Renaissance

General Timeline (1450-1648)

  • Spain & Portugal:

    • 1469: Marriage of Ferdinand & Isabella.

    • 1488: Bartholomew Diaz's Journey.

    • 1492: Christopher Columbus's Journey; Conquest of Muslim Kingdom of Granada.

    • 1497: Vasco da Gama's Journey.

    • 1519-1521: Conquest of Aztecs.

    • 1532-1572: Conquest of Incas.

    • 1588: Spanish Armada.

  • Italy:

    • 1512: Michelangelo finished Sistine Chapel.

    • 1532: The Prince published.

    • 1545-1563: Council of Trent.

  • England:

    • 1516: Utopia published.

    • 1534: Creation of Anglican Church; Creation of Jesuit Order.

    • 1585: Establishment of Roanoke Colony.

  • France:

    • 1516: Concordat of Bologna.

    • 1562-1598: French Civil War.

    • 1598: Edict of Nantes.

  • Holy Roman Empire:

    • 1517: Start of Protestant Reformation.

    • 1555: Peace of Augsburg.

Renaissance

  • Italian Renaissance:

    • Centered in Italian City-States like Florence, Venice, Milan, Papal States (Rome), & Naples.

    • Wealthy merchants (oligarchy) led comfortable lives and regulated city affairs, diminishing the power of nobles.

    • These rulers built huge courts to display wealth, fostering attachment to individual cities.

    • Florence:

      • Wealthiest city-state with powerful merchant bankers like the Medici family.

      • Dominican Friar Girolamo Savanarola briefly expelled the Medicis, advocating for Christian governance, but was later excommunicated, and the Medicis retook power.

    • Key States:

      • Venice: Ruled by merchant oligarchy.

      • Milan: Ruled by the Sforza family.

      • Naples: Ruled by the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon.

  • Origins of Renaissance:

    • "Rebirth" of human achievements & ancient literature.

    • Giorgio Vasari coined the term