Chapter 16
Transformations in
Europe,
1500 - 1750
AP World History
I. Culture and Ideas
A. Religious Reformation
• Catholic Church began to get money for building new churches (St.
Peter’s Basilica) by authorizing sale of indulgences.
• Martin Luther challenged the church on these practices that he
considered corrupt and said salvation could come by faith alone.
• John Calvin argued that salvation was God’s gift to the
predestined.
• Protestant Reformation appealed to Germans who disliked the
Italian dominated church and to peasants and urban workers who
wanted to reject the religion of their masters.
• Catholics responded with the Council of Trent.
• The Protestant Reformation led to a number of wars of religion
ending in 1648.
St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any
Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people.
It is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites.
It is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter,
who was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) was a German priest and professor of
theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation. He strongly
disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin
could be purchased with money, called indulgences. His NinetyFive Theses in 1517 resulted in his excommunication in 1521.
John Calvin (1509 - 1564) was an influential French theologian
and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. Calvinism
teaches that salvation was a gift from God to only
those predestined for salvation. He broke from the
Roman Catholic Church around 1530.
The Council of Trent met on and off from 1545 to 1563. This
Catholic Reformation is considered to be one of the Church's
most important councils. It issued condemnations on what it
defined as Protestant heresies and defined Church teachings.
Religions in Europe after the Reformation.
B. Traditional Thinking and Witch-Hunts
• European beliefs derived from both local folk traditions and JudeoChristian beliefs.
• During the 16th and 17th centuries over 100,000 people (3/4
women) were tried and about half of them were executed on
charges of witchcraft.
• Witch hunts became manifestations of fear of unattached women
without male guidance.
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft,
often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching.
The extraordinary fear of the power of witches in the late 16th
and 17th centuries is testimony to the belief in the spiritual
causes of natural events. (Over 100,000 people, 3/4 women,
were tried and half of them were executed)
C. Scientific Revolution
• According to Aristotle, everything on earth was reducible to four
elements; sun, moon, planets, and stars.
• They were so light and pure that they floated in
crystalline spheres and rotated around the earth in
perfectly circular orbits.
• Copernican sun-centered model was initially criticized and
suppressed by Protestant leaders and by the Catholic Church.
• Isaac Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity showed why planets
move around the sun around the sun in elliptical orbits.
• Newton and other scientists did not believe that their discoveries
were in conflict with religious belief.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543) was a Polish Renaissance
astronomer, priest and the first person to formulate a
comprehensive heliocentric cosmology. His book is regarded as
the starting point of modern astronomy which began the
Scientific Revolution.
The essentials of the Copernican Solar System were: 1) The
daily motion of the sun and stars is the result of the earth
turning on its axis. 2) The sun lies at the center of the solar
system. 3) All the planets orbit the sun in the same direction
with the planets closer to the sun going around faster. 4) The
shapes of the orbits are circles and that the planets move at
constant speed. (same as Ptolemy)
Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) was an Italian physicist,
mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who played a
major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include
a 30 power telescope, consequent astronomical observations,
and support for Copernicanism.
After 1610, Galileo Galilei began publicly supporting
heliocentrism and was denounced to the Roman Inquisition
because it contradicted Aristotle’s model of the universe
as well as several passages of Scripture. In 1633,
he was sentenced to house arrest until he died.
Sir Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727) was an English physicist,
mathematician, astronomer, and theologian who is considered
to be one of the most influential people in human history. His
book discusses classical mechanics, universal gravitation, and
the three laws of motion. He helped prove heliocentrism and
built the first practical reflecting telescope.
D. The Early Enlightenment
• Intellectual movement that assumed that social behavior and
institutions were governed by scientific laws.
• Also influenced by Reformation and by accounts of other cultures.
• Most thinkers were optimistic that the application of reason would
lead to human progress.
• Aroused opposition from many absolutist rulers and from clergy,
but the printing press made possible the survival and
dissemination of new ideas.
John Locke (1632 - 1704) was one of the most influential
English Enlightenment philosophers. His social contract theory
and contributions to classical republicanism are reflected
in the American Declaration of Independence.
François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778), better known by the
pen name, Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer,
historian and philosopher. He advocated civil liberties,
including freedom of religion and free trade.
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) was an English
Enlightenment philosopher who established the
foundation for most of Western political philosophy from
the perspective of social contract theory.
Calvin
and
Hobbes
Get it?!
Montesquieu (1689 -1755), was a French Enlightenment social
commentator and political thinker who was famous for his
articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for
granted in modern discussions of government and implemented
in many constitutions throughout the world.
II. Social and Economic Life
A. The Bourgeoisie
• Europe experienced spectacular growth from 1500-1700.
• Wealthy urban Bourgeoisie thrived on manufacturing, finance, and
especially trade.
• Amsterdam’s growth, built on trade and finance exemplifies
Bourgeoisie power.
• Forged mutually beneficial relationships with the monarchs and
built extensive family and ethnic networks to facilitate trade.
• Partnerships between merchants and monarchs led to the
development of joint stock companies and stock exchanges.
• Anglo-Dutch wars of the 1600s provide evidence of the growing
importance of trade.
• Many Bourgeoisie married into noble families or purchased titles
of nobility.
The bourgeoisie were wealthy town dwellers who earned their
money by being a merchant or owning their own business. They
dominated trade, finance and manufacturing.
By 1700, Amsterdam was a major financial center and its ships
carried 80% of trade between Spain and northern Europe. It
was home to the Amsterdam exchange, the largest stock
exchange in Europe, and joint-stock companies which gave the
Dutch monopolies on trade to the East and West Indies.
B. Peasants and Laborers
• Serfdom disappeared in Western Europe, but gained new prominence
in Eastern Europe.
• African slaves contributed greatly to Europe’s economy.
• New World crops helped peasants avoid starvation.
• High consumption of wood for heating, cooking, construction,
shipbuilding, and industrial uses led to deforestation.
• Europeans began to use coal instead of wood.
• Deforestation had particularly severe effects on the rural poor who had
used forests for building materials and food.
• Urban poor consisted of “deserving poor” and “unworthy poor.”
The slave trade massively contributed to Europe’s
economy via the American colonies.
The trans-Atlantic slave trade Diaspora.
New World crops, like maize and potatoes,
helped peasants avoid starvation.
High consumption of wood for heating, cooking, construction,
shipbuilding, and industrial uses led to deforestation which had
particularly severe effects on the rural poor who had used
forests for building materials and food.
C. Women and the Family
• Women’s status tied closely to their husband.
• Young people of the Bourgeoisie married late to finish education
led to independence from parents and a low birth rate.
• Bourgeoisie parents great emphasis on education and promoted
the establishment of schools.
• Most schools, professions, and guilds barred women.
Bourgeoisie women married late to finish their education.
This led to an increased independence from
parents and a low birth rate.
III. Political Innovations
A. State Development
• Between 1516 - 1519 Charles of Burgundy inherited the thrones of
Castile and Aragon, with their colonial empires, the Austrian
Habsburg possessions, and position of Holy Roman Emperor.
• Able to form coalition that defeated Ottomans at gates of Vienna.
• Lutheran German princes rebelled against French-speaking
Catholic Charles, seized church lands and gave rise to German
Wars of Religion.
• Charles abdicated the throne and his son Phillip received Spain
and a weakened Holy Roman Empire went to his brother
Ferdinand.
• Rulers of Spain, England, and France began to pursue own efforts
at political unification.
Charles V (1500 – 1558) was from the Habsburg family in
Austria. He became the Holy Roman Emperor, inherited the
Spanish throne, halted the Ottoman Empire’s advance into
Europe, and is best known for his strong opposition of the
Protestant Reformation.
Charles V territorial empire from 1519 - 1556.
Philip II (1527 – 1598) became the King of Spain when his
father, Charles V, abdicated and retired to a monastery. He
used the Spanish Inquisition to hunt down anyone who was not
Catholic (Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and his critics).
B. Religious Policies
• Rulers of Spain and France defended Catholicism from Protestant
Challenge.
• Henry VIII challenged papal authority and declared himself the
head of the Church of England because the pope would not grant
him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) was the King of England and
besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role
in the separation of the Church of England from
the Roman Catholic Church.
Henry VIII six wives.
Catherine of Aragon was the youngest child of Ferdinand and
Isabella. She was Henry VIII’s 1st wife, the mother of Mary
Queen of Scots, and her divorce resulted in the separation of
England from the Roman Catholic Church.
Anne Boleyn was Catherine of Aragon’s Queen consort,
Henry VIII’s 2nd wife, mother of Queen Elizabeth I, and
was beheaded at the Tower of London for adultery.
Jane Seymour married Henry VIII 10 days after
Anne Boleyn’s execution, died two weeks after the
birth of Edward VI, was the only wife to receive
a queen’s funeral, and was buried beside Henry VIII.
Anne of Cleves was Henry VIII’s 4th wife. She was German and he
married her from a portrait, but when she showed up he thought
she was ugly. Fearing for her life, she agreed to a divorce.
Catherine Howard married Henry VII’s 20 days after his divorce
from Anne of Cleves. She was Anne Boleyn’s cousin and was
beheaded in less then two years for adultery.
Catherine Parr was Henry VIII’s 6th and final wife. She
was the first queen of Ireland and was the most married
English queen - she had four husbands.
C. Monarchies in England and France
• Conflict between Parliament and Charles I led to a civil war and
the establishment of a Puritan republic under Oliver Cromwell.
• After the Stuart line was restored Parliament enforced its will on
the Monarch with the Glorious Revolution when William and Mary
had to sign the Bill of Rights which limited the power of the crown.
• In France the Bourbon Kings were able to circumvent the Estates
General and develop an absolutist style of government.
• Louis XIV’s finance minister, Colbert was able to increase revenue
through more efficient tax collection and promote economic
growth while Louis entertained and controlled the nobility at his
court at Versailles.
Charles I (1600 – 1649) was the king of England who believed
he was an absolute monarch and evaded any check on his
power by not summoning Parliament for 11 years. He
plunged his kingdom into the English Civil War after
ordering the arrest of his leading critics in the House
of Commons. He was later beheaded for treason.
Puritan General Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658) became the
leader of the new English republic after Charles I was
beheaded. He was as unwilling as kings to share power with
Parliament, so after his death, the monarchy was restored.
The English King James II (1633 – 1701) refused to respect
Parliament’s rights and was forced into exile in the bloodless
Glorious Revolution of 1688. William and Mary were called to
the throne by Parliament and to end the Glorious Revolution,
they signed the English Bill of Rights and began a new cooperation between the Parliament and the monarchs.
Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles symbolized
the French monarch’s triumph over the traditional
rights of the nobility, clergy, and towns.
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 - 1527) was an Italian philosopher
and writer. He is one of the main founders of modern political
science and is most famous for his book, The Prince. He urged
rulers to achieve obedience by fear and deception.
John Locke (1632 - 1704) disputed monarchial claims to
absolute authority by divine right. He argued that rulers derived
their authority from the consent of the governed and, like
everyone else, were subject to the law.
D. Warfare and Diplomacy
• Military revolution in which cannon, muskets, and commoner foot
soldiers became the mainstays of European armies.
• Europeans devised new command structures, signal techniques,
and marching drills.
• Ships became more deadly with multiple tiers of cannon and fourwheel cannon carriages.
• England took the lead in naval development and this was
demonstrated when the Royal Navy defeated the Spanish Armada
which signaled an end to Spain’s military dominance in Europe.
• France rose as the strongest continental power while England
maintained superior naval power.
• During the Spanish War of Succession England, allied with Austria
and Prussia were able to prevent the French house of Bourbon
from taking the Spanish throne.
• With the emergence of Russia after the Great Northern War the
four powers of Europe; France, Britain, Austria, and Russia were
able to maintain a balance of power.
Spanish galleons were slower than caravels
but it had superior firepower.
Spanish Armada was King Philip’s failed attempt
to invade England in 1588. A storm and superior
English tactics led to the defeat.
Route of the Armada.
War of the Spanish Succession. The great British victories in
this war were in the Spanish Netherlands and the Holy Roman
Empire and they established Britain as a great power.
E. Paying the Piper
• To pay heavy costs of war European monarchs made profitable
alliances with commercial elites.
• Netherlands became a commercial power after wrestling
autonomy from Spain.
• Spain damaged economy by kicking out Jews, Protestants, and
descendants of Muslims.
• England used naval dominance to break Dutch trade power and
improved its financial position by collecting taxes directly and
creating a central bank.
• France used streamlined tax collection, used protective tariffs to
promote domestic industries, and improved its transportation
network, but were not able to tax nobles or secure low cost loans.
Trade thrives when government taxation and regulation were
not excessive, where courts enforced contracts and collected
debts, and where military power stood ready to protect
overseas expansion by force when necessary.
IV. Comparative Perspectives
• In 1575, French scholar Loys Le Roy described three technological innovations
that he thought had propelled Europe into a golden age: the printing press,
the marine compass, and cannonry.
• Le Roy noted that Europe had finally caught up to the Muslim world and had
benefitted from the spread of knowledge and the Muslims refused to let
documents be printed in Europe.