic plague that devastated Europe and other regions in the mid-1300s

in medieval Europe, noblemen who gave land to other noblemen in return for services

a cultural movement of the Renaissance based on the study of classical works

economic and political partnership among member nations

a peasant who is legally bound to live and work on land owned by a lord

membership in a community that gives a person civil and political rights and obligations

a period during the 1600s and 1700s when scholars studied culture and society by applying reason and natural laws

a form of government in which citizens hold political power

period of hostility during the mid- to late 1900s between the U.S. and its allies on and the Soviet Union and its allies

the belief that all people in a nation are a distinct group, regardless of ethnicity or race

a territory containing several countries and ruled by a single government

a movement to strengthen the teachings and structure of the Catholic Church

government with rulers who inherit their position by birth—in which rulers have unlimited power

a lesser lord in medieval Europe who pledged loyalty and service to a more powerful lord in exchange for land

the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis during World War II

a series of military campaigns to establish Christian control over the Holy Land

an extremely rapid and sharp increase in prices

a political movement that removed the French king from power and formed a republic

an independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory

religious movement that began in the 1500s to change the Catholic Church that led to creation of new Protestant churches

the agricultural estate of a medieval lord or vassal