Absolutism - Political theory that one person should hold all power; in some cases justified by "Divine Right of Kings."
Act of Supremacy(1534) - Act of Parliament under King Henry VIII of England declaring the king as the head of the Church of England, making official the English Reformation; (1559) reinstatement of the original act by Queen Elizabeth I.
Adam Smith(1723-1790) - Scottish economist and philosopher, author of The Wealth of Nations, thought of as the father of capitalist economics.
Age of Enlightenment - An intellectual movement in 18th century Europe marked by rational thinking, in contrast with the superstition of the Dark Ages.
Albert Einstein(1879?1955) - Physicist who proposed the theory of relativity and made advances in quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and cosmology.
Alexander Kerensky(1881-1970) - The second prime minister of the Russian Provisional Government, immediately before the Bolsheviks and Lenin came to power.
Algeciras Conference - Took place in 1906 in Algeciras, Spain. The purpose of the conference was to mediate the Moroccan dispute between France and Germany, and to assure the repayment of a large loan made to the Sultan in 1904. The Entente Cordiale between France and the United Kingdom gave the British a free hand in Egypt in exchange for a French free hand in Morocco. France tried to achieve a protectorate over Morocco, but was opposed by Germany.
Allied Powers(World War I) - Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, and United States.
Anschluss(1938) - The inclusion of Austria in a "Greater Germany"; in contast with the Ausschluss, the exclusion of Austria from Imperial Germany in 1871.
Ancien Régime("Old Order") - the social and political system established in France under the absolute monarchy; removed by the French Revolution.
Appeasement - Neville Chamberlain's policy of accepting conditions imposed by Nazi Germany.
April Theses(1917) - Lenin's writings on how Russia should be governed and the future of the Bolsheviks.
Arms Race - A competition between two or more countries for military supremacy. This was perhaps most prominent during the Cold War, pitting the USA against the Soviet Union.
Aryans - In Nazism and neo-Nazism, a non-Jewish Caucasian, especially one of Nordic type, supposed to be part of a master race.
Autarky - An economy that does no trade with the outside world.
Avant-garde - People or actions that are novel or experimental, particularly with respect to the arts and culture.
Avignon Papacy(1305-1378) - Period during which the Papacy was moved from Rome to Avignon, France.
