Price Revolution: In the 16th to 17th centuries in Western Europe, there appeared a phenomenon of gold and silver devaluation and rising prices. After the opening of new trade routes, Spain and other countries acquired large amounts of gold and silver from their colonies, leading to a rapid growth in precious metal reserves in Europe, which in turn caused inflation in Europe. By the late 16th century, prices in Spain had risen more than fourfold on average, while in Britain, France, Germany, and other countries, prices had doubled. The Price Revolution disrupted traditional economic relationships. As a result, the emerging bourgeoisie made fortunes in business, and their economic power grew increasingly strong, while the position of traditional feudal landlords who relied on rents weakened. The living standards of low-income workers declined, and the Price Revolution accelerated the process of primitive capital accumulation in Western Europe and the disintegration of the feudal system.
Commercial Revolution: In the 16th century, European commerce expanded significantly with the rise of a new world market, known as the Commercial Revolution. The discovery of new trade routes opened up new venues for the emerging bourgeoisie. Europeans expanded their trade range from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and around the world, establishing commercial dealings between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. With the growing demand for goods in Europe, the volume of trade and the variety of goods greatly increased. Industrial development, the rapid expansion of commercial activities, and the establishment of colonial systems played a significant role in the disintegration of feudal society in Europe and the rise of capitalist modes of production. The Commercial Revolution was driven by industrial development and led to the Market Revolution, which facilitated the development of the capitalist economy.
Ottoman Empire: Also known as the Ottoman Empire, it was a military feudal empire established by the Ottoman Turks. Islam was the state religion. In 1299, the head of the Ottoman Turks declared an independent state. In 1453, they captured Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and made it their own capital, renaming it Istanbul. After expanding, the empire spanned across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Within the empire, policies of national oppression and feudal exploitation were implemented, intensifying class conflicts and ethnic tensions, prompting continuous resistance from people of all nationalities. By the mid-17th century, the country's situation began to deteriorate, and by the 19th century, the Balkans gained independence. During World War I, the Ottomans joined the Allies but failed in combat, resulting in the loss of vast tracts of land, maintaining only the Turkish headquarters. In 1919, a bourgeois revolution led by Kemalists broke out domestically, and in 1922, Sultan Mohammed VI was deposed, ending the empire.
Colonial System: Generally refers to the national oppression, slavery, and exploitation carried out by Western powers during the period of capital accumulation. Western Europe often used means such as pirate plundering and fraudulent trading for early colonization. With the stable development of capitalism, especially during the monopoly period, military, political, economic, and cultural means of aggression were used, causing varying degrees of political and economic independence losses in invaded countries, attaching them to foreign protection. Colonial states complied with common agreements, but sometimes armed conflicts arose due to interest disputes, leading to colonial wars. The imperialist colonial system is a product of colonial country plunder.
Geographical Discovery: Refers to a series of activities conducted by European sailors from the 15th to the 18th century, as recognized by Western historians. After the 15th century, the rapid development of commodity-money economy in Western Europe caused the feudal aristocracy, big merchants, and the emerging bourgeoisie to desire precious metals. From the mid-15th century onwards, the dominance of Arabs and Ottoman Turks over East-West legacy channels contributed to Western Europe's search for new routes towards the East. Additionally, advancements in fast sailing, round compass navigation, and the prevalence of ocean navigation doctrines made it possible. Initially developed by Portugal and Spain, these ocean voyages led to Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492, discovering America and expanding the world market, thus beginning the frenzy of colonial looting by Western countries. Europe’s commercial center gradually shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast, accelerating the disintegration of the feudal system in Western Europe and the growth of capitalist relations, marking a new era in world history.
Renaissance: An ideological and cultural movement in Europe from the 14th century to the early 17th century. This movement started in Italy and later expanded to Britain, France, Germany, and other West European countries. Some nascent bourgeoisie and intellectuals promoted science and culture against superstition and ignorance, performing optimism against pessimism. Renaissance humanism became a major trend and the basic content of the new culture, evolving into a bourgeois ideology. On the surface, the Renaissance was the revival of Greek and Roman classical culture, but it was not confined to classical culture; rather, it reflected the anti-feudal struggle of the emerging bourgeoisie in the ideological field. Guided by humanist thought, literature and art flourished unprecedentedly, leading to the emergence of modern science based on experiments, materialist philosophy, new political science, history, and education, producing numerous talented representatives, making the Renaissance fruitful, rich in talent, and shining like heavenly stars of the era.
Dante (1265-1321): A pioneer of Italian humanism and poetry, whose immortal masterpiece uses fable genre and fantasy form to describe various characters encountered during travels through hell, purgatory, and heaven realms. It attacks the corruption and greed of the Church, the dark brutal feudal rule, praises the freedom of reason and knowledge spirit, and calls for people's thoughts, feelings, and wisdom to be freed from the bondage of theology. His ideological and artistic works achieved a high level, making him the first European writer to write in national languages and the founder of the Italian national language. Engels said: VIP Dante, he is the last medieval poet and also the first poet of the new era.
Utopian Socialism: Before the emergence of scientific socialism, it was a doctrine with socialist nature longing for an ideal society. Thomas More was one of its representatives in 16th century England, sharply criticizing the evils of the capitalist system, exposing the dark decadent capitalist society, and proposing ideas and assumptions about the future socialist society, such as eliminating wage labor, eradicating urban-rural opposition, mental and physical confrontation, implementing planned production, women's liberation, etc. These ideas became one of the three sources of Marxism, but they were based on idealism, failing to understand the objective laws of social development, recognizing the historical role of the proletariat, opposing political struggle and violent revolution, fantasizing about influencing the bourgeoisie through publicity and education, seeking sympathy and help from property owners, and achieving peaceful transition to an ideal society through demonstration tests. With the creation and development of Marxism, Utopian socialism gradually lost its significance.
Humanism: The main ideas of early bourgeois ideology during the Renaissance. The word "humanism" comes from Latin, also translated as asceticism, against scholasticism; denial of absolute obedience to the Pope and the Church; against feudal privileges and hierarchy; promoting rationality, emphasizing scientific experiments; performance of optimistic spirit, against pessimism; appreciating bourgeois literature and art. Humanism helped people get rid of the shackles of divine right, fight for freedom and equality, and even overthrow feudal rule, playing a great progressive role.