History Midterm Review

Key Themes and Events in European History

1. Causes and Consequences of the Black Death

• Cause: The Black Death, caused by fleas on rats, originated in Asia and reached Europe in 1347.

• Consequences:

  • Killed a third of Europe’s population.

  • Resulted in labor shortages and economic collapse.

  • Led to social upheaval and questioning of religious institutions.

  • environmental factors such as climate change and famine also played a significant role, exacerbating the already dire conditions and contributing to the widespread suffering.

  • Christine de Pizan - a prominent medieval writer who advocated for women's rights and education, challenging the traditional gender roles of her time.

2. Interests of the Renaissance Humanists

• Focused on the study of classical texts (Greek and Roman).

• Emphasized human potential and achievements in various subjects:

  • Philosophy

  • Religion

  • Literature

  • History

  • Rhetoric

• Aimed to revive ancient cultural ideals.

• Petrarch- An Italian scholar and poet, considered the father of Humanism, who emphasized the study of classical texts and the importance of individual experience.

• men are superior to women

• Leonardo Bruni- advocated for the fact that men are stronger than women

• humanism- Greek and Byzantine scholars would come to Italy and translate ancient Greek texts and this started education and literacy., starting

• shift in education from religious logic to ancient logic

• Johannes Gutenberg- created the printing press which helped normalize actient texts making them printable and cheap to iliterate readers, thereby revolutionizing access to knowledge and contributing to the spread of humanist ideas across Europe.

  • helped spread humanism

• Marcillo Facio- known for teaching that people should lok for salvation from god rather than looking for it from themselves, known for translating platos works.

  • created the informal platonic academy in florence

• Niccolo Machiavelli- studied Roma and greek philosophy

  • wrote a book called The Prince

  • overthrew the florentine government

  • Discourses on Livy: A work that contrasts the political systems of ancient Rome with contemporary governance, emphasizing the importance of republicanism.

  • courtier- person who attends the royal court as an assistant to the king or queen, written by castileon

3. Role of the Medici in Establishing Florence as a Cultural Leader

• The Medici family were prominent patrons of the arts during the Renaissance.

• Supported renowned artists including:

  • Michelangelo

  • Leonardo da Vinci

  • Botticelli

• Their wealth and influence helped make Florence a cultural and intellectual hub.

4. Renaissance Artists, Their Patrons, and Achievements

• Giotto: Known for realistic depictions of human emotion, such as in "The Lamentation."

• Michelangelo: Renowned for creations like "The Creation of Adam" and the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

• Leonardo da Vinci: Famous for "Mona Lisa" and contributions across various fields (anatomy, engineering, art).

• Raphael: Best known for painting "School of Athens," showcasing classical philosophy.

• artist promoted their art to the princes so they would get hired.

5. Political Rivalry in Renaissance Italy Leading to the French Invasions

• Italy was divided into city-states (e.g., Florence, Venice, Milan), leading to constant power struggles.

• Political instability allowed foreign powers, such as France, to intervene, resulting in wars and eventual foreign control.

6. Habsburg Attempts at Control of the Holy Roman Empire and Rivalry with the Valois

• The Habsburgs aimed to consolidate power within the Holy Roman Empire while competing with the Valois (French).

• Notable conflicts:

  • Habsburg-Valois Wars

  • Peace of Augsburg influenced European politics.

7. Problems Within the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th Century

• The Church faced criticism for:

  • Corruption

  • Sale of indulgences

  • Accumulation of wealth

• Figures like Martin Luther called for reform and challenged the authority of the papacy.

8. Establishment of Protestantism in Germany and Switzerland

• Germany: Martin Luther’s 95 Theses initiated the Reformation and led to the rise of Lutheranism.

  • • 95 Theses- posted it on the church wall, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

    • Luther- Solafide, salvation comes from faith alone, Sola Scriptura, bible was the ultimate authority, anyone that practices catholiscism can be a priest

    • Charles V put Luther on trial - diet of worms

    • result of the trial- edict of worms, Charles and Pope Leo excommunicated him and declared him an outlaw

    • Prince Fredrick or Saxony- let Luther live and hide in his castle until the empire stopped looking for him

• Switzerland: John Calvin established Calvinism, focusing on predestination and a stringent moral code.

9. Teachings of Luther

• Advocated for salvation by faith alone, asserting it as a divine gift, unattainable through good works.

• Critiqued Church practices, especially indulgences, and maintained that the Bible should be the ultimate authority.

10. How the Church of England Changed Over Time

• Henry VIII: Broke away from the Catholic Church in the 1530s to form the Church of England, primarily for marital reasons.

  • king of England

  • he wanted a son- passed an act called the Act of Supremacy, he wanted to change the church rules, created the Anglican church and this allowed him to get divorced, declared him supreme head of the church of England

  • Married Anne Belin

  • Married Jane Semor- had Edward and died during childbirth

  • Edward and hih sister had different religious ideas so he passed the Act of Parliament which removed Mary from the line to the throne

• Elizabeth I: Strengthened the Anglican Church, blending Protestant and Catholic elements.

11. Elements of the Elizabethan Age in England

• The era witnessed growth in the arts and expansion of English influence globally.

• Strengthening of Protestant identity under Queen Elizabeth I.

• became queen, ruled 45 years, nicknamed the Virgin Queen, never married and never had kids

• made a settlement called the Settlement of Edward VI- monarch was the head of the church but with catholic beliefs

• new act of supremacy of 1559, decared her the supreme governer of the church

12. Absolute Monarchy in France

• Louis XIV: Known as the "Sun King" for centralizing royal power, famous for the opulent construction of Versailles.

  • had to be hidden until the attacks were over

  • he wanted 3 things for France, wanted to be present, wanted to make a cultural impact on France, glory for France

  • built a palace- Versailles, to manipulate the noble, built by Jean Colbert

  • exposed the nobled making them think they were in power because of Louis

  • he said “i am the state”

  • he wanted the state to revolve around him

  • his legacy was that he was the most important king in France

  • big on the divine right theory- kings were chosen by god to be kings therefor they cant be accountable for anything bad that they did

  • Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture

• Absolute Monarchy- king or queen are the only rulers

• Constitutional Monarchy- king and queen with a parliament

• Cardinal Richelieu: Played a crucial role in strengthening royal authority during Louis XIII’s reign.

  • he taxed nobles and wealthy provinces

  • after he died they started a protest called the Frond, seried of uncordinated and attacks on the monarchy to mobilize the taxation

• Marquis de Louvois

  • Louis minister of war- helped the king fight his battles.

13. Aspects of Absolutism in Central & Eastern Europe, Especially in Russia

• Russia: Tsar Peter the Great modernized the state and centralized power, expanding influence in Europe.

• ivan the great- expanded russia, married a greek orthodox princess, decided to turn russia into a catholic country

• ivan the terrible- official tsar of russia, because it was a tradition russia had after the country became catholic, continued to expand russian territory and gave russia the acces to the volga river, which was important for trade.

• catholicism in russia centralized the government

• Central Europe: Monarchs like Frederick the Great centralized authority, while Habsburgs coped with diversity challenges in their empire.

• Ferdinand and Isabella got married and created Spain

  • they believed that everyone in spain should be catholic

  • created the spanish inquisition, investigated branch of the spanish government that would make sure that noone was practicing any religion other than catholicism

  • reconquista- ferdinand and isabellas movement to get rid of all the jews and muslims in spain, ended with the fall of granada.

  • fall of Granada- wiped out all the people in the granada territory (muslims)

14. Emergence of Constitutionalism in England (from James I through Glorious Revolution)

• James I: Asserted divine right, creating tension with Parliament.

• Charles I- protestants were against him, the roundheads vs the cavaliers (parliament vs royals)

• English Civil War: Marked conflict leading to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy.

• the roundheads won and beheaded Charles I

• left with the Rump parliament

• general of the roundheads- wanted to make a new form of government where the parliament rules England- Common Wealth

• completely got rid of parliament, called himself the lord protector of England

• Charles II- took the throne after the restoration, granted religious toleration for protestants that didn’t belong to the church of England, parlieament must gather every 3 years

• england became a parliament monarchy

• James II- loved absolutism so he built up the entire english army

  • appointed catholics to be the capitans or generals of the army

• Glorious Revolution (1688): Resulted in William and Mary’s ascendancy, cementing constitutional monarchy through the Bill of Rights.

  • parliament asserted its rights forming the constitutional monarchy

15. Discoveries of the Scientific Revolution

• New methodologies and discoveries reshaped the understanding of the natural world.

• Ptolemaic system- heavens orbited around the earth and their subject to different laws of motion

• geocentric- everything revolves around the earth

• Key Figures:

  • Copernicus: Proposed heliocentrism.

    • earth revolved around the sun

    • raised by Catholics and didnt believe that gods universe could be as messy as Ptolemy believes

  • Galileo: Innovated the telescope.

    • discovered sun spots and craters on the moon

    • the 4 moons of Jupiter

    • Starry Messenger- his reports on Jupiters moons

      • proved the geocentric theory wrong

    • Letters on Sun Spots

    • got put on trial and they found him guilty, he was given the option to repent or die.

    • didnt stop him from his research

  • Kepler: popularized the Copernican Theory

    • discovered the laws of planetary motion

    • Astronomia Nova- the elliptical orbit of planets, contained an investigation on the movement on mars

    • inherited all of Tychos belongings

  • Newton: Formulated laws of motion and gravity.

    • discovered physics

    • Principia Mathematica- entire guide to physics

  • Tycho Brahe: correct any inconsistencies on traditional astronomy

    • became famous for observing a new star “Nova”

    • Fredrick II gifted Tycho an island to use to focus on his work

  • William Harvey- discovered that the heart works like a pump

    • discovered through disecting animals

  • Francis Bacon- created the scientific method

    • royal society of London and the French academy of sciences

    • biconian research industried were opened because of the method.

  • Galen of Purgemon: focused on anatomy blood, flem, yellow vile and black vile

    • inbalance made u sick

  • Paracelsus- discovered the role of chemistry in medicine

    • whote a book about surgery (the Great Surgery Book)

  • Andreaus Vesalius- physician who revolutionized biology and medicine

    • On The Fabric of Human Body- the first comprehensive book of anatomy

  • Margaret Cavandish- science feminist

    • her career was to use her philosophy to argue for women in science

    • men kept her out of the feild

    • became the first woman to participate in a society meeting in the royal society of London

16. Galileo’s Struggle with the Church

• Galileo's support for heliocentrism conflicted with Church doctrine, leading to his trial and subsequent house arrest.

• didnt stop him from research

17. Newton’s Role in Rationalizing the World

• Isaac Newton articulated the laws of motion and gravity, elucidating a logical and predictable natural world.

• universal gravitation- explains why the planets change speed

• greater mass is the greater force of attraction

18. The Scientific Revolution and Challenges to Traditional Beliefs

• New understandings of the solar system clashed with Aristotle’s geocentric views.

• Advances in medicine and anatomy by figures such as Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey challenged established Galenic theories.

19. The West Before the Renaissance

• Periodization: Historical events are divided into distinct periods: Ancient, Medieval, Modern.

• Medieval Europe: Characterized by feudalism, the spread of Christianity and Islam, and political turmoil post-Roman Empire.

20. The Renaissance

• Cultural rebirth marked by renewed interest in classical art, literature, and learning.

• Humanism: Focus on human potential, drawing inspiration from Greek and Roman cultures.

21. The Reformation

• Originating from Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, it led to Protestantism's establishment and significant religious division.

• The Catholic Reformation aimed to address and remedy church corruption.

22. Thirty Years’ War

• A religious and political conflict in the Holy Roman Empire causing immense destruction.

• Ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648), significantly altering European borders and religious landscapes.

23. Absolutism in France

• Louis XIV centralized power as an absolute monarch, with the construction of Versailles signifying his control.

24. English Civil War and the Restoration of the Monarchy

• The conflict between Royalists (Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) resulted in the monarchy's temporary abolition.

• Restoration period began in 1660 with the return of Charles II to the throne.

25. Key Enlightenment Thinkers

• John Locke: Promoted natural rights and government based on consent.

  • life, liberty, and property

  • believed tht the government should enforce those rules

• Voltaire: Advocated for freedom of speech and criticized religious intolerance.

  • philosophe- free thinkers

• Montesquieu: Suggested separation of powers in government.

  • different brances of government

• Enlightement- idea that people should live according to their capacity to think