Chapter 20 and 21 Key Terms
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20 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ottoman Empire | Turkic empire established in Asia Minor and eventually extending throughout the Middle East; responsible for conquest of Constantinople and end of Byzantine Empire in 1453; succeeded Seljuk Turks following retreat of Mongols. |
| Ming dynasty | Succeeded Mongol Yuan in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted huge trade expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China. |
| Zhenghe | Chinese Muslim admiral who commanded series of Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea trade expeditions under third Ming emperor, Yunglo, between 1405 and 1433. |
| Renaissance | Cultural and political movement in western Europe; began in Italy c. 1400; rested on urban vitality and expanding commerce; featured a literature and art with distinctly more secular priorities than those of the Middle Ages. |
| Francesco Petrarch | A leading Renaissance writer of the 14th century, Petrarch took pride in his city and age; he also explored the glories of personal achievements with a new confidence. |
| Reconquista | The Spaniards taking over the Aztec and Inca empires in the 13th centuries; caused the empires to be greatly receded, however the Aztecs and Incas were already falling even without European intervention. |
| Vasco de Gama | A Portuguese explorer; was the first European to reach India by sea in 1498; prepared Portuguese entry into the Indian Ocean. |
| Henry the Navigator | Portuguese prince responsible for direction of series of expeditions along the African coast in the 15th century; marked beginning of western European expansion. |
| Polynesians | Peoples originating in the Society Islands (Tahiti, Samoa, and Fiji); explored both Hawaii and New Zealand; developed complex societies with Neolithic tools and technology all while remaining isolated from the rest of the world. |
| ethnocentrism | A habitual disposition to judge foreign peoples or groups by the standards and practices of one's own culture or ethnic group, and often hold them inferior; has a lot to do with world view and the normal practices of a society; very relevant in Western civilization. |
| world economy | Established by Europeans by the 16th century; based on the control of seas, including the Atlantic and Pacific; created international exchange of foods, diseases, and manufactured products. |
| Christopher Columbus | Genoese captain in service of king and queen of Castile and Aragon; successfully sailed to New World and returned in 1492; initiated European discoveries in Americas. |
| Ferdinand Magellan | A Spanish explorer who set sail in 1519 and took the first trip around the world; finally reached the Indonesian islands after much hardship in 1521; this expedition led to Spain claiming the Philippines, which they held until 1898. |
| British East India Company | Joint stock company that obtained government monopoly over trade in India; acted as virtually independent government in regions it claimed. |
| Columbian Exchange | A dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), communicable disease, and ideas between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. |
| core nations | Nations, usually European, that enjoyed profit from world economy; controlled international banking and commercial services such as shipping; exported manufactured goods for raw materials. |
| mercantilism | Economic theory that stressed governments' promotion of limitation of imports from other nations and internal economies in order to improve tax revenues; popular during 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. |
| mestizos | People of mixed European and Indian ancestry in Mesoamerica and South America; particularly prevalent in areas colonized by Spain; often part of forced labor system. |
| Francisco Pizarro | Led conquest of Inca Empire of Peru beginning in 1535; by 1540, most of Inca possessions fell to the Spanish. |
| Seven Years' War | Fought both in continental Europe and also in overseas colonies between 1756 and 1763; resulted in Prussian seizures of land from Austria, English seizures of colonies in India and North America. |
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