CH 2 - Renaissance & Age of Discovery (AP Euro Unit 1)

Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, New Monarchs, Age of Exploration

Changes from medieval to Renaissance Europe

• Social: Feudal, fragmented → national identity, centralization

• Economic: Agricultural → Urban, commercial, capitalist

• Spiritual: Church → Secular, laity

Italian City-States

• Birthplace of Ren.

• Gateways btwn East & West

• Became bankers of Euro

Five major Italian States

Milan, Florence, Venice, Papal States, Naples

Florence Social Classes:

• Grandi (old rich, conservative)

• Popolo grosso (“Fat people,” new rich)

• Middle class (shop owners)

• Popolo minuto (“little people,” poor)

Ciompi Revolt (1378)

• Causes: Conflict (old vs. new rich), social chaos from plague, bank collapse

• Led to 4-yr rule (Florence) by lower classes

Despotism

• Hired strongmen (despots/podestà) for law/order & business

• Used mercenary armies by condottieri (agents)

• Example: Sforzas (Milan)

Diplomacy

Gained power over enemies (monitoring them) w/o warring & espionage (resident embassies)

Fall of Constantinople (1453)

Led to decline in Italy’s trading empire, internal conflict, influx of Greek scholars, French invasion

Humanism Effects

Politics (civic humanism), Church (criticism/reform), Society (individualism, reason)

Leonardo Bruni

Florentine chancellor inspired by Roman republicanism

Manuel Chrysoloras

Scholar who taught Greek scholarship to Italian humanists

Francesco Petrarch

• “Father of humanism”

• Love sonnets to Laura

• Revived classics (Cicero)

• Letter to Boccaccio: Open mind should contain religious & secular reading (Literary Humanism)

Dante Alighieri

Vita Nuova & Divine Comedy (+Petrarch’s sonnets) were basis of Italian vernacular lit.

Giovanni Boccaccio

• Decameron: social commentary & view on human behavior

• Made encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology

Liberal education

Studies for virtue and wisdom, not gain (summarized by Vergerio)

Baldassare Castiglione (Book of the Courtier)

• Ideal Courtier (Ren. man): Could integrate classical knowledge w/ other skills & respectful/harsh when needed

• Female: Same as Courtier but emphasis on grace/beauty & self-awareness

Christine de Pisan

• Educated noblewoman

• The City of Ladies: Challenged misogyny & celebrated notable women

Revival of Greek studies (Platonism) in Florence:

• Causes: Greek learning (Chrysoloras, scholars), church unification

• Florentine Academy: Florentine humanist group to revive Platonism

• Belief: Reason could connect w/ the perfect world

• Oration on the Dignity of Man (Pico): Humans could shape their destiny (individualism)

Lorenzo Valla

Catholic who exposed the Donation of Constantine using textual analysis & logic to find modern words

Albrecht Dürer

Painted self-portrait (1500) representing himself as Christ-like, later painted a depressed man (opposed “Ren. man”)

Giotto

Father of Ren. painting, painted natural world

Leonardo da Vinci

• Ren. man, multifaceted (anatomy, botany)

• The Last Supper:

  • Commissioned by Sforzas

  • Contrasted a calm Christ announcing to chaotic disciples 1 of them is traitor

  • Showed symmetry/balance (disciples), naturalism (bodies), perspective

Raphael

• The School of Athens:

  • Commissioned by Pope Julius II & sat in his apartment

  • 100% secular

  • Showed Plato & Aristotle around ancient philosophers/scientists

  • Ren. tech (symmetry)

Michelangelo

• “Melancholy genius”

• Florence David sculpture: Glorified human form

• Sistine Chapel: Paid by Julius II, showed many stories, mixed Greco-Roman w/ Christian (Sibyls)

Mannerism

• Shift from Ren. idealism to the weird

• Artists could express themselves in own “manner” (symbolism)

• Pontormo’s Entombment of Christ: Jesus being pulled off cross to tomb; man w/ pink skin & women floating (unnatural properties)

Slavery in the Renaissance:

• Widespread in wealthy households

• Owners had full control

First Italian Invasion

• Milan’s Ludovico invited Charles VIII (France) for help

• Medici’s exiled after giving territory

• Led to Spanish League of Venice to oust France & set stage for France-Spain conflict

Second Italian Invasion

• French returned w/ Pope Alexander VI, who wanted to secure power for his children

• Alex allied w/ Louis XII (France) so both focused on Italy

• French took Milan

Third Italian Invasion

• Pope Julius II (“warrior pope”) focused on securing Papal States & gaining political power

• Holy League: Alliance (Swiss) to oust French from Italy

• French returned w/ Francis I, leading to Concordat of Bologna

Niccolò Machiavelli

• Believed in order by any means (Machiavellianism)

• The Prince: Recommended rulers to unify Italy w/ fraud/brutality

• Outcome: Italy remained divided (Medicis failed)

France Monarchy

• Charles VII & Louis XI

• Centralization Tactics:

  • Military: Permanent professional army

  • Economic: strong economy (Jacques Couer), national admin, taille (land tax)

  • Political: Controlled nobility & fall of Burgundy (opp)

Printing Press

• Johann Gutenberg

• Causes: Ppl needed to read to govern

• Effect on Humanism: Ideas spread to wider audience, standardized languages

• Effect on Church: Ppl could read, challenged Church

Erasmus

• Priest believed in simple faith

• Rejected scholasticism

• Colloquies: Anticlerical dialogues/satires

• In Praise of Folly: Satirical critique of church corruption (wealth/practices)

• Translated New Testament to Greek/Latin

Pieter Bruegel

Return of the Hunters:

• Showed hunters (peasants) coming back from a hunt w/ little for town

• Continuance of life symbolized hope

• Northern landscape showed Christian humanism

German Humanism

• Leader: Rudolf Agricola, Conrad Celtes (anti-foreign humanism)

• Ulrich von Hutten: Fought indulgences & published Valla’s expose

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

English Humanism

• Cause: Scholars & merchants from Italy

• Thomas More:

  • Henry VIII’s advisor

  • Utopia: Criticized society by describing one where ppl shared resources (Christian principles); influenced by Plato’s Republic (sacrificing individuality for community)

French Humanism

• Cause: Invasion of Italy

• Leaders: Guillaume Budé & Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples

Effects: Reform-minded humanists led to John Calvin

Spanish Humanism

• Leader: Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros

• Goal of strengthening Church

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

Portuguese Voyages

• Motives: Prince Henry “the Navigator” wanted gold, spices, Christian converts

• Goal: Bypassing Venetian spice monopoly

• Church supported explorations

Bartholomew Dias (Portuguese)

• Rounded Cape of Good Hope (1487)

• Opened eastern route to Asia

Vasco da Gama (Portuguese)

Reached India, returning w/ $ spices → Portuguese colonies/spice trade

Spanish Voyages (Columbus)

• Goal: Find a shorter sea route to East Indies across Atlantic

• First Voyage (1492): Landed in Bahamas, believing it was Asia

Amerigo Vespucci (Spanish)

Explored South America’s coast, proving America was a new continent

Ferdinand Magellan (Spanish)

Searched for a westward route to Indies, w/ crew being first circumnavigators

Spanish Conquest of Aztecs (Mexico):

• Aztecs: Big rule, resentment from subjects

• Hernán Cortés: Formed alliances w/ Aztec enemies (Tlaxcala) to conquer Tenochtitlan (capital) → “New Spain”

Spanish Conquest of Incas (Peru):

• Incas: Big empire

• Francisco Pizarro: Conquered Incas by killing Atahualpa (ruler) & his followers → Latin America

Bartolomé de Las Cases

Priest who criticized the Spanish cruelty against natives (“Black Legend”) → regulations to protect Indians

Spanish Labor Systems

• Encomienda: Grant colonists # of natives laborers

• Repartimiento/Mita: Forced natives to work a # of days yearly (labor tax)

• Debt Peonage: Tied natives to their landowner by creating an unpayable debt

Charles V

• Became Holy Roman Emperor w/ financial support by Fuggers

• Controlled Habsburg & Spanish Empire

• Sacked Rome → decline of Italian Ren.

Medici Family

• Rich middle-class banker fam

• De facto rulers of Florence (Cosimo)

• Financed new ideas in fields (art) → Italian Ren.

• Patronized Florentine Academy

Virtú

• Humanistic: Untapped human potential/success (individualism)

• Roman: Civic heroism (led to Machiavelli)

• Machiavelli: Criminal virtu, cruel but good leaders

Civic Humanism

• Virtue & public service (Florentine humanist city chancellors)

• Engagement in community

• Shaped “Renaissance Man”

Christian Humanism

• Classics to understand Bible w/ early church writings

• Goal of reforming Church (Erasmus)

• Northern Ren.

• Influenced Protestant Reform. & Martin Luther

Treaty of Lodi (1454-1455)

• Peace alliance uniting Milan, Naples, Florence vs. Venice & Papal States

• Ended when Naples threatened Milan

• Created short stable balance of power → Peace for 40yrs

• Unity protected against foreign enemies

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

• Strict 4yr rule 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

• Carried by Charles V’s (HRE) troops

• Symbolically ended Italian Ren.

• Spread of Ren. as ppl fled w/ Ren. ideas

• City-states declined

• Weakened Papal States

Johaness Gutenberg

• Invented printing press w/ movable type

• Cheaper standardized Bibles

• Books cheaper, more efficient to make

• Ppl could read & fight Church

• Woodcuts for illiterate ppl

Sovereign

• Replaced feudalism, kings allied w/ towns

• Monarchs’ control over taxes, wars, law

• New political institutions (armies, civil servants)

• Political centralization (France, Spain, England)

Patronage

• New wealth from trade/banking

• Financial support from wealthy ppl/institutions for status

• Exploration of new secular ideas (art)

• Revival of classical ideas (scholars)

Mercantilism

• Self-sufficient economy by exporting more than it imported

• Fixed amount of wealth (competition)

• Long-range economic policies (tariffs, restricted imports) for favorable trade balance

• Economic decisions to benefit mother (colonies)

Bullionism

• Country’s wealth based on gold/silver supply

• Finite bullion (competition)

• Foundation for mercantilism

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

Louis XI (“Spider King”)

• Built upon France economy

• Controlled nobility

• Conquered Burgundy

• Kingdom ended w/ ~2x initial size

Francis I/Concordat of Bologna (1516)

• France’s third Italian invasion

• Concordat of Bologna gave pope taxation abilities & authority over church councils while kings got control over church appointments

  • Weakened papal, increased royal auth

  • King now cared about the Church → stayed Catholic during Protestant Reform.

• Imposed taille (land tax)

Tudor Dynasty/Henry VII

• After Richard III’s defeat

• Henry VII’s rule (Centralization):

  • Married Elizabeth of York to unify

  • Court of Star Chamber will changed court to try nobles → Court favored king’s will

  • Confiscated noble lands/fortunes → financial independence (Parliament)

Ferdinand and Isabella

• Married to unite Castile & Aragon (constitutionally separate)

• Hermandad subdued nobles

• Unified religion w/ state-controlled religion (Reconquista)

• Spanish Inquisition

• Catholicism remained during Counter-Reform

• Sponsorship of Columbus’ expedition (power, wealth)

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

Habsburg (HRE)

• Many autonomous states (Austrian-centered)

• Rulers (Habsburgs, Charles V) financed by Fuggers

• Habsburg-Valois Wars: Fought w/ Francis I for Italian lands (French defeat)

Holy Roman Empire (HRE)

• Fragmented & decentralized, gov’t couldn’t tax or make armies

• Golden Bull: Electoral college to elect emperor

• Reichstag & Diet of Worms: National meetings for unity

• Princes sovereign in their domains

• Disunity led to Protestant reform.

Maximilian I

• Ruler of Habsburg/HRE

• Gained French territory w/ marriage to Mary of Burgundy → dynastic conflict w/ French

• Laid foundation for Charles V by arranging marriages

Commercial Revolution

• More $, new world’s bullion → inflation (Price Revolution)

• Capitalism, investing $ into businesses

• Money economy

• New products & greater demand

• Power from royalty to middle class

• Financial institutions

Hanseatic League

• Independent merchant association of German towns & merchants

• Protected mutual trading interests 

• Controlled trade in most of northern Euro

Joint-Stock Company

• Capitalism where investors financed a common goal (ex. British East India Company)

• Shared risk/profit

• Financed exploration

Why did the Renaissance begin in Florence, Italy?

• Location: Trade hub btwn East & West → wealth

• Wealth: Rich banker fam (Medici) became de facto rulers & patrons

• Independence: no central gov’t

• Classics: Chrysoloras taught Greek scholarship (humanism)

Define humanism and explain how it was different from medieval scholasticism.

• Focus on humanitatis for virtue

• Individualism, human potential

• Ancient knowledge → classics w/ critical analysis

• Reason: To explain church practices → to live good life

• Church → Secularism

How did Renaissance art reflect the political and social events of the period? Give an example.

• Art: rational, secular, realistic, nature, classical influence

• Humanistic (reason)

• Commissioned by wealthy fams & institutions (middle class) for status

• School of Athens (Raphael): Commissioned by Julius II, secular, tech (symmetry/balance)

Why did France invade Italy in 1494, and how did this event begin Italy’s decline?

• Peace Treaty of Lodi ended

• Ludovico (Milan) asked help from France (Charles VIII)

• Savonarola allowed France to enter w/o resistance

• Marked start of Italian Wars → city autonomy & Ren decline

How did the actions of Pope Julius II and Machiavelli each signify a new era in Italian civilization?

• Julius:

  • Securing Italy’s power, Holy League to protect against French

  • Secular papacy, political > spiritual affairs

• Machiavelli:

  • It’s better to be feared than love & to do anything for order (The Prince)

  • rulers only limited by themselves, secular gov’t, idealism to cynicism

Why did Spain become so formidable in the late 15th century?

• Isabella & Ferdinand’s marriage uniting Castile & Aragon

• Conquered territories (Moors) & using Hermandad to subdue nobles

• Christianized country w/ Spanish Inquisition

• Sponsored Columbus (power & wealth)

Describe the state of affairs in England in the latter part of the 15th century:

• War of the Roses: Civil war over throne; York vs. Lancaster; weakened nobility

• York Rule: Edward IV centralized power, followed by Richard III

• Tudor Rule/centralization: Henry VII

  • Defeated Richard

  • Formed royal navy

  • Married Elizabeth of York to unite fams

  • Court of Star Chamber tried nobles & favored king

  • Noble lands/fortunes taken → financial independence from Parliament

How was the Northern Renaissance different from the Italian Renaissance?

• Italian: Individualism & secularism, idealism (art)

  • Machiavelli (The Prince), Castiglione (The Courtier)

• Northern: Christian humanism/rel, social reform, everyday life art

  • More (Utopia), Erasmus (The Praise of Folly)

• Both: Influenced by humanism & classics

  • More (Plato’s Republic), Machiavelli (Roman Emperors)

What factors lead to voyages of discovery?

• God, glory, gold

• Crusades renewed interest in other parts of the world

• Seeking new knowledge (Ren.)

Compare and contrast Spanish and Portuguese exploration and expansion:

1. Portuguese: Indian route, focused on trade, slave plantations & trade

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

   1. Hernan Cortes (Aztecs)

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

What impact did conquest have on Europe and on the conquered peoples?

• Europe: Exploration grew, commercial revolution/capitalism, social divisions deepened, skepticism about old knowledge

• Natives: Diseases (smallpox), forced labor, pop. reduce by 92%

• Both: New foods/animals (potatoes, maize; horses, cattle), diseases (N: Smallpox, E: Syphilis)

Quinto

Spanish took 1/5 mining revenues from natives

Spanish Agriculture Systems in Americas:

• Hacienda: Estates owned by peninsulares (Spanish-born) or creoles (Spanish born in Amer); relied on mining industry

• Plantations: Labored by African slaves for sugar

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

The Myth of the Renaissance (Burke)

• Burkhardt’s Renaissance was a myth

• Continuation of medieval trends; there were earlier renaissances

Machiavelli and the Renaissance (Chabod)

Recognized Machiavelli's impact on future political thought & radical ideas

Northern Sources of the Renaissance (Charles G. Nauert)

• Northern Ren. adapted to meet own needs

• National identity/centralization; to reform & return to an uncorrupted, ancient church

The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea (Gomes Eannes de Azurara)

Justified Henry's exploration motives of spreading Christianity and bringing back valuable goods (rel. motivation)

Letter to Charles V: Finance and Politics (Jacob Fugger)

Reminded Charles V of the Fugger's power/support (loaned him $) so they gain his favor

The Expansion of Europe (Richard B. Reed)

Portuguese became early leader due to early, centralized government & strong nationalism (political)

Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early America (Gary Nash)

Europeans saw land as a resource to be exploit/own; Natives saw it as a spiritual shared resource (conflict)

Technological Advances that Helped Exploration:

• Navigational maps (cartography)

• Magnetic compass

• Astrolabe

• Guns, cannons

Studia Humanitatis

• Humanist study for virtue/wisdom

• grammar rhetoric, poetry, history, philosophy, politics

Oligarchy

• Gov’t ruled by few ppl

• Wealthy merchant/aristocrats who came to rule (Medici, Venice)

• Controlled Italian peninsula

New Monarchs

• Centralized power/sovereign

• Controlled Church/nobility

• Bureaucracy & taxation

• Internal & external trade

Brunelleschi

• Created Cathedral of Florence’s dome

• Rediscovered the science of perspective & studied Roman architecture