Europe—Age of Enlightenment and Revolution

Europe began to emerge from the Middle Ages they began to rediscover their classical roots

Renaissance: begins in Northern Italy (supported by the leaders of Venice, Milan, Florence)

Renaissance-“rebirth” of classical culture in Europe

Western Europeans began to be reintroduced to the classical heritage; cities of Italy were growing rich off of trade with the middle east (Crusades) and trade routes were capturing the interest of the kings of Western Europe

the Renaissance was based on the idea of “Humanism’’

Humanism- the idea that writers, thinkers, and artists would use reason rather than strictly religious doctrine in order to make sense of the universe and the people who live there

Humanist sought a better life here on earth instead of just salvation after death.

Most of the earliest humanists were actually clergy

Humanism: seeking “reasonable” explanations for the world around us

During the Middle Ages the church dominated the intellectual and artistic landscape

As the works of the Classical master were rediscovered (Greeks and Romans) European thinkers began to question the church’s authority in all things

Two different ways of thinking will take the stage: Rationalism and Empiricism

Empiricism- the idea that all knowledge comes from the senses; also the base of scientific inquiry

Rationalism-the understanding and acquisition of knowledge, not through the senses like empiricism, but through deduction and reason

As the economy of western Europe changed, the rulers began to look for new opportunities. Due to the Crusades, trade routes to Asia had been established.

Expedition:

Magellan left Spain with 270 men and five ships. One ship survived and returned to Spain with 18 or 19 men. This trip took nearly 3 years. As, a result of the Opening of the New World, the emphasis of trade began to shift from the Med and Italian dominance to the Altantic seaboard and the Portuguese, British, Spanish and the Dutch among others.

New commerical practices:

Mercantilism- gov’t controls macro ecoonomy to insure a favorable trade balance. Gold was a key issue.

Capitalism- private ownership of the means of production. Decision making. Micro economy. Increased capital and new markets created some very wealthy members of the middle class.

Reformation:

The Reformation was a religious movement that had it’s roots in the Humanistic tradition. Reformation was the questioning of long-held beliefs. The idea that is was ok to ask why.

during th Middle Ages, the church was so powerful that very few people would question the church. The few who did met their fate. THat would change with Martin Lurther, A german monk, in the early 1500’s.

Luther challenged long held beliefs and would force the church to react to his movement.

Luther was a driven student who was constantly searching for “God’s Truth.” when he was studying the scripture in detail and he thought that the Church had lost some of the central truths of salvation. the most important being that salvation was a gift of mercy and that trusting in God’s grace was what salvation was all about. “The just shall live by faith”

Luther will clash with the Church to the point of being excommunicated. But the Church could not control the message. Luther’s message was spread throughout the German states and the nobilitiy in the aread decided to protect Luther.

The Pope and the Emperor wanted Luther to recant but he refused. He was declared an outlaw and went into hiding.

After the Revolution

Failure

after the end of the Reign of Terror, the French state will be ruled by the government called the Directory which was dominated by the Burgeoise (wealthy middle class). This government was somewhat corrupt and the economic problems that plagued France undr the monarchy were not resolved. Plus war continued to wage off and on and the people of France demanded strong leadership to “lead them out of the chaos” That leader turned out to be a Corsican lesser noblemen who had led the French armies to victory over her enemies.

Napoleon Bonaparte would become one of the most sucessfulmilitary leaders in modern history. He is also considered by many to be the first of the powerful modern dictators that would dominate Europe for over 100 years.

Napoleon would rule France and most of Western Europe for 15 years. He is considered one of the world’s great military leaders and strategist. Napoleon would conquear much of Western Europe and fore alliances on those he didnt conquer

the one nation that remained out of his control was Britain (why?) Napoleon tried to destroy England’s economy with a trade embargo (continental System) but it failed when several nations (especially Russia) refused to go along.

as a result, in 1812, Napoleon will invade Russia in order to punish them. the invasion will fail and will lead to his downfall. Napoleon will be defeated at the Battle of the Nations in 1813 and will be exiled to Elba. He will escape to rule France for another 100 days until his final defeat at Waterloo at the hands of the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian leader Blucher. Napoleon will be exiled to the island of Saint Helena where he will die in 1821 at age 51, probably of stomach cancer.

much was going on during the 18th and 19th centuries. while the western world was experiencing political revolution and Napoleon, it was also seeing a new way to produce wealth and new lifestyles and social classes as the industrial revolution took hold in …