Western Europe PERSIAN Chart
(Early Modern)
by Unice Yoo
Political
- The Renaissance was not just a flourishing of art and culture; it impacted political institutions as well. Rulers no longer claimed the divine right to rule, but rather legitimized their power on the basis of how they could improve their cities. In order to prove their competence, they sponsored cultural activities and improved the administration of the economy. A renewed vigor for the military arose as city-states competed in numerous wars, resulting in new military tactics and training. For the first time, ambassadors were exchanged in Western Europe. However, invasions by the Spanish and French contributed to the loss of political independence, pushing the Renaissance out of Italy.
- The Renaissance moved out of Italy after 1450, marking the beginning of the Northern Renaissance in France, the Low Countries, Germany, and England. In this region, states consolidated their power. Revenues and operations expanded, and more ostentatious displays were demonstrated by rulers. Kings such as Francis I were great patrons of the arts. By the late 16th century, leaders greatly sponsored trading companies and colonial enterprises. Greater competition led to more military endeavors and conquests. For example, Francis I formed an alliance with the Ottoman sultan to conspire against the ruler of the Hapsburg dynasty in Austria and Spain. Although Europe was emerging from feudalism, it did not completely get rid of its influence. Feudal landlords still wielded power and influence.
- The resolutions of religious wars that resulted in the end of Christian unity changed the balance of political power in Europe. France, the Netherlands, and Britain were on their way to becoming international powers. Spain lost its previous influence. The royalty also benefited from the decline of the papal administration.
Economy
- The Renaissance also had some economic consequences. Renaissance merchants improved banking techniques and sought profit more ardently than the medieval merchant class had before. However, traders began traveling along new Atlantic trade routes, putting Mediterranean ports into disuse and contributing to Italy's decline as the center of the Renaissance.
- During the 16th century, new trading contacts and goods were introduced in Europe. Spain imported massive amounts of silver from mines in America, driving inflation up. However, production could not keep up with this price increase. Merchants were more willing to take risks because they could easily borrow money since they would pay less later due to inflation. Colonialism and inflation created many trading empires, supported by the government. These trading companies were mainly from Spain, England, the Netherlands, and Germany. The Dutch East India Companies controlled trade in Indonesia and the British East India Companies operated in India. Spain established trade in the Philippines. These markets encouraged manufacturing. In agriculture, specialty products like wine and cheese were made. Commercial farming also used paid laborers to work the land. Shoemaking, pottery, and metallurgy were both rural and urban industries. During this period, merchants and the middle class began to enjoy many amenities. However, this meant that a proletariat class emerged at the bottom. They worked as manufacturing workers for merchant capitalists and paid laborers for landlords on large estates. Others moved to the city and became beggars.
Religion
- The Renaissance demoted religion as secondary to the new secular ideals. Although it did not explicitly attack Christianity, religion was not longer the dominant institution controlling life.
- By the end of Christian unity in the West, people saw a less intimate relationship between God and nature. Protestants rejected the idea of miracles or divine intervention in nature.
- THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION was led by a German monk named Martin Luther. In 1517, he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a church, decrying the moral decay of the Catholic Church, which had fallen into venal salvation. He proposed a new path to salvation - through individual faith alone. He never intended to create a split, but nevertheless there were many unforeseen consequences. His views met with great opposition from the Catholic Church. He believed that priests should be allowed to marry and that the Bible should be translated into Latin so everyone could understand it. However, the Church was unwilling to compromise. Many people found advantages in supporting Luther. Many resented the authority and taxes of the pope. German princes grasped this opportunity to break away from the Catholic Holy Roman emperor, gain more independence, and seize land. Protestantism called for state control of the Church, as opposed to rule by the pope. German peasants saw the reformation as a social rebellion against the landlords (although Luther did not intend for this). Lutherans (as followers of the new branch came to be called) abolished monasteries and did not believe that people should refrain from making profits. This movement led to subsequent branches of Christianity. Henry VIII began the Anglican church in order to remarry since his first marriage did not provide him with an heir. Jean Calvin began Calvinism, which preached about God's predestination of who would be saved. Followers of this denomination claimed to be the guardians of God's word. They promoted education so that more people could read the Bible and participate in church administration.
- The Protestant Reformation prompted the Catholic Counter-Reformation. It revived Catholic doctrines and attempted to purge corruption. It also countered Protestant beliefs, such as the marriage of priests. It dispelled superstition and magic. A new order, the Jesuits, preached the religion in Asia and the Americas.
- These reformations resulted in the division of Christianity in Western Europe. They sparked many religious wars. In France, Calvinist forces went up against Catholic forces. This was the conflict that involved St. Bartholomew Day's massacre, in which Huguenots were slaughtered. These wars ended in the edict of Nantes in 1598, granting tolerance to the Protestants although subsequent kings gradually took away their rights again. In Germany, the Thirty Years' War in 1618 between German Protestant and Swedish Lutheran forces against the Holy Roman emperor and Spain devastated the German population. It ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia, which ruled that some regions would follow one religion and some would follow the other. It also granted independence from Spain to the Protestant Netherlands. In England, religious wars took place before Elizabeth in the 16th century and in the English Civil War in the 1640s. The civil war officially ended in 1660, but it was not until later in 1688-1689 when most Protestant (but not Catholic) denominations were tolerated.
Society
- The Renaissance did not greatly affect the lives of peasants. The taxes continued to fall most heavily on the peasantry. In the upper classes, women were more confined in some ways as some intellectuals supported men's dominance over women.
- After the end of Christian unity, husband-wife relations depended more on love than practical marriages. Women gained a greater emotional role in the family and men educated their children in religious affairs. Because Protestants had abolished monasteries, many more women had to marry.
- A new European-style family pattern emerged in the 15th century. This included marriage at an older age and emphasis on the nuclear family (parents and children), rather than extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc.). By the late 16th century, people did not normally get married until they reached their late 20s; this limited population growth and overcrowding. Husband-and-wife relations grew in importance. Family was closely tied with individual property holdings, and most people could not marry until they owned property.
- Economic prosperity from increased trade created wealthy merchant and middle classes; however, it also created a proletariat class at the bottom. The proletariat suffered from population growth and rising food prices. Some moved to the cities to beg, creating the Western view of the poor. They were held responsible for moral decay. Lasting from the end of the 16th century to about 1650, peasants protested for better protection. During this period, witches were accused and killed in Europe and New England. They were often poor women, reflecting persecution against the proletariat and women.
Innovations
- The Renaissance promoted increased contact with Asia, causing workers to refine pulleys and pumps in the mines and forge stronger iron. Johannes Gutenberg created movable type printing in the 15th century based on Chinese printing technologies. Because more books could be produced, literacy improved and Renaissance writers gained their fame.
- Religious changes also promoted literacy, as new denominations encouraged people to read the Bible for themselves.
- The SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION produced new ideas and discoveries that are even in use today. Microscopes and telescopes were invented. Copernicus proved that the Earth was not the center of the universe; instead, the Earth revolves around the Sun. Kepler discovered that planets do not orbit in perfect circles, but rather in elliptical orbits. Galileo built on Copernicus' theories and contributed more findings on gravity and planetary motion. Sir Isaac Newton established the principles for motion. He defined gravity with many mathematical equations and showed that everything in the universe followed those laws. Understanding of the behavior of gases was improved. John Harvey studied the circulatory system and discovered the heart as the central pump. Many of these new ideas were condemned by the Catholic church. In addition to discoveries, new ideas of scientific applications and methods were outlined by Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes. Bacon emphasized the importance of empirical research and that anything could be endlessly improved upon. Descartes encouraged people to question traditional beliefs because human reason would find ways to explain natural phenomenon. Newton's scientific method involved hypothesizing and empirical observations. Not only did these new ways of thinking contribute to science, but writers began to doubt religious miracles, that they were impossible because they defied the laws of nature. A new idea known as deism accepted that a divine force existed, but that its role was to enforce natural laws. John Locke argued that people did not need faith to learn; they could rely on reason.
Arts and Architecture
- THE RENAISSANCE actually occurred in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was a cultural revival that began in Italy. It deviated from medieval values and styles. In general, it turned away from religious theology in favor of more secular ideas, emphasized realism, and derived from classical Greek and Roman art. Humanism appeared as the overarching theme, stressing humans as the center of all intellectual and artistic accomplishments. Petrarch and Boccaccio promoted classical literary canons over medieval logic and theology. They wrote in Italian and Latin, emphasizing secular topics such as love and pride. Paintings expressed new realism, classical, and anthropocentric themes. The great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were part of the Renaissance. Da Vinci accurately portrayed the anatomy of the human body and Michelangelo used classical styles in his paintings and sculptures. Niccolo Machiavelli, the author of The Prince, emphasized realistic discussions of power.
- In the Northern Renaissance, humanists adhered more closely to religion and created a fusion of secular interests and Christianity. Both William Shakespeare and Rabelais combined classical themes with a human passions that derived from medieval popular culture. From the Renaissance, many literary classics emerged, such as the works of Shakespeare and Cervantes.
Near Geographic
- New political boundaries were defined as individual nation-states were formed.
Sources
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Michelangelo's_David.JPG
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/shake.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Cervates_jauregui.jpg
http://www.walksofitaly.com/img/uploaded/1299763720READY%20basilica%20interior.jpg
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Mona_Lisa.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jr_2CN-Vd-s/TbCKheCROGI/AAAAAAAAAKY/e-jDM2m1gG8/s1600/The-Last-Supper.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Michelangelo's_David.JPG
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/shake.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Cervates_jauregui.jpg
http://www.walksofitaly.com/img/uploaded/1299763720READY%20basilica%20interior.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Handtiegelpresse_von_1811.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Francois_Dubois_001.jpg
http://www.old-map-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/map_19th_centuryKI_europe_in_the_16th_century.jpg
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26042/26042-h/images/map358.jpg
http://www.old-map-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/map_19th_centuryKI_central_europe_in_the_17th_century.jpg
http://www.old-map-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/map_19th_centuryKI_central_europe_in_the_18th_century.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Punishing-witches-Laienspiegel.jpg/421px-Punishing-witches-Laienspiegel.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Wickiana5.jpg/220px-Wickiana5.jpg
http://galileo.rice.edu/images/things/g_telescope.gif
Stearns, Peter N. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. Advanced Placement ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2003. Print.