Jerry H. Bentley,
University of Hawai'i
Herbert F. Ziegler,
University of Hawai'i
| Agricultural Transition: | The gradual transition from a dependence on hunting and gathering for subsistence to a dependence on cultivation and animal husbandry. First evidence of transition is from around 12,000 B.C.E.
|
 |
|
|
| Ancestor Worship: | Belief that dead ancestors can influence one's fortunes in this life. People who practice ancestor worship characteristically practice rituals and ceremonies to the memory or remains of their ancestors.
|
|
|
|
| Ancien régime: | The political structure of prerevolutionary France, characterized by an absolute monarchy, a feudal aristocracy, and a vast class of powerless peasants.
|
|
|
|
| Austronesians: | Peoples from Asia who speak related languages. Austronesians were seafaring people who migrated from southeast Asia and settled many of the Pacific islands and as far west as Madagascar.
|
|
|
|
| Bubonic Plague: | Epidemic that swept Eurasia, causing devastating population loss and economic disruption. It was known as the Black Death in Europe after around 1350 C.E.
|
|
|
|
| Buddhism: | A religious doctrine that first emerged in India in the sixth century B.C.E. From there it spread widely to China, Japan, and southeast Asia. It taught that life is suffering but that extinction of desire can culminate in a state of illumination.
|
|
|
|
| Capitalism: | An economic system in which goods and services are produced and sold by private individuals. The means of production (factories, banks, and businesses) are established through the investment of private funds (capital).
|
|
|
|
| Caste: | A social class system with distinctions that are transferred through generations or through occupation. Restrictions are placed on marriage, occupation, handling of food, and other matters, according to caste. Caste usually refers to the social system of India.
|
|
|
|
| Christianity: | Religious doctrine that emerged in southeast Asia in the first century C.E. and then spread through Europe, north Africa, parts of Asia, and eventually to the Americas. Central to the religion is the belief that Jesus was the son of God and sacrificed himself on behalf of humankind.
|
|
|
|
| Collectivization: | The process of reorganizing agriculture from individual farms into large farming cooperatives, typical of communist countries such as China and the Soviet Union. In a collective farm the land and labor are owned by the cooperative.
|
|
|
|
| Columbian Exchange: | The trans-Atlantic exchange of plants, animals, and diseases that followed European contact with the Americas at the end of the fifteenth century.
|
|
|
|
| Communism: | A political and economic system based on the common ownership of property and the means of production. Based on the ideas of Karl Marx, communism was first implemented as a political system in the Soviet Union (Russia) after the revolution of 1917.
|
|
|
|
| Confucianism: | Chinese philosophy based on the teachings of Confucius (551--479 B.C.E.). It emphasizes personal virtue, devotion to family, justice, duty, and tradition. China's civil service examinations were based on Confucianist principles.
|
|
|
|
| Conquistadores: | Based the Spanish word for "conquerors," the word refers to the Spanish soldiers who participated in the conquest of the Americas. Under the encomienda system, many conquistadores were rewarded with large land grants and became the ruling class of Spanish America.
|
|
|
|
| Conservatism: | A political philosophy that emphasizes gradual change, continuity of traditions and established authority. Although the word has taken on many shades of meaning, nineteenth-century conservatives generally opposed democracy and supported traditional institutions such as church, monarchy, and nobility.
|
|
|
|
| Containment: | One of the defining concepts of the cold war era, the word itself reflects American fears that communism was a contagion that must be "contained." The goal of containing communism led the United States to support a number of undemocratic regimes.
|
|
|
|
| Daoism: | Dao means "the way" and refers to the Chinese philosophical school that stressed disengagement from the affairs of the world in order to live simply and seek harmony with the natural order.
|
|
|
|
| Decolonization: | The process of gaining both political and economic independence from an imperial power. Both are difficult goals, because imperialism did not promote local political institutions, economic infrastructure, or an educated populace. As a result, colonial states were often ill-prepared for independence.
|
|
|
|
| Demographic transition: | Adjustments in the rate of births and deaths that usually accompany industrialization. The demographic transition is often triggered by improvements in health and nutrition, which result in lower death rates. Birthrates remain high initially, but after a period of rapid population growth, birthrates fall in response to the lower death rates. Eventually, in highly industrialized societies, birthrates and death rates stabilize at low levels.
|
|
|
|
| Détente: | Refers to the easing of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union in the mid-1970s, which led a number of cooperative ventures, most notably the discussions on arms limitations (SALT).
|
|
|
|
| Eastern Orthodox Christianity: | An eastern branch of Christianity that evolved after the division of the Roman Empire and the subsequent development of the Byzantine Empire in the east and the medieval European society in the west. The Eastern Orthodox Church acknowledged what became known as the Byzantine rite and recognized the primacy of the patriarch of Constantinople.
|
|
|
|
| Enlightenment: | Intellectual movement that grew out of the scientific discoveries of the seventeenth century. Enlightenment meant different things to different people but generally stood for the ideals of liberty, equality, natural rights, science, and reason.
|
|
|
|
| Fascism: | A political ideology, first set forth by Benito Mussolini in Italy after World War I, that is characterized by extreme nationalism, militarism, and veneration of a cult leader. Fascists were hostile to socialism, democracy, and parliamentary government. The term has also been applied to the National Socialists (Nazis) of Germany.
|
|
|
|
| Free trade: | Economic doctrine, first argued by Adam Smith in the late eighteenth century, of unrestricted trade between nations without protective tariffs or duties. Smith and his followers argue that, through free trade and competition, the forces of supply and demand will ensure that the best product is available at the best price. Free trade has gained wide acceptance since World War II.
|
|
|
|
| Globalization: | Describes the increasing economic, technological, and cultural interdependence of the modern world. Globalization has been credited with raising living standards in much of the world and has been criticized for "homogenizing" tastes and undermining indigenous cultures.
|
|
|
|
| Guild: | Organizations whose membership is based on occupation. They often regulate the production and sale of goods and serve as mutual aid societies for their members. They were particularly powerful in medieval European cities.
|
|
|
|
| Hellenistic Age: | The age of Alexander of Macedon and his successors (from around the fourth century B.C.E. until the first century B.C.E. The Hellenistic Age was an era when Greek cultural traditions expanded their influence beyond Greece itself, particularly eastward into southeast Asia and along the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt.
|
|
|
|
| Hinduism: | A diverse body of religious practices native to India, characterized by beliefs in successive reincarnations and supreme beings of many forms and natures.
|
|
|
|
| Holy Roman Empire: | A confederation of states mostly in central and western Europe. It began in 962 C.E. with the crowning of Otto I by the pope.
|
|
|
|
| Humanism: | Cultural movement during the Renaissance that drew inspiration from the humanities, that is, literature, history, philosophy, and the arts. In contrast to medieval theologians, humanists argued that one could live a moral life and still be actively engaged in the affairs of the world.
|
|
|
|
| Hunting/Gathering Culture: | Any culture whose primary means of subsistence is through hunting and gathering from the environment. Humans survived this way for millions of years before the agricultural transition, and some hunting/gathering cultures persisted into the twenty-first century C.E.
|
|
|
|
| Imperialism: | The practice whereby one nation dominates another. In the nineteenth century, imperialism took many forms: direct conquest and settlement as in South Africa; indirect rule through local officials as in British India; or direct rule over a local people as in Dutch East India. Whatever the form, the resources and labor of the occupied territory were exploited to enrich the imperial power.
|
|
|
|
| Intelligentsia: | Refers to an educated and literate class in Russia that often advocated social and political reform. In the late nineteenth century the Russian intelligentsia became frustrated when reform efforts failed, and many turned to anarchism and violence. Some members of the intelligentsia supported the Bolshevik rise to power in the revolution of 1917.
|
|
|
|
| Islam: | Religion based on the teachings of Muhammad (570--632 C.E.). It consists of the belief in only one god, Allah, and the need for all believers to fully submit to his will. Islam began on the Arabian peninsula but spread throughout Africa, much of Asia, and parts of Europe.
|
|
|
|
| Jihad: | Arabic word meaning "struggle." In Islam this word is understood to be one's duty to struggle on behalf of the faith. Although this struggle might be a personal and spiritual effort, it has frequently been a call for holy war against perceived enemies. In recent years, radical Islamists such as al-Qaeda have called for a jihad against the United States and other "nonbelievers."
|
|
|
|
| Judaism: | The monotheistic religion of the Jewish people that traces its origins to Abraham (ca. 2000 B.C.E.). It emerged in the Middle East, and constitute a majority, believers were widespread in Europe, north Africa, and southeast Asia.
|
|
|
|
| Kin-Based Society: | A society that governs itself primarily through family and clan relationships; many existed in sub-Saharan Africa throughout history.
|
|
|
|
| Legalism: | Chinese political philosophy that promoted a practical and ruthlessly efficient approach to statecraft. It emerged in the late fourth century B.C.E. and was embraced by various emperors and ministers thereafter.
|
|
|
|
| Liberalism: | a political philosophy inspired by John Locke and the ideals of the Enlightenment that advocated individual liberty, constitutional government, and free trade. Nineteenth-century liberals favored representative government but not necessarily democracy.
|
|
|
|
| Liberation theology: | The beliefs of Christian thinkers and social activists who emphasize Jesus' role in helping those who were oppressed, a view that gained wide support in Latin America in the late twentieth century. Liberation theologians question the historic role of the church in supporting traditional regimes.
|
|
|
|
| Manichaeism: | Dualistic religion that blended elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Buddhism. It spread throughout Persia during the third century C.E.
|
|
|
|
| Manifest destiny: | The idea, popular in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, that the North American continent was intended by God to settled by white Americans. This notion helped justify the Mexican war of 1846—1848 and the Indian wars of the 1870s and 1880s.
|
|
|
|
| Mesopotamia: | Geographic region located in modern-day Iraq, which includes the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Literally translates as "between the rivers."
|
|
|
|
| Metallurgy: | The process of extracting metal from ores, or purifying metals, and of creating objects from metals.
|
|
|
|
| Mithraism: | Dualistic religion of salvation that originated in Persia and spread to much of the Roman Empire. It was especially popular with Roman soldiers.
|
|
|
|
| Neo-Confucianism: | A Chinese philosophy that emerged in the twelfth century C.E. that adapted Buddhist themes and reasoning to Confucian interests and values. Neo-Confucianism enjoyed the status of an officially recognized creed until the early twentieth century.
|
|
|
|
| Patriarchy: | A system of social organization in which males dominate the family and in which the public institutions and descent and succession are traced through the male line.
|
|
|
|
| Renaissance: | The cultural flowering of western Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Arts and literature of this period reflected greater individualism and secularism than in the medieval period and often drew inspiration from classical models.
|
|
|
|
| Scholar-bureaucrats: | describes the administrative apparatus of China created by the Ming dynasty - and continued by the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Under this system, Confucian scholars, chosen through a highly competitive series of examinations, ran the country. This system meant that China was a meritocracy, but a very conservative one.
|
|
|
|
| Shia: | A sect of Islam that supported the descendents of the line of Ali to the caliphate. They developed rituals and doctrines that distinguished themselves as distinct from the Sunnis ("traditionalists").
|
|
|
|
| Silk Roads: | A network of sea and land trade routes that linked east Asia to the Mediterranean.
|
|
|
|
| Socialism: | A political philosophy that sought to advance equal rights and opportunities for all classes. Whereas liberals favored the interests of the middle class, socialists sought more government control of industry to protect the interests of working people.
|
|
|
|
| Social Darwinism: | The misapplication of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to human society to justify opposition to social reform. Social Darwinists held that it was "natural" for the strong to survive and the weak to perish and that humanity would be weakened if the "unfit" (i.e., the poor) were helped in any way.
|
|
|
|
| Spheres of influence: | A region dominated by an outside power. Generally refers to the intrusion of western imperial powers into China in the late nineteenth century. China, although technically a sovereign state, was divided into "spheres," each one occupied by a European state that had license to conduct business without any interference.
|
|
|
|
| Stoicism: | A Hellenistic philosophy that emphasized strict adherence to duty and personal self-discipline. It became very popular among the Roman upper classes.
|
|
|
|
| Sufis: | A sect of Islam that sought emotional and mystical union with Allah rather than an intellectual understanding. Sufis were important missionaries of Islam throughout Asia.
|
|
|
|
| Truman Doctrine: | A declaration by U.S. president Harry S. Truman in 1947 that the United States would provide material assistance to any nation threatened by communism. The need to "contain" communism shaped American foreign policy until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
|
|
|
|
| Zoroastrianism: | A dualistic Persian religion of salvation that emerged in the sixth century B.C.E. It was popular in Persia and spread to the Mediterranean basin and parts of Asia.
|
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education