chapter 23 Flashcards
the transformation of europe
What were indulgences?
a type of pardon that excused individuals from doing penance for their sins and facilitated their entry into heaven
How did the Roman Catholic church view (the sale of) indulgences?
Believed they were splendid devices that encouraged individuals to reflect piously on their behavior, whilst bringing large sums of money into the church’s treasury
How did Martin Luther view indulgences?
as signs of greed, hypocrisy, and moral rot in the Roman Catholic church. believed that no human being had the power to absolve individuals of their sins or grant admission to heaven
In what document did Martin Luther denounce the sale of indulgences?
the “Ninety-Five Theses”
Whom was Martin Luther excommunicated by in 1520?
Pope Leo X
Who did the dissidents of the Roman Catholic Church become known as?
Protestants (protest against established order)
The blatant ________ and crass _________ of church officials only further emphasized the perceived betrayal of Christian ideals
hedonism; materialism
What did Martin Luther advocate for?
- Closure of monasteries
- Translation of the Bible from Latin into vernacular (language of ordinary people) languages
- end to priestly authority, including authority of the pope
Who introduced printing to Europe?
Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1395-1468)
What idea became the core of Protestant beliefs?
The idea of “justification by faith alone”–humans could be saved only through faith in the promises of God as revealed in the Bible
Around what time did Johannes Gutenberg invent mechanical movable type?
around 1439 from his hometown in Mainz, Germany
How did Martin Luther contribute to the growing literacy of the public, especially regarding religious matters?
translated the Bible into German, stimulated the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets
Where did John Calvin sneak off to organize a community of Protestants and work with the local community to impose a strict code of morality and discipline on the city?
Geneva, Switzerland
What was the name of the influential treatise that John Calvin composed to codify Protestant teachings?
“Institutes of the Christian Religion” (1536)
How did John Calvin’s teachings fundamentally differ from those of Martin Luther?
Calvin emphasized the power of God more than Luther did—God already determined which individuals would be saved from damnation even before they were born= predestination!
What were the group of individuals who were predestined for salvation regardless of their deeds on earth called?
“the elect”
Calvinist missionaries were most active in ________.
France
Calvinist missionaries were most successful in the __________ and _________.
Netherlands; Scotland
What was expected of Calvinists?
- Dress simply
- Study the Bible regularly
- Refrain from activities such as dancing or playing cards
How did King Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) come into conflict with the pope?
King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife who had not birthed a male heir, but pope refused to allow him to do so. King Henry VIII responded by severing relations with the Roman Catholic church and made himself Supreme Head of the Anglican church= English pope
How did Roman Catholicism change in England after King Henry VIII severed relations with the pope?
Roman Catholic doctrines and rituals replaced by Protestant doctrines and rituals
Who severed relations with the pope, and named himself Supreme Head of the Anglican church, solidifying religious reform in England during the mid-fifteenth century?
King Henry VIII
What was the assembly of bishops, cardinals, and other high church officials who intermittently met between 1545 and 1563 to discuss matters of doctrine and reform?
The Council of Trent
From who did the Council of Trent draw upon to define elements of Roman Catholic theology in detail?
scholastic theologian St. Thomas Aquinas
What did the Council of Trent demand?
- Church authorities observe strict standards of morality
- Required to establish schools and seminaries in their districts to prepare priests properly for their roles
What did the Society of Jesus do?
extend boundaries of the reformed Roman church
Who founded the Society of Jesus alongside a small band of disciples?
St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Who was a Basque nobleman who read spiritual works and popular accounts of saints’ lives whilst recuperating from a leg wound that ended his military career–eventually founding the Society of Jesus?
St. Ignatius Loyola
What were members of the Society of Jesus called?
Jesuits
What allowed Jesuits to be so effective in their missionary work?
Advanced education; instruction in not only theology and philosophy but also classical languages, literature, history, and science; able to outargue most opponents and acquire reputation of discipline and determination
What was the region where tensions between Protestants and Roman Catholics ran high?
Rhineland
What did theorists believe that witches gathered to worship the devil, behave lewdly, and concoct secret potions?
the “witches’ sabbath”
Where did theologians believe that witches derived their powers from?
the devil
With the spark of intensive hunt for witches, what did witchcraft become to Europeans?
A convenient explanation for any unpleasant turn of events
What did church courts do to witches that differed from secular courts?
Church courts tried large numbers of witches, usually imposing nonlethal penalties such as excommunication or imprisonment. Secular courts condemned and executed the vast majority of wiches.
Most convicted witches were ______.
Women
The last legal execution for witchcraft in Europe took place in _____________ in 1782
Switzerland
During what period of history did theories about witches and their intentions spark fear and widespread hunt for witches in Europe?
late 15th century to early 16th century
Who attempted to force England to return to the Roman Catholic church by sending Spanish Armada to dethrone Protestant Queen Elizabeth?
King Philip II of Spain
By 1610 seven northern provinces won their independence (from King Philip II of Spain) and formed a republic known as the _________ __________?
United Provinces (modern Netherlands)
How did the Thirty Years’ War start?
After the Holy Roman Emperor attempted to force Bohemian subjects to return to the Roman Catholic church, fought in Germany, multiple states involved
Why was the Thirty Years’ War significant to European history?
It was the most destructive conflict in Europe before the twentieth century
What were some implications of the Thirty Years’ War?
Violence and brutalities committed by undisciplined soldiers, war damaged economies and societies throughout Europe, led to deaths of about 1/3 of German population
Over the long run, centralizing ________ profited most from religious controversy generated by the reformation.
monarchs
The Holy Roman Empire’s authority extended only to ________ and northern ________.
Germany; Italy
Who dominated the Holy Roman Empire after 1438 with dynastic holdings in Austria?
The Habsburg family
How far did Charles V’s authority extend?
From Vienna, Austria to Cuzco, Peru (although he never established his authority throughout Europe or a lasting imperial legacy)
What did Charles V dedicate his energy towards? What did he not do under his rule?
Devoted much attention to Lutheran movement and imperial princes who took advantage of religious controversy to assert independence; did not build an administrative structure but ruled each of his lands according to its own laws and customs; did not extend authority with military force, used army to put down rebellions
Which of Charles V’s sons inherited his holdings in Spain, Italy, the Low Countries, and the Americas?
King Philip II of Spain
Which of Charles V’s sons inherited the Habsburg family lands in Austria and the imperial throne?
Ferdinand
What foreign difficulties prevented Charles V from establishing his empire as the main authority of Europe?
- French kings suspected that the emperor wanted absorb their realm and extend his authority, so they aided German Lutherans, encouraged them to rebel, allied with Muslim Ottoman Turks against the emperor
- Ottoman sultans did not want to see powerful Christian empire threaten their holdings, alongside French king, expanded rule beyond Egypt to include most of north Africa, posed serious threat to Italian and Spanish shipping in Mediterranean
After agreeing that imperial princes and cities could determine the religious faith observed in their jurisdictions, Charles V did what?
Abdicated his throne and retired to a monastery in Spain, empire did not survive intact
During the 15th and 16th centuries, rulers of England, France, and Spain were known as what?
the “new monarchs”
How did the French kings develop new sources of finance?
Levied direct taxes on sales, households, and salt trade
How did English kings develop new sources of finance?
Increased revenues by raising fines and fees for royal service, increased size of state and added to its responsibilities in absence of church wealth; state provided relief and support for orphans
With their increased income, the new monarchs did what?
Enlarged administrative staffs, enabling them to collect taxes and implement royal policies more reliably, maintain standing armies that vastly increased their power with respect to the nobility
How did Protestant lands benefit from Protestant movements in ways that Roman Catholic lands could not?
Rulers expropriated the monasteries and used church wealth to expand their powers, protestant movements provided them with a justification to mobilize resources, using against political and religious opponents
Who founded the Spanish Inquisition in 1478?
Fernando and Isabel of Spain
What was the Spanish Inquisition’s original task?
To ferret out those who secretly practiced Judaism or Islam
What did the intention of the Spanish Inquisition become after Charles V?
Also detected Protestant heresy in Spain–throughout late 15th and 16th centuries, served political and religious purposes
What movement is the Spanish Inquisition similar to?
Witch hunts and fear of witchcraft in Europe
What did Inquisitors do?
Investigated suspected cases of heresy, framed innocent victims and routinely subjected them to torture (released some victims, but if convicted they were ruthless)
What was the effect of the Spanish Inquisition?
Inspired much fear, and Roman Catholic orthodoxy prevailed in Spain
- deterred nobles from adopting Protestant views out of political ambition, used its influence on behalf of Spanish monarchy
Although the kingdom of England and the maritime Dutch republic did not have written constitutions, by the 17th century they evolved governments that recognized what?
Recognized rights pertaining to individuals and representative institutions
What did the constitutional state of England look like?
Constitutional monarchy emerged
What did the constitutional state of the Netherlands look like?
Produced a republic based on representative government
As Anglicans, what did the English kings support?
- church with relatively ornate ceremonies
- hierarchy of bishops working under authority of the monarchs themselves
Who were the zealous Calvinists who sought to purify the English church of any lingering elements such as ornate ceremonies and a hierarchy of bishops that were suggestive of Roman Catholic Christianity?
Puritans
By 1641, ____________ and parliament were unable to cooperate or even communicate effectively with each other prompting the political and religious disputes that fueled the English civil war.
King Charles I
In conflict with King Charles I, who were parliamentary forces led by?
Oliver Cromwell, who tried him for tyranny, and beheaded him in 1649
How did the English parliament restore the monarchy in 1660 in the absence of a king (after King Charles I was beheaded)?
Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan regime took power, but degenerated into a disagreeable dictatorship
What was the Glorious Revolution?
Bloodless change of power when parliament deposed King James II and invited his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William of Orange to assume the throne, thus providing that kings would rule in cooperation with parliament; guaranteeing that nobles, merchants, and other constituencies would enjoy representation in government affairs
In both England and Dutch republic, ________ were especially prominent in political affairs, and state policy in both lands favored maritime trade and building of commercial empires overseas.
merchants
Similar to England, a combination of _______ and ________ tensions led to conflict from which constitutional government emerged in the Netherlands.
political; religious
What prompted Dutch provinces to form an anti-Spanish alliance, whom eventually proclaimed themselves the independent United Provinces?
King Philip II of Spain moved to suppress increasingly popular Calvinist movement in the Netherlands, which provoked large-scale rebellion against Spanish rule
From what did political leaders build a Dutch republic?
Representative assemblies organizing local affairs in each of the provinces
In their responses to political crises, popular leaders in both England and the Netherlands found it possible to mobilize support by appealing to the political and religious interests of ______ _____________ and making a place for them in the government.
broad constituencies (more represenatative government= socio-economic prosperity and less religious and political conflict)
How did constitutional states benefit merchants and maritime trade?
allowed entrepreneurs to pursue economic interests with minimal interference from public authorities—represented alliance between merchants and rulers that worked to benefit both
Absolutism stood on theoretical foundation known as what?
divine right of kings
What did the theory of the divine right of kings hold?
That kings derived their authority from God and they served as “God’s lieutenants upon earth”
Who was the architect of French absolutism?
prominent church official, Cardinal Richelieu
What did Richelieu do to enhance the authority of the king in establishing French absolutism?
- destroyed nobles’ castles and ruthlessly crushed aristocratic conspiracies
- built large bureaucracy staffed by commoners loyal to the king
- appointed officials to supervise implementation of royal policy in the provinces
- attacked French Calvinists, and destroyed their political and military power (while allowing them to continue observing their faith)
Under what king was French absolutism best epitomized?
King Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715), known as the “sun king” and declared that he himself was the state
Where did King Louis XIV build a magnificent residence, and move his court?
Versailles, was the largest building in Europe
Louis XIV provided his nobility with _______ ________ and endless entertainment in exchange for absolute rule
luxurious accomodations
What does “tsar” or “czar” mean?
Russianized form of the term “caesar”, borrowed from Byzantine emperors to signify imperial status
From what trading city did the Romanovs build a foundation for their vast empire?
Moscow
Which Romanov tsar worked to transform Russia on the model of western European lands?
Peter I or Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725)
How did Peter the Great reform the Russian army?
- offering better pay
- drafting peasants who served for life as professional soldiers
- provided extensive training and equipped with modern weapons
- ordered aristocrats to study geometry and mathematics to be able to calculate how to aim cannons accurately
- began construction of a navy
How did Peter the Great transform Russian administration?
overhauled government bureaucracy to facilitate tax collection and improve administrative efficiency
What was the newly built sea port that would serve as a capital city and haven for Russia’s navy?
St. Petersburg
How did Peter the Great transform Russian society?
Commanded aristocratic subjects to wear western European fashions and order men to shave their traditional beards
Who was the most able of Peter the Great’s successors, also seeking to make Russia a great power by dividing the empire and improving the conditions of the oppressed peasantry?
Catherine II, or Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796)
How did Russians react to Peter the Great’s social reforms, and attempted implementation of western European ways?
His measures were extremely unpopular and provoked spirited protest
How did Russians react to Catherine the Great’s interest in social reform?
Similar to Peter the Great, faced challenges to her rule, and especially unsettling trail when disgruntled former soldier mounted rebellion in the steppe lands
Who was the disgruntled former soldier who mounted a rebellion, only to be ruthlessly crushed by government authorities, to which Catherine the Great aimed to preserve autocratic rule rather than transform Russia according to western European models?
Yemelian Pugachev
How many administrative provinces did Catherine the Great break Russia into?
50
When did the enhanced power of absolutism become dramatically clear in Russia?
When Austria, Prussia, and Russia, picked Poland apart, and took the three partitions into their own territory
How did Europeans end the Thirty Years’ War?
By collectively drafting the “Peace of Westphalia” (1648)
What did the Peace of Westphalia assert?
- treaty that laid foundations for a system of independent, competing states
- regard each state as sovereign and equal
- mutually recognize rights to their own domestic affairs, including religious affairs
- entrusted political and diplomatic affairs to states acting in their own interests
What new era did the Peace of Westphalia mark?
European religious unity had disappeared and the era of the sovereign state had arrived
Did the Peace of Westphalia stop war?
No.
Some wars like the Seven Years’ War still continued and rose to disrupt economies and drain resources.
What was the principal foundation of European diplomacy in early modern times?
the balance of power
What were the pros and cons of balance-of-power diplomacy?
Cons: it was always possible that a coalition might repress one strong state only to open the door for another
Pros: statesmen prevented the building of empires and ensured that Europe be a land of independent, sovereign, competing states
What were the two forces that encouraged the development of capitalism, restructuring of European economy and society?
Rapidly expanding population and economy
Which half of Europe experienced increasing prosperity and which half experienced much less economic ferment with capitalism?
Western Europe enjoyed increasing prosperity while eastern Europe increasingly became suppliers of grain and raw materials rather than centers of trade or production
Why were potatoes an important source of nutrition in European society?
provided welcome source of carbohydrates for peasants and laborers who couldn’t afford bread
Where were the last major outbreaks of plague in Europe?
London in 1660 and Marseilles in 1720, by mid-17th century, epidemic disease was almost negligible
By 1700, after the Thirty Years’ War and epidemic disease ravaged European population, European population had rallied and risen to 120 million and in the next century it grew to________ million
180
What is an example of a city that grew because rulers chose it as a site of government?
Madrid
What are some examples of cities that grew because of commercial and industrial development?
Paris and London
What is capitalism?
Economic system in which private parties make their goods and services available on a free market and seek to take advantage of market conditions to profit from their activities
What is the center of a capitalist system?
the market in which businessmen compete with one another, and the forces of supply and demand determine the prices received for goods and services
How did European merchants and entrepreneurs transform their society in ways their predecessors had not?
- businessmen learned to take advantage of market conditions by building efficient networks of transportation and communication
- private parties organized an array of institutions and services to support early capitalism
What is an example of newsletters than banks published to provide readers with reports on prices, information about demand for commodities in distant markets, and political news that could have an impact on business?
the “Wall Street Journal” and “Fortune” magazine
How did banks contribute to the growth of a capitalist society?
- held funds on account for safekeeping and granted loans to merchants or entrepreneurs launching new business ventures
- published business newsletters
- insurance companies mitigated financial losses from risky undertakings
- stock exchanges arose, could sell shares in joint-stock companies and trade in other commodities
Joint-stock companies were the direct ancestors of what?
contemporary multinational corporations
How did English and Dutch states support capitalist order?
- recognized individuals’ rights to possess private property
- enforced their contracts
- protected their financial interests
- settled disputes between parties to busniess transactions
- chartered joint-stock companies, authorized some to explore, conquer, and colonize distant lands in search of commercial opportunites
What two forces were essential for the development of capitalism as they enabled European merchants to gain access to the natural resources and commodities that they distributed so effectively throughout transportation networks?
Imperial expansion and colonial rule
How did guilds resist technological innovation, where capitalism encouraged entrepreneurs to organize new ways to manufacture goods?
Guilds didn’t seek to realize profits so much as they wanted to protect markets and preserve their members’ places in society, actively discouraging competition
Where did capitalist entrepreneurs move production to?
into the countryside
What was the “putting-out system”?
delivered unfinished materials to rural households, entrepreneurs paid workers for their services, picked up finished goods, and sold them on the market= moving production of goods into the countryside!!
Why were entrepreneurs able to spent relatively little on wages for rural labor?
Rural labor was usually plentiful
What do some historians refer to the 17th and 18th centuries as an age of?
Age of pro industrialization, with putting-out system that represented effort to organize efficient industrial production before Industrial Revolution
How did the putting-out system influence standards of rural life?
Material standards of rural life rose dramatically, increased wealth in the countryside= peasant households wore better clothes, drank better wine, etc. allowing them to pursue their own economic interests and become financially independent
Did the putting-out system become a prominent feature of production in eastern Europe?
No, but early capitalism still promoted deep social change there—landlords forced peasants to work under extremely harsh conditions
While serfdom gradually came to an end in western Europe after the 15th century, what happened to serfdom in eastern Europe?
Serfdom was strengthened as rulers tightened restrictions on peasants during the 16th century
What did the law code that was passed in 1649 by the Russian government do to Russian society in terms of their labor force?
The law code provided for tight state control over the Russian labor force and established a rigid, castelike social order that sharply restricted both occupational and geographic nobility
- did not turn serfs into slaves but landlords commonly sold serfs to one another
Why was the maintenance of serfdom in eastern Europe important to western Europe?
It made it possible for capitalism to flourish in western Europe only because the peasants and semifree serfs of eastern Europe provided inexpensive foods and raw materials that fueled economic development
What was the lifeblood of capitalism?
PROFIT
Who was one of the most important of early apostles of capitalism who held that society would prosper when individuals pursue their own economic interests?
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
How did medieval theologians view profit-making activity?
Regarded it as morally dangerous, church officials attempted to forbid collection of interest on loans, considered interest unearned and immoral profit
What do some historians believe witch-hunting activities to be representative of in terms of the implications of capitalism?
Believed it represented hostility toward women who were becoming economically independent of their husbands and families
How did capitalism influence family life?
Nuclear families (united by ties of partnership and parenthood and independent households) became more prominent, emphasized relationships between parents and their children, defined nature and role of family in modern European society
During the scientific revolution, European intellectuals began to adopt scientific methods and rely on __________ rather than traditional cultural authorities
reason
What did Ptolemy compose that synthesized theories about the universe?
the “Almagest”
Until the 17th century, European astronomers based their understanding of the universe on the work of which Greek scholar?
Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria
“Planets” came from the Greek word “planetes” which means what?
“wanderer”
What did European astronomers believe explained planetary behavior?
Perfect circular movements, believed that planets revolved around the Earth
What are epicycles?
Small circular revolutions that planets made around a point in their spheres, even while the spheres themselves revolved around the earth.
What was the name of Nicolaus Copernicus’s treatise that broke Ptolemaic theory and pointed European science in a new direction?
“On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”
What did Nicolaus Copernicus’s theory imply?
- the earth was just another planet
- humans did not occupy the central position in the universe
- suggested the unsettling possibility that there might be other populated worlds in the universe (notion was difficult to reconcile with Christian teachings)
By the mid-17th century, accurate ________ and _____________ reasoning dominated both mechanics and astronomy.
observation; mathematical
What did Ptolemy’s universe look like?
- envisioned motionless earth surrounded by series of nine hollow, concentric spheres that revolved around earth
- the first seven spheres had observable heavenly bodies embedded in its shell
- eighth sphere held the stars
- empty ninth sphere surrounded the whole cosmos and provided the spin that kept all the others moving
- beyond the spheres= heaven
How did Johannes Kepler of Germany contribute to scientific knowledge in Europe?
he demonstrated that planetary orbits are elliptical, not circular as Ptolemaic theory asserts
How did Galileo Galilei of Italy further scientific knowledge in Europe?
- showed that the heavens were not the perfect, unblemished realm, but rather a world of change, flux, and many previously unsuspected sights
- took the already invented telescope, and turned it skyward
- observations from telescope discredited notion that heavenly bodies were smooth and perfectly spherical
- noticed four of the moons orbiting Jupiter
- discovered previously unknown, distant stars (implying universe larger than anyone suspected)
How did Galileo contribute to the understanding of terrestrial motion?
- designed ingenious experiments to show that the velocity of falling bodies depends on their weight, but on the height from which they fall
- anticipated modern law of inertia
Who was the English mathematician who replied on accurate observation and mathematical reasoning to construct a powerful synthesis of astronomy and mechanics?
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
In what 1687 volume did Isaac Newton outline his views on the natural world?
“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”
What did Newton argue?
that the law of universal gravitation regulates the motions of bodies on the earth
What two laws allowed Newton to synthesize the sciences of astronomy and mechanics as well as explain a vast range of seemingly unrelated phenomena?
laws of universal gravitation and laws of motion
Who was the English physician who discovered the principles of the circulation of human blood and studied human reproduction?
William Harvey (1578-1657)
What did William Harvey assert about the human reproductive system that confirmed the innate inferiority of women by adding his “scientific” veneer to traditionally limited images, roles, and functions of women?
That the female unfertilized egg received life and form from male semen which was potent with generative powers
How did Emilie du Chatelet establish her reputation as a scientist?
- Publishing a three-volume work on the German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz in 1740
- translation of Isaac Newton’s “Principia Mathematica” to French, while explaining his complex mathematics in graceful prose, transforming his geometry in calculus, and assessing the current state of Newtonian physics
What did Voltaire comment about Emilie du Chatelet in a letter to his friend Frederick II, King of Prussia?
that she “was a great man whose only fault was being a woman”
What was King Louis XIV famous for declaring about himself?
“l’etat, c’est moi”–“I am the state” (essentially)
