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EUROPEAN CULTURES EUROPEAN SOCIETY Middle Ages • For centuries, the Roman Empire controlled much of Europe with stable social and political order. – Fall of the Roman Empire isolated Western Europe from the rest of the world. – Trade declined – Cities, bridges, roads, law and order, and money all fell into despair. – Life for most people did not extend past where they were born, lived, and died. • The Crusades – Pope Urban II – Worried about the Holy Land, the birthplace of Christianity, being controlled by Muslims – Launched a series of “holy wars” to regain the Holy Land – The Crusades pulled Western Europe out of a period of Isolation and despair. – It reformed European Society, and encouraged them to start exploring the world around them. FEUDALISM • Political system • The King gave estates to nobles in exchange for their loyalty and military support. • The lack of a strong central government however, often led to warfare. • Most nobles built castles for defense. MANORIALISM • The economic ties between nobles and peasants is called manorialism. • In exchange for protection, peasants provided various services for the feudal lord on his manor, or estate. • Most peasants were serfs who could not leave the manor without permission. • An Improving Economy – New agricultural inventions – Food surplus – Plow and horse collar – Revived trade in Europe and encouraged the growth of towns THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH • After the fall of Rome, the Church provided stability and order in Europe. • People who disobeyed the Church laws faced excommunication. – Excommunication barred people from practicing church rites. EXPANDING HORIZONS • The Crusades helped change western European society by bringing Europeans into contact with Muslim and Byzantine civilizations of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. • Trade increased between western Europe, eastern Mediterranean area, and the Middle East. – This heightened demand at home for Eastern luxury goods, like spices, sugars, melons, tapestries, silk, and other items. – (Asia) Chinese and Indian merchants—Arab merchants (moved goods)--Italian merchants – Common medium of exchange (gold coins): increased demand for gold from Africa to make gold coins. • Mongol Empire who controlled China – Broke down trade barriers – Opened borders – Secured roads – This encouraged more trade between all parts of Asia and Europe. • 1300’s the Mongol Empire collapsed and trade became increasingly difficult. – The flow of goods decreased – Prices on spices increased • Europeans began to look for a way to reach Asia by sea. NEW STATES, NEW TECHNOLOGY • Beginning in the 1300’s, a number of changes enabled Europeans to send ships into the Atlantic looking for a water route to China. – Crusades and trade with Asia weakened feudalism. – New towns and merchants gave monarchs a new source of wealth to tax – Armed forces protected trade routes – Monarchs relied less on nobility and created strong central governments. • By the mid-1400’s, Portugal, Spain, England, and France emerged as powerful states in western Europe. • The Renaissance – An intellectual revolution – Produced great works of art and started a scientific revolution. • Europeans acquired new technologies to make long distance travel across the ocean possible. – Astrolabe: a device that uses the positions of the sun to determine direction, latitude, and local time. – From Arab traders, they acquired the compass and lateen sails, which made it possible to sail against the wind. – The Portuguese invented the caravel, a ship that was easier to steer and that made travel much faster. PORTUGUESE EXPLORATION • Prince Henry the Navigator set up a center for astronomical and geographical studies in Portugal. • Bartolomeu Dias, reached the southern tip of Africa. • Vasco da Gama rounded the southern tip of Africa, across the Indian Ocean, and landed in India. – Found a water route to Asia