European History

Cards (24)

• 1
  Front

  Where and approximately when did the Renaissance begin?

  Back

  The Renaissance began in Italy in the 14th century (circa 1300s) and spread across Europe through the 15th and 16th centuries.

• 2
  Front

  What is humanism in the context of the Renaissance?

  Back

  Humanism is an intellectual movement that emphasized the study of classical Greek and Roman texts and focused on human potential, reason, and achievement rather than purely religious concerns.

• 3
  Front

  What event in 1517 is considered the start of the Protestant Reformation?

  Back

  Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, challenging Catholic Church practices such as the sale of indulgences.

• 4
  Front

  What was the Peace of Augsburg (1555)?

  Back

  A treaty that allowed German princes to choose between Lutheranism and Catholicism as the official religion of their territory, establishing the principle 'cuius regio, eius religio' (whose realm, his religion).

• 5
  Front

  What defines absolutism as a form of government?

  Back

  Absolutism is a political system in which a monarch holds supreme, unrestricted power over the state, often justified by divine right — the belief that the ruler's authority comes directly from God.

• 6
  Front

  Why is Louis XIV of France considered the archetypal absolute monarch?

  Back

  Louis XIV centralized power, built Versailles to control the nobility, maintained a strong standing army, and reportedly declared 'L'état, c'est moi' (I am the state), ruling France from 1643 to 1715.

• 7
  Front

  What were the core intellectual ideals of the Enlightenment?

  Back

  Reason, individual rights, skepticism of traditional authority, religious tolerance, and the belief that society could be improved through rational reform and scientific inquiry.

• 8
  Front

  How did the Enlightenment concept of the social contract influence politics?

  Back

  Thinkers like Locke and Rousseau argued that government derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed, which justified challenging or overthrowing rulers who violated citizens' natural rights.

• 9
  Front

  What financial and social crisis triggered the French Revolution in 1789?

  Back

  France faced royal bankruptcy from war debts, widespread food shortages, heavy taxation on commoners, and deep resentment of aristocratic privileges, which together pushed the Third Estate to revolt.

• 10
  Front

  What was the significance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789)?

  Back

  It proclaimed universal principles of liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty, establishing that rights belong to all men and that the source of political authority is the nation, not the king.

• 11
  Front

  What was the Reign of Terror (1793–1794)?

  Back

  A period during the French Revolution led by Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety in which thousands of suspected enemies of the Revolution were executed by guillotine.

• 12
  Front

  How did Napoleon Bonaparte come to power after the French Revolution?

  Back

  Napoleon seized power through the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 1799), ending the Directory and establishing the Consulate, eventually crowning himself Emperor in 1804.

• 13
  Front

  What key technological development drove the British Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century?

  Back

  The steam engine, improved by James Watt in the 1760s–70s, provided mechanized power for factories, mines, and transportation, transforming manufacturing and industry.

• 14
  Front

  Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Britain rather than elsewhere in Europe?

  Back

  Britain had abundant coal and iron, a stable government, a strong banking system, colonial markets, enclosure acts that pushed rural workers into cities, and a culture of practical invention.

• 15
  Front

  What is nationalism, and how did it reshape 19th-century Europe?

  Back

  Nationalism is the belief that people sharing a common culture, language, or ethnicity should form their own sovereign state. It drove unification movements (Germany, Italy) and dissolution of multi-ethnic empires.

• 16
  Front

  What event directly triggered the outbreak of World War I in 1914?

  Back

  The assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914, which set off a chain of alliance-driven mobilizations across Europe.

• 17
  Front

  What was the significance of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) for Germany?

  Back

  It forced Germany to accept sole blame for WWI (the 'war guilt' clause), pay massive reparations, surrender territory, and drastically reduce its military, fueling resentment that contributed to WWII.

• 18
  Front

  How did the Great Depression contribute to the rise of fascism in Europe?

  Back

  Economic collapse caused mass unemployment and political instability, making populations receptive to authoritarian movements like Hitler's Nazism in Germany and Mussolini's fascism in Italy that promised national revival.

• 19
  Front

  What was Operation Barbarossa (1941)?

  Back

  Nazi Germany's massive invasion of the Soviet Union launched on June 22, 1941 — the largest military operation in history — which opened the Eastern Front and ultimately overextended German forces.

• 20
  Front

  What was the Holocaust?

  Back

  The systematic, state-sponsored genocide carried out by Nazi Germany in which approximately six million Jews, along with millions of Roma, disabled people, and others, were murdered during WWII.

• 21
  Front

  What event in May 1945 ended World War II in Europe?

  Back

  Germany's unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day — Victory in Europe Day), following the fall of Berlin and the death of Adolf Hitler.

• 22
  Front

  What was the Truman Doctrine (1947) in the context of the Cold War?

  Back

  A U.S. policy committing America to containing the spread of communism by providing political, military, and economic support to nations threatened by Soviet influence.

• 23
  Front

  What was the Berlin Wall, and when was it built and demolished?

  Back

  A barrier built by East Germany in 1961 to prevent citizens from fleeing to West Berlin. It became a symbol of the Iron Curtain and was demolished in November 1989, signaling the end of the Cold War era.

• 24
  Front

  What event is generally considered to mark the end of the Cold War?

  Back

  The dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25–26, 1991, when the USSR officially ceased to exist and its constituent republics became independent states.