Period 3 Vocab

Question 1

Maritime

Answer 1

Connected to the sea in relation to navigation, shipping, trade, etc.

Question 2

Monsoon

Answer 2

A seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter.

Question 3

Griots

Answer 3

West-African storyteller - served as keepers of tradition and advisors to Kings of Mali

Question 4

Entrepôt

Answer 4

Trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit.
To illustrate, the reluctance of merchants to travel the entire length of the Silk Road made them more willing to sell to an entrepôt instead. The entrepôt then sells the goods at a higher price to merchants traveling the other segments of the route.

Question 5

Kow-tow

Answer 5

The act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one’s head touching the ground. Typically performed before the Emperor of China as a sign of respect acknowledging China’s superiority by diplomats to the Imperial Court.

Question 6

tribute

Answer 6

Payment in money, goods, or labor to a government. In China, tribute was an integral part of Confucian philosophy. Foreign regions that didn’t pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor were not allowed to trade with them. In Western Europe vassals and peasants paid tribute in exchange for protection.

Question 7

Neo-Confucianism

Answer 7

Philosophy that merged Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist thought. Primarily developed during the Song dynasty, but can be traced to the Tang. Became the state religion of China from the Ming Dynasty.

Question 8

Sinification

Answer 8

Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions.

Question 9

Bushido

Answer 9

“The way of the warrior;” unwritten behavioral code widely observed by samurai in feudal Japan; emphasized the virtues of loyalty, mastery of martial arts, and honor to the death.

Question 10

Daimyo

Answer 10

Powerful territorial warlord in early feudal Japan.

Question 11

Samurai

Answer 11

Mounted troops; loyal to local lords, not the emperor.

Question 12

Shogun

Answer 12

Term that refers to a Japanese military general. The military dominated the civil government from 1192-1868, thus the shogun was the practical leader of Japan.

Question 13

Bakufu (Shogunate)

Answer 13

The feudal military dictatorship of Japan from 1192-1868; means “tent government” in Japanese.

Question 14

Islam

Answer 14

A monotheistic religion that developed in Arabia in the seventh century.

Question 15

Muslim

Answer 15

A follower of Islam

Question 16

Bedouin

Answer 16

Nomadic pastorialists of the Arabian peninsula; early converts to Islam.

Question 17

Caliph

Answer 17

Political and religious successor to Muhammad.

Question 18

Caliphate

Answer 18

A form of Islamic government lead by a Caliph; the office or jurisdiction of a caliph.

Question 19

Sharia

Answer 19

A body of law governing the lives of Muslims

Question 20

Dhimmi

Answer 20

“People of the book” - applied as an inclusive term to Christians and Jews in Islamic territories, eventually included Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Buddhists.

Question 21

Dar al-Islam

Answer 21

An Arabic term that means the “house of Islam” and refers to lands under Islamic rule.

Question 22

Crusade

Answer 22

Expeditions in which medieval Christian warriors sought to recover control of the Holy Land from the Muslims.

Question 23

Patriarch

Answer 23

Head of the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire.

Question 24

Orthodox

Answer 24

Referring to the split in Christianity; Eastern Orthodox officials viewed themselves as the true heirs of Rome.

Question 25

Schism

Answer 25

A split or division, especially a formal split within a Christian church.

Question 26

Manorialism

Answer 26

System that described economic relations between landlords and peasant laborers; involved a hierarchy of reciprocal obligations that exchanged labor or rent for access to land and protection

Question 27

Feudalism

Answer 27

Social and political organization of the Middle Ages whereby grants of land or fiefs were exchanged for formal oaths of allegiance and promises of loyal service.

Question 28

Chivalry

Answer 28

Unwritten code of behavior for European knights stressing ideals such as courage, loyalty, and devotion.

Question 29

Fief

Answer 29

An estate granted to a vassal by a lord under the feudal system of Medieval Europe

Question 30

Serfs

Answer 30

Peasants legally bound to live on a lord’s estate.

Question 31

Pope

Answer 31

Leader of the Catholic Church in Rome

Question 32

Papacy

Answer 32

The system of government of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the Pope is the supreme head.

Question 33

Investiture

Answer 33

Practice of state appointment of bishops (i.e. the king appoints a church bishop, not the pope)

Question 34

Three-Field system

Answer 34

European agricultural technique where one-third of the land was left unplanted each year to increase fertility.

Question 35

Guild

Answer 35

Associations of workers in the same occupations in a single city; stressed security and mutual control; limited membership, regulated apprenticeship, guaranteed good workmanship, discouraged innovation.

Question 36

Vernacular

Answer 36

The native language of a country or locality. During the Middle Ages, works not written in Latin were said to be written in the vernacular. In more recent times, works that emulate the everyday speech of the middle or working class are said to be written in the vernacular.

Question 37

Parliament

Answer 37

Body that represents privileged groups; institutionalized feudal principle that rulers should consult their vassals. Modern term refers to a legislative body that makes laws and has the power to select or dismiss the head of government.

Question 38

Bubonic Plague

Answer 38

Most common form of plague, characterized by swollen, tender, inflamed lymph glands, fever, and headaches. Human infection occurs when a person is bitten by a flea that has fed on an infected rodent. If untreated, the bacteria infects the bloodstream, causing black patches on the skin, hence the name “The Black Death”. It can also infect the lungs, causing the patient to cough up blood. At that point, the disease can be transmitted person-to-person.

Question 39

Shamanism

Answer 39

Mongol belief system; based on the premise hat the world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits that affect the lives of the living.

Question 40

Khanate

Answer 40

Regional Mongol empires that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan.

Question 41

Corvee Labor

Answer 41

Type of annual tax that is payable by labor; used to complete state projects and to maintain roads and public facilities. Originally used in feudal societies.

Question 42

Split Inheritance

Answer 42

Inca practice of ruler descent; all titles and political power went to successor, but wealth and land remained in the hands of male descendants for support of the Inca’s mummy

Question 43

Sovereignty

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Mita

Answer 44

Labor extracted from lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential part of the Inca control.

Question 45

Chinampas

Answer 45

An artificially built floating field on a shallow lake bed used by the Aztecs to grow crops.