AP Euro Unit 1 | CH 2 Renaissance & Age of Discovery

Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, New Monarchs, Age of Exploration

3 Key Shifts from Middle Ages → Renaissance

• Feudalism → Centralized State / National Identity.

• Manorialism/Agriculture → Urban Capitalism / Trade.

• Religious → Secular / Individualism.

Italian City-States (Political Structure)

• Independent Oligarchies (ruled by wealthy merchant families, e.g., Medici).

• Weakness: Fragmented and competitive; prone to foreign invasion.

• Italy's Advantage: Geography (Gateway between East/West) → immense wealth.

Florence Social Classes

• Grandi: Old rich nobles.

• Popolo Grosso: "Fat people" (new rich capitalists/bankers).

• Popolo Minuto: "Little people" (poor).

• Conflict: Ciompi Revolt (1378)—uprising of the poor due to plague/social unrest; led to brief chaotic rule by lower classes.

Renaissance Diplomacy

• Innovation: Created to maintain Balance of Power among city-states (Treaty of Lodi).

• Tools: Resident embassies, modern espionage, and alliances to monitor enemies.

Fall of Constantinople (1453)

• Event: Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine capital.

• Impact: Closed trade routes to East (spurring exploration); Greek scholars fled to Italy (fueling Humanism).

Humanism (Definition & Goal)

• Study: Studia Humanitatis (Classics: Grammar, Rhetoric, History).

• Goal: Virtú (reach full human potential) & Public Service, secularism, individualism.

Petrarch

• "Father of Humanism."

• Revived classical texts (Cicero) and wrote vernacular sonnets.

• Argued for studying both religious and secular works.

Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier

• Guidebook: How to be the ideal "Renaissance Man."

• Traits: Multifaceted (skilled in arts + war), well-mannered, possesses grace.

• Women was same as Courtier but emphasized grace/beauty & self-awarness.

Christine de Pisan

• Educated noblewomen; wrote The City of Ladies.

• Defended women's intellect and ability against misogyny.

Platonism (Florentine Academy)

• Revival of Plato's philosophy (reason to connect to perfect world), sponsored by Medicis.

• Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man: Humans have free will to shape their own destiny.

Lorenzo Valla

• Humanist who used textual criticism to prove the Donation of Constantine was a forgery.

• Undermined Church auth.

Leonardo da Vinci

• The ultimate "Renaissance Man" (artist, engineer, scientist).

• Mona Lisa (psychological depth); The Last Supper (perspective, geometry, emotion).

School of Athens (Raphael)

• Significance: Perfect example of High Renaissance.

• Themes: Balance, harmony, and Secularism (glorifies Greek philosophers like Plato/Aristotle in the Vatican), patronized by Pope.

Michelangelo

• "Melancholy Genius" sculptor and painter.

• David (glorifies human form); Sistine Chapel (Neoplatonic mixing of biblical/classical figures).

Mannerism

• Context: Late Renaissance (turmoil/Reformation).

• Style: Rejected balance/symmetry. Used distortion, elongation, and clashing colors to show emotion/anxiety.

• Pontormo’s Entombment of Christ: Unnatural features like man w/ pink skin & women floating

The Prince (Machiavelli)

• Goal: A unified Italy (free from "barbarians").

• Thesis: "The ends justify the means." Better to be feared than loved.

• Politics: Secular and pragmatic; removed morality from ruling.

France (New Monarchs)

Rulers: Charles VII (created permanent army); Louis XI ("Spider King"—conquered Burgundy, efficient tax), Francis I (Concordat of Bologna)

Printing Press (Impact)

• Inventor: Gutenberg (~1450).

• Effects: Book cost ↓, Literacy ↑.

• Crucial for: Spreading Humanist/Reformation ideas (Luther), challenging Church authority, standardizing language.

Erasmus

• "Prince of the Humanists." Christian Humanist.

• Wrote In Praise of Folly (satirized Church corruption).

• Goal: Reform the Church from within through education (simple faith).

Reuchlin Affair (Germany)

Humanists defended Johann Reuchlin (academic freedom) after a Pfefferkorn suppressed Jew writings & attacked him

Spanish Humanism

• Goal of strengthening Church

• Complutensian Polygot Bible: Multi-lang (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) bible by Cisneros for reforms

Portuguese Exploration Model

• Direction: East (around Africa).

• Empire Style: Trading Post Empire (factories) on coasts of Africa/India.

• Key Tech: Caravel, Astrolabe, Magnetic Compass.

• Dias (Rounded Cape of Good Hope) & Da Gama (reached Indian spice trade)

Spanish Exploration

• Focus: Westward route across Atlantic.

• Columbus (1492): "Discovered" Americas while seeking Asia.

• Magellan: Crew circumnavigated the globe.

Bartolomé de Las Cases

• Priest who criticized Spanish brutality (Black Legend)

• Inadvertently encouraged African slavery as "humane" alternative.

Spanish Labor Systems

• Encomienda: Royal grant giving colonists right to forced native labor/tribute in exchange for "protection."

• Repartimiento/Mita: Rotating forced labor tax.

Charles V

• Became Holy Roman Emperor w/ financial support by Fuggers

• Controlled Habsburg & Spanish Empire

• Sacked Rome → decline of Italian Ren.

Virtú

• Humanistic: Untapped human potential/success (individualism)

• Roman: Civic heroism (led to Machiavelli)

• Machiavelli: Criminal virtu, cruel but good leaders

Civic Humanism

• Idea: Education should prepare men for active public service / politics (“Renaissance Man”)

• Model: Cicero (Roman Republic).

• Key Figure: Leonardo Bruni.

Christian Humanism

Northern movement to reform/simplify the Church and society through education and early Christian writings

Treaty of Lodi (1454)

• Peace agreement establishing a balance of power among Italian city-states.

• Provided 40 years of peace until the French invasions.

Girolamo Savonarola

• Preacher told Florentines that Charles VIII’s (France) invasion of Italy was divine punishment

• Charles enter w/o resistance → further invasions, decline of autonomy

• His theocracy ended w/ his execution

Julius II

• “Warrior pope” due to political focus (secular)

  • Suppressed Borgias & drove Venetians from Romagna

  • Holy League to oust France from Italy

• Patronized arts (Michelangelo, Raphael)

• Secured Papal States

Sack of Rome (1527)

• Charles V’s troops looted Rome.

• Symbolizes the end of the Italian Renaissance and Italian independence.

Patronage

• New wealth from trade/banking

• Financial support from wealthy ppl/institutions for status, reviving classics & leading to new secular ideas

Mercantilism

• Economic Theory: Wealth = Bullion (Gold/Silver).

• Zero-Sum: One nation's gain is another's loss.

• Policy: Export > Import. Colonies exist only to enrich the mother country.

Jacob Burckhardt

• Historian who saw Ren. as prototype of modern secular world away from medieval era

• Full release of man

• Criticized for exaggeration (Burke) due to continuation from medieval era & earlier Renaissances

Concordat of Bologna (1516)

• Agreement: Between Francis I (France) & Pope.

• Terms: King gets to appoint bishops (control church); Pope gets revenue.

• Effect: Kept France Catholic during Reform & increased king auth

England (New Monarchs)

• Ruler: Henry VII (Tudor).

• Tactics: Ended War of the Roses; used Star Chamber (royal court w/o jury) to check noble power; avoided wars to gain financial independence from Parliament.

Spain (New Monarchs)

• Rulers: Ferdinand (Aragon) & Isabella (Castile) united.

• Actions: Completed Reconquista (1492); enforced religious unity via Inquisition (persecuting heretics); sponsored Columbus.

Spanish Inquisition

• Church under control of monarchy

• Tortured Jews & Moors who didn’t convert

• Anti-Semitism in Euro. (Jews persecuted)

• Unified Spain’s religion but lost taxes

Holy Roman Empire Political Structure

• Structure: Decentralized collection of ~300 states; Emperor elected by 7 Electors (Golden Bull).

• Habsburgs: Charles V ruled HRE + Spain; vast empire but weak central authority due to Reformation and local princes.

Commercial Revolution

• Economic shift: Rise of capitalism, banking, and joint-stock companies, money economy

• Caused by influx of New World bullion (Price Revolution/inflation) and population growth

Hanseatic League

• Merchant guild of German trading cities.

• Dominated Northern European trade before the rise of nation-states.

Joint-Stock Company

• Business entity where investors pool money for a common purpose (exploration).

• Precursor to modern corporations; reduced individual risk (e.g., British East India Co.).

Northern Renaissance Art

• Focus: Daily life, peasants, detail-oriented realism, religious piety.

• Pieter Bruegel: Return of the Hunters (landscapes/peasant life).

• Albrecht Dürer: Woodcuts and self-portraits (blended Northern detail w/ Italian perspective).

Spanish vs. Portuguese Exploration

1. Portuguese: India, trade, slave plantations

2. Spanish: Americas, gold/expansion, forced labor (Encomienda, debt peonage)

3. Both: God, cheaper/shorter Asian routes, using natives

Spanish Agriculture Systems

• Hacienda: Estates owned by peninsulares (Spanish-born) or creoles (Spanish born in Amer)

• Plantations: Labored by African slaves for sugar

• Urban Service: Gov’t offices, law; peninsulares/creoles

"New Monarchs" (3 Main Strategies)

• Goal: Centralize power, reduce noble influence, enforce law & order.

• Tactics: Professional standing armies (instead of feudal levies), alliance with towns/middle class (for taxes), control over clergy, mercantilism.

Brunelleschi

• Created Cathedral of Florence’s dome

• Rediscovered the science of perspective & studied Roman architecture

Thomas More

• English Christian Humanist; advisor to Henry VIII.

• Wrote Utopia: A critique of society by imagining a perfect socialist island based on reason (Plato’s Republic)

Reconquista

• Centuries-long campaign by Spanish Christians to retake Spain from the Moors (Muslims).

• Ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada.

Prince Henry "The Navigator"

• Portuguese prince who sponsored exploration schools.

• Motives: Gold, spices, spreading Christianity, bypassing Italian monopolies.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Pope divided the New World between Spain (West) and Portugal (East/Brazil).

Columbian Exchange

• To Europe: Potatoes/Maize (Pop. Explosion), Syphilis, Tobacco, Bullion.

• To Americas: Smallpox/Measles (90% death rate), Horses, Cattle, Guns.

Price Revolution

• Slow, steady inflation across Europe in 16th c.

• Causes: Population growth (demand) + New World gold/silver.

Fuggers / Medicis

Wealthy banking families (German/Italian) who financed monarchs (like Charles V) and wars, replacing feudal lords as power brokers.

Star Chamber (England)

• Monarch: Henry VII (Tudor).

• Purpose: Secret court to try powerful nobles without a jury.

• Result: Reduced aristocratic power.

Secularism vs. Individualism

• Secularism: Focus on the material world (here & now) rather than the afterlife.

• Individualism: Celebration of unique personal genius/achievement (virtú) over community.

Motives for Exploration

• God: Spread Christianity (Jesuits/Missionaries).

• Gold: Spices (Asia) and bullion (Americas).

• Glory: Renaissance individualism/fame.

Spanish Conquistadors

• Hernán Cortés: Conquered Aztecs (Mexico) using tech, disease, and native allies.

• Francisco Pizarro: Conquered Incas (Peru) by capturing Atahualpa (ruler).

• Amerigo Vespucci: Proved distinct "New World" continent.

The Italian Wars (1494–1559)

• Cause: Ludovico (Milan) invited Charles VIII (France) to intervene (breakdown of Treaty of Lodi).

• Key Figures: Julius II ("Warrior Pope" fought France); Charles V vs. Francis I (Habsburg-Valois War).

• Result: Sack of Rome (1527) by Charles V's troops. Italy loses independence; Spain dominates.

Renaissance Art Characteristics

• Techniques: Linear perspective (3D depth), Chiaroscuro (light/shadow), geometric balance, naturalism, secularism/idealism (Italy).

• Themes: Classical mythology, secular portraits, human-centric religious scenes.

Women’s Role During Ren.

• Recieved limited edu due to being confined to domestic spheres (wives/mothers), emphasizing honor & chastity

• Held influence as patrons of arts

• Increased literacy w/ printing press