World History: Patterns of Interaction: Chapters 20–21

The Spanish intended to transform the islands of the Caribbean into colonies, or lands that are controlled by another nation.

Cortés marched inland, looking to claim new lands for Spain. Cortés and the many other Spanish explorers who followed him were known as conquistadors (conquerors).

As a result, relationships between Spanish settlers and native women were common. These relationships created a large mestizo—or mixed Spanish and Native American—population.

In 1620, a group known as Pilgrims founded a second English colony, Plymouth, in Massachusetts. Persecuted for their religious beliefs in England, these colonists sought religious freedom.

One aspect of the European economic revolution was the growth of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership and the investment of resources, such as money, for profit.

Another business venture that developed during this period was known as the joint-stock company. The joint-stock company worked much like the modern-day corporation, with investors buying shares of stock in a company.

During this time, the nations of Europe adopted a new economic policy known as mercantilism. The theory of mercantilism held that a country’s power depended mainly on its wealth.

These rulers wanted to be absolute monarchs, kings or
queens who held all of the power within their states’ boundaries. Their goal was to control every aspect of society.

These rulers wanted to be absolute monarchs, kings or
queens who held all of the power within their states’ boundaries. Their goal was to control every aspect of society.

Absolute monarchs believed in divine right, the idea
that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on earth. An absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his or her subjects.

French thinkers had witnessed the religious wars with horror. What they saw turned them toward skepticism, the idea that nothing can ever be known for certain.

In 1701, England, Austria, the Dutch Republic, Portugal, and several German and Italian states joined together to prevent the union of the French and Spanish thrones. The long struggle that followed is known as the War of the Spanish Succession.

Inspired by his trip to the West, Peter resolved that Russia would compete with Europe on both military and commercial terms. Peter’s goal of westernization, of using western Europe as a model for change, was not an end in itself. Peter saw it as a way to make Russia stronger.

During Charles II’s reign, Parliament passed an important guarantee of freedom, habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is Latin meaning “to have the body.” This 1679 law gave every prisoner the right to obtain a writ or document ordering that the prisoner be brought before a judge to specify the charges against the prisoner.

England had become not an absolute monarchy but a constitutional monarchy, where laws limited the ruler’s power.

England had become not an absolute monarchy but a constitutional monarchy, where laws limited the ruler’s power.

During the 1700s, this potential problem was remedied by the development of a group of government ministers, or officials, called the cabinet.