World War I

Otherwise known as "the Great War" (which, honestly, seems a little arrogant) and "the War To End All Wars" (which, honestly, seems a little stupid—really guys? There was a sequel like two decades later).

In any case, this war between major world powers lasted from 1914-1918. The United States pursued a policy of neutrality under President Woodrow Wilson, until finally joining the conflict in 1917. After that, American interference in foreign affairs was on like Donkey Kong.

Sovereignty

The freedom and independence of a nation from other nations. There's a saying (that we just now made up): if you love someone, let them be sovereign.

Aww. Put that on a Valentines' Day card.

Imperialism

The national policy of creating an empire. Nations that conquer new territory by military means, as Germany attempted to do in World War I, are thought of as imperialist.

Basically, think of manspreading…and then think of manspreading with tanks, bombs, guns, and even more entitlement.

Covenants of Peace

Woodrow Wilson's fancy-pants way of describing a peace treaty, or friendly agreement between two nations.

In many international treaties, an attack on one nation is treated like an attack on both nations. For this reason, alliances between various European countries contributed to the outbreak of World War I. When one country got attacked, a dozen others said, "Hey. You can't pick on my little bro like that."

Armaments

It sounds like a Shakespearean word for ornaments worn on your arm. ("Lovely lass! Thine armaments set off thy wrist prettily!)

But they're actually just weapons and implements of war. By the time of World War I, many European nations had massive weapons stockpiles. Industrial technology contributed to new and powerful weapons, including machine guns, poisonous gas, powerful artillery, and weaponized airplanes. Not fun.

Colonialism

Otherwise known as "the nasty, arrogant, and inhumane European hobby that ended up setting the stage for the horrorshow that was the 20th century."

And we're not even kidding. During the 1800s and early 1900s, leading up to World War I, many European nations had extensive overseas colonies, mostly in Africa and Asia. Basically, this land-grabbing turned the European continent into a squabbling set of siblings concerned with make sure its new colonies were the shiniest.

The era of colonialism contributed directly to the destruction and assimilation of indigenous cultures, spread of diseases, and multiple Pirates of the Caribbean sequels.

German Empire

The historical name for the German nation between the 1870s and World War I. The German Empire was one of the main powers fighting in World War I. They liked to style themselves after the Romans—dudes even called their leaders "Kaiser," the German word for Caesar.

Mmm: chicken Kaiser salad.

Austro-Hungarian Empire

A multinational state consisting of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. (Bet you didn't see that coming.)

Allied with Germany during World War I, the empire broke up after the war was over.

Central Powers

The name given to the alliance of Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and other nations that fought against the Allies. (Not to be confused with your local electric company.)

Allied Powers

The triple alliance of France, Britain, Russia, and later Italy, which opposed the Central Powers. Toward the end of the war, the United States joined the Allies.

Russia bailed out early because they were kind of busy with a Communist revolution.

Evacuation

Woodrow Wilson uses this term throughout the Fourteen Points. When he says that a country's lands should be "evacuated," he means that the land should be returned to a conquered people. In other words, if Germany took your land, it has to give it back and get out.

Territorial Integrity

The relative safety (or lack thereof) of a nation's lands from aggressive foreign powers. Aggressive attacks on a nation's borders threaten its territorial integrity. In Westeros, so do ice zombie invasions from the far North.