Global History & Geography for 14-15 Yr olds USA) (Thomas Caswell)
Note: You may download the entries for this glossary here. If you wish to use this in your own Moodle course, first make a blank glossary and then follow the instructions for importing glossary entries here.
Thomas describes this database: "This 800+ term glossary is based on the New York State curriculum for 9th and 10th grade social studies. Called "Global History and Geography," this curriculum culminates in a high-stakes Regents examination that all students must pass in order to graduate and earn a high school diploma."
Browse the glossary using this index
Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL
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Cabinet SystemCollection of people who run various departments in government. Usually report to the chief executive, such as the prime Minister, or the President. | |
Caesar, Julius(100-44 BCE), Roman general and statesman. He is responsible for setting up the imperial system in Rome which placed his grandnephew, Augustus, on the throne. | |
calendarA system for keeping track of time. | |
CaliphIn Islam, the successor to the Prophet Mohammed. | |
calligraphyA form of fine handwriting. | |
cannonA weapon which uses an iron ball as a projectile and gunpowder as the blasting agent. | |
Canon on MedicineA book written by Ibn Sina, a famous Islamic physician, which was an encyclopedia of Greek, Arabic, and his own knowledge of medicine. This book became the standard medical text in Europe for over five hundred years. | |
Cape of Good HopeSouthern tip of the African continent. | |
capitalMoney that is used for investment. | |
capitalismAn economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods. Also promotes a free market regulated by supply and demand. | |
caravelA Portuguese ship that had a large cargo area and used two orthree masts. | |
Carbon-14 DatingA chemical analysis used to resolve the age of organic material based on their content of the radioisotope carbon-14. | |
Cardinal Richelieu(1585-1642) French Cardinal and politician responsible for instituting absolutist practices in France. | |
cartographyThe skill of making maps. | |
Cash Crop EconomyAn economic system based on the exportation of certain crops such as sugar, cotton, and coffee. | |
Cashed CropsA readily salable crop that is grown and gethered for the market. | |
Caste SystemA rigid social class system in Hinduism. | |
Castro, Fidel(1926?- ) Leader of the Cuban Revolution and communist dictator of Cuba. He is responsible for making Cuba a socialist country which has often been at odds with the United States. Notably, the bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. | |
Catherine the GreatAn enlightened despot who ruled over Russia. She is responsible for many positive changes in Russia, as well as securing the country a warm water port. | |
causewayA paved road or path. | |
CavalryMounted warriors. | |
Cavour, Camillo(1810-61) Prime Minister of Sardinia, a large Italian State. He formed alliances with other foreign powers to help end Austria's and Spain's control. Instrumental in the unification of Italy. | |
CEDate designation meaning Common Era, or the last two thousand years of history. | |
censorshipThe suppression information considered offensive or a threat to security. | |
centralized governmentA government which controls all aspects of society from a central location or through a central system. | |
Chamberlain, Neville(1869-1940) Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1937 to 1940. He is responsible for the policy of appeasement with Adolf Hitlers Nazi Germany. | |
chancellorPrime Minister, or chief executive of a country or nation state. | |
check and balanceA system in government described by Baron de Montesquieu where legislative, judicial, and executive power is shared among the different branches to provide protection against abuses of power. | |
chemistryThe science dealing with the structure, composition, properties, and reactive characteristics of substances. | |
Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Accident(1986) This accident release large amounts of radiation that not only affected the immediate area, (Ukraine,) but also was carried on strong winds across many countries in Europe. The effects of this accident have to date been an increase in cancer victims, numerous birth defects, and the destruction of many acres of good land. | |
chinampasfloating islands of land anchored to a lake bottom used for agriculture. This technique was used by the Aztecs. | |
Chinese Communist RevolutionA political revolution in China led by Mao Zedong. After several years of fighting the Kuomintang, the communists won control of the country in 1949. | |
ChivalryCode of conduct for knight and nobles during European feudalism. | |
chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)A gas containing carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine. It is used in refrigerators and aerosol sprays. CFCs are reputed to be damaging to the Earths protective ozone layer. | |
Christ, Jesus(8-4 BCE- 29? CE) Founder of Christianity. Considered by Christians to be the son of God and the Messiah. He is the central figure in the Christian Religion. | |
ChristianProfessing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. | |
ChristianityCurrently the most popular religion in the world based on the number of worshippers found throughout the world. While this monotheistic religion developed from Judaism, there are several key differences in its teachings. Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century CE. The Christian holy book is called the Holy Bible. | |
Churchill, Sir Winston(1874-1965) British politician and Prime Minster of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945, and 1951 to 1955. He is regarded as the finest British leader of the 20th century and was instrumental in leading Britain to victory during World War II. | |
circumferenceThe distance around the edge of a circle. | |
circumnavigateTo travel around something, like an island or the world. | |
city-stateAn independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding lands. | |
civil disobedienceThe purposeful breaking of laws to protest actions by the government. | |
civil service examIn China, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the bureaucracy. | |
civil warA war between groups of people in the same country, culture, or political system. | |
CivilizationThe type of culture and society developed by a particular nation or region.(e.g., The Maya or the Roman Empire). | |
Clemenceau, Georges(1841-1929) French Premier during World War I. He was one of the formulators of the Treaty of Versailles. | |
ClimateThe average weather conditions of a certain region. | |
Cold WarNon shooting conflict between the Soviet Union and their allies and the United States and their allies. Numerous secondary conflicts arise due to the Cold War. | |
collective farmA government owned farms where peasants work on a quota system. | |
colonialismThe policy of maintaining colonies as a source of raw materials and new markets. Practiced during old and new imperialism. | |
colonizationA group of people moving from their homeland to a new area in large numbers. | |
Columbian ExchangeThe exchange of goods and other things, such as disease from the Old World (Europe) to the new World (North and South America) and back. | |
Columbus, Christopher(1451-1506) Italian explorer working for Spain who, in 1492, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the Americas for Spain. | |
Command EconomyAn economic system controlled by strong, centralized government, which usually focuses on industrial goods. With little attention paid to agriculture and consumer goods. | |
commerceThe large scale buying of goods and/or services. | |
Commercial RevolutionA dramatic change in the economy of Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. It is characterized by an increase in towns and trade, the use of banks and credit, and the establishment of guilds to regulate quality and price. | |
Commonwealth of Independent StatesNation created after the breakup of the Soviet Union. It includes Russia and several smaller former Soviet republics. | |
communeA government owned farms where peasants work on a quota system. | |
communismA system of government in which a single, totalitarian, party holds power. It is characterized by state control of the economy, and restriction on personal freedoms. It was first proposed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in The Communist Manifesto. | |
Communist Manifesto, TheA book written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that describes the new political system of scientific socialism, which becomes the basis for communism. The book states that all of human history is based on the conflict between the bourgeoisie (those who own the means of production) and the proletariat (working class), and predicted that the proletariat would rise up in a violent revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie and create a society with an equal distribution of goods and services. | |
Communist RevolutionA political revolution in Russia beginning in 1917. The Bolsheviks, now known as Communists, overthrew Czar Nicholas II and created a socialist government based upon the writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Also know as the Bolshevik Revolution. | |
Computer RevolutionDuring the 1980s personal computers began to appear in many homes across the world. By the late 1990s, computers had become a staple in most industrialized countrys homes. | |
concentration campA prison camp used to hold Jews during World War II and the Holocaust. | |
ConfucianismConfucius lived in China during the Chou Dynasty, when there was mass disorder and confusion and degrading moral standards. Confucius was appalled by what appeared to be the fracturing of Chinese society. He believed that the only cure was to stress a sense of social order and mutual respect, a philosophy that later became known as Confucianism. Confucianism teaches that there is a natural social order to society which can best be explained through the Five Relationships. | |
Confucius(551-479 BCE?) Chinese philosopher and writer of The Analects, a collection of moral and social teachings, including the concept of the Five Relationships. Also known as Kong Fu Zi. | |
Congress of ViennaMeeting of European political leaders to reestablish former territorial borders after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of Napoleon. The Congress was held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815, and was dominated by Prince Metternich of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. | |
conquistadorsSpanish conquerors who came to the New World in search of gold and other riches. | |
Constantine(274 CE 337 CE) Roman Emperor between 306 CE and 337 CE. He issued the Edict of Milan which outlawed the persecution of Christians. He also founded the city of Constantinople, the future capital of the Byzantine Empire. | |
constitutionA document detailing the fundamental laws of a country or organization. | |
constitutional monarchyA political system in which a country is ruled by a monarch who has limited power due to a constitution | |
containmentA cold war policy that called for containing communism to areas already under its influence. This policy was proposed by U.S. President Harry Truman. | |
Copernicus, Nicolaus(1473-1543) Polish astronomer who wrote On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres. Theorized that the Earth orbited the Sun (heliocentric system) and laid the foundations of modern astronomy. | |
corporationA company with business dealings in many different areas. | |
Cortez, Hernan(1485-1547) Spanish conquistador who was responsible for the conquest of the Aztec Empire and the claiming of much of Central America for the Spanish. | |
Counter-ReformationThe movement initiated by the Catholic Church to contain the Protestant Reformation and, if possible, end it. | |
coup d etatThe acting of overthrowing a government in favor of another, usually through violent means. | |
craftsmanA person who makes quality, practical or decorative goods. | |
cremationThe burning of a dead body until it turns to ash. | |
CreolesIn colonial Latin America, American born Spanish gentry, They owned most of the land but were treated like second class citizens, and were denied political rights. | |
Cromwell, Oliver(1599-1658) Leader of the English Revolution that deposed the Stuart monarchs in favor of a short lived Republic. Cromwell acted as Lord Protector until the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. | |
CrusadesEuropean Christian military expeditions made between the 11th and 13th centuries to retake the Middle Eastern Holy Lands occupied by the Muslims. | |
Cuban Missile Crisis(1961) Crises that developed as a result of Cuban dictator Fidel Castros decision to allow the Soviet Union to base nuclear missiles in Cuba. Upon discovery, the United States confronted the Soviet Union and demanded the missiles be removed. For nearly two weeks, nuclear war was imminent. Fortunately, diplomacy succeeded and crisis was averted. | |
Cuban Revolution(1958) A political revolution that removed the United States supported Fugencio Batista from power. The revolution was led by Fidel Castro who became the new leader of Cuba as a communist dictator. | |
Cultural DiffusionWhen a culture spreads to an area around it and makes a noticable difference in other cultures. (e.g., Latin was spoken in the Roman Empire, and Latin became the basis of all modern romance languages). | |
Cultural Revolution(1966-1976) Political policy in started in China by Mao Zedong to eliminate his rivals and train a new generation in the revolutionary spirit that created communist China. The Cultural Revolution resulted in beatings, terror, mass jailings, and the deaths of thousands. | |
cultureThe shared beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people | |
culture systemA system of slave labor used by the Dutch in their South East Asia colonies. | |
cuneiformOne of the earliest forms of writing. It consisted of wedge shaped symbols usually imprinted in clay. Used throughout ancient Mesopotamia. | |
Curie, Marie(1867-1934) French scientist. She is best known for his work with her husband Pierre in the field of radioactivity. | |
Curie, Pierre(1859-1906) French scientist. He is best known for his work with his wife Marie in the field of radioactivity. | |
CyrillicAn alphabet created by Eastern Orthodox monks for the Slavic language. It is based on Greek, and still used through the various Slavic countries today, such as Russia. | |
CzarTitle of the ruler of Russia. Taken from the word Caesar, which means emperor. | |
Czar Nicholas II(1868-1918) Czar of Russia (1894-1917). He was overthrown during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Later, he and his family were killed by the revolutions leadership. | |