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Part II) The Expansion of Trade
TERMS:
Silk Road: A trading route between Europe and Asia
City - States: A city that is politically independent and the rural area around it.
Monarchy: A country ruled by a king or queen.
Usury: the practice of charging interest when loaning money
EVENTS:
The Crusades
In 1095 (LONG before the Renaissance) a series of religious wars called the Crusades
happened between people from the East and West (Europe).
There were two important results of the Crusades for Europeans:
— - Contact with the Muslim civilization
— - Trade
A trade route needed to be established between the Eastern World and Europe.
The Silk Road was the name given to the routes that connected Europe to the East for
trade
Europeans were not only able to trade for exotic spices, fabrics and goods but also
gained ideas and knowledge
CONCEPTS/IDEAS
Due to their ability to trade Italy became very wealthy.
This combined with the success of their City States meant that Italy was one of the
most powerful regions of Europe during the Renaissance
WHO
— The Polo Family was a family of wealthy merchants in Italy
— Marco Polo was a merchant in the Polo family who travelled on the Silk Road to
China. There he discovered many riches
— With the success of Italy's City-States, a new role emerged: the banker
— For the first time, Bankers practiced usury when they charged interest to
someone who borrowed money from the bank
Medici Family
— The Medici family was the most famous and powerful family in Italy. They
became successful for three reasons:
1. Wool/Silk Merchants and Bankers
2. Acquired important positions in the Church
3. Married into Europe’s royal families and built alliances with other important
families
WORLVIEWS
Travel and exploration is important to find resources so that we can trade them, and
become wealthy
Wealth is important as it means that you have more power (Italy = wealthy = powerful)
It is important to support your political leaders so that your country is stable, and you
can focus on business and wealth rather than wars
Part III) Humanism
TERMS
HUMANIST: a person who adopts a system of thought that centres on humans and
their values, capacities and worth; concern with the interests, needs and welfare of
humans
PHILOSOPHERS: someone who studies human conduct, human knowledge and the
nature of the universe
DEMOCRACY: A form of government in which people elect (vote) representatives to
rule the country
CIVIC: Relating to citizenship or your role within government
PATRONS: people who pay artists to produce artwork
EVENTS
Humanism began in Italy when scholars looked back to the ancient Greeks and
Romans
Civic Humanists encouraged Europeans to get involved with their government by
educating themselves about history and political issues.
Education became very important to Humanists. They started up their own schools
where Humanist thinking was a focus.
• They studied Greek and Roman classical writing.
Europeans began to focus on including features of classical (ancient) buildings in their
architecture.
IDEAS/CONCEPTS
Some key ideas and achievements from the ancient civilizations are:
-Poetry, drama, and sculpture
-Architecture
-Had brilliant mathematicians and philosophers
-Developed the Olympic games
-Developed democracy
The main idea of Humanism was the power of the individual.
The main points of Humanism were:
-Humans can/should use the power of reason (thinking)
-It is important to have an open and curious mind
-Education is extremely important
-People should become skilled in many different ways: mind, body and spirit
WHO
Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely important figure in the Renaissance. He is most
famous for his art, however he was also an inventor.
Francesco Petrarch was a humanist thinker of the early Renaissance. Francesco
believed that the ancient times long before the Renaissance were far superior to the
Middle or Dark ages.
Christine di Pisan was one of the few female humanists. She was Europe's first
professional woman writer. The main theme of her work was that she wanted women
and men to not be judged on their gender but their abilities.
Cicero was a Roman lawyer and politician from ancient times. He believed public
service was the duty of everyone in society.
WORLDVIEWS
The Renaissance worldview of Humanism was a result of intercultural contact with
earlier civilizations (through writings, art etc.)
Part IV) Exchange of Ideas
TERMS
ANATOMY: the science that deals with the structure of animals and plants.
DISSECTION: the process of disassembling (taking apart) and observing something
to determine the internal structure.
AUTOPSY: The process of dissecting a human body after death
EXCOMMUNICATION: official exclusion from the Catholic church (to be kicked out of
the church).
INDULGENCES: certificates sold from the church, which supposedly reduced the time
a person would be punished for their sins after their death.
EVENTS
Galileo and other astronomers permanently changed the way people looked at the
universe. We now know the sun is the centre, and not the earth.
Some members of the church who held positions of power, were becoming corrupt.
People began to have less faith in the church, and the church therefore had less
power over the people.
After the Renaissance began in Italy, ideas spread through France, Spain and
Portugal. Eventually these ideas spread to England and much later to the Americas.
In 1450, the printing press was invented. This allowed books to be produced quickly
and cheaply. Books allowed the exchange of ideas and knowledge to spread through
Europe on a larger scale. For the first time, the lower class people began to learn to
read and write.
IDEAS/CONCEPTS
Humanism encouraged people to not only read (as they had done before) but to ask
questions, study the natural world and do hands on experiments which had all been
discouraged in the past.
The Scientific Method led to discoveries in many areas of science during the
Renaissance in:
v astronomy
v medicince
v Mathematics
Scientists and doctors began to apply the Scientific Method in order to make new
discoveries about the human body. During the Renaissance, dissection was made
legal.
WHO
Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer and philosopher.
v He published a book saying the earth was not the centre of the universe, and
instead he believed the sun was the centre.
v He made important inventions such as the telescope
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450.
Nicolaus Copernicus was a polish astronomer. He made the discovery that the earth
moved around a stationary object (the sun.)
Machiavelli wrote a book called The Prince. The basic ideas of his book were:
- When is comes to leadership, the ideas of right and wrong are not important
- religion should not play a role in government
-"The ends justify the means" (whatever is necessary to achieve a goal, must be done)
Martin Luther was a German monk who believed that people should follow the bible,
and not the church. When the church demanded Martin Luther give up his ideas, he
refused. The pope excommunicated Luther, who went into hiding so that he wouldn't
be killed.
WORLDVIEWS
The idea of experimentation was now encouraged. People were challenged to find the
truth of the universe by using the Scientific Method.
Worldview: "Through a process of observation, experimentation and inference, people
will better understand human beings and the universe we live in."
The Church had a different worldview though.
Worldview: "The more people learn, the less they rely on religion, and therefore the
less power the Church has. We should discourage anyone who challenges the
Catholic Church. We are threatened by true scientists and philosophers."
Part V) Age of Exploration
TERMS
EXPLORATION: is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain (sea, land or
space) for the purpose of discovery of resources or information.
EXPANSIONISM: The actions and attitudes of a country, whose goal is to expand its
power and territory.
CIRCUMNAVIGATION: To travel completely around something, as in the globe.
EVENTS
Portugal was the first European country to become involved in organized exploration.
Spain became interested in exploring sailing to the West.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus decided he wanted to find a shorter trade route from
Europe to Asia.
CONCEPTS/IDEAS
Europeans spent a lot of money on luxury goods and spices from the East. These
items were so expensive because they had to be shipped over great distances.
Monarchs were motivated to find new trade routes, in the hopes of being able to get
goods cheaper. This meant they were willing to fund exploration voyages.
Another reason people were motivated to find better trade routes was because
travelling along the silk road was very dangerous.
The Economy of Europe depended on gold and silver. European mines were running
out of gold and silver. Europeans needed to find new places in the world, which had
gold and silver.
During the Age of Exploration, the idea of spreading Christianity to other lands in the
world was another important motivation to travel.
WHO
Prince Henry The Navigator
• The Prince of Portugal
• Was motivated by his religious beliefs to explore the world
• had a great interest in ships and navigation. He used his wealth to sponsor
voyages of exploration.
Christopher Columbus
• An explorer who wanted to sail from Europe to Asia. He believed if he went
west, he would reach Asia faster. Instead he was one of the first Europeans to
discover the existence North and South America.
Ferdinand Magellan:
• He was a Spanish explorer. Still in search of a Western sea route to Asia,
Ferdinand’s ship recorded the first voyage to circumnavigate the world.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella:
• King and Queen of Spain
• Funded Christopher Columbus' voyage
They declared power over any unknown oceans, and over any land that was
discovered.
WORLDVIEWS
The Renaissance worldview inspired individuals to explore the truth about the world for
themselves
• I.E. Exploration
A worldview held during the Renaissance about Religion:
"As Christianity is thought to be the only true religion, all people encountered in new
lands, must be converted.”
A worldview held during the Renaissance about Expansionism:
"Any lands/people that we Europeans encounter in our explorations are ours. We will
take over lands, because we have a right to own them. The indigenous people, do not
have a right to their own land."
VI) Brave New World
TERMS
Imperialism: Extension of power over a territory, including its resources and people
Indigenous: - someone born in a country
- the first inhabitants of an area
Immunity: resistance to disease
Patriotism: a country where the people are extremely proud of their country, and are
willing to defend it against enemies.
EVENTS
The territories in Central and South America claimed by Christopher Columbus
became known as New Spain.
The Indigenous people of New Spain were enslaved by the Spanish land owners, and
forced to work under terrible conditions.
Thousands of tonnes of gold, silver and emeralds were shipped from New Spain,
across the ocean to Spain.
CONCEPTS/IDEAS
The expansionist worldview turned into "Imperialism". Portugal, Spain and other
European countries wanted more than to expand their world - they wanted power over
all territory, resources and people they came across.
By 1600, less than 10% of the original population of the America’s were still alive. 90
million indigenous people died during this time, due to the actions of the Europeans.
The indigenous people had no immunity to the diseases brought over by the
Europeans.
Europeans thought many people were heroes, such as Christopher Columbus and
Francis Drake (a man who would steal riches from the Spanish ships for England).
Europeans were fascinated by the Indigenous people and were very curious about
them, and yet they felt they were far superior to the Indigenous people of the
Americas.
WHO
Francis Drake: an English captain (of a ship) who would raid the slower Spanish
Ships for treasure.
WORLDVIEWS
Renaissance European Worldview:
"We are fascinated by the indigenous people we have discovered and are continuing
to discover. We must show them our way of life, introduce them to our technologies
and religion and make them conform to our way of life. This is the only way these
people will become civilized."
Indigenous Worldview:
"We have tried to introduce ourselves peacefully and treat the newcomers with
respect. We feel the newcomers have only treated us unfairly by stealing our land,
treating us with violence and forcing their way of life upon us. Is there not a way we
could live in agreement and harmony? Could we not learn from each other?"