Essential Historical and Economic Concepts Explained

Historical and Political Concepts

Terror

A phase in the French Revolution characterized by radicalization, with Robespierre at its head.

Constituent Assembly

A collegial body tasked with reforming a constitution, endowed with full powers, or a constitutional power to which all public bodies are subjected.

Directory

A government divided among five people, called consuls, designed to avoid a tyrannical nature and maintain moderation.

Holy Alliance

Formed by Prussia, Russia, and France, it had an anti-liberal character, defending absolutism. Its members formed an alliance between the Throne and the Altar.

Revolt of the Privileged

The protagonists were the aristocracy and clergy who opposed the proposals of Louis XVI's minister. To avoid the Treasury's bankruptcy, the minister projected a fiscal reform that included the privileged as contributors.

Cahiers de Doléances (Grievance Books)

These were memorials or records from each district assembly, charged with electing French deputies to the Estates General, filled with petitions and complaints.

Accomplishments of Napoleon

Napoleon enacted the Civil Code (Code Napoléon), which became the foundation for many other legal codes worldwide. He invaded Spain, built beautiful monuments in Paris such as the Arc de Triomphe, and promoted access to education for anyone with aspirations and abilities, removing "royal blood" as a requirement and emphasizing merit as the path to high positions. He proclaimed the end of torture as a legal tool. His reign profoundly shaped France.

American Revolution

The first revolution in which liberalism was truly launched. It led to the origin of a new country: the United States of America.

Agricultural, Economic, and Industrial Concepts

Openfield

An agricultural landscape model created in Europe during the Middle Ages, characterized by elongated, open fields without fences, collective land ownership, and clustered rural populations.

Bocage

A landscape composed of small, irregular plots (cropland and grasslands), separated by hedges, stone walls, and slopes, with trees often lining the roads.

Enclosures

The process of fencing off common land or open fields, often leading to private ownership.

Mass Production

A production system consisting of producing goods according to an employer's forecast of future demand, without waiting for client orders. This contrasts with custom production systems, also known as batch production or order-based systems.

Stock Exchange

An abstract market where physical objects or raw materials are not present. Companies find or buy what they need with money, doing so in exchange for benefits and shares.

Socialism

A social model advocating for the socialization of the means of production, where the state owns the productive assets.

Vertical Concentration

The acquisition of a company in a different sector, typically along the supply chain.

Horizontal Concentration

The acquisition of a company in the same sector.

Blast Furnace

An industrial plant where iron ore is transformed. A typical blast furnace comprises a cylindrical steel capsule, about 30 meters high, lined with heat-resistant material and metal.

Bessemer Furnace

The first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer.

Proletariat

A term used to designate the lowest social class of the modern age, which, in capitalist production, is forced to sell its labor to the bourgeoisie.