Chapter 10 Vocab Squares

Renaissance The flowering of art and culture that began in Italy in the 1300s and later spread to the rest of Europe.

Westernization The spread of ideas and values originating in Europe and the Western world.

Absolutism A system of rule in which a monarch or other ruler enjoys unlimited power.

Divine Right The notion that a ruler’s power is derived from God and cannot be questioned.

Gunpowder Revolution The military advances that resulted from the development of gunpowder weaponry.

Columbian Exchange The transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the eastern and western hemispheres.

Scientific revolution A shift in thinking about the study of nature that began in the mid-1500s and moved beyond religious teachings.

Enlightenment An 18th-century movement that sought to apply scientific methods to the study of society and its problems.

Reformation A reform movement of the 16th and 17th centuries that split the Catholic Church and gave birth to the Protestant religion. The Catholic Church responded with the Counter-Reformation, its attempt to fix some of Martin Luther’s criticisms of the Church.

Other terms Bureaucracy Commercial revolution Capitalism Secular Conquistadors Mestizos Inflation Great dying Humanism Reformation Counter Reformation