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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
How Did the Western Worldview
Grow Out of the Renaissance?
As Western Europeans experienced changes to their political,
economic, and social systems during the Renaissance, their values and
beliefs about life on this Earth also changed. Individuals became open
to examining new ideas about religion and about national identity
and citizenship. A focus on exploration also grew. The modern
Western worldview, from which the worldview of many Canadians
comes, is considered to be similar to that held by Western Europeans
towards the end of the Renaissance.
In this chapter, you will explore information to help you answer
these questions:
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How Did New Religious Views Become Part of the Western Worldview?
How Did Ideas of National Identity and Citizenship Begin to
Develop During the Renaissance?
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How Did a Spirit of Exploration Become Part of the Western Worldview?
How Did the Age of Exploration Begin?
How Did the Age of Exploration Lead to Imperialism?
How Did the Exchange of Goods and Products Change the World?
How Did Imperialism Affect European Worldviews?
Focus on Inquiry: How Do Thoughts and Feelings Affect Research?
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Worldview Investigation
pluralistic:
Many people from other countries have made Canada their home. Think
describing a
about a family of newcomers. What languages do they speak? What do
society in which
you know about the country they came from and the worldviews they
members of
minority groups
brought with them?
maintain their
What must it be like for a new immigrant family to fit into Canadian
different cultural
society? What details about our society would be valuable for this family
traditions
to know to be successful in Canada? How would you describe Canada’s
pluralistic worldviews? How have Canada’s First Nations, Métis, and Inuit
determined who Canadians are? What would you say about the political
and economic systems? What are Canadian beliefs about how we should
act as citizens? What do we value in our social systems? How would you
describe the culture? Canadians are so diverse that the elements of our
society might be described in many different ways. Think of the worldview
models: how have geography, contact with other people, and ideas and
Social
knowledge shaped our worldview?
systems
Use a Roundtable Discussion (see below) to create a summary of life
in Canada for a new immigrant. Decide how your group will share your
information — a brochure, poster, mind map, or other product. You
Worldview:
might use a model such as the one at the right to organize your
Values and
Beliefs
information, adding specific details to each circle.
Political
This investigation helps you to think about the Western
Culture
and economic
worldview as we experience it in Canada. As you read this chapter,
systems
think about how the ideas and events of the Renaissance contributed
to our Western worldview.
Roundtable Discussion
The Roundtable method of group work allows everyone in the class to
participate in a discussion. Work together in groups to hold the discussion.
• Sit in a circle.
• Everyone in the group thinks for a few minutes about the topic for
discussion and specific questions asked.
• Discussion moves around the group with each student expressing an
opinion or sharing an idea. A student may pass if he or she does not
have anything to say at that point. Everyone in turn has the chance to
express ideas.
• Keep short notes of the discussion, but always keep focused on the
discussion, not the notetaking.
SKILLS CENTRE
Turn to How to
Communicate Ideas
and Information in
the Skills Centre to
review other ways to
hold a successful
group discussion.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
How Did New Religious
Views Become Part of the
Western Worldview?
Protestant Reformation:
the 16th-century movement
to reform the doctrines
and practices of the Roman
Catholic Church, which
resulted in the formation
of Protestant churches
mother tongue: one’s native
language from birth
literate: able to read
and write
Humanism and other Renaissance ideas that began in Italy gradually
spread to western and northern Europe towards the end of the
15th century. Although the rest of Europe experienced its Renaissance
later than Italy, the effects were just as significant. As Renaissance
ideas spread beyond Italy, they were changed and adapted by the
citizens of other parts of Europe to reflect their societies.
Two views of religion existed in the Western worldview of the
time: one believed that individuals should follow the rules, rituals,
and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church; one believed that
individuals should question and respond to the Bible personally.
Humanists and their followers questioned the behaviour of some of
the popes and clergy. They also questioned the necessity of following
the Church laws and rituals that the Church expected people to follow
without question. Many wanted to see reforms but did not want a
break from the Roman Catholic Church. This desire for reform and
change within the Church became the basis of the Protestant
Reformation. The Reformation began as a movement to bring about
changes in the Roman Catholic Church, not to separate from it.
Initially, there was no desire to form a new church. However, the
reform movement created major division among Christians that led
to religious wars and new religious ideas that became the basis for
Protestantism. The invention of the printing press was an important
factor in the Reformation because short fliers and tracts urging church
reform could be easily produced and distributed.
After the printing press was invented, the Bible was translated into vernacular
languages, which meant more people could read it in their mother tongue.
As more people became literate, there was less need for the clergy to
interpret the Bible for them. The printing press led to an increase in literacy
and the spread of ideas, including those of humanism.
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PROFILE
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483–1546), a German priest and professor at the
University of Wittenburg, was one of the most important reformers.
He wanted to reform some practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
Luther believed that
• following the rituals of the institution of the Church was not
enough to get into heaven
• individuals should seek personal religious understanding
• individuals should not pay the Church to receive forgiveness
for their sins
Some scholars supported Luther’s ideas because they promoted the
importance of the individual expressed in humanism. German princes
and members of the new merchant class also agreed with Luther’s calls
for reform. Much of their support was based on political and economic
reasons, as they wanted more power in their regions. The idea of religious
reform spread throughout Germany. In fact, the calls for Church reform,
printed in the German language, helped create a sense of national
identity and pride among many Germans. This sense of nationalism and
identity as citizens of a state was becoming an important part of the
European worldview.
In 1517, Luther began to speak publicly of his concerns with Church
teachings and practices. He wrote a pamphlet that listed 95 Church
reforms he felt were necessary. The pope at the time, Leo III, declared
41 of these to be heresy, for they did not fit with all the beliefs and rules
within the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s books were publicly burned
in Rome. Luther was expelled from the Roman Catholic Church in 1521.
In protest, he started a church that many Germans joined. Because they
were protesting some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church,
they became known as Protestants. This Protestant movement spread
across western Europe.
Luther, other Reformation leaders, and many other Christians saw this
movement as an opportunity for greater freedom and individual choice
within Christianity. Individual freedom and choice, as well as freedom of
religion, became important values in the Western worldview.
In 1521, Martin Luther was
forced into hiding. This
portrait of him was done by
his friend Lucas Cranach.
Protestant: a member of
any of the Western
Christian churches that are
not Roman Catholic
Many of the southern
German states remained
staunchly Roman
Catholic and did not
participate in the
Protestant movement.
I wonder … what were
the reasons for the
Roman Catholic Church
excommunicating
Martin Luther?
On April 17, 1521, Luther
appeared before the leaders
of the Roman Catholic
Church and was asked
whether he still believed
in his writings.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
Religious Reform
Religious change spread throughout western Europe. Religion became
more individualized and influenced both the formation of new
churches and reforms to the Roman Catholic Church itself. The
Roman Catholic Church looked seriously at its practices and made
changes to ensure the proper behaviour of its clergy and that it was
doing everything according to Christian principles.
Statue of John Knox, St. Giles
Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland.
John Knox (1505–1572) led the
Protestant rebellion in Scotland.
Knox created Presbyteries, or
councils of men, to govern the
Church. This change in Church
structure and hierarchy developed
into the Presbyterian Church.
Family of Henry VIII,
1570–1575. The
Reformation in
England, which
resulted in the
Church of England
(the Anglican
Church), developed
from King Henry VIII’s
(1509–1547) desire
to control the property of the Church in England
and to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
annulled. Henry VIII is shown seated with his son
Edward VI to his right and Edward’s mother, Jane
Seymour, to his left. Seymour had already died
when this picture was painted.
KINGDOM OF
SCOTLAND
Huguenot cross. French humanists were
interested in Luther’s works; some left
the Roman Catholic Church to become
a Protestant group, the Huguenots.
A series of religious wars between
Catholics and Huguenots lasted for
almost 40 years. The Roman Catholic
Church supported persecution and
massacres of the dissidents. In the end,
France granted freedom of worship to
Protestants in 1598.
KINGDOM
OF
ENGLAND
KINGDOM OF
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND
K I N G D O M O F S PA I N
Virgin of the Catholic King and Queens,
Spanish School, 1490. The Spanish
monarchy did not allow the practice of
any religion other than Roman Catholicism, making it the state religion.
In 1492, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand reinstituted the Inquisition,
a religious court that was ordered to find heretics or disbelievers. Thousands
of Jews and Muslims were persecuted and expelled from the country.
Heretics and unbelievers were often jailed, tortured, or put to death.
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John Calvin (1509–1564)
introduced a
strict form of
Protestantism based on a single
ideal — believe and practise only
what is written in the Bible. Calvin
believed people should conduct
their lives according to a strict
moral code and that church and
state should not be separated.
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
The Protestant Reformation is an example of the rapid flow of
ideas across Europe, from Germany, to France, to Switzerland, and to
the northern reaches of the British Isles. Reformation leaders shared
ideas back and forth across the continent through travel, diplomacy,
and the use of printed materials.
The hostility between Roman Catholics and Protestants in western
Europe was often used for political purposes. Leaders appealed to
citizens’ beliefs to increase support for their political causes. Protestant
and Catholic states were often at war during the late Renaissance,
as political leaders used citizens’ religious beliefs to help build their
political power.
The Renaissance began with most Europeans practising one
common religious belief, Roman Catholicism, tied together through
a common language, Latin. By the end of the Renaissance, Europe
was a patchwork of differing Christian denominations. Differences
of religious belief often created splits among people and frequently
led them to follow different leaders. The fight for religious freedom
created a sense of solidarity and common identity among people
that influenced the formation of countries.
REFLECT
AND
RESPOND
1. Today, the Western worldview values personal rights and the freedom to
have personal views. During the Renaissance, the idea that people with
different religious beliefs could live in one country was quite unusual.
Today, in Canada’s pluralistic society, individuals and groups with widely
different religious faiths and spiritual practices live together peacefully.
a. What makes this possible?
b. Are there difficulties or problems that come from this?
c. Brainstorm how Canadian society is enriched by this situation.
2. Pick one topic to discuss.
a. Why did the religious reform movement begin in western Europe?
b. How did the printing press enable religious reform?
c. How does a citizen’s questioning of established social structures
play a part in today’s Western worldview?
d. How did Luther’s beliefs and actions show how an individual
can initiate change and reshape worldviews?
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
How Did Ideas of National
Identity and Citizenship
Begin to Develop
During the Renaissance?
nation: a group of people,
mainly of common descent,
history, and language, often
forming a state or
inhabiting a territory
mercenary: selling services
for money, especially
military services
If you were to examine a political map of today’s world, what words
would you use to describe the major areas that divide up the
continents? You would most likely use words such as countries or
nations. The idea of nation began to develop in the Renaissance
and became part of the way we see the world — part of our Western
worldview.
Towards the end of the Renaissance, small political units joined
together to form larger states. There are many reasons why these
states began to develop into countries:
• Societies became more urban; power was shifting to the cities
rather than rural areas. Monarchs supported the growth of the
cities by improving trade laws and lifting trade barriers and, in
turn, the cities gave them allegiance and even more wealth.
• Citizens developed new identities of belonging to a state as well
as to their local communities, recognizing such common
elements as language, religion, and beliefs in what life should be.
• Gunpowder was introduced from China, which changed the
nature of the battles between monarchs and the nobles who
owned feudal properties. Monarchs used taxes from the cities to
purchase gunpowder and to hire mercenary soldiers, which
meant they could overpower the nobles. Eventually, the kings
gained control of the nobles’ lands and formed increasingly
larger states.
• The invention of the printing press and the use of local
languages helped create national identities. Books were written
on the histories of the countries, providing common histories
and heroes for people.
• Exploration of new lands also led to a sense of greater national
identity. Citizens developed collective pride in these discoveries
of new parts of the world. Explorations often led to the
establishment of colonies, which brought prestige and wealth
to the founding country.
No single factor led to the formation of countries. Individual
states developed because all these factors came into play in Europe
at approximately the same time — a result of changes in ideas and
thinking that came out of the Renaissance.
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Same Time, Different Place
Formation of Nations, 1800s
Although the seeds of nations were present by
the end of the Renaissance, true nation-states
did not appear until the 18th and
19th centuries.
Italy
In the Middle Ages and for most of the
Renaissance, the peninsula known today as
Italy consisted of a number of independent
city-states. It was not unified as the Kingdom of Italy until 1861.
The province of Venezia, which includes Venice, joined the nation
in 1866. Rome joined in 1870 to create the modern state of Italy.
Germany
Germany also did not form a unified nation until the 1870s. Previously,
this area consisted of several sovereign states with their own history,
distinct regional dialects, culture, and religious beliefs. The largest were
Prussia and Austria, who were in competition over control of the others.
Otto von Bismarck became president of Prussia and worked to unify the
smaller states. The Franco-Prussian war convinced many of them to join
together with Prussia to form the German state.
Canada
French traders, explorers, and early settlers had been in Canada since the
early 1500s; the English followed in the next century. By the mid-1800s,
the Europeans had settled most of the areas of present-day southern
Ontario, Québec, and the Maritimes. The separate colonies decided that
in order to protect themselves from the expanding United States and be
in charge of their own economic and political futures, they would join to
form the new country, Canada.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
Changes in European Societies
S h o w C h a n g i n g Wo r l d v i e w s
As people became accustomed to living in a country or state,
instead of a feudal property or city, their worldviews began to
change. Worldviews changed in terms of the social systems,
political and economic systems, and culture of each country.
Social Systems
• People began to see themselves as citizens of a country and
became more willing to give their allegiance to the monarchs.
• Exploration of new lands promoted personal feelings of optimism
and the importance of exploring all the possibilities that the world
had to offer. These ideas became part of European worldviews.
• Citizens were more free to move out of their class, although
serfdom continued for centuries in some parts of Europe.
• Some public services began to be provided by central government.
• The growth and power of the modern states put them in
competition with the authority of the Church.
Political and Economic Systems
• Rulers headed strong central governments. They were very powerful,
but limited by custom and the necessary support of their nobles.
By the 1600s, monarchs began to centralize their government
structures and clearly defined lines of authority.
• Government policies were set up to ensure political and
economic independence.
• Permanent armies were established, paid for by taxes levied
by the government.
• Resources were provided for large
projects of national
importance, such as war or
voyages of exploration.
Social systems
• Centralized laws and rules
were set in place by the
king and his court for the
entire country.
• National economic
policies, such as
Worldview:
Values and
trade rules and tax
Beliefs
rules, controlled
trade and
Culture
business.
Political
and economic
systems
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H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
Culture
• Common national languages unified the citizens.
• More middle and upper class people became literate and could
read works in their own language. They became more conscious
of their society’s history.
• Religious literature was published in the vernacular languages
and this, too, advanced the development of a national identity.
• A single, unified language chosen from the various dialects became
the national language of each country. These national languages
expressed a shared culture.
Language and Culture
The Francophones, one of Canada’s founding peoples, know the central role the French
language plays in ensuring the vitality of their identities, cultures, and worldviews.
Rights providing for the use of French and English as Canada’s official languages, as well
as education for official language minorities, are enshrined in the Canadian constitution.
Francophone schools and communities are present across Canada.
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit are revitalizing their languages through programs
in schools across Canada. They recognize that many concepts in a culture cannot be
expressed in another language. In order to preserve their culture, they must ensure
the continued use of their languages.
Many Albertans believe that a diversity of languages provides cultural as well as
economic benefits. The government believes knowing more than one language is
valuable and has supported language programs across the province. School districts
in Alberta have developed language programs such as Arabic, Blackfoot, Cree,
German, Hebrew, Japanese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian.
REFLECT
AND
RESPOND
1. a. How would the establishment of countries affect the worldview of
those societies?
b. How do Canada’s social systems compare to those of European states
in the Renaissance?
c. What do Canada’s and Alberta’s policies about language education
show about our worldview?
2. Explore the variety of languages students in your classroom (or your school)
study or speak. Take a survey of as many students as you can. Record the
languages studied and spoken. Present your findings in graph form. Are your
results representative of languages spoken across Alberta? across Canada?
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
How Did a Spirit
of Exploration Become Part
of the Western Worldview?
expansionism: a government
policy encouraging
territorial or economic
expansion to other
countries, often by force
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By the Renaissance, Europeans had traded with peoples beyond their
borders for thousands of years. During the Greek and Roman Empires,
land trade routes were expanded, so more exotic goods from societies
beyond the edges of the empires made their way back to Europe.
Throughout the Middle Ages, city-states such as Genoa and Venice
expanded their trading areas in the Eastern Mediterranean and the
Black Sea. They traded with Islamic and Asian civilizations for luxury
goods desired by consumers in Europe’s growing wealthy middle and
upper classes. Trade was becoming increasingly profitable.
During the Renaissance, city-states in Italy gained power and
wealth. Both the governments and the traders worked to expand their
control of trade around the Mediterranean. In the rest of Europe, the
feudal system declined and larger centralized states came under the
control of monarchs who also wanted the wealth that came from trade
with the East. This competition spurred the need for new trade routes.
With increasing geographic knowledge and new sailing technologies,
the Age of Exploration, sometimes called the Age of Discovery, arrived.
The Age of Exploration began during the Renaissance in the early
15th century and continued into the 17th century. A European desire
to expand their influence to other areas of the world became a major
part of their worldview. European expansionism would spread the
Western worldview to all the inhabited continents of the world.
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
Factors Affecting Expansionism
T h e N e e d f o r N e w Tr a d e R o u t e s
For centuries, Europeans had used the Silk Road to trade with the
Far East. But the trade was limited and did not meet the demand
for goods in Europe. Ways of doing business were changing. Several
merchants would form a company and pool their money to fund
trading trips to bring back spices and other goods. They would share
the profits from the sale of these goods. Making a profit through
trade became a more important part of the European worldview.
In fact, many Italian merchants often wrote “In the Name of God
and of Profit” on the top of their account books.
Some countries in western Europe — Portugal, Spain, France,
and England — were too far from the East to deal directly with the
producers of these exotic products. Instead, they had to deal through
Italian or Muslim traders on the Mediterranean Sea who had control
over the trade. As the focus on making a profit increased, merchants
no longer wanted to deal with these Mediterranean traders (or
middlemen). They wanted to deal directly with the regions supplying
the goods. As Portugal, Spain, France, and England became more
centralized states, their rulers became more powerful. Monarchs and
wealthy merchants paid for voyages of exploration to find new sea
trade routes to the East.
When Constantinople was conquered by the Turks in 1453, they
gained control of the straits that connected the Mediterranean to the
Black Sea. Traders from Venice and Genoa were no longer allowed to
pass through the straits. The flow of goods from Asia was nearly
halted. As a result, finding new direct sea routes to India and China
became even more important for Western European countries.
Riva degli Schiavoni,
Venice, gondolier market,
Leandro da Ponte Bassano
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
New Ideas and Knowledge
Geography
Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
was an English philosopher who
promoted ideas of scientific
experimentation, observation,
and critical thinking.
As taught centuries earlier, by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, many
people still believed that the world was round and flat, like a circular
dish or plate. Others followed the teachings of Ptolemy, an Egyptian
geographer, and believed the world was shaped like a sphere or ball
and that there was only one ocean. Sailors and others thought that
if ships sailed west, they would eventually reach the eastern shores
of Asia. Ptolemy had miscalculated the circumference of the Earth,
which led European explorers to greatly underestimate the time it
would take to sail westward to Asia.
Knowledge gathered by Islamic scientists, and then European
scientists such as Copernicus, seemed to confirm that the Earth
was spherical. This gave sailors confidence to sail westward across
the unknown ocean, believing that they
would not fall off the edge of the world.
It is not known how much knowledge
Western European explorers had of
the earlier voyages of the Vikings to
the New World.
The world’s earliest surviving maps, starting with ancient
Babylonian clay tablets from the 6th century BCE through early
Greek maps of the 3rd century BCE, typically show the world as
a small land mass entirely encircled by a ribbon of water. This
clay tablet map, 700 to 500 BCE, was found in southern Iraq.
Map of Ptolemaic
world, 1486
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I n t e r e s t i n L e a r n i n g M o r e A b o u t t h e Wo r l d
Humanism was a new way of thinking that encouraged individuals
to question and to explore their ideas, lives, and worlds. It brought
about a renewed interest in geography and a willingness to challenge
older geographical beliefs.
Travel writers during the 16th century also created interest in trade
and exploration. The travel writers promoted the idea that one should
experience and observe the world as much as possible. There was a
desire to learn more about the world and explore what it had to offer.
During the Renaissance, interest in navigation increased as Italian
traders, and then others, sailed the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Their voyages made them, the merchants, and the city-states in which
they lived, fabulously wealthy. To remain competitive in trade,
sailors and ships had to have better technologies and knowledge
than their rivals. Technological advances in cartography, navigation,
and shipbuilding meant that ships could travel further. The carrack
and the caravel were two new ships that combined the navigational
and design technologies of the Arabs with European design.
Knowledge about navigational tools also improved. Although the
compass was brought from China to Europe in the 12th century, it
was only used for land travel, not sailing. During the 15th century,
European sailors began to use the astrolabe, an instrument developed
by Islamic inventors that allowed navigation by stars at night.
Previously, sailors used landmarks and the sun for navigation, so
they could not travel any distance during the night or anywhere too
far from land. The astrolabe allowed journeys farther from the sight
of land, leading to the discoveries and explorations of new worlds.
The invention of the printing press spurred wide distribution of
maps and navigational tables. This made it possible for new sailing
knowledge and charts to be easily shared across Europe.
cartography: the science of
mapmaking
circumnavigate: to go
around the whole of the
Earth’s circumference
The carrack was the beast
of burden of the Age of
Exploration. Magellan had
an all-carrack fleet with which
he set out to circumnavigate
the globe in 1519. The vessels,
cramped and crowded by
today’s standards, offered
room for a large crew and
provisions, as well as for cargo
to be brought back home.
Did you know that West Edmonton Mall, in Edmonton,
has a full-size replica of the world’s most famous carrack,
Columbus’s Santa Maria?
Christopher Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, was
also a carrack. His two other ships, the Pinta and the Niña,
were caravels, which were designed to take advantage
of wind from any direction. The shallower hull and better
lines of the caravel made them easier to sail than the bulky
carracks, but they could not carry as many provisions,
which created hardship for the sailors.
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Chapter 3
INFLUENCE
Henry the Navigator
Henry the Navigator (1394–1460) was a Portuguese prince who set
up a school of navigation in 1419 in Portugal. Under his direction,
scholars came from all over Europe and the Middle East and perfected
sailing techniques, instruments, designs for sails, and mapping,
including the idea of latitude. New navigational tools such as the
quadrant, which could be used to determine a ship’s location during
the day, were developed. New mathematical tables for determining
latitude were made. The caravel, far more sea worthy than earlier
ships, was also developed in his school.
Henry is credited with establishing many practices used by
explorers:
Henry the Navigator,
• He was the first to require his captains to keep logs, or diaries,
detail from the
of their journeys. He believed that information learned and
Polyptych of
documented from one expedition should be used in the
St. Vincent, 1465.
planning of the next expedition. This process continues to be
Henry did not go
used today by sea captains and other travellers.
on any expeditions,
but he was a patron
• He also required his captains to conscript speakers of the
of expeditions to
languages of the explored areas. Local inhabitants became
the African coast.
interpreters and helped the explorers learn how to interact
appropriately with the colonized people. The interpreters
conscript: to
also provided information about their land and its products
force someone to
and resources.
join or enlist in
an enterprise
REFLECT
AND
RESPOND
1. The desire for wealth was the main reason for the Age of Exploration.
For what other reasons did Europeans explore?
2. a. In what ways did Henry the Navigator help spread ideas and
knowledge among nations?
b. How did his ideas and work impact the Age of Exploration?
3. Use the Roundtable method to discuss the following:
The importance of trade and making a profit became a part of the
Renaissance worldview. What evidence is there that they are still a part
of the modern Western worldview?
4. Although the reasons were mainly economic, there was a desire during the
16th and 17th centuries to explore unknown and uncharted lands. This
encouraged scientific and technological advances that enabled explorers to
move far beyond their homelands. The spirit and fearlessness of these famous
explorers have inspired men and women of today to explore new worlds.
Travelling the frontiers of space has led to many inventions: the personal
computer, the microwave, new fabrics, the Internet. List both the positive
and negative influences the need to explore has had on your daily life.
102
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
How Did the Age of
Exploration Begin?
As Portugal, France, Spain, and England became more powerful
united countries, many factors set them up to become the leading
players in the Age of Exploration:
• Each had an Atlantic coastline, which put them in the best
position to explore unknown parts of the world to the west.
• The monarchs of these countries financed overseas explorations,
hoping to establish independent connections with the Far East.
• The new ship designs, navigational tools, and navigational
information they gathered enabled explorers to sail to the
New World and other far-off lands.
New values favouring travel and exploration, increased
consumerism, and accumulation of wealth, fueled the race for new
trade routes. Portugal and Spain were especially anxious to find new
trade routes to the East. Their willingness to fund large expeditions
provided the motivation for wealthy merchants to do the same.
England and France joined the race to the New World after hearing
about the great wealth being accumulated by Portugal and Spain.
Portugal
In the early 1400s, Portuguese sailors headed south and east along
the western coast of Africa in hopes of finding a new route that
would allow ships to sail around Africa to India and China. They
were so successful in finding new trading areas that Lisbon became
Europe’s new trade capital.
Portuguese and Spanish Explorations, 1480–1550
PORTUGAL
SPAIN
Macau
Pacific
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
consumerism: focusing
on collecting and using
material goods or products
Navigational Astrolabe.
This simplified astrolabe
was further developed in
Portugal in the 15th century,
allowing ships to sail
anywhere, day or night.
Portugal controlled and
administered the colony
of Macau, situated on a
narrow peninsula and
two islands off the
southeastern coast of
China, for 442 years,
before handing control
to China in 1999.
I wonder … why did
Portugal hand control of
Macau back to China?
N
E
W
0
5000 km
SCALE AT EQUATOR
S
Southern Ocean
Explorers from Portugal and
Spain began the European
Age of Exploration.
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Chapter 3
In 1487, Bartholomew Diaz sailed along the coast of Africa and
was the first European to reach the Cape of Good Hope, the
continent’s southern tip. About ten years later, another Portuguese
explorer, da Gama, was the first European to cross the Indian Ocean
to India. He returned to Portugal with his ships full of valuable jewels
and spices. A sea route to the wealth of the East was now established.
Portugal defeated Arab strongholds in the area and set up trading
posts stretching along the coasts of Africa and into India. The
Portuguese gradually expanded eastward to China, establishing the
famous port city of Macau.
Spain
Vasco da Gama, 1524
Cristóbal Colón
(Spanish), or Cristoforo
Colombo (Italian), was
born in Genoa, Italy,
and is best known in the
English-speaking world as
Christopher Columbus.
In 1476, Columbus led
his first commercial
sailing expedition into
the Atlantic Ocean.
His ship was attacked
by French pirates off the
coast of Portugal and
burned. Some sources say
he swam ten kilometres
back to shore.
King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella of Spain
Bidding Farewell to
Christopher Columbus at
His Departure for the Indies in
1492, Theodore de Bry, 1596.
104
Spain was envious of Portugal’s wealth and power and decided to
send its own expeditions to the Far East. The pope had already given
Portugal the coasts of Africa and India, so Spain decided to find more
direct routes to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic to China and
India. Spain and the rest of Europe, however, were unaware that two
continents, the Americas, lay between them and the Far East.
The Roman Catholic Church was very involved in the exploration of the new
lands since it wanted to spread Christianity. In 1493, the pope divided the
world outside of Europe between Portugal and Spain. Spain and Portugal did
not agree with the decision and reached their own agreement on how to
divide the world between them. It later proclaimed that the Roman Catholic
faith was the only Christianity allowed in the new lands.
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
Columbus
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
M
In 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain
and after almost ten weeks at sea,
sighted an island that he believed was
close to Japan. In fact, it was an island
in the Caribbean. Columbus made
CUBA
three more trips to the Caribbean
HISPANIOLA
between 1494 and 1504, but never
Ca
rib
bea
reached mainland North America.
n Sea
ES
O
He still believed he had sailed all the
AM
ER
ICA
way to Asia. Explorations by others
convinced Europeans that Columbus
Pacific
Ocean
had, in fact, discovered a world
0
2000 km
previously unknown to Europeans.
He first asked the Portuguese king
in 1485 to sponsor him on a westward voyage to reach Asia, but was
turned down. No one in the Portuguese court believed that the Earth
was spherical, so they did not believe it was possible to sail westward
to the other side of the Earth. He next approached Queen Isabella
and King Ferdinand of Spain for support. After many years of
lobbying, he finally convinced them to support his venture in 1492.
SPAIN
Atlantic
Ocean
Voyages
1492–1493
1493–1496
1498–1500
1502–1504
N
E
W
S
Amerigo Vespucci
(1451–1512)
Although Columbus is credited as the European discoverer of the Americas,
North America and South America are named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian
merchant and mapmaker who, in 1501, was part of an expedition that explored
what is now the coast of Brazil. Cartographer Martin Waldseemüller first used
Vespucci’s name for the new continents.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
Magellan
indigenous: referring to
the original inhabitants
of a region
Ferdinand Magellan
fighting Indigenous people
on Mactan Island in 1521
106
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan explored the east coast of South
America. He discovered a passageway at the tip of South America,
now known as the Strait of Magellan, that led to another ocean,
as he had predicted. He named it the Pacific Ocean because of its
calm, pacifying waters. He continued sailing west across the South
Pacific until he finally reached some islands in Indonesia. There,
he learned other Europeans had already visited and realized that he
had reached the eastern part of Asia. Although Magellan was killed
in the Philippines, one of his five ships finally returned to Spain,
the first to successfully circumnavigate the globe.
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
England
At the beginning of the 16th century, England was more interested in
trade within Europe and did not rush to fund exploration. One of the
few voyages supported by the monarchy was Giovanni Caboto’s visit
to Newfoundland in 1497, where he claimed parts of North America
for England. Known in English as John Cabot, he was the first
explorer since the Vikings, 400 years earlier, to reach North America.
It was not until the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the last half
of the 16th century that the English showed any great interest in
exploration. Because Spain and Portugal had become so wealthy from
their claims in the New World, England decided it was time to focus
on expansionism — getting involved in exploration and conquest.
In 1560, a group of English merchants funded Martin Frobisher to
search for a northwest passage through the islands of northern
Canada to India and China because Spain and Portugal controlled
the other sea routes to the East. Between 1576 and 1578, Frobisher
and another explorer, John Davis, explored the North Atlantic coast.
Queen Elizabeth then sponsored colonies in the New World. By the
beginning of the 17th century, England had established more
colonies along the North American Atlantic Coast and in the West
Indies than any other European power.
Canada is becoming
more focused on its
northern waterways.
Each summer, Arctic
sea ice is melting
more than in the past
and the Northwest
Passage, searched for
by Frobisher, Davis,
and other explorers,
may be open for ship
traffic. Canada wants
to maintain control
over ship traffic
through its territory.
Martin Frobisher sails
down the Thames, passing
Greenwich Palace on his
expedition in search of a
northwest passage.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
France
In the early Renaissance, France was distracted by
its ongoing war with England and, for the first
half of the 16th century, its wars in Italy.
However, after Portugal and Spain found wealth
in the Americas, France decided it also wanted
some of the riches from the new lands. After a
French expedition to Florida was defeated by the
Spanish, the French monarchy decided to finance
expeditions to areas farther north and west. In
1534, Jacques Cartier sailed to the New World
and explored the St. Lawrence River as far as the
Haudenosaunee settlement of Hochelaga (the
location of present-day Montréal). He set the
stage for France’s future exploration and
colonization in the New World.
Jacques Cartier claiming land along the
St. Lawrence River for the king of France in 1534
REFLECT
AND
RESPOND
1. What values and beliefs were shown in the fact that Europeans thought
it was acceptable to divide the world and its inhabitants outside Europe
between Spain and Portugal?
2. How do you think Europeans reacted to their discovery that there were
entire continents that they had known nothing about? How would that
knowledge change their worldviews?
3. Use the Roundtable method to discuss one of the following:
a. How does the modern space program reflect a spirit of exploration?
Do you think there are also expansionist motives to the space program?
b. Is there evidence that modern governments have expansionist worldviews
similar to those of Western Europe during the Renaissance?
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H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
How Did the Age
of Exploration
Lead to Imperialism?
Greek, Roman, Islamic, and other historical Empires
expanded their territories to protect their original home
areas, but also to exert control over more and more land
and its resources. They established systems of government
to maintain control and, often, they spread their religions
and philosophies to all peoples in the empire.
During the Age of Discovery, European nations reached Roman ruins in Tipasa, Algeria, North Africa
lands and societies around the world that they previously
had not known about. They soon recognized the wealth these lands
imperialism: the policy of a
country or empire to extend
and peoples could provide and began to establish control over them.
its authority or domination
Over time, some countries, such as Spain and Britain, had built so
by political, economic, or
many colonies around the world that they had their own empires.
military means
It was a natural progression that policies of expansionism would lead
to imperialism. Through their policies of imperialism, these countries
maintained control of the new lands and their inhabitants.
Imperialism has existed
The imperialism of the Western European countries was built on
as part of human
the desire to increase their wealth and power. Their view was that the
civilization from early
colonies and lands they controlled were to further the interests and
times, but historians
increase the wealth of the controlling country. The countries became
did not use this word
until the 19th century.
very competitive, each wanting superior economic power.
European Empires in Early 1700s
ENGLAND
PORTUGAL
NETHERLANDS
FRANCE
SPAIN
Pacific
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Portuguese
Spanish
French
English
Dutch
N
E
W
S
0
5000 km
SCALE AT EQUATOR
Southern Ocean
European imperialism grew out of the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.
By the 1700s, Western European countries dominated the globe.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
T h e E u r o p e a n Vi e w o f t h e R e s t o f t h e Wo r l d
ethnocentrism: a belief that
one’s own race or culture is
superior to others
I wonder … do some
people today still have
attitudes that other
cultures are inferior to
their own?
Tapestry showing
Vasco da Gama
in Calcutta,
May 20, 1498
110
European discovery and colonization of lands around the world has
traditionally been recorded from the European perspective. Areas in
Africa, Asia, North America, and South America were called new
lands, despite the fact that people had been living in those regions
for tens of thousands of years.
Europe’s imperialist nations thought that they had the right to
control their colonies based on a belief of cultural and political
superiority. They believed they had a right to exploit both the
peoples and the resources of the areas they discovered. Indigenous
peoples and their cultures were usually not viewed as their equals.
Although they had established diverse and complex societies, the
Europeans often had little regard for these indigenous peoples and
their cultures. Within European societies, there were strict guidelines
and belief systems that were followed by “civilized” people. Those
who did not follow these guidelines were considered to be savage
and barbarous.
This belief in the superiority of one’s own culture is not limited
to European countries. Most societies practise some degree of
ethnocentrism — feeling their beliefs, values, and ways of life are
better than those of other societies. Some say this is a basic part of
human nature.
• The Aztec and Inca of the Americas, who had highly developed
and sophisticated societies and cities much larger and greater
than many in Europe, were treated as inferiors.
• The Chinese and Indian civilizations, thousands of years older
than any European civilization, were thought to be barbarous.
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
• Traditional methods of governance
were replaced with the European
system, as were other social structures.
European culture was often imposed
on the colony.
• In many places, colonists completely
took over the land as their own,
displacing the indigenous population
who either had to stay to work the
land or move on to find other ways of
supporting themselves.
• In many colonies, European colonists
used the original inhabitants as slave
labour to work on farms and in
construction and mining; after most
of the indigenous population died off,
Timucuan Indian slaves searching for gold in Florida.
and as demand for labour increased,
Indigenous peoples were the first slaves of the Europeans
Europeans brought Africans to the
in the New World.
New World.
• Ancient African civilizations were
almost wiped out through the slave trade.
• Christians believed that Christianity was the only true religion
and it was their religious duty to carry the faith around the
world and convert those who followed other religious and
spiritual practices.
REFLECT
AND
RESPOND
1. What beliefs in the Western European worldview led to European
imperialism over much of the world?
2. It has been written that European countries pursued exploration and
imperialism under the motto “For God, Glory, and Gold.” Explain how
the motto was appropriate.
3. The United Nations’ Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
states the following:
SKILLS CENTRE
Turn to How to
Interpret and Make
Maps in the Skills
Centre to review
how information
is shown in maps.
Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of
that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue
their economic, social and cultural development.
How does this statement compare with European views that imperialism was
acceptable? How does it show that some worldviews have changed from then
to now?
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
How Did the Exchange
of Goods and Products
Change the World?
Many crops and animals now
raised in North America were
brought over from Europe,
Asia, or Africa. Corn, potatoes,
tomatoes, beans, and other
crops from the New World
transformed European
ways of life.
European exploration, discovery, and colonization led to the
redistribution of plants and animals around the world. It also had
beneficial and destructive effects on the populations and ecosystems of
Europe, Asia, Africa, and the New World. The exchange of foodstuffs,
metals, plants, animals, and diseases affected economies and changed
traditional ways of life of people around the world.
Europeans transformed the Americas with the introduction of their
metals, the wheel, work animals (such as the horse and ox), and their
firearms and war technologies. Products of the Americas also impacted
cultures around the world: rubber, canoes, snowshoes, toboggans,
chewing gum, new dyes and woods, and pharmaceutical plants.
citrus fruits, pears,
apples, peaches,
cattle, horses,
bananas, wheat,
pigs, sheep, and
chickens from barley, and oats from
Asia and Europe
Europe
olives and grapes
from the
Mediterranean
sugar cane,
coffee, and
tea from Asia
corn, potatoes, tomatoes,
beans, peppers, peanuts,
pineapple, chocolate, squash,
pumpkin, vanilla, avocado,
tobacco, and turkey
from the Americas
112
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
The exchange of diseases had, perhaps, the greatest impact on
indigenous societies of the Americas. European diseases had
devastating effects on the local populations. Never having had
contact with Europeans, indigenous populations from the Arctic to
the tip of South America lacked immunities to the diseases brought
by the Europeans. Smallpox, measles, and tuberculosis were especially
destructive. It is estimated that between 75% and 90% of the
Aboriginal population died as a result of exposure to European
diseases. Many of their political and spiritual leaders and Elders died,
resulting in the loss of many of their traditions and the shattering
of families. In some cases, whole cultures were destroyed. Their
weakened societies could not defend themselves against the
European imperialists.
It is believed that the common bean originated in southern Mexico
and Central America over 7000 years ago. It has been found in the
ruins of prehistoric dwellings. Today, beans and other legumes
form the main protein component of many diets around the world.
Corn was first domesticated in Meso-America about 9000 years
ago. It spread across the American continents and became a staple
food for many Aboriginal peoples. European explorers spread corn
around the world. Corn is an important part of the diet of today’s
Meso-American people, who eat it in tortillas, tamales, and many
other dishes.
REFLECT
AND
Meso-America: a region
stretching from central
Mexico to Nicaragua,
usually used in terms of the
region’s ancient civilizations
and Aboriginal cultures
Europeans saw
Aboriginal team sports
for the first time. They
watched the Aztec play
a game using a ball
and hoops and North
Americans playing
lacrosse.
RESPOND
1. How do you think European society was changed by the
new plants from the Americas being taken back to Europe?
Horses came to the New
World on the ships of the
Spanish conquistadors.
Horses revolutionized the
culture of the First Nations
on the Great Plains.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
How Did Imperialism Affect
European Worldviews?
Ideas and Knowledge
Astronauts often say
how flying on the space
shuttle and viewing the
Earth from space has
forever changed their
perspective of the
planet and its people.
They recognize the
Earth’s beauty and the
oneness of humanity.
The explorations of new lands and new peoples altered European
knowledge of geography and history. Europeans realized that there
were people with entirely different civilizations and histories than
their own.
Although the European worldviews led them to consider their way
of life superior to other cultures, European leaders and scholars were
impressed by aspects of the North American indigenous peoples’
ways of life:
• their personal liberty
• their ideas about leadership and consensus government
• their lack of emphasis on individual property ownership
The First Nations way of life led some European thinkers to question
the inequalities of their own government systems. These ideas
of personal freedom and leadership became a part of the Western
worldview and were later incorporated into the French and American
constitutions after their revolutions in the late 1700s.
The traders and colonists who lived with the First Nations peoples
understood that their societies were much more complex than
philosophers such as Montaigne imagined.
Their societies had structures and systems in
place to deal with all aspects of life, just as
to
e
f
i
l
European states did. Like all societies, they
of
l way peoples
a
n
i
were not utopias.
g
i
Abor igenous not
e
h
t
d
Many European citizens saw the new
t in
red
te
had
mpa
ough se they igne wro
o
h
c
t
lands
offering new opportunities to live
e
e
ecau
ric
onta
ty. H
taign
independent lives, not held back by the
Mon an socie d pure b ways. M ng barba at
an
pe
thi
an
wh
Euro nnocent
traditional restraints of European society.
rope re is any rding to
u
E
i
o
e
were xposed t d that th tion, acco rism
Many chose to take the offer of free
e
a
in
ba
been I do not f out this n o call bar stoms.
land in the colonies in order to escape
f
cu
…
ab
ard o
ss t
n
d
e
e
l
w
n
g
n
a
a
o
v
religious persecution in their homelands.
u
r
st
ms
or sa en told, from ou o other
custo
d
e
n
s
n
r
b
Some settlers set up religious
a
e
e
s
ff
av
I’ve
st
nion
er di em to h
i
o
v
p
e
m
o
t
communities of only one faith, while
e
e
ey
wha
e se
n th them th
… Th
ed, w son tha
e
e
v
n
others lived together in communities
i
I
d
l
a
n
a
y
I
or re ountry … lities are ly slightl tate
h
t
where everyone had the freedom to
u
c
i
s
n
tr
own s and ab l laws, o
ch a the
r
u
s
u
o
n
e
i
a
worship as they wished. This belief
of
by
tur
irtu
till
y na
ral v
are s addened rlier,
in religious freedom was eventually
natu l ruled b s. They
a
s
em e
til
imes
ur
are s ted by o m somet scover th ave
made into law in the Canadian
p
a
di
dh
corru ty that I did not ho woul n we …
and American constitutions. The
a
ri
e
w
igne:
er th
of pu t that w people
a
t
t
t
n
importance of individual choice
e
o
)
M
re
gh
mb
el de als (1580
thou here we dge the
h
c
i
of religion is a key part of the
—M
nt
annib
o ju
whe
On C
ow t
h
modern Western worldview.
114
n
ow
kn
H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
Economic System
The economy of most
European countries ended
up being thrown into
turmoil by the wealth
flowing in from the
colonies. Before they had
gained control of the new
colonies, there had been a
steady, limited supply of
gold and silver in Europe.
After they conquered
other lands, especially the
Aztec and Incan Empires,
Spain used the vast
amounts of gold and silver
coming from its colonies
to purchase goods and
supplies from the rest of
Europe. As more gold and
silver came into Europe, its
buying power was reduced. The more money in circulation (gold
and silver), the less it was worth. As a result, inflation occurred
across Europe: more money was needed to purchase everyday goods.
The price of goods and supplies rose for all Europeans, not just the
Spanish. This resulted in hardship for the common people who did
not have the wealth coming from the colonies.
Since they had taken so much gold and silver from Central America
and South America, Portugal and Spain had no need to develop
industries or manufacturing facilities; they chose to purchase all the
supplies they needed from other countries. England, Germany, and
the Netherlands developed manufacturing facilities to provide goods
not only for their own countries and colonies, but for those of Spain
and Portugal as well. This initial industrial development in northern
countries set the situation up so that by the end of the 17th century,
financial power shifted to them from Spain and Portugal.
REFLECT
AND
Gold and silver from the
Americas were shipped back
to Spain and Portugal. They
lost some of their riches to
pirates, whose ships sailed
faster and were more
maneuverable. Elizabeth I of
England sent Sir Francis Drake
(above), one of the most
successful of the privateers, or
pirates, to the Caribbean to
raid and destroy Spanish ships.
inflation: an increase in
prices and a decrease in the
purchasing power of money
Cerro Rico, a mountain
at Potosi, Bolivia, was
so rich in silver that it
produced enough silver
to triple what was
already in circulation
in Spain.
RESPOND
1. a. What attitudes and worldview does Montaigne present in his description
of First Nations?
b. How do you think people of the First Nations might have felt about
his description of them?
2. In groups, discuss the changes in American and European societies that
came about because of European imperialism. Present these changes in
an appropriate graphic organizer.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
FOCUS ON INQUIRY
How Do Thoughts and Feelings
Affect Research?
I wonder … what are
some other values and
beliefs in today’s
Western worldview?
I wonder … how are
the values and beliefs
of the Renaissance
worldview reflected
in Canada today?
I wonder … is there just
one Canadian worldview?
During this case study, you learned how the exchange of ideas and
knowledge during the Renaissance shaped the worldview of the
Western world. Today, the Western worldview is considered to be the
values and beliefs about life held by Europeans, by the descendants
of European settlers in the Americas, Australia,
and New Zealand, and by those who
have adopted that way of thinking.
It developed from the Renaissance
Geography
worldview and includes many of
the same basic values. Like most
worldviews, the Western worldview
Worldview:
Values and
undergoes changes because of
Beliefs
• geography
Contact
Ideas and
• ideas and knowledge
with other
knowledge
groups
• contact with other groups
As you learned about people,
places, events, and ideas during this case
study, you probably thought of additional things that would be
interesting to know. For example, the I wonder … questions are ones
that other students might ask. When you ask questions like these,
you are involved in inquiry.
You have also learned and practised how to
• use an Inquiry Model to plan a research project to answer
important questions
• use key words to locate information in print and online sources
• search the Internet for suitable sites, such as museums and
art galleries
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H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
To reflect is to think carefully about something you are doing, why
you are doing it, and what you are learning. Reflection involves both
thoughts and feelings. During inquiry, you should think about the
process and how well it is working. You should also think about how
well you are working to answer the inquiry questions and how you
feel about it. People who know how to reflect talk to themselves
(by thinking, not out loud) as they work.
Phase
Thoughts
Feelings
Planning
• I need to get a picture of the whole project
and all phases of inquiry (visualize).
• I wonder if my topic is okay.
• I need more questions.
• I have made a schedule to complete the work.
• I feel optimistic about my project,
but a little uncertain and worried.
Retrieving
•
•
•
•
I need to brainstorm for possible sources.
I have listed key words.
I remember different ways to find information.
I need to revise my topic because of the
resources I found.
• I feel excited, but confused.
• I wonder if I will be able to do
this project.
Processing
• I need to find information related to my topic.
• I have organized ideas and information.
• I need to ask different questions and find
more resources to answer them.
• I feel confident and interested,
but a bit overwhelmed.
Creating
and
Sharing
• I was pretty creative when I made my product.
• I know my product is finished.
• I have some ideas for ways to improve the
next time.
• I have imagined giving my presentation
ahead of time.
• I have thought about the audience.
• I feel satisfied to have my product
completed.
• I feel pressured to finish my
project.
• I feel excited or nervous about
presenting my information.
Does this sort of self-talk sound familiar?
• What do I know about this topic or question already?
• What do I want to know about this topic? What questions
are related to my topic question?
This chart lists some
of the thoughts and
feelings you may have
during the phases of
an inquiry project.
• How well did I do that? What do I need to learn or practise
so that I can do better next time?
• Am I asking the right questions? Perhaps I should change
the focus of my research.
• I’m feeling a little confused because I have too much
information. What should I do next?
• Wow! That’s something that I have never before considered.
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Planning
Creating Reflecting Retrieving
and
and
Sharing Evaluating
Processing
Chapter 3
U s i n g Yo u r I n q u i r y S k i l l s
In this activity, you will learn more about and practise the core phase
of the Inquiry Model — Reflecting and Evaluating. Review and use
what you learned about the first two phases of the inquiry process —
Planning and Retrieving — to plan a research project to answer one
of your own I wonder … questions. You can work alone, in pairs, or in
groups. Talking to others about your ideas is a good way to think
through your plan.
Planning Phase
Step 1 — Select a topic
Review all the I wonder … questions that you recorded during this
case study. Select one question that you want to explore by using
strategies such as one of these:
• Use a highlighter pen to mark the most interesting questions you
recorded in your notebook.
• Conduct a Think–Pair–Share discussion where you talk about
which questions you find most interesting.
• Select an interesting question and revise it based on what you
know now.
• Finally, pick one inquiry question to focus on and write about why
you are interested in this topic.
Reflecting on the process: What were you thinking and
feeling as you selected a topic?
S t e p 2 — Wr i t e a r e s e a r c h p l a n
First, write the topic of your plan and the inquiry questions that will
guide your research. Include the following in your plan:
• where you might find information to explore your questions
• a schedule for the project
• what your final product or presentation will be
• how you will evaluate your work
• how you will know if your inquiry was successful
Reflecting on the process: What were you thinking and
feeling as you made a research plan?
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H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
Retrieving Phase
Step 3 — List key words
Write a list of key words that you can use to begin your search for
information. Ask yourself questions like these to generate ideas:
• Is there another way to say or spell this topic?
• Is there a larger subject that might include this topic,
or a smaller one?
• Does this topic overlap with another one?
What key words would I use for that topic?
• When and where did this occur?
Reflecting on the process: What were you thinking and
feeling as you brainstormed for key words?
Reflecting and Evaluating Phase
Step 4 — Think about reflecting
Reflecting on the process is part of every phase of inquiry. Look
back at the notes you made about your thoughts and feelings for
Steps 1, 2, and 3. Think about what you can learn about yourself
and about the process of inquiry.
• What have I done well? What could I have done better?
• How did I feel during each step? Why did I have those feelings?
How did they affect my work?
• What skills and strategies did I learn, practise, or use?
• What are my personal goals for the next time I do a research
project?
• What have I learned about inquiry from this experience?
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
Chapter 3
End-of-Chapter
Conclusion
By the 16th century, the ideas of the Renaissance had spread
throughout Europe and into European colonies. These ideas began
to change the way that people in western Europe thought about
religion and their homelands. New churches were formed. Freedom of
religious choice began to become valued in the Western worldview.
The boundaries within Europe changed as small political units joined
to form states. People began to identify as citizens of their countries.
Economic and political power moved from the Mediterranean Italy
to Western European countries such as Portugal, Spain, England,
and France.
Expansionist values were part of the worldviews of the newly
established states. They looked to exploration as a way of increasing
their power and wealth. As the merchant class grew larger and richer,
new attitudes developed towards trade and profit that spurred the
desire to seek new trade routes to the East.
The Age of Exploration was accompanied by the rise of imperialism.
European governments claimed lands along the coast of Africa, the
Middle East, South Asia, the Far East, and in the New World. Western
Europeans felt their culture was superior to other cultures. They
believed that they had the right to impose their ways and worldviews
on peoples around the world and to claim the world’s riches.
New ideas and knowledge about geography, religion, citizenship,
national identities, and food crops changed the way Western
Europeans lived and thought about life.
Many societies of today, including Canada, have worldviews
that developed out of the worldview of Europe at the end of the
Renaissance. These Western worldviews include these beliefs and values:
• the importance of the individual
• a high material standard of living
• the importance of education
• governments based on democracy
• laws that guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens
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H o w D i d t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d v i e w G r o w O u t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ?
Review and Synthesize
S h o w W h a t Yo u K n o w
1. Make a list of the new ideas, knowledge,
and discoveries that were made during
the Renaissance. Hold a Roundtable
Discussion to reach consensus about
which ones were the most important.
What criteria will you use to decide
which are important? Create a poster or
display of your selection to add to the
Renaissance Hall of Fame.
5. Make a concept poster to define
imperialism that clearly explains what the
concept means. Include examples from
the Renaissance and other historical
times. Use words, pictures, colours,
textures, or other artistic strategies.
Use definitions, examples, stories, or
other ways of communicating the idea
of imperialism.
2. Exploration in the Renaissance had both
positive and negative effects. Write a
script of two people discussing whether
the monarch should support a mission
to new lands. Present the pros and cons
of the mission. With a partner, present
the discussion to your class.
6. Explain how religious reform in Europe
changed the Western worldview.
Begin by describing in general terms
what happened and how the Western
worldview was affected. Then, pick
one aspect to describe in detail.
3. Think about the Worldview Investigation
in this chapter. Share what you have
learned about the Western worldview in
a Roundtable Discussion. To prepare,
create a summary that describes the
Western worldview, in particular, values
and beliefs from the Renaissance. Use an
appropriate organizer to organize your
facts and ideas. Highlight those values
and beliefs that are present in today’s
Western worldview.
Inquiry
4. Create a research plan to compare the
effects of the printing press on the
Western worldview during the
Renaissance with the effects of the
Internet on the Western worldview
today. In what ways were the effects
of the printing press similar to the effects
of the Internet? In what ways were they
different? You do not have to carry out
the research plan; you should show that
you can plan effectively and reflect on
the process of inquiry.
7. Select one key value or belief that is
part of the Western worldview today.
Explain how this idea began during the
Renaissance and how it affected the lives
of the people at that time. How does it
affect the lives of people today?
Closure
8. Share: Create a classroom display
called Influences on the Renaissance.
Add posters, reports, or cards about
new ideas, knowledge, or discoveries.
On each, identify who, what, when, and
where, and list the influences this person
or knowledge had on the Renaissance.
9. Discuss: Conduct a Roundtable
Discussion to choose an example of
modern imperialism presented in the
media. Create a list of details to support
the argument that this is imperialism.
10. Reflect: Spend a few minutes in
personal reflection. What has this
chapter shown about how to treat
other people? Do you think your
culture or country is superior to some
others? How can you become more
understanding of others? Record your
thoughts in your journal.
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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s
CASE STUDY ONE
Conclusion
W h o A r e Yo u ? A C a n a d i a n
diversity: variety
Think about what you have learned throughout Case Study One
that can affect you in your daily life. In this case study, you learned
that the Western worldview developed from the ideas and beliefs of
people who lived in Europe during the Renaissance. Canadians with
European ancestry have inherited the Western worldview from their
ancestors — people with British, French, German, Greek, Italian,
and other Western European backgrounds. Much of our Canadian
way of life — the social systems, political and economic systems,
and culture — are based on this Western worldview.
There are many groups of people in Canada with non-European
origins whose ancestors had other worldviews. There are many
different First Nations, Métis, and Inuit groups. There are people
from many other countries. As well, many Canadians have ancestors
from more than one area of the world and culture. Canadians pride
themselves on their multicultural country that includes people of
many different origins with differing values, beliefs, and worldviews.
Think about the diversity of people in Canada and what it means
to you.
• Throughout your life, you will meet many people with
backgrounds and worldviews that are different from yours.
Be open-minded about the differences and show respect for
their values and beliefs.
• Try to learn more about the cultures and worldviews of other
groups of people. If you understand what they value and believe,
you can be considerate of their needs, ideas, and perspectives.
Cultural Groups in Canada
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Languages in Canada
Religions in Canada
H o w D i d t h e E x c h a n g e o f I d e a s a n d K n o w l e d g e D u r i n g t h e R e n a i s s a n c e S h a p e t h e Wo r l d v i e w s o f t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d ?
This is a typical group of Canadian
teenagers who have different origins
and may have differing worldviews.
THINK
ABOUT
IT
1. Learn more about others.
• Invite guest speakers to class who represent the diversity of groups in
Canada. Develop powerful questions to ask that will help you understand
their beliefs, values, and worldviews. Listen carefully to their perspectives
with an open mind. Think about what you learn from each person.
• Take a field trip to a church, mosque, synagogue, or other place of worship.
Think about how religion reflects the values and beliefs of a group of people.
• Invite Aboriginal Elders to class. They can help you to learn more about the
diversity of Aboriginal cultures in Canada.
• Conduct a Roundtable Discussion in which each person shares something
of his or her culture or background that will help other students understand
what he or she values and believes.
2. Think about diversity by discussing ideas with others. Conduct a
Think–Pair–Share discussion.
• Are there some values and beliefs that are common to all people,
regardless of their worldviews?
• How does diversity in Canada enrich our lives?
• How do new Canadians adapt to life in Canada? Do they feel a need to
change some of their values and beliefs in order to fit in?
3. Think about your worldview.
• Continue to develop the picture of your worldview that you started during
the Introduction to this text. Perhaps your thinking has grown and changed.
Add to it and make changes to show what you now understand about
your worldview.
• What does it mean to be a Canadian? Write in your notebook or journal.
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