Untitled Flashcards Set
UNIT 11
🦠 Impact of the Plague
What: The Black Death (bubonic plague)
Who: Affected all classes, killing up to 50% of Europe's population
When: Peaked in 1347–1351
Where: Spread throughout Europe via trade routes
Significance: Caused social, economic, and religious upheaval; labor shortages empowered peasants; challenged Church authority
🔥 The Jacquerie (1358)
What: Violent peasant revolt in France
Who: French peasants vs. nobility
When: 1358
Where: Northern France
Significance: Response to taxation and feudal abuses after the Black Death and Hundred Years' War defeats; brutally suppressed
⚔ English Peasants’ Revolt (1381)
What: Major uprising against poll taxes and feudal oppression
Who: Led by Wat Tyler and John Ball
When: 1381
Where: England, especially London
Significance: First large-scale working-class revolt in English history; scared elites but didn’t end serfdom immediately
💀 Dance of Death
What: Artistic and literary motif showing Death summoning people from all walks of life
Who: Featured anonymous figures from all classes
When: Popular after the Black Death (late 14th century onward)
Where: Across Europe
Significance: Reflected fatalism and equality in death; cultural response to mass mortality
📚 Dante Alighieri (d. 1321)
What: Author of The Divine Comedy
Who: Italian poet and political thinker
When: Died in 1321
Where: Florence, Italy
Significance: Wrote in vernacular Italian; bridged medieval and Renaissance worldviews; shaped European literature
📖 Geoffrey Chaucer
What: Author of The Canterbury Tales
Who: English writer and civil servant
When: ca. 1343–1400
Where: England
Significance: Father of English literature; used vernacular; captured medieval life with irony and realism
🌱 The Renaissance: Overview
What: Cultural revival of classical art, literature, philosophy, and learning
Who: Led by artists, thinkers, and patrons
When: 14th–16th centuries
Where: Began in Italy, spread across Europe
Significance: Marked a shift from medieval to modern values; emphasized human potential and secular achievements
🧠 Petrarch
What: Father of Humanism
Who: Italian poet and scholar
When: 1304–1374
Where: Italy
Significance: Revived classical Latin texts; believed in moral philosophy rooted in ancient Rome
🏛 Renaissance Humanism
What: Intellectual movement focused on human potential and classical learning
Who: Scholars like Petrarch, Erasmus, and More
When: 14th–16th centuries
Where: Originated in Italy, spread to Northern Europe
Significance: Influenced education, politics, art, and religion with a focus on secular subjects and civic virtue
🎨 The Italian Renaissance
What: Artistic and cultural golden age
Who: Artists like Michelangelo, da Vinci, thinkers like Machiavelli
When: 1300s–1500s
Where: Italian city-states (Florence, Rome, Venice)
Significance: Rebirth of classical ideals, scientific curiosity, and realistic art; transformed European culture
🧠 Writers and Thinkers
What: Renaissance intellectuals
Who: Petrarch, Alberti, Machiavelli, Castiglione
When: 14th–16th centuries
Where: Primarily Italy
Significance: Shaped modern political theory, secular ethics, and personal conduct ideals
🏗 Leon Battista Alberti (d. 1472)
What: Architect, artist, and writer
Who: Renaissance “universal man”
When: 1404–1472
Where: Italy
Significance: Promoted proportion and harmony in architecture; stressed individual accomplishment
🧠 Niccolò Machiavelli (d. 1527)
What: Author of The Prince
Who: Florentine political theorist
When: 1469–1527
Where: Florence, Italy
Significance: Advised rulers to be pragmatic and sometimes ruthless; inspired the term "Machiavellian"
🎓 Baldassare Castiglione
What: Author of The Book of the Courtier
Who: Italian diplomat and writer
When: 1478–1529
Where: Italy
Significance: Defined the ideal Renaissance gentleman; emphasized grace, knowledge, and courtly behavior
🎨 Chiaroscuro
What: Artistic technique using light and shadow for depth
Who: Used by da Vinci, Caravaggio, and others
When: 15th–16th centuries
Where: Italy
Significance: Advanced realism and drama in painting
🧠 Leonardo da Vinci (d. 1519)
What: Polymath, painter of The Last Supper, Mona Lisa
Who: Italian artist, engineer, scientist
When: 1452–1519
Where: Italy
Significance: Embodied the Renaissance ideal; innovated in anatomy, art, and design
🎨 Raphael (d. 1520)
What: Painter of The School of Athens
Who: High Renaissance artist
When: 1483–1520
Where: Rome, Italy
Significance: Balanced beauty and realism; celebrated classical philosophy and art
🗿 Michelangelo (d. 1564)
What: Sculptor of David, painter of Sistine Chapel ceiling
Who: Florentine artist
When: 1475–1564
Where: Italy
Significance: Mastered both sculpture and painting; fused anatomy and spirituality in art
⛪ Il Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore)
What: Cathedral with innovative dome
Who: Engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi
When: Dome completed in 1436
Where: Florence, Italy
Significance: Engineering marvel and symbol of Florentine pride and Renaissance ingenuity
🏛 Andrea Palladio
What: Architect of villas and classical-style buildings
Who: Italian designer
When: 1508–1580
Where: Northern Italy (Veneto region)
Significance: Influenced Western architecture; wrote The Four Books of Architecture
🌍 The Northern European Renaissance
What: Spread of Renaissance ideas northward
Who: Thinkers like Erasmus and More
When: 15th–16th centuries
Where: France, Germany, England, Low Countries
Significance: Blended classical learning with Christian reform; emphasized moral renewal
✝ Christian Humanism
What: Humanism merged with Christian ethics
Who: Erasmus, Thomas More
When: 15th–16th centuries
Where: Northern Europe
Significance: Advocated moral reform, education, and inner piety within the Church
📜 Erasmus (d. 1536)
What: Scholar and reformer; wrote In Praise of Folly
Who: Dutch humanist
When: 1466–1536
Where: Netherlands
Significance: Criticized Church abuses with wit; laid groundwork for reform without breaking from Rome
🧒 De pueris instituendis
What: Erasmus’s work on education
Who: Written by Erasmus
When: Published early 16th century
Where: Northern Europe
Significance: Argued for gentle, morally grounded childhood education; part of Christian humanist thought
🖨 Printing Revolution
What: Spread of movable-type printing
Who: Invented by Johannes Gutenberg
When: Mid-15th century (c. 1440s)
Where: Mainz, Germany
Significance: Spread knowledge rapidly, enabled Reformation, democratized learning
🏛 Thomas More
What: Author of Utopia
Who: English lawyer, statesman, humanist
When: 1478–1535
Where: England
Significance: Advocated for social justice and ideal governance; executed for opposing Henry VIII’s break with Rome
HIS 101, Unit 12 Terms:
🌍 Reorientation of Western Powers
What: Shift in European focus from Mediterranean to Atlantic and overseas exploration
Who: Western European states like Spain and Portugal
When: 15th–16th centuries
Where: Western Europe, Atlantic world
Significance: Led to the Age of Exploration, overseas empires, and global trade networks
🏛 End of the Byzantines
What: Fall of the Byzantine Empire
Who: Conquered by Ottoman Turks under Mehmed II
When: 1453
Where: Constantinople (modern Istanbul)
Significance: Marked end of the medieval Christian Eastern Roman Empire; rise of the Ottomans
⚔ Ottoman Turks
What: Muslim empire that conquered Byzantine lands
Who: Led by sultans like Mehmed II
When: 14th–20th centuries (rise in 1300s, peak in 1500s)
Where: Anatolia, Balkans, Middle East
Significance: Powerful Islamic empire; controlled trade routes and influenced European expansion
🏹 Mehmed II
What: Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople
Who: Also known as Mehmed the Conqueror
When: Reigned 1444–1446 and 1451–1481
Where: Ottoman Empire
Significance: Ended Byzantine Empire in 1453; made Constantinople a thriving Islamic capital
🛡 Janissary
What: Elite Ottoman military corps
Who: Christian boys taken through the devshirme system and trained
When: 14th–19th centuries
Where: Ottoman Empire
Significance: Loyal, disciplined soldiers; symbol of Ottoman military strength
🏰 Reconquista
What: Christian reconquest of Spain from Muslim rule
Who: Spanish Christian kingdoms, especially Castile and Aragon
When: 711–1492 (ended with fall of Granada)
Where: Iberian Peninsula
Significance: United Spain under Christianity; paved way for overseas expansion
👑 Ferdinand and Isabella
What: Catholic monarchs who united Spain
Who: King of Aragon and Queen of Castile
When: Married in 1469; ruled jointly into early 1500s
Where: Spain
Significance: Completed Reconquista, expelled Jews, funded Columbus’s voyages
✡ Sephardic Jews (1492)
What: Jews expelled from Spain
Who: Victims of the Alhambra Decree by Ferdinand and Isabella
When: 1492
Where: Iberian Peninsula
Significance: Massive displacement; spread Sephardic culture across Mediterranean and beyond
💥 Destroyed Italy
What: Series of invasions and internal wars
Who: French, Spanish, German forces vs. Italian city-states
When: Late 15th–16th centuries
Where: Italian Peninsula
Significance: Ended Italian Renaissance dominance; led to foreign occupation
⚔ Condottiere
What: Mercenary military leaders in Italy
Who: Hired by city-states like Milan and Florence
When: 14th–16th centuries
Where: Italy
Significance: Helped shape Renaissance warfare; unstable political power
🛡 Francesco Sforza
What: Condottiere who became Duke of Milan
Who: Founder of the Sforza dynasty
When: Ruled 1450–1466
Where: Milan, Italy
Significance: Example of rise of power through military force; key Renaissance patron
✍ Peace of Lodi (1454)
What: Treaty ending war between Milan and Venice
Who: Italian city-states
When: 1454
Where: Northern Italy
Significance: Stabilized Italy temporarily; led to balance-of-power politics
🔥 Sack of Rome (1527)
What: Destruction of Rome by Charles V’s troops
Who: Holy Roman Empire forces (many unpaid mercenaries)
When: 1527
Where: Rome, Italy
Significance: Marked end of Italian High Renaissance; symbol of chaos in Italy
🌍 Expansion Abroad
What: European exploration and colonization
Who: Led by Spain and Portugal
When: 15th–17th centuries
Where: Africa, Asia, the Americas
Significance: Established global empires, transformed trade and culture
🌍 Africa and Asia
What: Early regions of European maritime exploration
Who: Portuguese explorers, merchants
When: 15th century onward
Where: West Africa, Indian Ocean coasts
Significance: Began global trade routes and imperialism
🧭 Prince Henry the Navigator (d. 1460)
What: Portuguese prince who promoted exploration
Who: Royal sponsor of navigational advances
When: Died 1460
Where: Portugal
Significance: Founded school of navigation; started Age of Discovery
⛵ Vasco da Gama
What: First European to reach India by sea
Who: Portuguese explorer
When: 1498
Where: From Portugal to Calicut, India
Significance: Opened sea route to Asia; transformed global trade
🚢 Caravel
What: Fast, maneuverable ship for exploration
Who: Used by Portuguese and Spanish
When: 15th–17th centuries
Where: Atlantic and beyond
Significance: Allowed long-distance voyages; revolutionized navigation
🗺 Portolan Charts and Rutters
What: Navigational maps and manuals
Who: Used by sailors and captains
When: 13th–16th centuries
Where: Europe and Mediterranean world
Significance: Improved maritime travel accuracy
🇮🇳 Goa (India)
What: Portuguese colony in India
Who: Captured by Afonso de Albuquerque
When: 1510
Where: West coast of India
Significance: Base for Portuguese trade and Christian missions in Asia
🌎 New World
What: Term for the Americas after European contact
Who: Introduced by explorers like Columbus
When: After 1492
Where: North and South America
Significance: Shifted global focus westward; massive cultural and biological exchange
🧭 Christopher Columbus (d. 1506)
What: Navigator who reached the Americas
Who: Italian sailing for Spain
When: 1492
Where: Landed in Caribbean
Significance: Opened up the Western Hemisphere to European colonization
🗺 Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
What: Divided the non-European world between Spain and Portugal
Who: Brokered by the Pope
When: 1494
Where: Atlantic world
Significance: Spain got most of Americas; Portugal got Brazil and Africa/Asia routes
🌊 Ferdinand Magellan
What: Led first circumnavigation of the globe
Who: Portuguese explorer for Spain
When: 1519–1522 (Magellan died 1521)
Where: Global voyage
Significance: Proved Earth’s roundness and size; major step in global mapping
🌐 The Atlantic World
What: Interconnected economies and cultures of Europe, Africa, and the Americas
Who: Involved colonizers, slaves, Indigenous peoples
When: 15th–18th centuries
Where: Atlantic basin
Significance: Center of early globalization; basis for slavery and colonization
🔁 Columbian Exchange
What: Exchange of plants, animals, diseases between Old and New Worlds
Who: Result of Columbus’s voyages
When: Post-1492
Where: Atlantic Ocean
Significance: Transformed diets, economies, and populations worldwide
🧑🌾 Encomienda System
What: Spanish labor system giving colonists control over Indigenous labor
Who: Spanish settlers
When: 1500s
Where: Spanish America
Significance: Enabled exploitation and decline of native populations
⛏ Repartimiento / Mita
What: Forced labor systems
Who: Used by Spanish in Americas (especially Peru)
When: 16th–17th centuries
Where: Spanish colonies
Significance: Continued native exploitation after encomienda reforms
🌍 Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company
What: Trade companies
Who: Chartered by the Dutch Republic
When: 1602 (East), 1621 (West)
Where: Asia (East), Americas and Africa (West)
Significance: Led Dutch global trade and colonization; early multinational corporations
🗽 New Amsterdam
What: Dutch colony on Manhattan Island
Who: Founded by the Dutch West India Company
When: 1625
Where: Present-day New York City
Significance: Became major trade port; later taken by British
🇺🇸 Charlesfort
What: Early failed French colony
Who: Led by Jean Ribault
When: 1562
Where: Present-day South Carolina
Significance: First French settlement attempt in North America
🍁 Samuel de Champlain
What: Founder of Quebec
Who: French explorer and cartographer
When: Early 1600s
Where: New France (Canada)
Significance: Established permanent French presence in North America
🤝 Indentured Servitude
What: Labor system where people worked to pay off passage
Who: European migrants, mostly poor
When: 17th–18th centuries
Where: English colonies, especially North America
Significance: Provided early colonial labor before widespread African slavery