AP EUROPEAN HISTORY REVIEW SESSION #1 NOTES
April 30, 2014
Big themes—
Political, economic, social, cultural, intellectual
REANAISSANCE—1450
Political situation during the Renaissance: Who had the power?
Kings – Charles V – and the Holy Roman Empire. Spain is part of this empire.
Merchants/oligarchs/wealthy families within the Italian City States. Controlled the regions of the Italian peninsula.
French Kings – ruling one nation. Emergence of strong kings.
This is the beginning of the centralization of power in Europe.
Some of the features of this are trying to build an army, collect taxes, having some kind of law extended through
monarch throughout the region.
Important regions: Venice and trade with the Ottomans.
Age of Exploration is happening at the same time. Very beginning of a merchant based economy (trade with new
world)
Social: What were the Social Classes
Peasants:
Monarchs:
Nobles: they have enormous power during this time period.
Merchants: this class is really growing, especially in places that are decentralized.
WOMEN- did they have a Renaissance? Not really….women obtained education but it was a domesticated education.
MEN: Renaissance man: they were supposed to be educated in everything: languages, chivalry, war….
Eastern Europe (especially Russia) doesn’t have a Renaissance until later.
Religious: Catholic. Muslims in the Ottoman Empire.
Intellectual: The Courtier – Castiglione
The Prince: Machiavelli
During the Renaissance: we don’t believe people can ruled themselves, this gives the argument for strong centralized
monarchies and strong centralized families – which gives the justification for absolute rule.
Culture
Humanism – belief in human ablity or potential. Because we believe humans have potential that changes all kinds of
things in Europe – we start to appreciate and enjoy our life on earth.
Secularism: Enjoying our life on earth and not spending life waiting for the after life. This is the birth of leisure
This is shown in the arts, both painting and sculpture
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3-D
Reverence of the Classical World (Humanists looked down on the Middle Ages)
Showing the human form, movement
Artists started signing their work
People are painting for other people who will pay you: patronage
Subject matter changes: they paint themselves (portraits)
NORTHERN Renaissance vs Southern Renaissance – how are they different?
Northern was more focused on religion: bring a Renaissance to the church
Art was more secular: common people and everyday life. What they want to do with Renaissance ideas is apply to the
Catholic church.
Italy is just the opposite: the writings are secular, but the paintings are more religious in nature.
Reformation:
1517 – begins (95 Theses) Luther is cranky about selling of indulgences, the Catholic Church’s big money
making idea.
Luther: priesthood of all believers.
Calvin, Zwingli, Anabaptists
English Reformation - 1534
1648 - Reformation is OVER (Treaty of Westphalia)
How is the Reformation changing what is happening during the Renaissance? Be able to see this change over
time.
Political – How does the Protestant Ref change or challenge the political power of the church? It is a direct
challenge to the power of the Catholic Church. They also take MONEY away from the Catholic church: now if
people are practicing Protestantism they don’t want to pay taxes to the Catholic Church anymore.
Calvin: “theocracy” in Geneva – no separation of Church and State. Predestination
Luther: did not want to change society, just religion. Tended to have disdain for the lower classes, traditional
views on women. Most “conservative” of Protestant Reformers. Has protection of Frederick of Saxony.
Peasant Wars: People get excited about the individualism of Luther, and people hope Luther will support
them, and Luther calls them pigs. He does not support a change.
Charles V – Holy Roman Empire The Reformation is a challenge to the HRE because they are already
fragmented culturally. He needs the support of the nobility because he is borrowing local armies to fight the
Habsburg-Valois wars. Luther gets a lot of support from German nobles. Charles V lets them practice
Protestantism: Peace of Augsburg – 1555 – a way to make the nobles happy and still maintain support. Said
the nobles of the empire could choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism (notably NOT any other
Protestant religion).
English Reformation: Henry VIII needs an heir, primarily because he needs a male heir. The fear of no male
heir given that the English had just consolidated their power. The Reformation becomes another way to make
money as he takes the money from the monasteries.
Social – Erasmus: wanted to Christianize the Renaissance: bringing a rebirth to the church.
Luther and
Calvin are heavily influenced by the early works. Luther: priesthood of all believers.
The belief that people are born good comes into play: Sir Thomas More: Utopia John Calvinism:
Predestination. Zwingli – Switzerland. Anabaptists. John Knox – Presbyterian, Scotland
Economic – church loses money from taxes they formally got
No reformation in RUSSIA and SPAIN
Reformation: Part II – This leads to Wars of Religion
The most important wars to remember:
Dutch Wars of Religion – Calvinist Netherlands want freedom from Spain for religious regions (remember
Calvinism changes not only religion but also society). Culturally: Dutch are intellectual and good at trade and
later on, banking. Series of revolts where Dutch fight Spanish and get their independence.
Spanish Armada (against Britain) –1588 Phillip II wants to take Elizabeth I off the throne – he thinks England
should go back to Catholicism and that HE should be King of England. She is the first queen in Europe and he
thinks she is weak, challengeable, and he is mad she helped the Dutch during their revolts.
French Civil Wars or “French Wars of Religon” – no clear heir to the French monarchy in the 1550s. French
Protestants: Huguenots. Protestant families and Catholic families fighting against each other to gain the
throne of France. Turns into a Civil War. Gets very messy. In the end, the Huguenots win- Henry of Navarre
becomes ruler. He is protestant (but married to a Catholic) and he converts to Catholicism and provides
stability to France “Paris is worth a mass”
Passes the Edict of Nantes – gives Protestants the ability to worship in France.
He is a “politique”
Also has economic and social reforms.
30 years war: Calvinists in Bohemia (Prague and modern day Czech republic) – revolt against the Catholic
church. Bohemia is in the HRE and practicing Catholicism is not allowed according to the Peace of Augsburg.
The Catholics (under Ferdinand – heir of Charles V) are successful in putting down this revolt. But they have to
continue to work to defeat more Protestant revolts.
To make everything more muddled, France gets involved on the side of the PROTESTANTS (weird because they
are Catholic) but they are hoping to make their next door neighbor in the HRE weak and decentralized.
1648 – Treaty of Westphalia: Ends the 30 Years War and the era of religious wars. Devastated Germany
economically and puts a delay in any attempt to unify that area of Europe for a long time. NO MORE WARS OF
RELIGION
Age of Absolutism:
Best example of an absolutist ruler: Louis XIV
Divine right: believed that God gave them power to rule absolutely.
Centralized beaureacracy – you have created layers of the government that extend your power all the way
throughout your country
Revokes Edict of Nantes
Strong armies – build up of militaries “standing armies”
Taxation policy – France is not very good at this, but they still succeed in collecting a lot of revenue. Sold
noble titles
High nobles are most opposed to absolutism: took away their power. Nobility of the sword: inherited through
lineage. Nobility of robe bought positions. Louis XIV had the nobles live at Versailles (but they were free of
taxes) Nobles gain status but less power – they did not challenge the role of Louis XIV.
Fights too many wars. No territory gain….wasting resources. Spending a lot of money on himself and on
Versailles – he saw Versailles as key in him keeping power.
Economics: Mercantis
Fronde: rise up of the nobility against the centralization of the king.
Thomas Hobbes; people are wicked, you need absolutism to stop them from destroying themselves
RUSSIA and Peter the Great:
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Westernizes with ideas and social customs and dress
Port on the Baltic Sea
St Petersburg (on the Baltic)
Versailles copy – the Peterhoff
CHARLES I – Nobles lose “status” but increased power. First upper middle class. These nobles will challenge
the power of the King. They have the “power of the purse”
Charles has a hard time with the idea that he would not be an absolute monarch and is not flexible on this.
Parliament goes to war with the King. Monarchy loses. Charles is executed
Cromwell becomes an absolutist in his own right. Puritan dictatorshiop
Charles II- They try to be absolutist, they are not successful. Parliament dislike that Charles and James lean
toward Catholicism. James flees the country and Parliament invites William and Mary to rule. They sign the
English Bill of Rights – 1688 “Glorious Revolution”
England is advanced and ahead due to the stable government they create before anyone else.
PIVOT DATES WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT:
1517 M.L. (Martin Luther)
1648 – Peace of Westphalia
1688 – Glorious Revolution