17th Century - Renaissance

Historical Events

  • World events:

    • Invention of the Telescope, September 1608 

      • Hans Lippershey popularized

      • Invention of telescope challenged Aristotle’s cosmology on the geography of the moon

      • Galileo in 1609 inspired new discoveries of Jupiter

      • Discovery lead to new astronomers as it opened gates for ppl to learn through observation 

    •  Thirty Years War

      • Began when Roman emperor Ferdinand II spread Absolutism to Bohemian and Austrian counterparts

      • King Charles of Denmark

    •   Fall of Ming Dynasty

      •  1627 power transfer to the Chongzhen Emperor

      • Europe switched away from China’s economic system of silver, causing instability

      •  Little ice age held lowest temp of cent. Heavily disrupted agricultural industry

      • 1642 Ming dynasty rebels unleashed Yellow River– spread small pox

    • The Mayflower (1620) 

      •  Separatists wanted to establish own colony

      • plymoth 

      • This led to the pilgrimage to the New World by many other British immigrants

    • Portugal restoration

      •  Joaquim IV duke began

      • Portuguese became hostile to splash for high taxation and failure to protect from Dutch

      • War followed the restoration, where portugal was recognized as independent of Spain 

    • Second Northern Wars 1655-1660

      • Russian seizes Lithuanian cities and forced William of B-Prussia into alliance  

      • Sweden's weakness shown in the war and was taken over by Norway

    •  Establishment of Jamestown 1607

      • 144 men who hoped to convert indians and make profit off trade

      • English’s First colony in new world 

      • Named after King James 1

    • Rise of the Lunda Empire 1600s to 1650s

      • Spoke Bantu and shared Lunda culture

      • Sold ivory and slaves in the Indian Ocean 

      •  Imports of cloth and guns from middle east

      • Taken over by potuguese colonies which resultin in name angola

      • 1622 invaded congo, so congo sided with dutch

    • The Brazilian Gold Rush

      •  Gold first discovered in 1693

      •  Quintos Tax- value of gold was not yet set, so portion of gold was required to be sent to smelting houses

      •   To get gold for ptoguese they would enslave africans

        • Found this ineffective because of lack of smelting shops and ppl smuggled gold

    • Salem witch trials (1692-1693)

      • North American colonies and Puritin beliefs caused many women to be suspected 

        • No medical cause for fits

      • Arrests made on: sarah good, sara osborne and tituba. Tituba coerced into confession 

  • British events

    • Rise of King james VI of scotland

      • Took thone after Eliz. 1

      • Peace treaty with spain, not unionized england and scotland bc english parliament 

      • Supported the translation of the bible

      • Conflicted with the Parlement often

    • Gunpowder plot 1605

      • Fawks was originatior

      • Plan to kill King James VI to establish catholic monarchy 

      • Plot was warnned to ing Montagiue and the King intercepted it and avoided deah 

    •  English civil war

      • Charles I potentially restoring catholicism– disagreeing w English parliament 

      •  Began new army– Parliament got mad so started a civil war.

      • Prtostent and conservatives supported the king vs merchants

      • Charles I was executed and CHarles II became King of England in 1660

    •  Great fire of london 1666 

      • Thomas farynor kings baker did not properly english oven fire

      •   Destroyed more than 13,200, 45 public buildings

      • Rebuilding Act of 1667 outlawed the usage of woood for building houses -> stone and brick construction

    •  Glorious revolution

      • Duing king james II after charles II

      •  William orange led invasion

      •  Led to emergence of cabinet system of government

      •  Made it more difficult for Catholics to practice their faith 

Philosophical

  • Philosophy

    •  Intellectual upheaval and radical thought, questioning authority and faith

    •  Renaissance

    •  Questions about authority, faith, knowledge and reasoning

    • Writers: 

      • Rene Descartes, 

      • Bacon 

      • Thomas Hobbs  

    • Political turmoil and wars transformed thought and perspective 

    • Philosophical movement

      • Rationalism– René Descartes and Blaise Pascal - attaining knowledge is done independently, “I think therefore I am”

      • Empiricism - John Locke – study of human knowledge (argued that it comes from sensory experience), beliefs more reliable method. Human mind blank at birth and develops later

        • Blank Slate concet

      • Political policy– Thomas Hobbs - 

      • skepticism 

  •  Government

    •  Englsih civil war set up the Parliment as the main power of the era

      • raise taxes and military campaigns

      • Kings wanted absolute power–clashed w parliament

      • Tensions began to rise with the reliability of parliment

    • Charles I aka James I supported divine right of king

  •  Science 

    • Sceientfic Revolution 

    •  Francis bacon: scientific method

    • Galilalo pioneered the use of the method 

      • Highlights process of experimentation, observation and further review in order to gian knowledge

    • Decline of philosophy and religion -> reliable and measurable phenomina

    •  Inventions and tools created to explore natural life led to development of universal laws and rise of mathematics

      • Rise of Mathmatics  

    • Scientists

      • Hans Lippershey 

        • Invented telescope

      •  Galileo Galilei

        • Astronomer

        • Scientific revolution

      • Issac Newton  

        • Laws of Motion and gravity

        • Explained objects moving, calculus, theory of color

        • Invented calculus

      • Blaise Pascal

        • Invented calculating machine, mathematical models 

        • first public transportation system

        • Pascal Triangle

  • Economics

    •  Industrialism:

      • manifacturing

  • Mercantilism

    • The trade

  • Capitalism

Spirit of the Age

  • Art - Baroque Style

    • Less religious tones, more dramtic historical silloutes

    • Intric details and lighting 

  • Msuic

    • Ballads: musics for the common people

      • Low literacy rates so news was passed by musical stories

      • Often printed out and distributed

    • Church and royal intertainment

      • One of more important parts for church bc many wer illiterate

      • Used ot please Charles II, gave musicuans high credibility

      • Uper class citizens were able to have own musicians and instruments to signify wealt

      • In church, opera got more popular

    • Famous artists:

      • Henry burcell

      • Henry byrd 

      • Laksdjf;laskdf

  • Fashion

    • Wealthy women (1600-1620s): drum shape of skirt 

    • Over time, this look soften and lower collars

    • Silhouette, less of a rounded figure

    • As king charles came into reign, went into more modest attire 

    •  Lower class:

    • Resort to tough material like linen and wool to make petticoats and dresses

    • Wealthy men followed women for rounded sleeves

  • Architecture

    • Baroque:

      • Ornate and grand outside

      • Often tall to create a sense of motion

      • Evoked drama

      • Oval like shaping

      • Ceilings painted with bright colors and ornate statues with still lifes 

    •  Church Style:

      • Rejected old styles and transferred to artisan statues after the Lodon Fire

      • Sir Christopher Wren: rebranded british architecture, with more ornate columns and styles

Literary movements and devices

  •  Allusion

    • Expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; indirect or passing reference

    • Valediction: forbidding mourning

    • Idk what this is at all whaaat

  • Conceit

    • Compares two dissimilar objects in a way that is both imaginative and insightful

    • Often surprising metaphor

  • Metaphysical poetry

    • Style of poetry emerging in 17th century: characterized by intellectual and philosppcial exporaltion of complex themes like love, religion, and mortality and conceit often employing unusual comparisons and conversational, witty tone

      • What is nature of reality? Does free will exist or is everything predetermine

  • Neoclassical poetry

    • Broader artistic and literary movement, emerbged as a reaction against perceived excesses of renaissance and desire to emulate the styles and values of ancient greek and roman authors

    • Movement is often referred to as augustan or restoratio nperiod, spanning roughly from the late 17th century to early 19t century. It tends to favor logic, reason and order over emotion and individualism

  • Cavalier poet

    • English writers loyal to King Charles I during English Civil wars

    • Known for living as soldiers, courtiers and gentlement

    • Wrote about love honor and leing in the moment

    • Light elegant tone

    • They valued loyalty to the kind above all else, including relationships

Author Works

  • John Milton

    • Influenced by Shakespeare 

    •  Wrote works advocating for religious tolerance

    • Wanted all his works to be accessible to people and easy to understand 

    • Major works:

      • Paradise lost: Political allegory about Charles II, through God and Satan

        • Themes:

          • Sin

          • Obediance

          • Fre will vs god’s will

          • Hierarchy

          • defiance

  •  John Bunyan

    • Born 

    • Aetheist >> devout Christian (protestant)

    •  During time of spiritual turmoil he became a Baptist

    •  Imprisoned in 1616 (bcs nonconformist aka protestant aka ‘too’ radical) -> he wrote his most famous work during this time (Pilgrim’s Progress)

    • Major works:

      • Pilgrim’s progress

        • Themes:

          • Discipline

          • Salvation

          • Importance of reading (Christian emph. on literacy)

          • Travel

          • Fortitude 

      • The Jerusalem sinner saved

      • The holy war

      • The heavenly foot man

      • Prayer

      • Grace abounding  

  • Shakespeare

    • King Lear

      • Themes:

        • Loyalty

        • Authority

        • Justice

        • Human nature

        • blindness 

  •  Ben Jonson (diva/liar/sugar baby - gaslight, gatekeep, boyboss?)

    • He fought for English armies in the Netherlands and afterward then started as an actor and playwright

    • He killed a fellow actor in a duel, and was nearly imprisoned

    • He was only released because he could read the latin bible

    • He invented/popularized masquerade balls and the masques

    • Leader of the Kaviler Poets, Sun of Man

    • Works:

      • Every man in his humour

      • Cynthia’s revels

      • Volpone

      • Epicoene or silent woman

      • The alchemist

      • Bartholomew fair

      • Volpone:

        • Themes:

          • Deception

          • Gender roles

          • Morality

          • Animal vs human

          • Greed and moral corruption