C

1. Caesar, Julius : (100-44 BCE), Roman general and statesman. He is responsible for setting up the imperial system in Rome which placed his grandnephew, Augustus, on the throne.
2. Caliph : In Islam, the successor to the Prophet Mohammed.
3. calligraphy : A form of fine handwriting.
4. Calvin, John : (1509-1564) Theologian and church reformer who developed a form of Protestantism during the Reformation. His church is known for the idea of predestination, which states certain people are predestined for heaven.
5. capital : Money that is used for investment.
6. capitalism : An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods. Also promotes a free market regulated by supply and demand.
7. caravel : A Portuguese ship that had a large cargo area and used two or three masts.
8. cartography : The skill of making maps.
9. Caste System : A rigid social class system in Hinduism.
10. Castro, Fidel : (1926?- ) Leader of the Cuban Revolution and communist dictator of Cuba. He is responsible for making Cuba a socialist country which has often been at odds with the United States. Notably, the bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
11. Catherine the Great : An enlightened despot who ruled over Russia. She is responsible for many positive changes in Russia, as well as securing the country a warm water port.
12. Cavalry : Mounted warriors.
13. Cavour, Camillo : (1810-61) Prime Minister of Sardinia, a large Italian State. He formed alliances with other foreign powers to help end Austria's and Spain's control. Instrumental in the unification of Italy.
14. censorship : The suppression information considered offensive or a threat to security.
15. centralized government : A government which controls all aspects of society from a central location or through a central system.
16. chancellor : Prime Minister, or chief executive of a country or nation state.
17. check and balance : A system in government described by Baron de Montesquieu where legislative, judicial, and executive power is shared among the different branches to provide protection against abuses of power.
18. chinampas : floating islands of land anchored to a lake bottom used for agriculture. This technique was used by the Aztecs.
19. Chivalry : Code of conduct for knight and nobles during European feudalism.
20. Christ, Jesus : (8-4 BCE- 29? CE) Founder of Christianity. Considered by Christians to be the son of God and the Messiah. He is the central figure in the Christian Religion.
21. Christianity : Currently the most popular religion in the world based on the number of worshippers found throughout the world. While this monotheistic religion developed from Judaism, there are several key differences in its teachings. Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century CE. The Christian holy book is called the Holy Bible.
22. Churchill, Sir Winston : (1874-1965) British politician and Prime Minster of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945, and 1951 to 1955. He is regarded as the finest British leader of the 20th century and was instrumental in leading Britain to victory during World War II.
23. circumference : The distance around the edge of a circle.
24. circumnavigate : To travel around something, like an island or the world.
25. city-state : An independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding lands.
26. civil disobedience : The purposeful breaking of laws to protest actions by the government.
27. civil service exam : In China, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the bureaucracy.
28. civil war : A war between groups of people in the same country, culture, or political system.
29. civilization : A society that has a high level of culture and social organization including organized government, job specialization, and a organized belief system.
30. Clemenceau, Georges : (1841-1929) French Premier during World War I. He was one of the formulators of the Treaty of Versailles.
31. climate : The average weather in a region.
32. Cold War : Non shooting conflict between the Soviet Union and their allies and the United States and their allies. Numerous secondary conflicts arise due to the Cold War.
33. colonialism : The policy of maintaining colonies as a source of raw materials and new markets. Practiced during old and new imperialism.
34. colonization : A group of people moving from their homeland to a new area in large numbers.
35. Columbian Exchange : The exchange of goods and other things, such as disease from the Old World (Europe) to the new World (North and South America) and back.
36. Columbus, Christopher : (1451-1506) Italian explorer working for Spain who, in 1492, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the Americas for Spain.
37. Command Economy : An economic system controlled by strong, centralized government, which usually focuses on industrial goods. With little attention paid to agriculture and consumer goods.
38. commerce : The large scale buying of goods and/or services.
39. Commercial Revolution : A dramatic change in the economy of Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. It is characterized by an increase in towns and trade, the use of banks and credit, and the establishment of guilds to regulate quality and price.
40. communism : A system of government in which a single, totalitarian, party holds power. It is characterized by state control of the economy, and restriction on personal freedoms. It was first proposed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in The Communist Manifesto.
41. Communist Manifesto, The : A book written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that describes the new political system of scientific socialism, which becomes the basis for communism. The book states that all of human history is based on the conflict between the bourgeoisie (those who own the means of production) and the proletariat (working class), and predicted that the proletariat would rise up in a violent revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie and create a society with an equal distribution of goods and services.
42. Communist Revolution : A political revolution in Russia beginning in 1917. The Bolsheviks, now known as Communists, overthrew Czar Nicholas II and created a socialist government based upon the writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Also know as the Bolshevik Revolution.
43. Computer Revolution : During the 1980s personal computers began to appear in many homes across the world. By the late 1990s, computers had become a staple in most industrialized country’s homes.
44. concentration camp : A prison camp used to hold Jews during World War II and the Holocaust.
45. Confucianism : Confucius lived in China during the Chou Dynasty, when there was mass disorder and confusion and degrading moral standards. Confucius was appalled by what appeared to be the fracturing of Chinese society. He believed that the only cure was to stress a sense of social order and mutual respect, a philosophy that later became known as Confucianism. Confucianism teaches that there is a natural social order to society which can best be explained through the Five Relationships.
46. Confucius : (551-479 BCE?) Chinese philosopher and writer of The Analects, a collection of moral and social teachings, including the concept of the Five Relationships. Also known as Kong Fu Zi.
47. Congress of Vienna : Meeting of European political leaders to reestablish former territorial borders after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of Napoleon. The Congress was held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815, and was dominated by Prince Metternich of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
48. conquistadors : Spanish conquerors who came to the New World in search of gold and other riches.
49. Constantine : (274 CE – 337 CE) Roman Emperor between 306 CE and 337 CE. He issued the Edict of Milan which outlawed the persecution of Christians. He also founded the city of Constantinople, the future capital of the Byzantine Empire.
50. containment : A cold war policy that called for containing communism to areas already under its influence. This policy was proposed by U.S. President Harry Truman.
51. Copernicus, Nicolaus : (1473-1543) Polish astronomer who wrote On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres. Theorized that the Earth orbited the Sun (heliocentric system) and laid the foundations of modern astronomy.
52. Cortez, Hernan : (1485-1547) Spanish conquistador who was responsible for the conquest of the Aztec Empire and the claiming of much of Central America for the Spanish.
53. Counter-Reformation : The movement initiated by the Catholic Church to contain the Protestant Reformation and, if possible, end it.
54. coup d etat : The acting of overthrowing a government in favor of another, usually through violent means.
55. craftsman : A person who makes quality, practical or decorative goods.
56. Creoles : In colonial Latin America, American born Spanish gentry, They owned most of the land but were treated like second class citizens, and were denied political rights.
57. Cromwell, Oliver : (1599-1658) Leader of the English Revolution that deposed the Stuart monarchs in favor of a short lived Republic. Cromwell acted as Lord Protector until the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
58. Crusades : European Christian military expeditions made between the 11th and 13th centuries to retake the Middle Eastern Holy Lands occupied by the Muslims.
59. Cuban Missile Crisis : (1961) Crises that developed as a result of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s decision to allow the Soviet Union to base nuclear missiles in Cuba. Upon discovery, the United States confronted the Soviet Union and demanded the missiles be removed. For nearly two weeks, nuclear war was imminent. Fortunately, diplomacy succeeded and crisis was averted.
60. Cuban Revolution : (1958) A political revolution that removed the United States supported Fugencio Batista from power. The revolution was led by Fidel Castro who became the new leader of Cuba as a communist dictator.
61. cultural diffusion : The spreading of ideas through contact such as trade or war.
62. culture : The shared beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people
63. culture system : A system of slave labor used by the Dutch in their South East Asia colonies.
64. cuneiform : One of the earliest forms of writing. It consisted of wedge shaped symbols usually imprinted in clay. Used throughout ancient Mesopotamia.
65. Cyrillic : An alphabet created by Eastern Orthodox monks for the Slavic language. It is based on Greek, and still used through the various Slavic countries today, such as Russia.
66. Czar : Title of the ruler of Russia. Taken from the word Caesar, which means emperor.
67. Czar Nicholas II : (1868-1918) Czar of Russia (1894-1917). He was overthrown during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Later, he and his family were killed by the revolution’s leadership.