Chapter 3
How Did the Western Worldview
Grow Out of the Renaissance?
How Did New Religious Views Become
Part of the Western Worldview?
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Two views of religion existed in the
Western worldview:
MIDDLE
AGES
HUMANIST
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Believed that individuals should follow the
rules, rituals, and teachings of the RCC
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Believed that individuals should question and
respond to the Bible personally
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Some questions raised
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The necessity to follow the Church laws and rituals
The actions of the clergy and popes
Many wanted to see things reformed, but not
break from the RCC
This was called the Protestant Reformation
Open Books to pg. 91 and read about
Martin Luther.
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No not that Martin Luther
Martin Luther
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What he Believed – Following the
rituals was not enough. Seek
personal religious understanding.
Not pay for forgiveness.
What he Did – he wrote 95 church
reforms that he felt were necessary
What Happened –Books burned.
Luther was expelled from the
church.
John Calvin
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What He Believed – Believe and
practice what is written in the
bible only.
What He Did – introduced a strict
form of Protestantism
What Happened – was the
central developer of Christian
Theology or Calvinism
John Knox
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What He Believed – Believed
that the people should govern
their local church
What He Did – created
Presbyteries, or councils of
men, to govern the church.
Led rebellions.
What Happened – led into the
Presbyterian church
King Henry VIII
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What He Believed – he
believed that he should
control the church land. Have
his marriage annulled.
What He Did – he put himself
in charge of church business.
What Happened - appointed
himself the head of the
church of England
Spanish Monarchs
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What they Believed – they
believed that all other religions
were false and wrong but
Catholicism.
What they Did – started the
Inquisition to find heretics and
disbelievers.
What Happened – thousands
were expelled from the country.
Some were jailed, tortured and
put to death.
How Did Ideas of National Identity and
Citizenship Begin to Develop During the
Renaissance
The idea of Nations began to develop in the
Renaissance.
Small political units began to join and
develop into larger states. These States
then became countries because:
 Societies became more urban
 Citizens developed new identities of
belonging to a state as well as to their local
communities
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Gunpowder was introduced from China,
which changed the nature of battles
between monarchs and the nobles who
owned feudal property
The invention of the printing press and the
use of local languages helped create
national identity
Exploration of
new lands also
led to a sense of
greater national
identity.
How Did a Spirit of Exploration Become
Part of the Western Worldview?
Governments & traders wanted to expand
control of trade around Mediterranean
 Monarchs wanted to gain the wealth that
came from trading with the East
 New trade routes; increased geographic
knowledge; new sailing technologies
spurred the start of the Age of Exploration
(Discovery)
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Began in the early 15th century til 17th century
Europeans wanted/needed to expand their
control to other parts of the world
this territorial or economic expansion to other
countries is call expansionism
 Resulted in the spreading of the Western
worldview to other continents of the world

Factors Affecting Expansionism
The Need for New Trade Routes
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Merchants would form a company and pool
their money together to fund trading trips and
would share the profits for the sale of goods.
Making a profit through trade became an
important part of the European world view.

“In the Name of God and
Of Profit” on account
books
• Countries like Spain,
Portugal, France and
England wanted to cut
out the middle-men in
the trading route.
(Italian or Muslim
traders)
• Wealthy Merchants
and Monarchs
started to fund new
exploratory trading
routes to the East
New Ideas and Knowledge
Geography
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Aristotle (Greek Philosopher) - believed that the earth
was round and flat, like a plate
Ptolemy (Egyptian Geographer) - believed that it was
round (like a ball) but only one ocean.
Islamic and European scientists such as __________
agreed with this
Sailors were confident to sail westwards & believed that
they could sail west to Asia
Interest in Learning More About the World
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Humanism & Travel Writers created an
interest in trade and exploration.
Advances in cartography [distribution of
maps & navigation tables], navigation [use
of astrolabe], and shipbuilding [carracks &
caravel]

Astrolabe and Compass: Sailors went from
always being close to the shore, to being able to
navigate in open waters.
How did the Age of Exploration
Begin?

A European desire to expand their
influence to other areas of the world
became a major part of their worldview.
European explorers would spread the
Western worldview to all inhabited
continents of the world.

Portugal, France, Spain and England
became the leading players in the Age of
Exploration because:
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POSITION– An Atlantic coastline
MONARCHS – Sponsored explorers by
financing their voyages.
TECHNOLOGY – New ship designs,
navigational tools (astrolabe) and
navigational information enables explorers to
sail the new-world and far-off lands..
The new values of travel & exploration,
consumerism and accumulation of wealth
fueled the race for new trade routes.
 The Roman Catholic Church was very
involved in the exploration of new lands
because it wanted to spread Christianity.
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Portugal
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Early 1400’s: Portuguese sailors sailed
around the southern tip of Africe to
establish a trade route to India & China.
The city of Lisbon became the main trading
city of Europe.
Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco da Gama
were 2 of Portugal’s most famous explorers
at this time.
Spain
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The Spanish were envious of Portugal’s
wealth and started their own series of
explorations.
Spanish explorers sailed west to try to
reach Asia’s eastern shores; however, they
did not realize that the Americas were in
between Spain and Asia.
England
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England started focusing on exploration in
the 16th century.
English explorers, Martin Frobisher and
John Davis, looked for a North West
passage through Canada to India & China.
By the 17th century, England had more
colonies along the North American Atlantic
coast and in the West Indies than any other
European power.
France
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At first, France was preoccupied by wars
with England and Italy.
France sponsored expeditions to areas that
were farther north and west.
Cartier’s explorations set the stage for
France’s future exploration and colonization
of the New World.
Explorers
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1492: Christopher Columbus sailed to
what he thought was Japan. In fact he was
at an island in the Caribbean. Columbus
was sponsored by Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand of Spain. Columbus never
reached mainland North America.
Explorers
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1497: Even though England was not really
interested in exploration, the monarch
sponsored Giovanni Caboto (John
Cabot) who sailed to North America.
Explorers
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1501: Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian
merchant and mapmaker who explored the
coast of Brazil. North and South America
are named after him.
Explorers
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1519: Ferdinand Magellan sailed around
the tip of South America and named the
Pacific Ocean. He reached the eastern
part of Asia and his ships were the first to
circumnavigate the globe. He was killed in
the Philippines.
Explorers
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1534: France sponsored Jacques Cartier
who sailed to the New World and explored
up the St. Lawrence river as far north as
present day Montreal (then known as
Hochelaga).
How Did the Age of Exploration
Lead to Imperialism?
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Britain and Spain had built huge empires that
spanned the globe.
Through policies of imperialism these countries
maintained control over the inhabitants and
resources of the New World.
 Built on the desire to increase wealth and
power
 The colonies & land they controlled were to
further the interests & increase wealth of home
country
The European view of the rest of
the world

Europeans believed that they were culturally
and politically superior, therefore they had
every right to control the people and resources
of these new lands.
 The indigenous people were not considered
as equals.
 Belief that one’s own race and culture was
superior to those people of other societies is
known as enthnocentrism
Examples of ethnocentrism
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Aztecs & Incas (Spanish)
Chinese & Indians (British, Portuguese)
First Nations in N.A (British, French)
Africans as slaves
Caribbean (Spanish, British)
HOW? Government, Religion, Land, Slavery
How Did the Exchange of Goods
and Products Change the World?

The exchange of foodstuffs, metals,
plants, animals and diseases affected
economies and changed traditional ways
of life of people around the world.
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Europeans introduced: Metals, Wheel, Work
animals, Firearms, War technology
Product of Americas: Rubber, Canoes,
Snowshoes, Toboggans, Chewing gum,
Dyes, Medicinal plants
How Did the Exchange of Goods
and Products Change the World?
European diseases had devastating
effects on the local Indigenous people
who did not have immunity to European
diseases.
 It is estimated that 75% to 90% of the
Aboriginal population died as a result of
European disease.

How Did Imperialism Affect
European Worldviews?
Ideas & Knowledge
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Although Europeans considered their way of life as
superior, they were impressed by the First Nations ideas of
personal liberty, leadership & consensus government
and lack of emphasis on personal property.
Europeans saw the New World as a place offering new
opportunities , free land & escape from religious
persecution.
Because of the ideas taken from the First Nations,
Personal freedom, leadership, individual choice of
religion are key parts of the modern Western Worldview.
How Did Imperialism Affect
European Worldviews?
Economic Systems
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As more gold and silver came into Europe from the New
World, its buying power was reduced which resulted in
inflation.
The price of goods rose due to this inflation which caused
hardships for the common people who did not have the
wealth from colonies.
Spain and France purchased most of their goods from
other countries which led to industrialization in countries
such as England, Germany and the Netherlands.
By the end of 17th century, power was shifting from Spain
and Portugal to these countries due to this initial industrial
development.