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The Ancien Régime was the predominant political, social, and economic system in Europe between the 15th and 18th centuries. It was characterized by an absolute monarchy, a class-based society, and a subsistence agrarian economy.
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He was an English philosopher and physician, considered the father of classical liberalism and one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. His fundamental contributions centered on empiricism, political philosophy, the theory of knowledge, and religious tolerance. -
The Enlightenment was an 18th-century philosophical, cultural, and intellectual movement that promoted reason as the primary tool for understanding and improving the world, emphasizing critical thinking, science, and individual rights over tradition and superstition, seeking progress based on knowledge.
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He was a French philosopher and jurist, a key figure of the Enlightenment and recognized as the father of the theory of the separation of powers. His thinking laid the foundations for modern constitutionalism and liberal democracies, defending human freedom and a moderate government that would prevent abuses of power. -
He was an 18th-century French writer, historian, and philosopher, known for his central role in the Enlightenment. He was a passionate advocate of freedom of speech, civil liberties, and the separation of church and state. -
Absolutism was the ultimate expression of the system of government in which a single monarch concentrated all the powers of the state (legislative, executive, and judicial). This power was justified by divine right, arguing that the king's authority came directly from God. -
It was a pre-industrial artisanal production system in which merchants provided raw materials to rural workers, who manufactured the products (mainly textiles) in their homes during periods of low agricultural activity. -
The three estates of the Ancien Régime were the nobility, the clergy, and the third estate. The nobility and clergy were the privileged groups, exempt from taxes and granted special rights, while the third estate, which included the peasantry, the bourgeoisie, and the urban working classes, supported the rest of society. -
In the 18th century, the tithe was a mandatory church tax consisting of the donation of a tenth of agricultural and livestock production to the Catholic Church. It was a fundamental economic burden for peasants and the financial backbone of the clergy, which at that time still held great social and economic power. -
Liberalism is a political, economic, and philosophical doctrine that defends individual liberty as a fundamental principle for social progress. It promotes equality before the law, individual rights (such as life, liberty, and private property), and the rule of law that limits public power, while also defending private economic initiative. It opposes absolutism and is based on ideas of freedom of expression, tolerance, and the separation of powers.
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He was a Swiss-French philosopher, writer, educator, and political thinker whose ideas had a profound influence on the Enlightenment, pre-Romanticism, and the French Revolution. Although he is associated with the Enlightenment, he was often critical of its positions, which earned him the antagonism of other philosophers such as Voltaire. -
He was an influential Scottish economist and philosopher, widely recognized as the "father of modern economics" and a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. His most important work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), laid the foundations of classical economics and economic liberalism. -
George Washington was a central figure in the founding of the United States, serving as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and later as the country's first president. He is widely known as the "Father of the Nation." -
Thomas Jefferson was a Founding Father of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the country's third president. He is a pivotal figure in American history, known for his advocacy of democracy, individual rights, and the separation of church and state. -
It was a monumental work published in France and a crucial symbol of the Enlightenment. It was directed by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond. Its goal was to compile and disseminate all the knowledge accumulated to date for social progress, critically examining it through reason. -
Louis XVI was the last king of France before the French Revolution, which abolished the monarchy and led to his execution. He ascended the throne in 1774 and reigned during a period marked by a severe economic and financial crisis, which ultimately triggered the revolutionary outbreak in 1789. -
Robespierre was a French lawyer and politician, one of the most prominent and controversial figures of the French Revolution, nicknamed "the Incorruptible." He led the radical Jacobin faction and was the central figure of the Committee of Public Safety, the executive body that governed France during the Reign of Terror. -
The First Industrial Revolution was a period of rapid mechanization that began in Britain around the 1760s and lasted until the 1840s, transitioning from hand production to machine-based manufacturing.
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A steam engine is a heat engine that converts thermal energy from steam into mechanical work. It operates by using the pressure of expanding steam to move a piston, which is then converted into rotational force to power machinery or vehicles like locomotives and ships. -
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and became Emperor of the French. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, and his legacy of reforms has had a lasting influence on Europe and the world. -
It was an act of protest in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, where colonists disguised as Native Americans threw 342 chests of tea into the sea to protest British taxes and the monopoly of the British East India Company. -
The American Revolution was a process that led the Thirteen British Colonies in North America to become a sovereign nation. The war lasted from 1775 to 1783 and culminated with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, although the key date celebrated is July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. -
It was a series of two decisive engagements that took place in September and October of 1777 in upstate New York, and represented a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. -
The Battle of Yorktown was a decisive engagement fought between late September and October 19, 1781, in Yorktown, Virginia. It was the final and most important battle of the American Revolutionary War. -
The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the land and the first written and codified constitution still in force in the world. It was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. -
It was the key institution that marked the beginning of the French Revolution, serving as the transition between the traditional Estates-General and the subsequent National Constituent Assembly. It was a fundamental step in the transformation of France from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional system. -
The Storming of the Bastille was a pivotal event that took place on July 14, 1789 in Paris, France, and marked the outbreak and symbolic beginning of the French Revolution. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is one of the fundamental documents of the French Revolution, defining a set of individual and collective rights. Adopted by the National Constituent Assembly between August 20 and 26, 1789, it served as a preamble to the Constitution of 1791 and marked the end of the Ancien Régime. -
It was France's first written constitution, transforming the country into a constitutional monarchy. It proclaimed national sovereignty, the separation of powers, and established equality before the law, a property-based suffrage, and freedom of thought and of the press. It was promulgated by the National Constituent Assembly and accepted by Louis XVI. -
The Directory was a system of government that existed at the end of the 18th century, specifically between October 26, 1795, and November 9, 1799. Therefore, it did not develop throughout the 19th century, but rather marked the end of the French Revolution. -
The agricultural revolution increased food production through new farming techniques and machinery, which led to population growth and freed up labor. This surplus population and food provided the necessary workforce and a market for goods, directly fueling the Industrial Revolution, which shifted society from an agrarian economy to one based on machine manufacturing. -
It was a historical period following the defeat of Napoleon, in which the victorious powers sought to restore the Old Regime and the absolutist monarchies that had been overthrown during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
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A series of diplomatic meetings where European powers, primarily Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain, reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. Its main goals were to restore a balance of power, establish a lasting peace by reestablishing legitimate monarchies, and create a new political and constitutional order in Europe. -
The Industrial Revolution caused a massive population boom in Europe and beyond by first drastically reducing death rates and later seeing birth rates decline as a result of the demographic transition. -
Railways were a crucial element of the Industrial Revolution, transforming production, trade, and social life by using steam engines to move goods and people faster than ever before. -
Was the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history. A series of largely uncoordinated republican revolts against European monarchies, they began in Sicily in January 1848 and spread rapidly to France, the German and Italian states, and the Austrian Empire. -
Was a 19th-century political and social movement that consolidated the various states of the Italian peninsula into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy, in 1861. The process was completed in 1870 when Rome was officially annexed and became the capital. -
The Second Industrial Revolution was a phase of rapid industrial growth and technological advancement that occurred primarily in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, roughly from 1870 to 1914, building on the innovations of the first industrial revolution. It was characterized by new power sources, groundbreaking inventions, and significant societal transformations, predominantly in the United States and Western Europe.
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Was a process driven by Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck through a series of strategic wars, diplomacy, and the rise of German nationalism. This resulted in the formation of the German Empire under Prussian leadership, fundamentally altering the balance of power in Europe.