Section
2
Objectives
•
Describe the conditions in Europe in the
fifteenth century.
•
Analyze how the changes taking place in
Europe affected the inhabitants.
•
Describe the major developments on the
Iberian Peninsula at the end of the Middle
Ages and the start of the Renaissance.
The Cold WarThe
Begins
Europeans
Section
2
Terms and People
•
Middle Ages − period in European history from
the 5th century through the 14th century marked
by an absence of effective central government
•
Renaissance − period in European history lasting
from the 14th to the 16th century, which ushered in
a more secular age and encouraged freedom of
thought, the importance of the individual, and
renewed interest in classical learning
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
Terms and People
(continued)
•
reconquista − prolonged battle, ending in 1492,
that reestablished Spanish Christian rule on the
Iberian Peninsula after 700 years of Muslim
dominance
•
Prince Henry the Navigator − leader who
directed Portuguese efforts to sail into the Atlantic,
spread Christianity, and outflank Muslim
domination of trade
The Cold WarThe
Begins
Europeans
Section
2
How did Europeans begin to explore
more of the world?
New ideas swept through Europe during the
1400s, causing enormous cultural, economic,
and technological changes.
Europeans began to look beyond their shores
on a quest of exploration and discovery that
would change Europe and much of the world.
The Cold WarThe
Begins
Europeans
Section
2
After the collapse of the Roman Empire,
the early years of the Middle Ages
were marked by:
•
the absence of an effective central government.
•
the constant threat of famine, disease, and
foreign invasion.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
But as new institutions and ideas slowly took
hold, a new civilization emerged in Europe.
Europe was
recovering from the
effects of the
bubonic plague,
which had killed
about a third of all
Europeans during
the 1340s.
The Cold WarThe
Begins
Europeans
Most of the
surviving population
lived in the
countryside, and
the economy was
overwhelmingly
agricultural.
Section
2
But cities and towns were growing, especially
in northern Italy and the Netherlands.
Artisans
produced
cloth, tools,
and other
goods in city
workshops.
Cities also
were centers
of trade.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
A ruling elite of less than 5 percent of the
population controlled almost all of the land.
Royalty and
Aristocrats
Church
Leaders and
Merchants
•
A monarch was at the top of the
social pyramid in each kingdom.
•
Aristocrats inherited social rank,
title, and landed estates worked by
peasants.
•
The elite also included leaders of
the Roman Catholic Church.
•
Wealthy merchants shipped cargoes
between cities for profit.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
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Under the domination of this small elite class
were the commoners.
Middle-Class
Families
The Working
Poor
•
These families owned enough
property to employ themselves as
farmers, artisans, and shopkeepers.
•
They accounted for only a fifth of
the population.
•
In good years, they farmed on
rented land or worked for pay, and
in bad years, many were beggars.
•
They accounted for three-fifths of
the population.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
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The most
important
kingdoms in
Western Europe
were Castile,
Portugal, France,
and England.
Each was
ruled by a
monarch who
depended on
the elite class
to do much of
the governing.
The Cold WarThe
Begins
Europeans
The
kingdoms
were often
at war
over land
and power.
Section
2
Despite their rivalries, many Europeans
united in the common cause of capturing
and controlling the Holy Land.
During the latter half
of the Middle Ages,
European Christians
and Southwest Asian
Muslims fought one
another in a series of
religious wars known
as the Crusades.
In the end, the
Muslims defeated the
Christian Crusaders.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
But the Crusades had lasting effects that
benefitted the people of Europe.
•
Europeans became aware of distant lands and
different ways of life.
•
Soldiers returned home with exotic goods.
•
Demand for these products soared, and
European traders expanded their businesses
into Asia.
The Cold WarThe
Begins
Europeans
Section
2
Trade Routes in Europe, 1000−1300
The Cold WarThe
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By the mid-1400s, the European Renaissance
had begun, and during this period:
•
trade with and knowledge of other
lands expanded.
•
the wealth generated from trade
fueled further exploration.
•
the development of the printing press
made books more widely available.
•
literature promoted new ideas.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
Christian Europeans felt hemmed in by the
superior wealth, power, and technology of
the Muslims, whose realm included:
•
North Africa.
•
areas around the southern and eastern
Mediterranean Sea.
•
parts of Eastern Europe and Southeast,
Southwest, and Central Asia.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
In some places,
violent conflicts
continued between
Christians and
Muslims.
On the Iberian
Peninsula, the kingdoms
of Aragon, Castile, and
Portugal were waging
the reconquista.
They hoped to drive out the Muslim Moors,
who had ruled Iberia for centuries.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
In 1469, the marriage of Prince
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella united
Aragon and Castile to create Spain.
In 1492, the
monarchs won the
reconquista by
capturing the
Muslim stronghold
of Granada.
Spain and Portugal
were now wellsituated to seek
new trades routes
and expand
European influence.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
Section
2
Starting in 1419, Portugal’s
Prince Henry the Navigator
led early efforts at exploration
and expansion of trade.
•
He founded a school
of navigation.
•
He sponsored
expeditions down the
west coast of Africa.
The Cold WarThe
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Europeans
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2
Technological innovations helped the
Portuguese take the early lead in sailing into
the Atlantic Ocean.
•
Sailors used the compass, the astrolabe, and
the quadrant to determine their location and
direction.
•
Shipbuilders created the sturdy caravel, capable
of sailing hundreds of miles.
The Cold WarThe
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