Vocabulary List for the Rise of European Nations - Honors

absolutism - a system of government where the leader has total power; they are see as the same thing as the state itself

constitutional monarchy – When a king rules with limits placed upon him by written laws and other groups of political power-holders.

deficit - The amount by which government spending exceeds its tax receipts for a given year.

divine right of kings – The belief that monarchs hold and exercise power because God will it.

enclosure movement – When Europeans began to fence in their lands, including those that had once been considered common for local farmers and villagers.

enlightened despotism - The idea that the best government was one run by an all-powerful genius who looked out for what was best for everyone.

ethnic cleansing - the mass expulsion and killing of one ethic or religious group in an area by another ethnic or religious group in that area

free enterprise - The idea that every person should be able to go into any business they want to and run it any way they like to make a maximum profit.

inflation – the general rise in prices over time.

L’état c’est moi. – The quote meaning “I am the state” attributed to Louis XIV.

laissez-faire - "let do" or leave things alone

national debt - the total amount of government borrowing still outstanding, owed to individuals and institutions.

natural law - The belief that the universe and human society were organized and run according to unchanging rules.

parliament – A representative assembly in England made up of the House of Lords and House of Commons.

Philosphes - French thinkers who popularized scientific methods and the study of the human condition.

popular sovereignty - The idea that individuals could determine what was best for all members of the society and that this "will of the people" would become law.

rationalism - The Belief that truth can be arrived at only through the careful application of logical thought to observation.

Sovereignty - The exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people, or oneself.