AP Euro LEQs

Effects of the expansion of Atlantic trade on Western Europe’s economy (1450–1700)

• Stimulated capitalism & commercial networks (joint-stock companies, Amsterdam/Antwerp hubs).

• Bullion inflows caused price revolution, expanded markets, increased production & consumer goods.

• Plantation economies & mercantilist policies reorganized labor, channeled wealth to Europe.

Impacts of the Protestant & Catholic Reformations on social order (16th c.)

• Weakened clerical authority & increased secular ruler power.

• Altered women/family roles (Protestant household piety, Catholic female orders).

• Exacerbated class tensions (peasant revolts, redistribution of Church lands).

Reasons for the decline of the Holy Roman Empire

• Religious fragmentation (Protestant princes, Peace of Augsburg).

• Rise of powerful territorial states (Brandenburg, Saxony, Bavaria).

• External pressures (France/Sweden/Ottoman intervention; 30 Years’ War).

Most significant effect of the Enlightenment on European society

• Questioned religious & monarchical authority (Voltaire, Locke).

• Inspired legal & educational reforms (Napoleon & enlightened monarchs).

• Influenced revolutionary politics (Declaration of Rights of Man).

Key Answer: Spread of secular/rational thought; empowered individuals, undermined traditional authority.

Political consequences comparison: Britain’s Glorious Revolution vs French Revolution

• Monarchy: Britain constitutional but preserved elites; France abolished monarchy.

• Violence: Britain peaceful; France radical & bloody.

• Class order: Britain preserved aristocracy; France dismantled feudal privileges.

How Renaissance arts reflected new conceptions of the individual

• Realistic human form & emotion (Michelangelo, da Vinci).

• Celebrated individual achievement & patronage (Titian, Medici).

• Humanized religious themes via personal expression (Raphael, Bosch).

Influence of Enlightenment on elite & popular culture (18th c.)

• Elites: Intellectual discourse & policy reform (salons, enlightened absolutism).

• Popular: Access to ideas via print, coffeehouses, reading societies.

• Religion: Shift toward personal devotion & skepticism (Deism, private rituals).

Evaluate the most significant motivation for the European voyages of discovery and exploration in the period 1450 to 1600.

• Economic: Direct access to spices, gold; state-sponsored profit.

• Religious: Spread Christianity (secondary to trade).

• Technological: Navigational advances enabled voyages (caravel, astrolabe).
  Key Answer: Economic motives drove exploration, supported by religion & technology.

How government policies contributed to French national identity

• Standardized law & education (Napoleonic Code, civic education).

• Mass conscription & civic festivals fostered unity.

• Abolished feudal/regional privileges; promoted equality.

How industrialization affected development of political ideologies

• Socialism/labor movements: Worker hardship (Marx, Engels, unions).

• Liberalism: Bourgeoisie sought political representation, free trade.

• Conservatism: Elites defended tradition, order against industrial change.