Chapter 11: The Transformation of Europe

The fragmentation of western Christendom

The division of Christianity in Europe into Protestant and Catholic factions during the Reformation.

The Protestant Reformation

A movement to reform the Roman Catholic Church

Martin Luther attacked the sale of indulgences

1517

Attacked corruption in the Roman Catholic Church

Highlighted abuses within the church and called for change based on scripture.

Argument reproduced with printing presses

Luther's writings spread widely thanks to the printing press

Enthusiastic popular response

Luther's ideas resonated with lay Christians

By mid-sixteenth century

half the German people adopted Lutheran Christianity

Reform spread outside Germany

Protestantism gained traction in Switzerland

English Reformation

Initiated by King Henry VIII to break from the Catholic Church

John Calvin

French Protestant reformer who established a strict theocratic community in Geneva.

Calvinist missionaries

Spread Calvinism to Scotland

The Catholic Reformation

A movement within the Catholic Church to reform and counteract Protestant growth.

The Council of Trent

1545-1563

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

A Catholic order founded to educate and spread Catholicism worldwide.

Witch-hunts in Europe

Hysteria over witchcraft led to the execution of thousands

Religious wars in Europe

Conflicts between Protestants and Catholics dominated the 16th century.

The Thirty Years' War

A devastating European war (1618–1648) stemming from religious and political tensions.

The consolidation of sovereign states

The formation of centralized states with distinct governments and territories.

Charles V

Holy Roman Emperor

The new monarchs of England

France

The Spanish Inquisition

A Catholic court established to root out heresy and enforce religious orthodoxy.

Constitutional states

England and the Netherlands developed systems of government with limited powers and individual rights.

Absolutism

A political system where monarchs held absolute power

Louis XIV

The "Sun King" of France

The Peace of Westphalia

A treaty in 1648 that ended the Thirty Years' War and established sovereign states.

The balance of power

A diplomatic principle to prevent any one state from dominating others.

Early capitalist society

An economic system where private parties made decisions based on supply and demand.

Population growth

Improved nutrition and disease resistance led to a European population boom from 1500 to 1800.

Urbanization

Rapid growth of cities as commercial and administrative centers during early modern Europe.

The nature of capitalism

Economic activity driven by private parties and free-market principles.

Supply and demand

Determined prices and encouraged the development of trade networks and financial institutions.

Joint-stock companies

Organizations like the EEIC and VOC that pooled resources for large-scale trade and colonization.

The putting-out system

A production system where rural laborers produced goods for merchants outside guild control.

Social change in early modern Europe

Capitalism improved living standards but also created social tensions.

The nuclear family

Strengthened by economic independence and emotional bonds in capitalist society.

The reconception of the universe

A shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric model during the Scientific Revolution.

The Ptolemaic universe

A model with Earth at the center

The Copernican universe

A heliocentric model proposing the sun as the center of the universe.

Galileo Galilei

Scientist who made groundbreaking observations with the telescope and advanced physics.

Isaac Newton

Developed the laws of motion and gravity

The Enlightenment

An intellectual movement applying reason and scientific principles to human society.

John Locke

Philosopher who argued that human knowledge comes from sensory experiences.

Adam Smith

Economist who explained market behavior using laws of supply and demand.

Montesquieu

Advocated for political liberty through the separation of powers in government.

Voltaire

Enlightenment thinker who championed religious freedom and individual rights.

Deism

The belief in a rational God who created the universe but does not intervene in human affairs.

The theory of progress

Enlightenment belief in rational analysis and human advancement to improve society.