Download Chapter 10 Study Guide

Chapter 10 Study Guide
Western Europe: Its Land and Early History
Part 1
Geography of Europe – Using bullet points, list and describe major waterways,
landforms, and the Great Plain. Use bold terms from book in your descriptions.
Waterways
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Landforms
Water surrounds the
continent to the
north, south, and
west.
Mediterranean Sea
borders Europe to
the south.
The Rhine and the
Danube rivers are
two important
transportation
corridors.
The Volga flows
2,200 miles through
Russia.
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Ural Mountains divide continent
from Asia.
Climate:
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Plains
Several peninsulas, or bodies of
land surrounded by water on three
sides, form Europe.
Scandinavian Peninsula is home to
Norway and Sweden in North.
Along the shoreline of this
peninsula are fjords - long,
narrow inlets of sea between
cliffs.
Iberian Peninsula includes Portugal
and Spain in the South.
Pyrenees separate the Iberian
Peninsula from the rest of Europe.
Alps, and other towering mountain
ranges, stretch across continent.
Great European
Plain stretches
from the coast of
France to the
Ural Mountains.
A plain is a large,
flat area of land,
usually without
many trees.
Great European
Plain is the home
of some of the
world’s richest
farmland.
Natural Resources:
Severe cold in the north due to
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Coal deposits in Germany
Arctic winds.
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Iron ore in Russia and Ukraine
Alps and Pyrenees protect the
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Rich soil is great for farming on
European countries along the
European Plain. Crops includes
Mediterranean Sea.
orchards, vineyards, dairy, wheat,
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South is hot and dry in the summer.
rye and potatoes.
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Rest of Europe is cool in summer.
In Part 2, you will take notes from your book using the standard
outline form, which I have started for you by putting in headings and
subheadings. Be sure to use the following bold vocabulary
terms in your descriptions: city-state, polis, Aegean
Sea, oligarchy, Athens, philosopher, Aristotle,
Alexander the Great.
II. Ancient Greece
1. The Land and Early History of Greece – Land
was rocky and tough to cultivate but they were able to grow olives and
grapes. Surrounded by water – great for trade.
a. The formation of the City-State – Grew as the ancient
population of Greece grew. City-state included a polis – central city –
and surrounding villages. Had its own laws, government, languages
religion and ways of life.
b. The Growth of Colonies – By mid-eighth century, Greeks
were leaving the peninsula to search for better land. They built dozens
of communities on the coastline of the Aegean Sea. Once established,
they traded with each other.
c. Individual Forms of Government –
 Oligarchy – Some Greek city-states were governed by a few
powerful, wealthy individuals.
 Others were ruled by tyrants, individuals who took control of the
government against the wishes of the community.
 Democracy – Rule of the people. Other city-states formed an
early form of democracy where citizens take part in the
government.
2. Athens and Sparta
 Athens – Centrally located on the Greek peninsula, it was one of
the largest and most important city-states. It was a democracy,
where citizens took part in debates and voted on laws. Women,
slaves, and foreigners could not take part in government.
 Sparta – Athens’s chief rival, Sparta was an oligarchy. Located in
the south, it was ruled by two kings and had a powerful army.
3. Learning and the Arts
a. Literature – Ancient Greeks created myths and wrote
poems and plays.
 Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides – playwrights who wrote
tragedies.
 Aristophanes – popular playwright who wrote comedies.
Poked fun at important citizens.
b. Philosophy – Ancient Greece was the birthplace of some
of the finest thinkers in the ancient world.
 Socrates – Studied and taught about friendship, knowledge,
and justice.
 Plato – studied and taught about human behavior,
government, mathematics and astronomy.
 Aristotle – Taught and wrote about poetry, government, and
astronomy.
c. The Spread of Greek Culture – The city-states were
constantly at war. By the fourth century, BC, the fighting left
them weak and King Philip II conquered ancient Greece. His son,
Alexander took control after he died.
 Alexander the Great – Excellent military leader. As his
empire expanded, so did Greek language, culture, and ideas.
After he died, his generals divided his territory, which
marked the end of one of the greatest empires of the
ancient world.
In Part 3, you will continue to use outline form to take notes on your
next chapter, but you will also put the subheadings in. Be sure to use
and define bold vocabulary words: Julius Caesar, Empire, Augustus,
Constantine.
III. ANCIENT ROME
1. The Beginnings of Ancient Rome – Began as a group of
villages located along the banks of[ the Tiber River in Italy.
Early settlers grew wheat, olives and grapes, and herded
sheep.
a. The formation of the Roman Republic – A republic is a
nation in which power belongs to the citizens, who govern
themselves through elected representatives.
b. The Senate – An assembly of elected representatives.
Single most powerful ruling body of Roman Republic.
c. Patricians – A member of the wealthy, landowning family.
Only citizens allowed to be judges.
d. Plebeians – Ordinary, working citizens in ancient Rome, such
as farmer or craftsman.
2. The Expansion of the Roman World – By the third century,
B.C., Rome ruled most of the Italian Peninsula and controlled
the Mediterranean.
3. From Republic to Empire – As the Roman Republic grew, its
citizens became more diverse. In the middle of the first
century B.C., Rome’s government changed.
a. The end of the Roman Republic – Julius Caesar, a
successful Roman general and famous speaker, eventually
became a dictator, as he conquered more and more
territories.
b. The beginning of the Roman Empire
i. His rule was cut short. He was assassinated on
March 15, 44 B.C., by a group of senators who
thought he was becoming too powerful.
ii. Caesar’s son, Octavian, was named the first
emperor of Rome, which marks the official
beginning of the Roman Empire.
iii. An empire is a nation or a group of territories ruled
by a single powerful leader.
iv. As emperor, Octavian took the name Augustus
c. The Augustan Age
i. Rome continued to expand.
ii. Architects and engineers built many buildings.
iii. Great literature was also created. Virgil wrote the
Aeneid, a long poem telling the story of Rome’s
history.
iv. Period of peace called “Pax Romana.”
4. The Rise of Christianity – Around A.D. 14, Christianity began
to take hold. At first it was only popular in the east, but
spread. Christians suffered persecution, and were punished
and killed for their beliefs.
5. The First Christian Emperor – In 306 A.D., Constantine
became emperor and
converted to Christianity.
Christianity became the
official religion of the empire.
In Part 4, be sure to define vocabulary words Charlemagne,
Feudalism, Manorialism, guilds and Magna Carta
IV. The Middle Ages: A time of Change
1. Western Europe in Collapse The Roman Empire collapsed in
the fifth century and more and more people fled to the
country side to escape invaders. Towns and cities shrank or
were abandoned. Travel became unsafe.
a. The Beginning of the Medieval Era – Also called the
middle ages. During this time, many of the inventions of
the ancient world were lost. Europeans turned to military
and the church.
2. Charlemagne and the Christian Church – Also known as
“Charles the Great,” he worked to bring political order to the north
western fringes of the empire in the late 700s, A.D.
a. A New Roman Emperor – Pope joined forces with
Charlemagne and crowned him the Holy Roman Emperor.
Helped strengthen education and government.
3. The Role of the Church – Communities were centered
around church in medieval times
a. Monks and Nuns – Monks devoted their time to praying,
studying, and copying and decorating holy books by hand. They
lived in monasteries. Nuns were women who prayed, sewed,
taught young girls, and cared for the poor.
4. Two Medieval Systems – All land was owned by powerful
nobles. They developed a system known as feudalism.
a. The Feudal System – political ties in which nobles,
such as kings gave out land to less powerful nobles, such as
knights. In return, the noble, called a vassal, made a vow to
serve the lord. The parcel of land he was given was called a
fief.
b. Manorialism – On the manor, peasants lived and
farmed but they did not own the land. In exchange for their
lord’s protection, they contributed their labor and food. They
were known as serfs and had few rights.