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AP Euro - Unit 5: A Shifting Society (Terms)

Terms in this set (16)

Enlightenment
philosophical movement which started in Europe in the 1700's and spread to the colonies. It emphasized reason and the scientific method. Writers tended to focus on government, ethics, and science, rather than on imagination, emotions, or religion. Many members of the movement rejected traditional religious beliefs in favor of Deism.
philosophes
thinkers and writers of the Enlightenment; wanted to educate the socially elite; were not allowed to openly criticize church or state, so used satire and double-meaning in their writings to avoid being banned; salons held by wealthy women also kept philosophes safe; They considered themselves part of an intellectual community, and wrote back and forth to each other to share ideas.
deism
followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws. Denied that God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life. 'God the clockmaker'
physiocrats
economists who urged the French government to deregulate the grain trade and make the tax system more equitable to encourage agricultural productivity. Claimed guilds should be abolished in order to establish a free market and strongly influenced Adam Smith.
laissez-faire economics
theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.
enlightened absolutism
a system in which rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while maintaining their full royal powers
customs
tax collected on goods that are imported
Common Sense
a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists of the need to break away from Britain
Agriculture Revolution
the unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries, was linked to such new agricultural practices as crop rotation, selective breeding, and a more productive use of arable land.
enclosures
fenced-in or hedged-in fields created by wealthy British landowners on land that was formerly worked by village farmers.
Industrial Revolution
the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. This process began in Britain in the 18th century and then spread to other parts of the world.
consumer revolution
time period during which the desire for exotic imports increased dramatically due to economic expansion and population growth.
cottage industry/putting out system
system of textile manufacturing in which spinners and weavers worked at home in their cottages using raw materials supplied to them by capitalist entrepreneurs; less efficient and unreliable system
flying shuttle
invention was one of the key developments in weaving that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution, enabled the weaver of a loom to throw the shuttle back and forth between the threads with one hand that sped up the weaving process in 1733.
spinning jenny
machine played an important role in the mechanization of textile production. Like the spinning wheel, it may be operated by a treadle or by hand. But, unlike the spinning wheel, it can spin more than one yarn at a time.
ghetto
poor densely populated city district occupied by a minority ethnic group linked together by economic hardship and social restrictions and forced to live there
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