AP European History Unit 1: Renaissance, Exploration, and the Commercial Revolution

The Renaissance and the Philosophy of Humanism

• The term "Renaissance" literally translates to "rebirth," signifying the resurrection of classical texts and ideas from ancient Greece and Rome that had been largely forgotten or ignored during the Middle Ages.
• The recovery of these ancient ideas was facilitated by Islamic scholars who had translated these works into Arabic and Latin, and by increased contact between Europeans and Islamic peoples during the Crusades.
• Petrarch is credited as a primary founder of Renaissance thought, laying the groundwork for the philosophy of humanism despite technically preceding the era.
• Humanism is defined as a philosophy focusing on the unlimited potential of human beings as an end in themselves. Petrarch viewed human beings as having boundless capacity, a concept that paired with individualism—the emphasis on the triumph of the individual—to become the dominant mode of Renaissance thought.
• Petrarch identified the Roman orator Cicero as a model for the Latin language and was deeply influenced by Cicero’s support for the Roman Republic and his opposition to the tyranny of Julius Caesar.
• Philology, the study of the history and development of languages, emerged as a critical tool. In $1440$, Lorenzo Valla used philological methods to prove that an authoritative document of the Roman Catholic Church was a forgery by demonstrating its Latin structure did not match $4^{th}$ century standards.
• A major theme of the era was the shift from religious authority to secular and scientific authority. While many thinkers remained Christian, there was a general movement away from the revealed authority of the Bible and church dogmas toward scientific inquiry and individualistic conceptions of humanity.
• The invention of the movable type printing press in the $1440s$ allowed these elite ideas to spread rapidly, challenging the institutional power of universities and other traditional centers.

Renaissance Education and Civic Humanism

• Medieval scholars were primarily concerned with theological questions, but the Renaissance saw a transformation toward the "humanities."
• The humanities curriculum emphasized history, moral philosophy, and poetry, all based on classical texts, intended to expand the perceived unlimited potential of human beings.
• Baldassare Castiglione wrote The Courtier, a definitive guide for how an educated young man should behave. He argued a gentleman should be skilled in humanistic disciplines, speak and write eloquently, be physically strong, and remain mentally awake.
• Italy was not a unified nation but a collection of regional kingdoms and self-governing city-states.
• Civic Humanism emerged as the belief that educated men should be active and engaged in local politics.
• Leonardo Bruni argued that the republicanism of ancient Rome was the superior form of government and that rule by an enlightened individual was a necessary progression from feudal structures.
• Niccol"o Machiavelli wrote The Prince, arguing that a ruler's basic function is to maintain power at all costs. He posited that a prince should be benevolent if possible but tyrannical if necessary to reach his ends.
• Machiavelli famously stated, "it is much safer for the prince to be feared than loved," though he cautioned that a ruler should avoid being hated. This represented a shift from defining rulers by biblical virtues like prudence and wisdom to prioritizing state security and power.

Renaissance Art and Patronage

• Medieval art was characterized by flat, symbolic, and almost exclusively religious themes. Renaissance art shifted toward naturalism, which used geometric perspective to portray the world realistically.
• Italian Renaissance artists leaned toward idealistic naturalism, while Northern Renaissance artists focused on depicting scenes of everyday life.
• Artistic themes expanded from religious subjects to include personal, political, and classical motifs.
• Key artists and works include:
  • Michelangelo: His sculpture of David embodies humanist philosophy, representing a perfect human specimen sculpted in the style of a Greek god with meticulous attention to musculature and facial features.
  • Raphael: The School of Athens centers on classical heroes Plato and Aristotle and utilizes geometric perspective to create realistic architectural depth.
  • Filippo Brunelleschi: An architect who rejected Gothic conventions in favor of Roman columns and arches. His dome on the Florence Cathedral was an engineering feat that stood without outside support like flying buttresses.
• Patronage by wealthy individuals, rulers, and popes drove the art world. These figures funded major works not solely for aesthetic value but to enhance their public prestige. The Medici family is cited as the most notable patron of the era.

The Northern Renaissance and Christian Humanism

• As the Renaissance spread north of the Italian Alps via the printing press, it retained humanist foundations but developed a stronger religious (Christian) focus.
• Christian Humanism sought to synthesize humanist thought with scriptural authority to drive social reform.
• Desiderius Erasmus was the leading figure of Christian Humanism. He believed education in the classics and the Bible was the foundation of true societal reform, emphasizing the "philosophy of Christ."
• Erasmus wrote In Praise of Folly, a satire criticizing corrupt political, social, and religious hierarchies.
• Northern Renaissance art was more human-centered and naturalistic, often focusing on ordinary people and objects rather than the lofty or otherworldly subjects favored by Italian artists.
• Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Known for The Peasant Wedding, which depicted ordinary people in realistic celebration rather than massive grand narratives.
• Rembrandt: A master of light and shade, notably in The Return of the Prodigal Son, which sought to inhabit the emotional narrative of scripture rather than just reproducing a scene.

The Printing Press and Its Societal Impact

• Before the $1440s$, books were hand-copied, expensive, and largely restricted to the Latin-literate clergy and the wealthy.
• Johannes Gutenberg and other German metalsmiths developed the movable type printing press, allowing for rapid and high-volume production.
• Paper-making technology from China facilitated this mass printing. Gutenberg’s first major publication was the Gutenberg Bible in $1456$.
• Within $50$ years, between $10$ million and $20$ million books were published across Europe. By $1515$, major classical authors like Plato and Aristotle were widely available in print.
• The press was critical to the Protestant Reformation, allowing Martin Luther to spread his critiques of the Catholic Church far and wide.
• The demand for vernacular literature (books in the common language like English, French, or Spanish) grew. This led to the development of national cultures. Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible standardized the German language and shaped national identity.

The Rise of New Monarchs and State Consolidation

• Monarchs began consolidating power by taking it from the traditional nobility, leading to the creation of the modern state.
• This shift often manifested as top-down religious and moral reform:
  • Henry VIII of England: Initially named "Defender of the Faith" for opposing the Reformation, he eventually broke with Rome because the Pope denied his annulment from Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella). Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making Henry the head of the Church of England. He passed the Treason Act to enforce this through death penalties.
  • Elizabeth I: She steered England back toward Anglicanism after the Catholic reign of Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary). Elizabeth passed the Act of Uniformity, mandating weekly Anglican church attendance.
• Foundations of the modern state included monopolies on tax collection, the employment of military force, the dispensing of justice, and the right to determine the subjects' religion.
• Spain: The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile unified Spain. They instituted national taxes on property exchange, created an elaborate bureaucracy, and completed the Reconquista, expelling Muslims and Jews to establish Catholicism as the official religion.
• France: King Francis I signed the Concordat of Bologna in $1516$ with Pope Leo X. It allowed the Pope to collect income from the French Church while Francis retained the right to appoint church leaders, centralizing royal power.
• The Peace of Augsburg in $1555$ granted individual leaders in the Holy Roman Empire the right to choose whether their subjects would be Catholic or Lutheran as a means of political consolidation.
• Merchants and bankers like the Medici family in Italy and the Fugger family in Germany gained significant political power through the rise of the money economy.

European Exploration: Motivations and Technology

• Exploration was driven by "God, Gold, and Glory":
  • God: Spain sought to spread Catholicism and convert indigenous peoples. While some, like Bartolom"e de las Casas, fought for indigenous dignity, many used Christianity as a tool for control.
  • Gold: Driven by Mercantilism, an economic system positing a finite amount of wealth measured in gold and silver. It emphasized a favorable balance of trade (more exports than imports) and the establishment of colonies for raw materials and mineral wealth.
  • Glory: Competition for colonial possessions became a path to European dominance.
• Jean-Baptiste Colbert, France's controller general, implemented mercantilist policies by mandating internal industry to avoid imports and claiming North American territories like Quebec and Louisiana.
• Demand for Asian luxury goods was stymied by Ottoman control of land routes, prompting a search for sea routes.
• Navigational Innovations:
  • Cartography: Advanced map-making.
  • Ships: Portuguese and Spanish Caravels with lateen sails (triangular) that could take wind from any side.
  • Instruments: The Compass for direction and the Astrolabe (from Chinese and Muslim navigators) for calculating latitude.

Colonial Empires and Global Rivalries

• Portugal: Established a "trading post empire" along the African coast and into the Indian Ocean/Southeast Asia, avoiding costly large-scale land holdings.
• Spain: Christopher Columbus, commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella, sailed west to find Asia but landed in the Americas in $1492$. Spain claimed much of the Caribbean, Central, and South America.
• France: Claimed parts of North America and Canada, focusing primarily on the fur trade rather than settler colonies.
• England: Established settler colonies along the eastern coast of North America and in the Caribbean.
• Netherlands: Focused on trade, dominating Southeast Asian routes and establishing some American colonies.
• Diplomacy: The Treaty of Tordesillas ($1494$), mediated by Pope Alexander VI, divided the Americas with a line of demarcation (Spain got the west, Portugal got the east).
• Conflict: Rivalries led to coercion and war, such as the later War of Spanish Succession, as nations fought to maintain a balance of power where no single state controlled all the "cake."

The Columbian Exchange and Its Global Consequences

• The Columbian Exchange is the global transfer of goods, flora, fauna, culture, and disease between the Old World and the New World.
• Five major categories of exchange:
  • Disease: Indigenous Americans had no immunity to Afro-Eurasian germs. Smallpox devastated Hispaniola, killing roughly $300,000$ Arawak and Taino people. Hern"an Cort"es used smallpox and measles to defeat the Aztec Empire.
  • Food: The Americas sent maize, tomatoes, potatoes, and cacao to Europe. Europe/Africa sent rice, wheat, soybeans, lemons, and oranges to the Americas, diversifying diets and increasing lifespans.
  • Animals: Europeans introduced horses, pigs, cattle, and chickens to the Americas. Horses revolutionized farming and warfare; cattle and pigs transformed native diets.
  • Minerals: Plundered gold and silver from Incan and Aztec empires made Spain exceptionally wealthy and attracted more colonizers.
  • People: Millions of Africans were forcibly transported via the Middle Passage (lasting $1$ to $6$ months) to work on plantations.
• Economic Power Shift: Power moved from the Mediterranean (Venice) to Atlantic states. Major ports became Antwerp, then Amsterdam, and later London and Bristol.
• Subjugation: The Encomienda system was established where encomenderos (landowners) were granted land and native labor. This was justified by the Requiremento, a legal document granting the Spanish crown authority to proselytize.
• Transition to Slave Labor: As indigenous populations died from disease or escaped, demand for African slave labor grew because Africans had built immunity and did not know the landscape. This was fueled by the transformation of sugar and coffee from luxury items to accessible middle-class goods.

The Commercial Revolution and Economic Innovations

• The Commercial Revolution saw a massive increase in global commerce, transitioning economies from mercantilism toward early capitalism.
• The Rise of the Money Economy: Transactions were made with cash rather than just gold/silver or barter.
• Innovations in Banking and Finance:
  • Double-entry bookkeeping: A ledger where debits equaled credits, necessary for managing large sums of money.
  • Joint-stock companies: Private enterprises like the Dutch East India Company ($1602$) where investors bought stock to raise large amounts of capital for trade.
• Price Revolution: An influx of gold and silver from Spain, combined with population growth, caused extended inflation. This led to the commercialization of agriculture.
• Transformation of Rural Life:
  • The Open Field System was viewed as wasteful by capitalist investors.
  • The Enclosure Movement: Legislation allowed investors to purchase and enclose the "commons" (public grazing land), benefiting large landowners but increasing poverty among the peasantry.
  • Soil Exhaustion: Problematic when the same crops (like wheat needing nutrients A-C in a field with A-F) are planted repeatedly.
  • Crop Rotation: Mediterranean regions used a two-field system (half fallow). Northern Europe used a three-field system (one-third fallow) to maintain productivity.
• Urbanization: The enclosure movement caused the landless poor to migrate to cities searching for work, leading to the rise of the urban merchant classes and acute housing shortages.