Tribute
demanded from subject people (comparable to taxes in Europe) brought many goods to Tenochtitlán
Matriarchy
power inherited through female lines of authority
Animism
the natural world was suffused with spiritual power
Patriarchy
property and social identity descended in male family lines
Primogeniture
fathers bestowed all their land on their eldest son, forced many younger children to join the ranks of roaming poor
Peasants
farmworkers who lived in small villages surrounded by fields farmed cooperatively by different families
Republic
states that had no prince or king but instead were governed by merchant coalitions
Civic Humanism
praised public virtue and service to the state and in time profoundly influenced European and American conceptions of government
Renaissance
the arts and learning associated with this cultural transformation from 1300 to 1450
Guilds
artisan organizations that regulated trades
Christianity
grew out of Jewish monotheism (the belief in one god), held that Jesus Christ was himself divine
Heresies
satan was constantly challenging God by tempting people to sin. Doctrines spread it by being inconstant with the teachings of the church - were seen as tools of Satan
Islam
the religion whose followers considered Muhammad to by God’s last prophet
Crusades
to reverse the Muslim advance in Europe and win back the holy lands where Christ had lived
Protestant Reformation
the controversy between the Roman Catholic Church and radical reformers like Luther and Calvin spread throughout much of Western Europe
Counter Reformation
the Catholic church sought change from within and created new monastic and missionary orders
Trans-Saharan Trade
The primary avenue of trade for West Africans passed through Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires
Reconquista
the campaign by Spanish catholics to drive Muslim Arabs from the European mainland
Predestination
God chooses certain people for salvation before they are born and condemns the rest to eternal damnation