Modern European Lingo

Pneumonic Plague- Rarer and more harmful type of the Black Death than the Bubonic Plague; able to be passed from human to human

Pogrom- Persecution and riots against Jews in Eastern Europe and Russia; many began after the assassination of Alexander II in 1881

Politburo- Council of the leaders of the Communist Party; the political bureau; controlled party and state and took power away from the Central Committee (elected)

Politiques- Term for rulers who chose to have political unity rather than religious unity in the pretext of absolutism in France; example: Richelieu and Louis XIII helped to form a strong foundation for absolutism by abiding by the Edict of Nantes, which tolerated the Huguenot faction, in order to establish a sense of political unity around the fact that there was a great deal of religious variety

Poll Tax- Term for the forced payment of revenues that would be used to fund elections in France; another tax on the 3rd Estate

Pope- Head of Catholic Church; elected by cardinals after previous pope dies

Popolari- The Catholic party in Italy during the rise of Fascism; did well in the 1919 election of the Chamber of Deputies, but divisions caused a loss to the Socialists

Popular Front- A coalition that took the majority in the Chamber of Deputies; took power under Leon Blum in Interwar France; Bank of France was nationalized and labor reforms were enacted, but couldn’t solve economic problems

Positivism- Comte’s idea that human thought development came in three stages: the spiritual, the metaphysical, and the scientific; used to form explanations as to why things happen

Potsdam Conference- 1945; Truman, Attlee, Stalin; agreed to divide Germany into four zones (BRI, USSR, FRA, USA) and promote denazification, democratization, and demilitarization; few agreements on common policies

Power Loom- Machine that was invented by Edmund Cartright during the Industrial Revolution that applied the power of the steam engine to the weaving of textiles

Pragmatic Sanction- Agreement made under Charles VI of Austria that stated that his daughter, Maria Theresa, would inherit the throne when he died; Frederick the Great of Prussia violated this after he died, thereby starting the War of Austrian Succession in 1740

Prairial- A revolutionary month in France; the Law of 22 Prairial allowed hearsay convictions in Revolutionary Tribunals

Pravda- Official newspaper of the Communist Party; published by Bukharin, a leader of the Right Bolsheviks; means “Truth”

Predestination- Idea that from the moment a person is born, his or her salvation and destiny, or path of decisions, is already decided; a foundational idea of the Calvinist Church