Chapter 16
Transformations in Europe
1500 - 1750
Culture and Ideas: Early
Reformation
• Europe wealthy
• Began building
churches
• Sold indulgences
Martin Luther
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Challenged pope about
indulgences & other practices
Began Protestant Reformation
Argued salvation on faith alone
Christian belief could be based
only on Bible & Christian
tradition
In 1517, his Ninety-Five theses
resulted in excommunication
John Calvin (1509-1564)
• Influential French theologian &
pastor
• Argued that salvation was
God’s gift to those who were
predestined
• Christian congregations should
be self-governing
• Focus on simplicity in life & in
worship
• Broke from Roman Catholic
Church around 1530
Political Implications
• Protestant Reformation
appealed not only to religious
sentiments but also to
Germans who disliked the
Italian-dominated Catholic
Church and to peasants and
urban workers who wanted to
reject the religion of their
masters
Catholic Counter-Reformation
• At Council of Trent, Catholic
Church agreed on a number of
internal reforms and a
reaffirmation of fundamental
Catholic beliefs
• These responses, along with
activities of newly established
Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)
comprise the “Catholic
Reformation.”
The Council of Trent met on and off from 1545 to 1563. This
Catholic Reformation is considered to be one of the Church's
most important councils. It issued condemnations on what it
defined as Protestant heresies and defined Church teachings.
Wars of Religion
• The Protestant Reformation led to a number of wars of religion
• the last of them concluded in 1648
Religions in Europe after the Reformation.
Local Religion, Traditional Culture and
Witch-Hunts
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European concepts natural world were
derived from local religion & folk
customs
Most people believed natural events
had supernatural causes
Resulted in witch-hunts of late 16th &
early 17th centuries.
Over 100,000 people (three-fourths of
them women) were tried-about half
were executed
Demonstrated tension between
traditional beliefs & new religious &
political institutions
Scientific Revolution
• European intellectuals derived
understanding of natural world
from Greeks/Romans writing
• everything on earth reduced to
four elements
• sun, moon, planets, stars so
light & pure that they floated in
crystalline spheres & rotated
around earth in perfectly
circular orbits
Scientific Revolution
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Copernicus, Galileo, others
undermined earth-centered model
of universe
Introduced helio-centric model
criticized & suppressed by
Protestant leaders & Catholic
Church
Despite opposition, printed books
spread new scientific ideas among
European intellectuals
Copernicus’ book regarded as
starting point of modern
astronomy-began Scientific
Revolution
Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) Italian physicist, mathematician,
astronomer, philosopher who played a major role in the
Scientific Revolution. His achievements include a 30 power
telescope, consequent astronomical observations, and support
for Copernicus’ theories
Scientific Revolution
• Isaac Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity showed how natural
laws govern all physical objects
• showed why planets move around the sun in elliptical orbits
• Newton and others did not believe that their discoveries were in
conflict with religious belief
The Early Enlightenment
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Advances in scientific thought inspired
people to question accepted practices in
fields ranging from agriculture to laws,
religions, & social hierarchies
assumed that social behavior/ institutions
were governed by scientific laws
Enlightenment thinkers influenced by
Reformation & accounts of other cultures
(Jesuits in China)
New scientific methods provided model for
changing European society.
Inspired by disparate sources & espoused a
variety of agendas
Most optimistic that application of reason
would lead to human progress
Many absolutist rulers & Church opposed
new ideas
printing press helped spread new ideas
John Locke
• Influential Enlightenment
philosopher
• Social contract theory and
contributions to classical
republicanism are reflected in
American Declaration of
Independence
• disputed monarchial claims to
absolute authority by divine
right
• argued that rulers derived
authority from consent of
governed
• like everyone else, were
subject to the law
François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778), better known by the
pen name, Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer,
historian and philosopher. He advocated civil liberties,
including freedom of religion and free trade.
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) was an English
Enlightenment philosopher who established the
foundation for most of Western political philosophy from
the perspective of social contract theory.
Montesquieu (1689 -1755), was a French Enlightenment social
commentator and political thinker who was famous for his
articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for
granted in modern discussions of government and implemented
in many constitutions throughout the world.
Social and Economic Life: The Bourgeoisie
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Europe’s cities grew between 15001700
bourgeoisie thrived on manufacturing,
finance, trade
formed relationships w/ monarchs
built family & ethnic networks to
facilitate trade
merchants & governments formed
joint-stock companies & stock
exchanges
Governments improved transportation
infrastructure
Bourgeois gentry increased ownership
of land;
many entered ranks of nobility by
marrying into noble families or by
purchasing titles
The bourgeoisie were wealthy town dwellers who earned their
money by being a merchant or owning their own business. They
dominated trade, finance and manufacturing.
By 1700, Amsterdam was a major financial center and its ships
carried 80% of trade between Spain and northern Europe. It
was home to the Amsterdam exchange, the largest stock
exchange in Europe, and joint-stock companies which gave the
Dutch monopolies on trade to the East and West Indies.
Social and Economic Life: Peasants and
Laborers
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Serfdom declined/disappeared in West
Europe, gained prominence in East Europe
African slaves, working in Americas,
contributed to Europe’s economy
New World crops helped West European
peasants avoid starvation
High consumption of wood for heating,
cooking, construction, shipbuilding, &
industrial uses led to severe deforestation
Shortages drove up cost of wood, used coal
Some efforts to conserve forests/plant
trees-wood for naval vessels
Urban poor consisted of “deserving poor”
(permanent residents) & large numbers of
“unworthy poor”—migrants, peddlers,
beggars, and criminals
European
Deforestation
The slave trade massively contributed to Europe’s
economy via the American colonies.
The trans-Atlantic slave trade Diaspora.
Social and Economic: Women and Family
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Women’s status & work tied to
husbands & families
Common people married late-men
had to be independent; women
worked to earn dowries
Bourgeois men waited to finish
education
enabled couples to be
independent of parents; helped
keep birth rate low
Bourgeois parents put emphasis
on education; promoted
establishment of schools
Most schools, professions, and
guilds barred women from
participation
Political Innovations: State Development
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1516 -1519, Charles of Burgundy,
inherited thrones of Castile & Aragon,
and colonial empire; became Holy
Roman Emperor
Charles forged coalition-defeated
Ottomans at gates of Vienna-unable to
unify territorial possessions
Lutheran German princes rebelled
against Catholic Charles, seized
church lands, began German Wars of
Religion
Charles abdicated throne, Spain went
to his son Philip; weakened Holy
Roman Empire went to his brother
Ferdinand
Spain, France, England pursued
efforts at political unification
Charles V territorial empire from 1519 - 1556.
Philip II (1527 – 1598) became the King of Spain when his
father, Charles V, abdicated and retired to a monastery. He
used the Spanish Inquisition to hunt down anyone who was not
Catholic (Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and his critics).
Political Innovations: England
• In England, a conflict between
Parliament & king led to civil
war & establishment of Puritan
republic under Oliver Cromwell
• After Stuart line was restored,
Parliament drove King James
II from throne in Glorious
Revolution of 1688
• William & Mary, forced to sign
Bill of Rights, to limit power of
crown
Political Innovations: France
• Bourbon kings circumvented
representative assemblyEstates General-developed
absolutist style of government
• Louis XIV’s finance minister
increased revenue through
more efficient tax collection to
promote economic growth
• Louis entertained & controlled
nobility-required them to attend
court at Versailles
• Symbolized French monarch’s
triumph over nobility, clergy,
towns
Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles symbolized
the French monarch’s triumph over the traditional
rights of the nobility, clergy, and towns.
Warfare and Diplomacy
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Constant warfare led to military revolution ;
cannon, muskets, foot soldiers became
mainstays of armies
Armies grew in size; most maintained standing
armies (England maintained standing navy)
new command structures, signal techniques,
marching drills improved efficiency
Warships w/ multiple tiers of cannon; fourwheel cannon carriages made reloading easier
England’s new naval technology- demonstrated
when English Royal Navy defeated Spain’s
Catholic Armada in 1588-signaled end to
Spain’s military dominance in Europe
With Spain defeated, France rose as strongest
power on continent
England held superior naval power
During War of Spanish Succession, England,
allied with Austria and Prussia, prevented
French house of Bourbon from taking over
Spanish throne
With the War of the Spanish Succession, four
powers of Europe—France, Britain, Austria,
and Russia— maintained balance of power for
about two centuries
Spanish Armada was King Philip’s failed attempt
to invade England in 1588. A storm and superior
English tactics led to the defeat.
Route of the Armada.
War of the Spanish Succession. The great British victories in
this war were in the Spanish Netherlands and the Holy Roman
Empire and they established Britain as a great power.
Paying the Piper
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Rulers of European states needed to raise
new revenue to pay the heavy costs of their
wars; the most successful made profitable
alliances with commercial elites.
The Spanish undermined their economy by
driving out Jews, Protestants, descendants
of Muslims
Bullion gained from American empire spent
on payments to creditors & manufactured
goods & food
Northern provinces of Netherlands wrested
autonomy from Spain-became dominant
commercial power.
The United Provinces of the Free
Netherlands and particularly the province of
Holland favored commercial interests,
craftspeople, and manufacturing enterprises
Amsterdam became major center of finance
and shipping
Paying the Piper
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After 1650, England used naval power
to break Dutch dominance in overseas
trade
English government improved financial
position by collecting taxes directlycreated central bank
French government streamlined tax
collection, used protective tariffs to
promote domestic industries, improved
transportation network
French not able to introduce direct tax
collection, tax the land of nobles, or
secure low-cost loans
Conclusion
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Religious reformations combined with Scientific Revolution led way for
Enlightenment, an age of reason, and the movement to apply newly
discovered natural laws to social behavior
Foreign & domestic trade spawned rapid growth in European cities & rise of
a wealthy commercial class
Amsterdam in the Netherlands the most vivid example
Agricultural improvements increased production but the Little Ice Age and
increased mining of forests caused more difficulties for the poor
Holy Roman Empire declined in strength from religious fragmentation while
Spain and France increased centralized power
English increased naval power- established direct taxation and a central
bank, making the nation stronger financially than other European powers
IV. Comparative Perspectives
– In 1575, French scholar Loys Le Roy
described three technological innovations that
he thought had propelled Europe into a
golden age: the printing press, the marine
compass, and cannonry.
– Le Roy noted that Europe had finally caught
up to the Muslim world and had benefitted
from the spread of knowledge and the
Muslims refused to let documents be printed
in Europe.