European History: Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and the Age of Exploration

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the causes of the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Exploration, transatlantic slave trade, and Spanish colonial systems.

What major historical factors contributed to the start of the Renaissance?

The Abbasid Golden Age, the Crusades, the Black Death, the collapse of feudalism, and the rise of centralized monarchies.

Who initiated the Crusades, and what was their primary objective?

Pope Urban II launched the Crusades (1095–1291) to retake the holy lands from Muslims.

What was the outcome of the Crusades for the Christian forces?

The Christians lost to Saladin, having held control of the territory for at most four months.

Why did the Northern Renaissance begin later than the Italian Renaissance?

It started later because the spread of the Black Death slowed as it traveled north.

Why did the Italian city-states (such as Florence and Venice) become the initial centers of the Renaissance?

They benefited from access to water for trade, the wealth of the Medici family, and relative peace.

Which centralized monarchies emerged as feudalism declined across Europe (excluding Russia)?

The Capetian Dynasty and the Bourbon Dynasty.

Who were the combatants in the Hundred Years' War, and what was the outcome?

England fought against France, and France won.

What events marked the end of the Renaissance around 1600?

The death of William Shakespeare and the onset of the Scientific Revolution.

What were the primary themes of Italian Renaissance art around c. 1400?

Religion, Classicism, Humanism, and Realism.

What were the artistic characteristics of Italian Renaissance art?

Three-dimensional realism/perspective and the use of light and dark.

What were the primary themes of Northern Renaissance art around c. 1500?

Humanism, nature, science, peasant life, and life and death.

How is the Scientific Revolution (c. 1500–1700) defined?

A period of quick, dramatic changes in science over a short span of time utilizing classical ideas and theories.

What are the core requirements of the Scientific Method and empirical evidence?

The Scientific Method must yield the same results, and empirical evidence must be based on the five senses.

What primary scientific discoveries are credited to Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei?

Copernicus proposed the Heliocentric theory, and Galileo made discoveries using the telescope.

What major contributions were made by Sir Isaac Newton during the Scientific Revolution?

The laws of motion, light spectra, calculus, and gravity.

Why did the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) oppose the Scientific Revolution and condemn alchemy?

The Church hated new science because it directly contradicted the Bible.

Which nation initiated the Atlantic slave trade, and what drove their demand for labor?

Portugal started the trade in 1501 to fill labor shortages on their sugar plantations.

What were the Portuguese originally searching for when they arrived in West Africa?

Gold.

How many enslaved individuals were transported via the transatlantic trade by 1625 and by 1800?

$475{,}000$ people by 1625, and $16\text{ million}$ by 1800.

What conditions did enslaved people endure during the Middle Passage?

They were kept packed tightly below deck on ships, causing disease and illness to spread rampantly.

What was the Spanish Encomienda System?

A system of forced native labor across the Spanish colonies where a Crown grant allowed an encomendero to demand tribute in gold or labor from local Natives.

What conditions did Native laborers experience under the Encomienda System?

Dangerous labor in gold and silver mines, grueling work on sugar plantations, heavy tributes, physical abuse, and torture.

How did smallpox affect Native populations?

It was a viral infection that covered the body with blisters which ruptured and spread particles, devastating Native populations.

How was the colonial Spanish social hierarchy structured from top to bottom?

Peninsulares (born in Spain), Creoles (European descent born in the colonies), Mestizos and Mulattos (mixed European and Native/African descent), followed by Native Americans and people of African descent at the bottom.

What was the Mita System practiced in Inca lands?

An economic system specific to the Incas that used sweat equity to pay government taxes by forcing a portion of the Native population at fixed intervals into mining and agricultural labor.

What working conditions and outcomes did laborers face under the Inca Mita System?

Workers faced dangerous, poorly lit mines, dust inhalation, long hours, and severe population decline due to harsh conditions and illness.