The
Renaissance
The Middle Ages were followed
by a period of great progress and changes, The Renaissance. The people of the
1400s proclaimed a new age and the rebirth of civilisation. Achievements were
made in both arts and science during the period. The people in the 1400s
claimed that the Middle Ages were a time of cultural and scientific decline, -
The Middle/Dark Ages- between the time of ancient Europe and their own time.
The Renaissance was
characterised by a great interest in learning and education. People studied the
ancient works from Greece and Rome, and they admired ancient culture, science
and art. The renaissance people felt that the study of humanities enriched
their lives and that a person with proper education could enjoy a fully rewarding
life. Humanities means people and the human society (history, literature,
grammar and rhetoric). The study of medicine and theology were still important
subjects. During the renaissance an interest in individuals grew. The nature of
individuality was studied. In the Middle Ages men and women had been a part a
whole and no particular interest was aimed at the individual.
The Renaissance
started in Italy. Florence was the typical renaissance city. In the cities in
northern Italy the economic and political conditions made the renaissance.
These conditions were:
·
Wealthy cities
·
Merchants Wealthy
middle class
·
Bankers
·
Influences from other parts of the world (the Muslim world had preserved
the heritage from the ancient world)
The renaissance man was a
curious and well educated person. The ideal man was like Leonardo da Vinci a
genius. He was supposed to be well oriented in many fields.
In Florence the most famous
family was The Medici family who owned banks in many places around Europe.
The Renaissance is perhaps
most prominent in literature and art.
In time the Renaissance spread
to northern Europe.
Assignment: Find out about
one following persons. Explain what he did (why is he famous) and in what way
he is a representative of the renaissance.
Machiavelli, Leonardo da
Vinci, Michelangelo, Cervantes, Boccachio, Erasmus of Rotterdam. King Erik XIV
of Sweden .
The Renaissance for the common
people
For most people life remained
the same. However social and economical changes slowly took place, i.e. the nuclear
family gradually began to emerge in the cities, businesses grew and there were
changes in agriculture and industry. The changes in agriculture and industry
came partly as a result of the black death. When many people died less wheat
was sold and the farmers had to try selling other new grains and food such as
fruit, meat and dairy products. The diet changed. When the economy improved
there weren’t enough people who could work in the industries. The workers could
demand higher wages and when they were denied this they revolted.
One of the most revolutionary
changes for society in general was the art of printing books. In 1455 Johan
Gutenberg’s printed bible came out. Before this technical revolution it was
hard work copying books as this had to be done by hand. Now books could be printed much faster and many
more books could be spread. This gave as a result that old and new ideas spread
rapidly and that more people had access to books.
The Reformation
In time many people lost their confidence in the catholic
church. As we have seen there were people, like for instance Erasmus of
Rotterdam, who dared to come forward and criticise the ways in which the
Catholic religion was practised by the church. They said that the church was
too concerned with worldly affaires and that the taxes and fees for ceremonies
like weddings and baptism became higher. The criticism and demand for changes
increased during the 1400s.
In 1517 the biggest challenge
for the Catholic church started. The struggle ended with a church split in two,
The Catholic- and the Lutheran/protestant church. The one who started and led
the challenge was a German monk by the name of Martin Luther.
Martin Luther criticised many
things:
·
The tradition that people could by God’s favour and forgiveness for sins
that they had done. People could by an indulgence, a reduction of the
punishment a sinner would suffer in purgatory
(skärselden) after death, from church. Martin Luther meant that God gave
salvation weather or not a person did good works. A person gets salvation
through his faith in God according to Luther. This was expressed in “Faith
alone”, which was an expression for the belief that it was the faith which the
church and people should focus on not on living right according to the traditions
and rules of the Catholic church.
·
Luther denied the church’s authority in interpreting the Bible. The
authority of the book itself and a person’s conscience outweighed the popes
authority. Every person had to know the Bible and what it meant to them and their
lives. The Bible is the only guide to Christianity. This gave as a result that
Luther wanted the Bible to be translated into vernacular languages so that
people could read the book and understand in their own way the words of God.
Luther also meant that it was important to hold services in the language spoken
by the people.
·
It’s not the pope who has the right to judge a persons living and
actions. A person has to examine and judge himself.
·
Since it according to Luther is important that faith is in focus he also
wanted to simplify the religious services and rituals so that the word of God
came in focus.
Martin Luther explained his
criticism in 95 theses which he posted on the door to the cathedral in
Wittenberg in 1517. His ideas were spread across Europe thanks to the technique
of printing books. Many people agreed with Luther. Several of the lords/princes
in Germany saw that Luther’s ideas provided an opportunity to get more
independent from the church and from the Emperor. Among the peasants many supported
Luther’s ideas. They, like the princes, saw an opportunity to make the reduce
the church’s power. They wanted the high taxes they had to pay to the nobility
and the church to be reduced. At first Luther supported the peasants revolts
but when he hears about the cruelty with which the peasants revolted he
criticised their actions. The people
who followed Luther were called protestants. And the movement which was started was called the protestant
reformation.
In 1555 an agreement
was signed in Augsburg. According to this each prince had the right to
decide whether his land should be Lutheran or Catholic.
The reformation continues
Switzerland became a centre
for the reformation. Several reformers spread their ideas from here:
·
Zwingly: preached a good pastor and strong sense of discipline among the church
members.
·
Calvin: preached predestination and focus on faith. He differed from Luther’s
idea that a person could work toward his own salvation trough good faith.
Calvin meant that it is God alone who decides whether an individual reaches
internal life. Strong leadership and morality characterise the Calvinists.
Henry VIII
The English king Henry VIII
considered himself a good catholic but
a quarrel with the pope over the kings first marriage that the king wanted to
end, changed the relationship between the English monarch and the Catholic
church. Between 1529 and 1536 Henry took control over the church in England.
1534 the parliament recognised Henry as the head of the church. He also took
control over the monasteries, took their land and closed many of them. His goal
wasn’t to change the catholic traditions but to get the power over the church.
The result became the Anglican church. After Henrys death the state
religion changed with the monarch: Edwardà Mary (Philip)à Elizabeth.
Elizabeth tried to find a “middle way” in the struggle between the Catholics
and Protestants but she prosecuted everyone who didn’t accept her reforms.
The Catholic Counter
Reformation
Within the catholic church
there were persons who understood the need for reforms but they still wanted to
fight the protestants. This is known as The Counter Reformation. The Catholic
leaders meet in Trent 1545-1563. This “meeting” resulted in that the
traditional catholic doctrines were reaffirmed, the decision that priests had
to get better training and that reforms were to be made in the church
administration and finances. There was also a decision about reviving the
Inquisition and that there should be a limitation of what books a catholic could
read.
·
Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits
The voyages
At the end of the 1400s the
Europeans went out on long voyages to discover the world and find new routs for
trade. The great voyages which took place were typical for the ideas of the
Renaissance as they were expressions for curiosity, experimenting and new
techniques. During the period the great powers increased their powers. First
Spain and Portugal led the way, then England France and The Netherlands took
charge.
Motives :
·
Economic motives. The Europeans wanted to find new ways for the trade
with luxurious goods from The Far East.
o
The Turks had taken control over the trade routes over land that
existed.
o
Spain and Portugal wanted to compete with the Italian cities. They
dominated European trade with the far east on the Mediterranean.
o
Monarchs wanted to build great Empires.
·
The Catholic church wanted to spread Christianity
·
The Europeans wanted explore the world, find new land and increase
wealth.
Preconditions:
New techniques. Advances in
technology made the voyages possible. For example:
·
better ships for ocean voyages (the three masted caravel)
·
the use of the magnetic compass
·
better maps (using the knowledge from especially Arab travellers)
·
Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) started a school for sailors in Portugalà better knowledge.
·
Many rulers sponsored the voyages because they wanted to increase their
empires and find wealthy colonies.
Portugal
During the 1400s several
strong and ambitious monarchs led Portugal. They wanted to increase their
country’s wealth and power. To find new ways for the trade with the far east
the Portuguese started to explore the west coast of Africa, They set up trading
stations along the coast. From the
Africans they bought gold (à The Gold Coast)
and in time they started the trade with slaves.
·
In 1488 B. Diaz reached and rounded THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. The
Portuguese had found the way to India.
·
In 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded the same cape and sailed to India.
He reached Calcutta (Calicut) 1498.
Spain
In the 1400s the Spanish had
to conquer the Muslims to win control over the Iberian/Pyrenean peninsula. When they had taken control over
the peninsula and united the country they wanted to take part in the profitable trade with Asia.
·
In 1492 Columbus sailed to the East Indies. He was trying to find
a new way to India. People held conflicting views on how big the earth is. Some
thought that it was possible to sail around the world and reach The Far East on
one voyage where the food and water would last. This was Columbus intentions
but neither he nor anyone else, wasn’t aware of the American continents.
The treaty of Tordesillas
The rivalry between Spain and
Portugal increased. The pope arranged a settlement, The Treaty of Tordesillas
1494. According to this Spain had the right to sail west of the border that was
drawn and Portugal east of the border. This resulted in that the Portuguese
continued to explore Africa and The Far East while Spain started to explore the
“New World”.
Examples of some more
explorers:
Amerigo Vespucci, Balboa (the way to the
pacific), Magellan, Drake (rounded the w. 1580)
England, France and The
Netherlands ignored the Treaty of Tordesillas. They continued to sail along the
north coast of America. An important goal was to find The North West Passage.
·
1497 Cabot
·
1424 Verranzano (Fr.)
·
1529 Cartier
The Passage was not found.
The trade with the far East
and the dominating powers:
The Portuguese dominated the
trade with the luxurious spices (for example pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg) but
the Netherlands, France and England tried to compete with them. In the end
these countries replaced Portugal’s leading position.
Under the lead of governor
Albuquerque Portugal built up an important trading empire. The Portuguese
didn’t treat the Arab merchants they met very well. They tortured them
burned their ships.
When the Netherlands had
gained the leading role in the area in the 1600s they were as ruthless as the
Portuguese had been.
In 1542 a Portuguese ship was
set out of course and reached the coast of
Japan. A new source of trade had opened.
The Japanese and the Chinese
saw the Europeans as barbarians. And the Europeans didn’t bring many goods they
were interested in (except guns). By 1639 the Japanese had decided to expel
every foreigners. They only allowed one Dutch ship a year to Nagasaki.
The first colonies in America
Spain sent out conquistadors
to conquer The New World. The conquistadors established outposts and the crown
of Spain were given parts of the treasures they found.
·
Cortez: 1519. Cortez formed alliances with the Indian tribes that they meet and
that was under the rule of the Aztec Empire. At first the conquistadors had an
agreement with the Aztecs but when they revolted the Europeans destroyed the
Aztec Empire.
·
Pizzaro: 1528. Pizzaro reached the Inca Empire in which a civil war was going
on.
Within 15 years all the Indian
empires in South America had fallen.
Spain set up strong
centralised governments in South America. The new land was divided into
provinces. This rule lasted for 300 years.
Settlers in the New World were
granted ecomiendas from the Spanish government. In practice this resulted in a
system of forced labour which bound the Indians to the land. The Indians were
also forced to work in gold and silver mines. A plantation system grew up.
Spanish missionaries condemned
the way in which the Indians were treated.
Some laws were taken to protect the rights of the Indians. For example
laws to forbid slavery and protect the Indians right to own cattle and raise
crops.
The Indian population
decreased dramatically during the 1500s (about 26 millionsà under 2 millions).
From the New World the
settlers sent gold, solver, cacao, coffee, and from The East Indies the most important goods were sugar and
tobacco.
The slave trade
The Portuguese started to
bring slaves from Africa to America and in time this trade grew. The slaves suffered hardships on the Middle
Passage as they didn’t get enough water and food. Many of the slaves died on the
ships.
North America
·
England: started to get interested in the new world during the 1500s.
·
France: started to get interested in the new world during the 1600s
·
The Netherlands: started to get interested in the new world during the
1600s.
It wasn’t until the early
1600s that these countries started to explore America. All of them focused on
exploring North America.
·
In the early 1600 Dutch settlers built settlements along the Hudson
river. Large estates were granted “patrons”
·
In the beginning The French government did little to encourage people to
settle in America. It was the French protestants who moved to the New World.
The French explored and settled down in the north. In the late 1600s France
became more interested in colonizing America and during this period Louisiana
were formed, named after king Louis XIV.
·
The English government encouraged people to settle down in the New
World. Between1630 and 1700 the colonies population grew from 900 to 200 000
people. The English eventually formed 13 colonies. The colonies had elected
assemblies.
·
A Swedish settlement grew up in Delaware. In 1655 this colony became a
part of the Dutch colony New Netherland.
During the 1600s France,
England and the Netherlands were fighting over the power in North America.
The Commercial Revolution
The Europeans voyages resulted
in a commercial revolution in Europe.
During the 1400s the
population in Europe grew and the economy got better.
Increased populationà The demand for
clothes and foods increasesà many people move
to the cities à to keep people in
the countryside to cultivate and supply the growing population with food the
price for land decreased.
Another consequence of the
increase in economy was growing local and long distance trade. The merchants
became an even more important group in society than they had been before. The
most successful of them dominated the economic life as well as politics in
their cities and even in their countries. A good example of this is the Medici
family in Florence.
The merchants invested in the
European voyages. However these investments were a risk with money. The
merchants who took these risks were called entrepreneurs. To reduce the
risk the entrepreneurs developed a system of insurance, they collaborated in
partnerships so that they could share the cost if a voyage failed and they also
tried to reduce the risk by investing their in different businesses. This way
they didn’t risk losing all of their money if one investment failed.
To invest the merchants and
the monarchs (as they often supported voyages) needed money. They turned to
rich middle class families such as the Medici family. These families became the
“bankers of Europe”.
Joint stock companies grew up. These
companies sold shares to investors and a group of merchants could through these
form trading companies. A company like this could get a charter from the
monarch which said that the company had exclusive right to trade in a specific
area. Some of these companies had wide power and influence.
The growing trade resulted in
a growing need for coined money. The coins were made of gold, silver and
copper. The Europeans had limited access to gold and silver. The Spanish were
successful and found gold and silver deposits in the New World (Mexico and
Peru).
Mercantilism
During the 1500s the rulers
learned that they couldn’t focus on collecting and storing as much gold and
silver as possible. They realised that trade was the best way to have a strong
economy was through trade. In the 1600s the idea of mercantilism were spread.
·
Selling manufactured goods were more profitable than selling raw
materials.
·
A nation should be self sufficient
·
Rulers should support industries
·
Colonies were important
Consequences of the commercial
revolution:
·
Guilds influence decreased because they regulated the production too
tightlyà this gave as a
result that the “domestic system” developed. Entrepreneurs sent raw
materials to farms where women and men produced the goods the merchants had
asked for.
·
Some industries grew up which needed big investments to get started (ex.
The printing industry).à capitalists.
·
The upper classes wealth increased and they built palaces and filled
them with treasuries.
Finally…
The Europeans had now expanded
their horizons in many areas (geographical, economical, cultural). As Europeans
dominated wherever they came they many times saw themselves and their own
traditions as superior and they thought they should civilise the world outside
Europe.
The Age of Absolute Monarchs
From the 1500s to the 1700s
monarchs increased their power enormously. During the period the foundation of
present Europe was built. The great powers France, England and the Holy Roman
Empire were joined by new great powers, Russia and Prussia.
Spain:
·
Philip II of Spain (Habsburg). The Habsburgs were dukes of Austria.
Through marriages the family built up an enormous empire which reached its high
during the reign of Charles V 1516-1565. He ruled over the Holy Roman Empire
and over Spain, with the colonies that belonged to the country. In 1556 he
divided his empire between his son Philip and brother. Philip inherited Spain.
·
Philips Spain became very powerful and he ruled as an ABSOLUTE
MONARCH.
·
Philip ruled from his castle Escorial.
·
He wanted to restore the power of the Catholic church.
·
During Philips reign Spain was involved in many wars.
o
With France over the control of Italy
o
Attacks on Turkish strongholds in the Mediterranean. At Lepanto 1571
Spain defeated the Turkish navy.
o
The civil war in the Spanish Netherlands. He wanted to centralise power
and this led to conflict with the Spanish part of the Netherlands. The Spanish
Netherlands was an important economic trade centre in which the reformation was
widely spread in contrast to the catholic Spain. The people in the Spanish
Netherlands didn’t like that Philip always put the interest of Spain before
their own “country”. The struggle between the two was long. Philip sent troops
to the area and a commander was appointed to rule. His rule was hard and a lot
of people died. In 1581 the northern part of the Netherlands declared themselves
freeà The Dutch
Netherlands. The southern part remained as a part in the Spanish empire. The
Dutch Netherlands developed as an important and leading commercial power.
o
England was concerned with the Spanish power and therefore they
supported the provinces of the Netherlands that revolted against Philips Spain.
English captains attacked Spanish ports
and ships. England didn’t condemn the captains (for example Drake)
acting as pirates. In 1588 Philip sent THE SPANISH ARMADA towards
England. The battle ended with the victory of the much smaller easy moved
English ships.
·
Spain lost the position as one of the strongest powers in Europe at the
end of the 1500s. The empire was huge but had several problems :
o
The country depended on gold and silver from America. The treasury was
drained due to among other things expensive war payments. à Spain had to
borrow moneyà The treasures fell
into the hands of foreign bankers.
o
More and more coins were producedà Inflation
o
The Moriscoes were victims of the Inquisition.
France
Between 1562-1598 France was
characterised by wars of religion. On
St. Bartholomew’s Day 1572 10 000 Huguenots were killed. They had come to Paris
to celebrate the marriage between Marguerite Medici and Henry of Navarre
(Huguenot). The Huguenots blamed Catherine Medici, the brides mother. A civil
war followed.
Henry of Navarre tried to end
the war. He converted into Catholicism because it was the dominating religion
in Paris (“Paris is well worth a mass”). However, this didn’t stop the conflict.
In 1598 the Edict of Nantes was signed. Huguenots were given freedom of
worship and churches.
Henry IV of Navarre left his
throne to his son Louis XIII.
·
In 1615 the Estate General meet for the last time before 1789 (175
years).
·
Richelieu was the kings adviser and he worked hard to increase the
monarchs power. He also was a supporter of mercantilism.
Louis XIV
Louise XIV was four years old
when he inherited the throne 1643. His mother Anna of Austria and Mazarin ruled
in his place until he became 23. He
ruled for 54 years as a very good example of an absolute monarch.
During his reign France was
the most powerful country in Europe. “I am the state” I have divine
right to rule Louis said.
·
He reorganized the army which still had the structure of a feudal army.
He made the soldiers fight for the king and not for any other lord. The army
increased from 100 000- 400 000 soldiers.
·
He appointed the intendants who should rule the provinces himself.
·
He wanted to make France a strong catholic country which resulted the
cansallation of the Edict of Nantes.
·
Versailles was made centre for his reign and power.
·
The nobles were made into the kings servants.
Problems:
·
The court life which Louis XIV built up was very expensive and money was
needed.
·
Colbert (the finance minister) supported the idea of mercantilism. He
increased the tax system (Though the noble and the middle class didn’t pay
taxes). He promoted trade. For example he eliminated some local tariffs on
goods and increased tariffs on goods from other countries. Colbert’s economic
politic was successful but Louis XIV spent a lot of money on wars with other
countries as he wanted to extend France.
·
During his reign France was at war for 30 years. The most important war
was the war of the Spanish Succession. Other European states united to
prevent France from uniting Spain with France. In the Peace of Utrecht 1713
Louis had to agree that the Spanish throne never should be united with the
French. Louis grandson became king of Spain as Philip V.
Louis never solved the
problems of his country’s big debts.
The German states:
Germany was made up by
hundreds small states in theory under the rule of the Emperor, but in practice
they were very independent. When an emperor died the seven leading princes met
to elect a new emperor. They always elected someone from the Habsburg family
because this was the most powerful family in Germany as they ruled in Austria,
Hungary and Bohemia.
The reformation resulted in a
division among the German states. Another thing which caused division was the
constant struggle between the Emperor and
the princes over the power. The split caused by the reformation resulted
in the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648.
When the Emperor decided that
protestant worship no longer was allowed in Bohemia the protestants revolted by
throwing the Emperor’s officials out of a window of the castle in Prague. This
was the spark of the Thirty Years’ War.
In the beginning the religious
issues dominated in the conflict. The Protestant princes were supported by
Sweden, Denmark and the Dutch Netherlands and the Catholics, led by the
Emperor, were supported by Spain. In time the conflict over territorial and
political issues became more important. Richelieu and France supported the protestants because he didn’t want the
Habsburg to be to powerful.
The war was a disaster for
Germany as foreign armies invaded the land and destroyed and burned down cities
and the countryside. There are historians who says that the German population
dropped from 21 million in 1618 to about 13.5 million in 1648.
The war ended with the Peace
of Westphalia in 1648. The Emperor didn’t reach the goal to strengthen the
royal power. About 300 German states were guaranteed their independence. The
peace treaty also acknowledge many territorial changes. The Swiss confederation
and the Dutch Netherlands were declared independent. Sweden got control over
parts of the North- and Baltic sea, and France gained control over parts of
Lorraine an Alsace.
Prussia
The prince of Brandenburg
gained more than any other German prince in the Peace of Westphalia. Fredrik
William Hohenzollern established a
strong rule over his country and he created a big powerful army. With this
strong army the Hohenzollerns expanded their power (about the “junkers”). During
the 1700s their country was transformed to an important European monarchy.
Characteristic for this country was the big strong army and discipline and
order. Fredric I encouraged protestants to settle down in Prussia. His son
Fredric II inherited the throne and he ruled the country with firm hand as an
absolute monarch inspired by the enlightenment.
Austria
The Austrian Habsburgs
struggled to establish the power of their empire (Austria, Bohemia and
Hungary). The Empire was characterised by different peoples and languages in
the different parts of the country.
·
The Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed that the Habsburg lands would not be
divided and that Maria Theresa could be the ruler over the empire. When the
emperor died and M-T were suppose to take over the throne a civil war broke
out, War of the Austrian Succession. The war was widened into a European
war and Prussia was trying to win the power over Austria. They were supported
by France while England and the Dutch Netherlands supported M.-T. A conflict between
France and England was a consequence. While France won many victories in Europe
England won many victories in the colonies. The war ended with a treaty that
said that every country should be returned the territory that belonged to them
before the war.
·
Austria was led by an absolute monarch.
·
Austria was during the 1700s one of the leading states in Europe. A
balance of power grew up between the great powers in Europe.
The Seven Years’ War 1756-
1763
The struggle between the
European powers led to the Seven Years’ War, which was fought on three
continents, Europe, Asia and North America.
·
France and England fought in North America and in India. At the peace
Britain won Canada and all French land east of the Mississippi.
·
Prussia fought with France, Austria and Russia. The three had formed an
alliance when Prussia invaded Saxony. At the withdrawal of Russia from the
alliance Prussia could be saved from a disaster.
The Ottoman Empire
·
In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Ottomans.
·
In the 1500s The Ottoman empire was extended. The county was very
tolerant to different faiths. The Empires height was reached under the rule of
Suleiman 1520- 1566. After his death the Ottoman Empire started to decline.
Though it survived until as late as 1918.
Russia
·
During the 1400s and 1500s Russia emerged as an powerful state in
Eastern Europe. Though after the death of tsar Ivan IV in 1584 it would take
many years before Russia got a strong
leader again. The Period was called the Time of Troubles. In 1613 Michael Romanov was elected tsar and
now order was restored in Russia. He was elected but worked hard to end the
system of electing monarchs. By flirting with the nobles (for example giving
them total control over the peasants) the Romanovs reached their goal, and the
family ruled Russia until 1917.
·
During the 1600 the peasants of Russia lived under serfdom and were
treated as slaves.
·
Russia were expanded eastward during the 1600s.
·
Peter the Great: became tsar in 1682 and during his reign Russia
transformed into much more modern state which took part among the great powers
of Europe. He learned western technology and customs which he introduced in
Russia. Peter also expanded Russia’s borders. His main goal was to reach the
Baltic sea from where his country could trade with Western Europe. He reached
his goal after against with Sweden. Peter built a new capital, St Petersburg.
Peter died in 1725.
·
Catherine the Great: entered the throne in 1762. C. won the support of the nobles but made
conditions for the peasants worse. The peasants revolted against the empress
but the revolt failed. C. foreign policy was aggressive and the boarders were
expanded. She ruled as an absolute
monarch inspired by the enlightenment.
Poland
During the 1700s Poland was
divided three times (1772, 1773 , 1795) by the great powers, Russia, Prussia
and Austria. The once powerful nation (in the 1400s and 1500s) were in the end
eliminated until 1919. This was due to the chaotic way in which Poland was
ruled.
England:
England was one of Europe’s
great powers. But the monarch never won the status of an absolute monarch even
though the country was ruled by powerful monarchs during the 1500s. The
struggle over the power between the monarch and the parliament is
characteristic for England during the 1500s and 1600s. The differences was shown in struggle over the economy,
religious issues and political power.
In 1640 a civil war broke out.
The parliament won and the king, Charles I, is executed. England becomes a
republic --> Oliver Cromwell becomes military dictator in England. When he
died the monarchy was restored.
When Charles II dies new
conflicts’ between the parliament and the monarch results in a revolt by the
parliament. The king had to flee the country. A new king is installed. This
happening is called the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION.
Questions
1. Why do you think
the changes taking place during the Renaissance didn’t affect the lives of the
ordinary people for a long time? (c.t.)
2. How did the actions
of powerful monarchs affect the church?
3. Give one reason why
German princes supported Luther.
4. Why did Luther’s
challenge cause a split in the church when earlier reform movements had not?
5. By 1600, what parts
of Europe were mainly Protestant and what parts were mainly Catholic?
6. In the council of
Trent had meet 30 years earlier, do you think the Protestant Reformation would
had occurred? Explain.
7. Why did the
Renaissance begin in Italy?
8. What changes were
taking place in business and agriculture during the Renaissance?
9. What were Luther’s
main teaching?
10. What methods did
the Catholic church use to fight the protestants?
11. How did the ideas
and attitudes of the Renaissance encourage democratic values? (c.t.)
12. List three
technical advantages that helped make the voyages of exploration possible.
13. How did the voyages
of exploration fuel rivalry among the European states? (c.t.)
14. Skill Lesson about
population decline in the Americas (page360)
15. Why were the
Spanish conquistadors able to defeat the Aztec and Inca empires with so few
soldiers?
16. How did growing
trade with Asia lead to a shortage of gold and silver in Europe?
17. What economic role
did the mercantilists think the colonies should play?
18. Why were both
entrepreneurs and capitalists important in the commercial revolution? (c.t.)
19. Why did Portugal
take lead in exploring a sea rout to Asia?
20. Explain how each of
the following contributed to the development of overseas trade and expansion a.
bankers b. insurances.
21. Why do you think
the English colonists were in a better position to gain more self-government
than colonists in New Spain or New France?
22. What impact did the
commercial revolution have on Europeans?
Which people in Europe do you think benefited most from the commercial
revolution? Why?
23. In your opinion ,
why were the entrepreneurs important to economic expansion during the age of
exploration? What kind of businesses might be started by entrepreneurs today?
24. Describe the events
or developments that undermined Spain even at the hight of of it’s power?
(c.t.)
25. Give two examples
of how cardinal Richelieu increased royal power.
26. By the 1700s, why
were European wars fought outside of Europe as well as in Europe itself.
27. How did Philip II
make Spain the most powerful nation in Europe? Why did Spanich power decline
during the 1600s?
28. Explain how each of
the following persons helped make France an absolute monarchy a. Louis XIV b. Cardinal Richelieu.
29. What actions by
Catherine the Great showed that Russia was one of the great powers of Europe?
30. In the end, did
Spain benefit from the wealth of the New World? Explain.
31. “The royal throne
is not the throne of a man, but the throne of God himself” (Bishop Bossuet,
tutor to Louis XIV’s son ). What is meant by this quotation and what of the
monarchs we have read about do you think would have agreed? Explain.
32. How did overseas
trade and colonization affect Europe politically and economically?
Lesson practices
1. Recalling facts
(page 346 about the voyages and Renaissance)
2. Skill Lesson about
population decline in the Americas (page360)
3. Making a review
chart, about purpose, differences and similarities between the exploring
countries (page 371)
4. Graph study about
the Spanish gold and silver (page 377)
5. Make a chart and
classify, the ways Peter I, Philip II and Louis XIV increased royal power (page
395)
6. Critical Thinking
(paper handed by Lissi)
Texts:
Women and blacks in
Renaissance society “A history of World societies” p. 521