Unit 1

Question 1

What was “brought back to life” or “re-birthed” during the Italian Renaissance

Answer 1

Classical ideas, works and texts of Greeks and Romans

Question 2

Philology

Answer 2

Study of the history and development of languages

Question 3

Humanism

Answer 3

The idea that humans have unlimited potential; Petrarch

Question 4

What cultural ideologies occurred during the Italian Renaissance?

Answer 4

Humanism, philology, secularism, and individualism, to name a few

Question 5

What made it possible for Greek and Roman texts and their ideas to spread so quickly from Italy to Northern Europe?

Answer 5

Printing press

Question 6

Why were the revival of Greek and Roman texts so significant?

Answer 6

Because it sparked a questioning of the power of the Catholic church, and began a new age of secularism, humanism and individualism

Question 7

What type of art style erupted during the Italian Renaissance? Describe it

Answer 7

Naturalism; realistic portraits and landscapes revolving around more than just Biblical figures art did in the Middle Ages

Question 8

The Courtier (book)

Answer 8

Written by Baldassare Castiglione. It was a guide for how young educated men should act gentleman-like and be “mentally awake”. Ideas from the book affected civic and political institutions

Question 9

The Prince (book)

Answer 9

Written by Niccolo Machiavelli. Expressed that the basic function of a ruler is to maintain power, even if it required being “morally wrong”. Fear > love, but not so much fear the ruler is hated

Question 10

How did the Northern Renaissance differ from the Italian Renaissance?

Answer 10

Had more of a religious, mainly Christian focus. For example, Christian Humanism was embodied in the writings of Erasmus, such as is “In Praise of Folly”

Question 11

How was the printing press significant in European history?

Answer 11

It’s responsible for the rapid, efficient spread of ideas starting as early as the 1440’s. Specifically, it allowed for new individualistic and humanist ideas to spread to Northern Europe, inducing the Northern Renaissance

Question 12

Vernacular literature

Answer 12

Literature written in the native languages (English, Spanish, French, etc.)

Question 13

Which rulers initiated religious reform from the top down (kings -> nobles -> regular people) in an effort to gain more power?

Answer 13

King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I of England

Question 14

What does the Age of Exploration refer to?

Answer 14

A time when Europeans began exploring the world by sea in search of new trading routes, wealth, and knowledge

Question 15

What types of technology enabled Europeans to establish overseas colonies and empires?

Answer 15

Cartography, caravels, compasses and astrolobes

Question 16

What were the 3 main motives for the Age of Exploration?

Answer 16

Gold (gaining material wealth), God (to bring more people to their religion), and Glory (conquering and bettering one’s nation)

Question 17

Mercantilism

Answer 17

Belief that there is only a finite amount of wealth in the world, and colonizing other lands was necessary to gain the most mineral wealth; exports > imports

Question 18

Christopher Columbus

Answer 18

The first to travel west instead of east in search of trade routes and mineral wealth; first European to discover the Americas

Question 19

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 19

Mediated by Pope Alexander VI in 1494; a negotiation between Spain and Portugal, who agreed to divide the world by the Line of Demarcation in the Atlantic Ocean; Spain got everything to the west, Portugal to the east

Question 20

Where did Spain establish colonies during the Age of Exploration?

Answer 20

Across the Americas, the Caribbean and the Pacific, making it a dominant state during the 16th century

Question 21

The Columbian Exchange

Answer 21

The global exchange of goods, flora, fauna, cultural practices, and disease between the Old World and the New World

Question 22

What role did disease play in the Columbian Exchange?

Answer 22

While Europe, Asia and Africa had regular exposure and immunity to each others’ germs, the Americas did not, giving the first three continents an advantage over the Americas. Smallpox was a prime example of disease

Question 23

Spanish conquering of the Aztecs

Answer 23

Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes defeated the massive Aztec empire due to the introduction of smallpox to the Aztecs, despite their small number of men. This gave Spain access to all of the Aztecs mineral wealth, causing an influx of wealth for Spain

Question 24

African Slave Trade

Answer 24

Africans were forcibly moved from their homes and shipped across the Middle Passage and forced to labor in the Americas

Question 25

The Middle Passage

Answer 25

A transatlantic route from Africa to the Americas that could take anywhere from 1-6 months; a gruesome, inhumane experience African slaves aboard

Question 26

Why was slave trade in high demand?

Answer 26

Demand grew for different goods in both the Americas and Europe, meaning slaves were also in demand for both places

Question 27

The Price Revolution

Answer 27

Inflation caused by wealth influx from the Americas, causing the Commercial Revolution

Question 28

The Commercial Revolution

Answer 28

Effect of the Price Revolution and Columbian Exchange; innovations made in banking and commerce (exchange of goods, food and currency)

Question 29

What types of changes were made finance during the Commercial Revolution?

Answer 29

Wages, investments and other finances were now made with cash instead of gold and silver; detailed records of transactions called Double-Entry Bookkeeping occurred; more extreme measures of money were kept in banking systems; and stocks were now a thing

Question 30

Two and Three-Field Rotation Systems

Answer 30

Systems implemented in farms in order to prevent soil nutrients from being exhausted; fields took turns in growing different types of food

Question 31

Urbanization

Answer 31

Massive migration movement of the landless poor into cities to look for work