Background – The Renaissance
began in Italy
• Location – centrally located in the
Mediterranean Sea region
• As trade with Europe and Asia
increased, Italian cities became
centers of banking, commerce, and
industry
• Merchants and nobles acted as patrons
– Supported artists, writers, and scholars
– Powerful leaders (because no single ruler
had united the Italian peninsula)
Characteristics of the Renaissance
• Secularism (non-religious) – increased as people
began to show greater interest in this world rather
than the “here after”
• Reason – used observation and experience to
explain the world rather than Christian teachings
• Humanism – emphasized dignity, worth, and
uniqueness of individuals. (man is the focus of all
things)
• Christian Humanism – a movement in northern
Europe that promoted reason through Christian
teachings
• Study and imitation of the classical cultures of
Greece and Rome
Architecture
• Studied ruins of buildings from
ancient Rome
• Abandoned Medieval styles
(pointed arches, ornamentation)
• Used columns and circular arches
of the classical period
• Demonstrated technical
achievements of applying reason
• One of the most famous architects
was Filippo Brunelleschi
Gutenberg and the printing revolution
• Johann Gutenberg (German printer)
– Developed a printing press with
moveable type
– Moveable type, a special press, and oilbased inks allowed the mass production
of printed books
– Encouraged the spread of new ideas
– Increased literacy
MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546)
• A German monk and Bible scholar
• Opposed the sale of indulgences
– Pardons from punishment for sin
– Church sold them to increase
revenue for the Church
• Posted Ninety-Five Theses
(statements) on his Church door,
challenging the Pope’s right to
sell indulgences
• Translated the Bible into German
LUTHER’S FIGHT WITH THE CHURCH
• Pope excommunicated him (in defiance, he
publicly burned the decrees)
• Was summoned to the Diet of Worms where
he refused to recant (take back) his
statements and was declared an outlaw
• Received protection for a number of German
princes
• Started a new church, the Lutheran Church
LATER REFORMERS
• Luther’s ideas spread quickly due to the printing press
• John Calvin (1509-1564) started a new Protestant
Church and theocracy in Geneva (Switzerland)
– Wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion
– Taught predestination (fate already decided by God)
– Said while faith was the key to salvation, it was God
who gave faith to some and denied it to others (only
the “Elect” would be saved)
– Stressed hard work and a strict moral code (no
gambling, drinking, swearing, dancing, singing, etc.)
– Saw worldly success as a sign of God’s favor
GROWTH OF CIVILIZATIONS
• “Native Americans” experienced their own Neolithic
Revolution (grew maize [corn], squash, and beans – the
“three sisters”)
• Several complex civilizations emerged in Mesoamerica
(called pre-Columbian civilizations, because they existed
before the arrival of Columbus)
• These did not emerge in river valley, but in warm and
humid rain forests
• Supported by farming corn (a crop unknown to peoples of
Africa, Asia, and Europe) and used creative farming
techniques adapted to their environments
MAYAN POTTERY
MESO-AMERICAN ART
MAYAN CALENDAR
HIEROGLYPHS
MAYAN ACHIEVEMENTS
• BUILDERS – built huge cities, large palaces,
temples, and pyramids
• WRITING SYSTEM – hieroglyphics (picture symbols)
• MATH AND SCIENCE – complex number system,
used zero, 365 day
calendar
• ARTISTRY – painted
colorful mural, invented
popular ball game
THE AZTECS (1200 – 1521)
• Created by an alliance of several local peoples of the
high valley in Mexico
• Created the city of Tenochtitlan
– An island in the center of the Valley of Mexico
– Grew crops in “floating gardens” in wet marshy land
• Engaged in frequent warfare to conquer other people in
the region
• Math and Science advancements
– Made careful observations of the sky and aligned
their temples based on the movements of the sun
and moon and developed an accurate calendar.
CONQUEST OF THE AMERICAS
• Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) and priests
arrived soon after the first explorers
• Came to conquer native peoples, seize gold and
silver, obtain natural resources, and convert the
natives to Christianity (Gold, Glory, and God)
• Soon after Columbus’ first voyage, the Spanish
conquered the main Caribbean island
– Small numbers of Spanish soldiers, using horses
and firearms, and acting with local allies, were
able to quickly overcome large numbers of
Native Americans
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL LEAD THE WAY
(Columbus, da Gama, Magellan)
• Located at the western end of Europe
with coasts on the Mediterranean Sea
and Atlantic Ocean
• Wanted their fair share of trade with Asia
• Had economic resources to finance
exploration
• Developed new navigational tools and
used new technology
THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
• The exchange of products and ideas
between Europe and the Americas
– Improved the European diet with the
introduction of new foods (tomatoes, corn,
potatoes, peppers, squash, chocolate and
turkey and other animal products)
– Tobacco was also brought to Europe
– From Europe, new products were introduced
to the Americas (wheat and other grains,
sugar, cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, chickens)
COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA
• COLONIAL GOVERNMENT
– Viceroys (royal governors) were sent to rule the
colonies that had been established in the Spanish
king’s name
– Spanish officials filled the most important
positions in colonial government and Church
leaders shared political power
– Land was divided among soldiers who used
Native Americans to work the land and mines
(the encomienda system) – This system was
ruled by the central government (not local)
ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
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Had existed long before European intervention
Expanded on a scale unparalleled in human history
Usually captured by African tribes in raids on villages
Brought to the West Coast to trade/sell to European and
American slave traders for guns and other goods
As many as 15 million Africans were taken over a 300 year
period (more than 11 million to Spanish colonies)
Many died during the “Middle Passage” because of
horrible conditions on board the ships
Most worked in sugar fields (Caribbean and Brazil) or
raising cotton or tobacco (N. America)
The population of many African communities declined
greatly.
THE COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION
• Aspects of the Commercial Revolution
– Global Trade
– Production of more goods for sale rather than
own use
• Mercantilism (economic theory of the time)
– Wealth and power based on amassing gold and
silver
– Total wealth of the world is limited, so had to be
gained through war or trade
– Promoted the removal of trade barriers
Absolute Rulers to know from your charts:
• James I – Divine Right of Kings
• Louis XIV – supported arts, but bankrupted
France with building projects and costly wars
• Philip II – created a colonial empire creating
wealth, promoted Catholicism, armada destroyed
by England
• Peter the Great – westernized Russia while
spreading serfdom
• Elizabeth I – created Act of Supremacy, returned
Protestantism to England, defeated Spain
England’s Road to a Constitutional
Monarchy
• Create a flow chart describing the events
leading to England’s Limited Monarchy:
– Tudor Monarchs: Henry VIII and Elizabeth I
– Early Stuart Monarchs: James I and Charles I
– English Civil War (1642-1649): Oliver
Cromwell
– The Restoration: Charles II
– The Glorious Revolution: William and Mary
and the English Bill of Rights
POLITICAL THINKERS IN THE
AGE OF ABSOLUTISM
• Thomas Hobbes – Man was not naturally good and
was incapable of maintaining social order, therefore
absolute rule was necessary
• John Locke – believed rulers obtained power from
the people, not God. Promoted the “social contract”.
The purpose of government was to protect natural
rights (life, liberty, property)
• Sir William Blackstone – explained English
common law (judges following precedents of other
courts) and England’s “mixed monarchy” where
power was shared by king and Parliament.