| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Atlantic Coast | European region that became the new focus of trade |
| Inflation | Steady rise in prices linked to a sharp increase in the amount of money available |
| Fixed Value | Standard that allowed the use of money all throughout Europe |
| Middle Class | Social group that the bankers and capitalists belonged to |
| Interest | Money paid in return for a loan |
| Venice, Genova | Italian ports that declined in importance as global trade spread |
| London, Amsterdam | Northern European ports that increased in importance as global trade grew |
| Commercial Revolution | Term for the economic developments of this first age of global trade |
| Stockholder (Shareholder) | Person who owned an interest in a company |
| Dividends | Profit paid out for each share of stock |
| Capital | Wealth earned, saved, and invested to produce profits |
| Tariffs | Taxes on imports |
| Columbian Exchange | Term for the new global exchange of people, plants, animals, ideas etc. |
| Colonies | Territories important to mercantilism |
| Precious Metals, Raw Materials | Trade goods that colonies were to export to their parent country |
| Manufactured Goods | Trade goods colonies were to import from the parent country |
| Banks of Deposit | Banking service that developed as a safeguard for merchants |
| Dutch | Nationality that replaced the Italians as the bankers of Europe |
| Mercantilism | Economic policy based on the concept that a country's power depends mainly on its wealth |
| Joint Stock Company | Company in which people pooled large amounts of money to carry out a business venture |
| (Leonardo) da Vinci | Outstanding scientist, and artist, of the Renaissance |
| Telescope | Instrument invented by Galileo to confirm his ideas |
| Law of Universal Gravitation | Newton's theory explaining the force that holds the universe together |
| Scientific Method | Systematic way of investigating a problem in science |
| (Benjamin) Franklin | U.S. scientist famed for his electrical experiment involving lightning and a kite |
| (Nicholas) Copernicus | Polish astronomer of the 1500s who revived the sun-centered model of the universe |
| Galileo (Galilei) | Italian astronomer who showed that the sun-centered theory was correct |
| Circulation of the Blood | Internal body system first described accurately by British physician William Harvey |
| Bacteria | New life-forms discovered by van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist |
| Gases | Airlike substances discovered by Joseph Black |
| Oxygen | Basic element of air discovered by both Lavoisier and Priestly |
| Microscope | Dutch eyeglass-maker's new instrument that revealed the existence of "invisible" things |
| Mercury Thermometer | Fahrenheit and Celsius both developed a scale for reading this new temperature-measurer. |
| Vaccination | Method developed by British physician Edward Jenner to prevent smallpox |
| (Isaac) Newton | Great English scientist who studied the laws of motion |
| (Robert) Boyle | English "father of modern chemistry" |
| Classification | System of identifying and naming living things developed by Linnaeus |
| Vesalius | Pioneer in the study of anatomy |
| Heliocentric Theory | Theory that the sun was the center of the universe |
| Ambroise Pare | French physician who developed improved treatment to prevent infection |
| Problems of the Time | What thinkers sought to be enlightened about |
| Age of Reason | Another term for the Enlightenment |
| Natural Law | Law that governed human nature, to Enlightenment thinkers |
| French | International language of the Enlightenment |
| Adam Smith | Scotsman who studied the source of nations' wealth |
| Natural Laws of Justice | Enlightenment thinkers favored these over human justice. |
| Rationalism | The belief that logical thinking would discover the truth |
| Religion | Major focus of medieval thought that the Enlightenment turned away from |
| Civilization | The source of human corruption, according to Rousseau |
| Encyclopedia | Monumental summary of French Enlightenment ideas, compiled by Diderot |
| Land | Source of natural wealth, according to the Physiocrats |
| Laissez-Faire | "Hands-off" economic system promoted by Adam Smith |
| Science, Modern Languages, Modern History | Educational subjects favored by Enlightenment thinkers |
| Alexander Pope | English poet who was a strong advocate of the Enlightenment |
| Philosophes | Term for French thinkers of the Enlightenment |
| Tabula Rasa (Blank Slate) | Condition of the newborn mind, according to Locke |
| Salons | Fashionable French gatherings for intellectual conversation |
| Rene Descartes | French thinker who stressed logic and reason to achieve scientific knowledge |
| Francis Bacon | British thinker who stressed experiments and observation to achieve scientific knowledge |
| Social Contract | Agreement between the people and their chosen leader |
| Natural Rights | Rights no one could justifiably take from the people |
| Life, Liberty, Property | Locke's "natural rights" |
| Speech, Press, Religion | Freedoms advocated by Voltaire |
| French and American Revolutions | Revolutions of the 1700s influenced by Enlightenment ideas |
| U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence | Key U.S. documents heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideas |
| Jean-Jacques Rousseau | French writer whose ideas inspired the French revolutionaries |
| John Locke | English political thinker who justified the overthrow of Britain's king |
| Thomas Hobbes | English philosopher who first proposed a "social contract" |
| How people should be governed | Primary concern of Enlightenment political thinkers |
| Anarchy | Condition in which people lived before organizing society |
| English Government | The most nearly perfect existing government, according to Montesquieu |
| Separation of Powers | Division among government branches admired by Montesquieu |
| Checks and Balances | Limitations created by division of governmental powers |
| Limited Monarchy | Development of this type of monarchy was influenced by Montesquieu. |
| People's Will | Supreme power in politics, according to Rousseau |
| Popular Sovereignty | Free choice of the people in government |
| Enlightened Despots | Term for rulers who supported the Enlightenment |
| Declaration of the Rights of Man | French document of 1789 strongly influenced by Enlightenment ideas |
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