Glossary675Witchcraft. In the sixteenth century, a body of practices that
included magic, the casting of spells, and usually Satanism, or
devil-worship.Chapter 15
Administrative Devolution. The process by which early
modern rulers assigned military and administrative functions to
private contractors in an attempt to save money.
Cuius regio, eius religio. The principle that the religion of an
area may be determined by its ruler.
Encomienda. An institution in which Spanish kings placed
newly converted subjects under the “protection” of a Christian
lord who was supposed to defend them and see to their religious
instruction in return for certain dues and payments.
Military Contractors. Entrepreneurs who contracted to
provide a fixed number of fully equipped troops, and sometimes
to lead them, in return for pay. Ships were often contracted on a
similar basis in time of war.
Proprietary Colonies. Overseas colonies granted to a private
individual (a Captain or Lord Proprietor) whose responsibility it
was to settle and defend them.
Puritans. A party of English Protestants which demanded
simplicity in church ceremonies and a high standard of moral
conduct.
Chapter 16
Absolutism. A political doctrine that asserts the unrestrained
power of a monarch, who is usually considered to hold
sovereignty by divine will.
Chartered Companies. Companies of merchants chartered by
the crown to conduct business in specified areas overseas (e.g.
The East India Company). Such companies often maintained
their own armies and fleets of warships.
Cosmology. The study of the universe as an ordered whole.
Experimentalism. The idea, supported by Francis Bacon,
Galileo, and others that experiment can determine the validity
of a scientific theory, and that, conversely, theories should be
experimentally verifiable.
Heliocentric Theory. The theory, originally developed by
such ancient thinkers as Eratosthenes and Aristarchus of
Samos, that the planets revolve around the sun. Revived by
Copernicus in the sixteenth century it was accepted by
Kepler and Galileo.
Hermetic Tradition. A body of occult literature, supposedly
derived from ancient Egypt, that concerned itself with natural
magic, alchemy, and related subjects.
Magic. A science or pseudo-science that attempts to
manipulate the supposed relationships among phenomena or
natural objects for the magician’s ends.
Oligarchy. A form of government in which power is in the
hands of a relatively small group of people, usually wealthy
ones.Chapter 17
Corporative Society. Term to describe the highly stratified
social structure of Europe during the Old Regime, with the
population in most countries divided into separate legal bodies
(most often called estates) each with separate rights, duties, and
laws. Also called the Ständestaat.
Elbe-Trieste Line. An imaginary diagonal line, drawn on the
map of Europe between the mouth of the Elbe River on the
North Sea and the town of Trieste at the head of the Adriatic
Sea; used by historians as a general line separating western and
eastern Europe.
Gentry. A portion of the land-owning upper class, deemed
people of “gentle” birth (gentlemen and women), holding a
privileged position but not always part of the titled aristocracy
(as in England).
Mercantilism. The predominant economic theory of the Old
Regime, holding that states should seek self-sufficiency in
resources and manufactured goods and thus import little; to
achieve this end, the state regulated trade, granting monopolies
and regulating manufactures and trade.
Nobility of the Robe. A branch of the nobility in many
countries (especially France), composed of families who had
recently acquired noble status through service to the monarch,
typically as judges; in contrast to the older “nobility of the
sword,” ennobled for military service.
Old Regime. Term used to describe the period before the
French Revolution of 1789 – roughly the 17th and 18th
centuries – and its institutional structure of monarchy,
aristocracy, and state religions.
Triangular Trade. A pattern of Old Regime commerce,
following a triangle across the Atlantic Ocean: European
manufactured goods were taken to Africa, slaves from Africa
were shipped to the Americas, and American agricultural goods
(especially sugar and tobacco) went to Europe.Chapter 18
Columbian Exchange. The reciprocal introduction of unknown
plants, animals, and microorganisms into Europe and the
Americas following the voyages of Columbus, such as the arrival
of the first potatoes in Europe or the first sheep in the Americas.
Eendemic Disease. A disease located only in specific regions,
such as malaria, which is native to warm, swampy regions.
Foundlings. Unwanted newborn babies, abandoned by their
parents at high rates during the Old Regime, sometimes in the
open with the expectation of death, sometimes at churches or
hospitals, with modest prospects of survival.