Historical Concepts and Figures

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Bubonic Plague

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Event; 1350s, disease, mass death, weakened feudalism, peasant revolts.

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The Crusades

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Event; A series of religious wars sanctioned by the Catholic Church aimed at reclaiming the Holy Land from Muslim control.

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Feudalism

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A social and political system where power is based on land ownership. Land is exchanged for loyalty and labor. It brought stability to Europe.

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Manorialism

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Medieval Europe’s economic system. Created due to the instability of trade. All economic activity (production and trade) occurred on a single plot of land known as a manor.

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Isolationism

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Belief that a nation should stay out of disputes and affairs of other nations (they are mostly limited to trade, do not have many allies, and do not welcome diversity).

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Ethnocentrism

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Belief that one's own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior.

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Kublai Khan

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A grandson of the Mongol leader Genghis Khan, he established himself as leader of the Yuan Dynasty in China.

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Tribute

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(Economic/political system) where a weaker country pays a stronger country for trade and protection. Tribute allowed the Ming Dynasty to gain and consolidate power without military conquest.

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Osman I

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Leader of a Turkish beylik (small kingdom) who founded the Ottoman Empire on the Anatolian Peninsula [Turkey] around 1299 CE.

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Janissary

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Elite soldiers recruited by the Devshirme system. Forcibly converted to Islam and loyal to the sultan. Helped to expand the empire; their elite tactics made them feared across Europe. Served as one of the first standing armies [paid military]. Could rise to become important military commanders and politicians.