AP European History Flashcards: 16th Century Society And Politics

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on 16th Century Society And Politics, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for AP European History.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What was the key social and economic effect of the 16th-century Price Revolution?

Answer: Sustained inflation that strained wage earners and benefited some landlords. New World silver caused widespread price increases across Europe.

Flashcard 2: What was the "Price Revolution" in 16th-century Europe?

Answer: Sustained inflation driven by population growth and New World silver. Massive silver imports devalued currency across Europe.

Flashcard 3: What policy did the Spanish crown use to control the Americas through royal officials?

Answer: Viceroyalty system (viceroys governing in the king's name). Viceroys ruled vast territories as direct representatives of the Spanish crown.

Flashcard 4: What was the main role of the Ottoman Empire in 16th-century European power politics?

Answer: Major rival to Habsburgs; pressured Europe in Mediterranean and Balkans. Ottoman expansion forced Habsburg resources to multiple fronts.

Flashcard 5: What 1534 statute made the English monarch the head of the Church of England?

Answer: Act of Supremacy (1534). This act formally broke England from papal authority.

Flashcard 6: What was a key demographic effect of the Columbian Exchange on 16th-century Europe?

Answer: Population growth supported by new staple crops (especially potatoes). American crops increased food supply and population capacity.

Flashcard 7: What was the main aim of the Catholic Reformation's Council of Trent (1545–1563)?

Answer: Reaffirm Catholic doctrine and reform clerical discipline. Counter-Reformation council clarified Catholic teachings against Protestant ideas.

Flashcard 8: What political theory did Jean Bodin use to justify strong centralized monarchy in the 1500s?

Answer: Sovereignty: absolute, perpetual authority of the state. Bodin argued rulers needed unlimited power to maintain order.

Flashcard 9: What was the primary political weakness of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century?

Answer: Fragmented sovereignty among many semi-autonomous states. Over 300 principalities prevented unified imperial authority.

Flashcard 10: What was the main function of the French parlements in the 16th century?

Answer: Register royal edicts and act as high courts. They could delay implementation by refusing to register laws.

Flashcard 11: What term describes the Habsburg strategy of using marriages to gain territory and influence?

Answer: Dynastic marriage diplomacy. Strategic marriages expanded Habsburg lands without warfare.

Flashcard 12: Identify the policy: a ruler uses marriage alliances to expand territory instead of war.

Answer: Dynastic marriage diplomacy (Habsburg strategy). Habsburgs famously expanded through strategic marriages.

Flashcard 13: What was the main political purpose of Philip II's use of the Escorial and court ceremony?

Answer: Project centralized, sacral monarchy and bureaucratic control. Architecture and ritual reinforced divine-right absolutism.

Flashcard 14: What institution did Ferdinand and Isabella use to enforce religious conformity in Spain?

Answer: Spanish Inquisition. Established 1478 to root out heresy and enforce Catholic orthodoxy.

Flashcard 15: What term describes the 1500s trend of monarchs increasing control over churches in their realms?

Answer: State-building through confessionalization (church-state integration). Rulers used religious uniformity to strengthen political authority.

Flashcard 16: What was the principal cause of the Dutch Revolt (1560s–1580s)?

Answer: Resistance to Spanish taxation, centralization, and religious repression. Philip II's harsh policies sparked nationalist rebellion.

Flashcard 17: What was the primary political goal of the Tudor monarchy under Henry VIII in the 1530s?

Answer: Centralize royal authority and secure dynastic stability. Henry sought to break from Rome and establish royal supremacy over church and state.

Flashcard 18: What was the main purpose of the Spanish Inquisition in the 16th century?

Answer: Enforce Catholic orthodoxy and royal religious unity. It suppressed heresy and ensured political loyalty through religious conformity.

Flashcard 19: What 1588 event marked a major English naval success against Spain?

Answer: Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Storm and English tactics destroyed Philip II's invasion fleet.

Flashcard 20: What was the encomienda system in Spanish America?

Answer: Grant of Indigenous labor/tribute to Spaniards under crown oversight. Colonists received labor rights but had to protect and convert natives.

Flashcard 21: What 1598 French edict granted limited toleration and rights to Huguenots?

Answer: Edict of Nantes (1598). Henry IV's compromise ended decades of religious civil war.

Flashcard 22: What 1598 French edict granted limited toleration and rights to Huguenots?

Answer: Edict of Nantes. Henry IV's compromise ended French Wars of Religion.

Flashcard 23: What was the primary cause of the Dutch Revolt against Spain (1560s–1580s)?

Answer: Resistance to Spanish centralization and Catholic repression. Philip II's harsh policies sparked rebellion in the Low Countries.

Flashcard 24: What term describes the Spanish policy of forced conversion and surveillance of converted Jews and Muslims?

Answer: Limpieza de sangre (purity of blood). This discriminatory system excluded those with Jewish or Muslim ancestry.

Flashcard 25: Which 1572 event intensified the French Wars of Religion by mass killing Huguenots in Paris?

Answer: St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572). Catholic mobs killed thousands of Protestant leaders.

Flashcard 26: What English statute made the monarch the supreme head/governor of the Church of England?

Answer: Act of Supremacy. First passed 1534 under Henry VIII, revised 1559 under Elizabeth I.

Flashcard 27: What was the defining feature of the Spanish system of governing its overseas empire in the 16th century?

Answer: Council-and-viceroy administration under the Crown. Viceroys represented royal authority in distant colonies.

Flashcard 28: Which social group generally benefited most from 16th-century inflation: wage laborers or landowners?

Answer: Landowners (rents and prices rose faster than wages). Fixed rents lost value while agricultural prices soared.

Flashcard 29: What principle is summarized by the phrase "cuius regio, eius religio"?

Answer: Ruler determines the territory's official religion. Latin phrase establishing territorial religious sovereignty.

Flashcard 30: What agreement ended the first phase of German religious wars in 1555?

Answer: Peace of Augsburg. Allowed Lutheran and Catholic coexistence in the Holy Roman Empire.

Flashcard 31: What principle from the Peace of Augsburg let each German ruler choose the territory's religion?

Answer: Cuius regio, eius religio. Latin phrase meaning "whose realm, his religion" - princes decide faith.

Flashcard 32: Which 1555 settlement allowed German princes to choose Lutheranism or Catholicism for their territory?

Answer: Peace of Augsburg (1555). It ended religious warfare between Catholic and Lutheran princes.

Flashcard 33: What term describes the early modern process of strengthening state institutions and royal power?

Answer: State centralization (growth of the early modern state). Monarchs built bureaucracies and standing armies to control territory.

Flashcard 34: What was the name of the northern Dutch state formed after breaking from Spain?

Answer: Dutch Republic (United Provinces). Seven northern provinces declared independence from Spanish rule.

Flashcard 35: What new Catholic order founded in 1540 became central to education and missions?

Answer: Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Founded by Ignatius Loyola to spread Catholicism through education.

Flashcard 36: What was the primary motive behind Henry VIII's break with Rome in the 1530s?

Answer: Dynastic succession: annulment to secure a male heir. Catherine of Aragon couldn't produce a male heir; Henry wanted Anne Boleyn.

Flashcard 37: What was the Estates-General in France primarily used for during major crises?

Answer: Consultative assembly to approve taxation and air grievances. Kings called it only when needing extraordinary revenue.

Flashcard 38: Which institution in Muscovy helped Ivan IV rule by advising on law and policy in the mid-1500s?

Answer: Zemsky Sobor (assembly of the land). This representative body legitimized tsarist policies.

Flashcard 39: What 1572 event in France saw mass killings of Huguenots in Paris and beyond?

Answer: St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Catholic mob violence killed thousands of French Protestants.