Innovation and Exploration, 1453-1520 ch 12 Flashcards
Introduced in Europe in 1453 - 55, this new technology quickly revolutionized communication and played a significant role in political, religious, and intellectual revolutions.
Gutenberg’s Printing Press
As the author of The Prince and the Discourses on Livy, he looked to the Roman past for paradigms of greatness while at the same time hoping to win the patronage of contemporary rulers who would restore Italy’s political independence.
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469 - 1527)
Florentine inventor, sculptor, architect, and painter whose breadth of interests typifies the ideal of ‘the Renaissance man.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)
A virtuoso Florentine sculptor, painter, and poet who spent much of his career in the service of the papacy. He is best known for the decoration of the Sistine Chapel and for his monumental sculptures.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)
Dutch-born scholar, social commentator, and Catholic humanist whose new translation of the Bible influenced the theology of Martin Luther.
Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1469 - 1536)
Christian humanist, English statesman, and author of Utopia. In 1529, he was appointed lord chancellor of England but resigned because he opposed King Henry VIII’s plans to establish a national church under royal control. He was eventually executed for refusing to take an oath acknowledging Henry to be the head of the Church of England and has since been canonized by the Catholic Church.
Thomas More (1478 - 1535)
Russian ruler who annexed neighboring territories and consolidated his empire’s position as a European power.
Ivan the Great (1440 - 1505)
Russian word for ‘emperor,’ derived from the Latin caesar and similar to the German kaiser, it was the title claimed by the rulers of medieval Muscovy and of the later Russian Empire.
Tsar
In 1469, Their union allowed them to pursue several ambitious policies, including the conquest of Granada, the last Muslim principality in Spain, and the expulsion of Spain’s large Jewish community. In 1492, Isabella granted three ships to Christopher Columbus of Genoa (Italy), who went on to claim portions of the New World for Spain.
Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon
Successful alliances forged among the Iberian Peninsula’s Christian rulers and their eventual defeat of neighboring Muslim kingdoms.
Reconquista
A member of the Portuguese royal family, he encouraged the exploration and conquest of western Africa and the trade in gold and slaves.
Prince Henry the Navigator (1394 - 1460)
A Genoese sailor who persuaded King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to fund his expedition across the Atlantic, with the purpose of discovering a new trade route to Asia. His miscalculations landed him in the Bahamas and the island of Hispaniola in 1492.
Columbus (1451 - 1506)
Spanish term for ‘conqueror,’ applied to the mercenaries and adventurers who campaigned against indigenous peoples in central and southern America.
Conquistadors
The name given to the two great landmasses of the New World, derived from the name of the Italian geographer Amerigo Vespucci. In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Bahamas and the island of Hispaniola, which began an era of Spanish conquest. Originally, the Spanish sought a route to Asia. Instead they discovered two continents whose wealth they decided to exploit. They were especially interested in gold and silver, which they either stole from indigenous peoples or mined using indigenous peoples as labor. Silver became Spain’s most lucrative export from the New World.
Americas
