AP European History Final Exam Review

Early Portuguese Maritime Expansion and Trade Networks (15th Century)

• The Portuguese Presence at Arguim (1454): Alvise de Ca'da Mosto, a Venetian merchant, describes the island of Arguim off the west coast of Africa as a strategic trading center leased by the King of Portugal to Christians for ten-year periods.
• Trade Monopolies and Licensing: Entry to the bay for trading with Arabs is strictly prohibited for anyone not possessing a specific license from the Portuguese crown.
• Infrastructure and Settlements: Christians maintained dwellings and "factories" (trading posts) on the island to facilitate the exchange of goods with Arab merchants who traveled to the coast.
• Commodities of Exchange:     * European/Imported Goods: Woolen cloths, cotton, silver, coarse cloth (identified specifically as cloaks and carpets), and grain. Grain was a essential commodity because the Arabs were perpetually short of food.     * African/Arab Exports: Slaves (brought by the Arabs from the "land of the Blacks") and gold dust.
• Military and Strategic Considerations: The Portuguese King ordered the construction of a castle on the island to protect trade interests "forever." Portuguese caravels were noted to maintain a continuous presence, coming and going throughout the year.

The Spanish Inquisition and Counter-Reformation Espionage

• Intelligence Gathering in Montpellier (1566): An agent of the Spanish Inquisition reported to King Philip II regarding a mission to southern France to infiltrate Protestant circles.
• Methods of Deception: The agent "pretended to be a heretic" to gain the trust of Protestants who had contacts in Spain. He proposed transporting prohibited books into Spain, specifically mentioning the works of John Calvin and Theodore Beza.
• Logistics of Smuggling: A bookseller and a merchant offered to transport these books secretly to a location in Barcelona, addressed to a person shareing their religious faith.
• Objective: The agent aimed to learn the names of Spanish heretics (Protestants). He noted that "a thousand deceptions were necessary" to secure this information in the service of God and the King.
• Literacy and Legal Statistics in the Spanish Inquisition: Data from 1540 to 1661 shows shifting patterns in literacy among defendants:     * 1540–1600: In the Archdiocese of Toledo, $57\%$ of male defendants were literate. In the Diocese of Cuenca, the rate was $35\%$. Female literacy remained low (e.g., $4\%$ in Toledo, $8\%$ in Cuenca).     * 1601–1661: Literacy rates increased significantly. In the Archdiocese of Toledo, male literacy rose to $62\%$, while urban males in Cuenca reached $66\%$. Female literacy in Cuenca saw a notable rise to $28\%$. In contrast, rural female literacy in Toledo dropped to $0\%$ during this period.

Enlightenment Critiques of Religious Intolerance: Voltaire

• A Treatise on Toleration (1763): Voltaire critiques the Catholic clergy, accusing them of being "paid and honored for abusing the human species."
• Science vs. Dogma: He challenges clergy members who might order the world to be seen as immovable or ignore scientific principles such as:     * Tides as a natural effect of gravitation.     * The formation of rainbows via the refraction and reflection of rays of light.
• The Inconsiderable Scale of Humanity: Voltaire uses a cosmic perspective to diminish religious arrogance, describing the Earth as a "little globe" that is no more than a point in the immensity of space.
• The Metaphor of the Ant-Hill: He describes humans as "animals about five feet high" or "insects" inhabiting an "ant-hill." He mocks the claim that one small sect is uniquely cherished by God while the rest of the nine hundred million inhabitants of Earth are held in "horror for all eternity." He labels this exclusionary religious rhetoric as the speech of a "madman."

Social and Economic Regulations in Calvinist Geneva

• Regulation of Public Worship: Churches in Geneva were closed outside of service times to prevent "superstition." Individuals found engaging in private devotion in or near the church were subject to admonishment, and for cases of superstitious behavior, physical chastisement.
• Public Morality and Taverns: Taverns were required to close during sermons. Penalties for violations were set at three sous for the tavern-keeper and three sous for any patron present. Drunkenness incurred a three-sous fine for the first offense and a mandatory appearance before the consistory (church council).
• Cultural Prohibitions: Popular festivals known as roiaumes were banned under a penalty of $10$ sous. Singing "immoral, dissolute or outrageous songs" or dancing specific dances like the virollet resulted in three days of imprisonment and referral to the consistory.
• Economic Regulation (Usury): Interest or profit on loans was strictly capped at $5\%$. Any violation resulted in the confiscation of the principal and required restitution by the lender.

State Building and Absolutism in Brandenburg-Prussia

• The Great Elector’s Principles (1667): Frederick William, the Great Elector, advised his son to act as a "good father" to his people and to love subjects regardless of their religious convictions.
• Political Strategy:     * Collaboration: Utilize the advice of the clergy and nobility, recognizing ability wherever it appears to foster subject affection.     * Economic Growth: Work to stimulate trade and encourage population increases within territories.     * Diplomacy: Maintain friendly relations with the princes of the Holy Roman Empire through frequent correspondence to avoid jealousy or enmity.     * Self-Reliance: While alliances are useful, the Elector emphasizes that it is better to rely on one's own strength, particularly the confidence of the people and internal resources.

Westernization and Scientific Modernization in Russia under Peter I

• The Grand Embassy and Western Expertise: Peter the Great recruited English and Dutch engineers and mathematicians into Russian service.
• Introduction of Arithmetic: A Scottish mathematician named Ferguson is credited with bringing arithmetic into the Russian exchequer, replacing the "Tartarian method" of using an abacus (described as balls strung upon a wire).
• Scientific Proficiency: Peter I became proficient in astronomy and understood:     * The motions of heavenly bodies.     * The laws of gravitation ($F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}$ context) as established by Newton.
• Comparison to Other Nations: Voltaire notes that while Peter embraced Newtonian physics, other nations—specifically Italy ("Galileo's nation")—remained under the influence of "ignorant persons" who still insisted the Earth was immovable.

The French Revolution: Levée en Masse and National Education

• The Decree of August 23, 1793: The republican government placed all Frenchmen in "permanent requisition" for the military effort.     * Young men: Combat service.     * Married men: Forging arms and transporting provisions.     * Women: Making tents and clothes; serving in hospitals.     * Children: Turning linen into lint for bandages.     * Old men: Publicly preaching hatred of kings and promoting the unity of the Republic.
• 19th-Century Educational Shifts (Hérault, France): Between 1877 and 1890, the French school system moved away from religious control:     * 1877: $472$ public schools vs. $109$ religious schools.     * 1890: Public schools grew to $659$, while religious schools plummeted to $32$.     * Secular Nationalistic Pedagogy: A 1883 civics lecture for boys emphasized that students were future soldiers. It personified France as "the noblest of all mothers" whose injuries from past conflicts were not yet healed, requiring children to defend her as they would their own physical home.

Economic Theory: Liberalism and the Industrial Revolution

• Jeremy Bentham on Usury (1787): Bentham argued for the liberty of individuals to make their own terms in money lending. He asserted that any man of sound mind should not be hindered from making any bargain he saw fit, claiming that those who "fetter contracts" must provide a valid reason for restraining human liberty.
• Re-evaluating the Industrial Revolution (Jan de Vries): Modern historians challenge the idea that economic growth was nonexistent before the technological breakthroughs of the Industrial Revolution.     * New data for the period 1760-1830 suggests that growth estimates should be reduced by "more than half."     * This revision makes "pre-industrial Britain" and neighboring countries appear more developed and richer than previously believed, decreasing the perceived contrast between the pre-industrial and industrial eras.
• Labor Wages (1500–1599): Unskilled laborers measured in kilograms of wheat:     * Southern England: Dropped from $10.1\,kg$ (1500-1549) to $7.2\,kg$ (1550-1599).     * Paris: Dropped from $8.8\,kg$ to $4.9\,kg$.     * Florence/Milan: Dropped from $4.7\,kg$ to $3.4\,kg$.

Historiographical Perspectives on Early Modern Europe

• The Rise of the Nation-State: Historian Richard B. Reed argues that European expansion was an "intensely nationalistic phenomenon" driven by the "new monarchies."
• Portuguese Advantage: Portugal achieved internal stability and national consciousness under the House of Aviz ($1385-1580$) long before Spain, England, or France. This stability, combined with its geographic location, allowed it to initiate the Age of Discovery.
• Scientific Methodology: Ernst Cassirer notes that 18th-century philosophy adopted the "methodological pattern of Newton's physics." Analysis became the generalized tool for "all thinking in general," a view that triumphed by the mid-18th century.

Religious Conflict and Dissent

• Puritan Critique of Anglicanism (1572): English Puritans petitioned Parliament, labeling the Anglican Book of Common Prayer as a "popish dunghill" and an "unperfect book" full of "abominations." They criticized the Anglican ministry as an office of "reading" services rather than the scriptural duty of "preaching" and "feeding God's lambs," calling Anglican clergy "empty feeders."
• Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572): Represented in art by Vasari, this event involved government-sanctioned mob violence against Protestants in France, illustrating the violent religious divisions of the 16th century.

20th-Century Political Propaganda

• Nazi Campaign Poster: Targeted at German women, the messaging emphasizes economic desperation:     * "Millions of men without work."     * "Millions of children without a future."     * Directive: "Save the German family—vote Adolf Hitler!"     * This links the survival of the traditional family unit directly to the political success of the Nazi Party during the Great Depression.