10
Renaissance and Discovery
KEY TOPICS
 The politics, culture, and art of the Italian Renaissance
 Political struggle and foreign intervention in Italy
 The powerful new monarchies of northern Europe
 The thought and culture of the northern Renaissance
 The voyages of discovery to the Americas
CHAPTER NOTES
In the space provided below, construct your own outline of the chapter. Before you begin, refer to the
“Key Topics” (section headings – above), introductory paragraph, chapter conclusion, and “Review Questions”
to help you identify the major questions and issues covered in the chapter and the author’s main arguments
and interpretations. This will aid you in deciding what to include in your outline notes.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
The Renaissance in Italy
a. The Italian City-State
b. Humanism
c. Renaissance Art
d. Slavery in the Renaissance
Italy’s Political Decline: The French Invasions
a. Charles VIII’s March through Italy
b. Pope Alexander VI and the Borgia Family
c. Pope Julius II
d. Niccolo Machiavelli
Revival of Monarchy in Northern Europe
a. France
b. Spain
c. England
d. The Holy Roman Empire
The Northern Renaissance
a. The Printing Press
b. Erasmus
c. Humanism and Reform
Voyages of Discovery and the New Empires in the West and East
a. The Portuguese Chart the Course
b. The Spanish Voyages of Columbus
c. The Spanish Empire in the New World
d. The Church in Spanish America
e. The Economy of Exploitation
f. The Impact on Europe
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS: Read each question carefully (answers at end of chapter).
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
Renaissance means “rebirth” in French. ___
Humanists rejected the study of Latin and Greek. ___
Charles VIII led an army into Italy in 1494. ___
Alexander VI may well have been the most corrupt pope in history. ___
The defeat of Charles the Bold contributed to the growing power of the French monarchy. ___
The marriage of the monarchs of Aragon and Catalonia created a unified Spain. ___
Erasmus was a life-long Catholic. ___
Despite his views, Thomas More never incurred the wrath of Henry VIII. ___
In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. ___
Cortés, a small band of European soldiers, and their Indian allies conquered the Aztecs in 1521. ___
MULTIPLE CHOICE: Select the response which completes the sentence or answers the question best.
1. Which country took the lead in exploration in the fifteenth century?
a. Portugal
b. Spain
c. England
d. France
2. Renaissance society first took on its distinctive shape in the:
a. merchant cities of Italy
b. city-states of southern France
c. papal states
d. principalities of northern Germany
3. During much of the fifteenth century, the Medici family dominated:
a. Naples
b. Milan
c. Venice
d. Florence
4. Who was the “father” of humanism?
a. Giotto
b. Boccacio
c. Dante
d. Petrarch
5. Pico della Mirandola was heavily influenced by:
a. Cicero
b. Aristotle
c. Plato
d. Livy
6. One of Raphael’s most important masterpieces is:
a. The Virgin of the Rocks
b. The Pieta
c. The School of Athens
d. The Death of Saint Michael
7. Slaves were imported into Italy from:
a. Africa
b. The Balkans
c. Constantinople
d. All of the above
8. The balance of power was maintained in Italy in the second half of the fifteenth century by the:
a. Treaty of Lodi
b. Treaty of Paris
c. Treaty of Lucca
d. Treaty of Rome
9. European monarchies began to create standing armies in the:
a. fourteenth century
b. fifteenth century
c. thirteenth century
d. sixteenth century
10. Machiavelli hoped a strong ruler would emerge from the:
a. Sforza
b. Borgia
c. Medici
d. Guicciardini
11. Henry VII of England founded the:
a. Tudor dynasty
b. Stuart dynasty
c. House of York
d. Plantagenet dynasty
12. Erasmus wanted to:
a. lead a revolt against the Catholic church
b. return Europe to the days of the Roman Empire
c. elevate the Classics above all other literature
d. unite Classical and Christian ideals
13. The first European to round the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa was:
a. da Gama
b. Dias
c. Vespucci
d. Magellan
14. The writings of Las Casas contributed to the emergence of:
a. a new kind of fanatical conquistador
b. an organized opposition to European expansion
c. the Black Legend
d. None of the above
15. The encomienda was:
a. a large estate in the New World
b. a charter granting the right to found a colony
c. the forced transfer of criminals from Spain to the New World
d. a grant of the right to the labor of a specific number of Indians
MAP ANALYSIS
A. The exercises below should be answered by referring to the map (“Renaissance Italy”) on p. 319 of the text.
1. Using the map on p. 319 for reference, locate and identify: Naples, Rome, Siena, Florence, Genoa, Turin,
Milan, Venice, Palermo, Syracuse.
2. Why did the Renaissance develop first in Italian city-states? Why was Italy so well situated to take
advantage of increased regional and international trade?
B. The exercises below should be answered by referring to the map (“European Voyages of Discovery”) on
p. 343 of the text.
3. Using the map on p. 343 for reference, shade in the territories outside of Europe claimed by Portugal and
Spain.
4. How did Portugal and Spain take the lead in European expansion? How did their approaches to
exploration and colonization differ?
STUDY QUESTIONS: Consider each of the following questions carefully. Be prepared to supply specific
evidence and examples to support your points in a class discussion or concise, well-organized written essay.
1. Compare and contrast humanism and scholasticism. What role did Classical works play in each?
2. What common factors contributed to the revival of monarchy in France, Spain, and England? Why did the
Holy Roman Empire fail to participate in the centralizing trend?
3. What was the impact of the exploration of the New World on Europe? Which was more important, the
biological or the economic consequences of contact?
HOW DO WE KNOW?
The following questions are based on the various illustrations or quotations and extracts from primary
sources and historical interpretations in the chapter.
1. What was the place of individualism in Renaissance humanism? According to writers like Pico Della
Mirandola, what limits were there, if any, on human potential?
2. Describe the artist/patron relationship in Renaissance Europe. How does the relationship between
Michelangelo and Pope Julius II illustrate this dynamic?
3. What effect did contact with the New World have on Europeans’ sense of themselves? Did all Europeans
share the assumption that their conquest of the Americas demonstrated the superiority of their society and
culture?
TRUE/FALSE ANSWERS: 1-T (p. 318); 2-F (p. 321); 3-T (p. 332); 4-T (p. 332); 5-T (p. 336); 6-F (p. 336); 7-T (p. 340);
8-F (p. 341); 9-T (p. 342); 10-T (p. 345)
MULTIPLE CHOICE ANSWERS: 1-A (p. 342); 2-A (p. 319); 3-D (pp. 320-321); 4-D (p. 323); 5-C (p. 325); 6-C (p. 329);
7-D (p. 331); 8-A (p. 331); 9-B (p. 335); 10-C (p. 335); 11-A (p. 337); 12-D (p. 340); 13-B (p. 342); 14-C (p. 347);
15-D (p. 349)