chapter 1 section 2 transatlantic world- life in europe
TRANSCRIPT
Focus Question
• Answer the following prompt in your unit packets in 2-3 sentences:
• Some of you may have heard the phrase “Ignorance is bliss”, do you agree with this phrase? Why or why not?
DIRECTIONS:•Read the descriptions of the four regions on the handout•What region do you believe has the best chance in becoming the dominate power in the 1400s•Write a 2-3 sentence response
The World in the 1400s
Objectives
• Describe the conditions in Europe in the fifteenth century (1400).
• Analyze how the changes taking place in Europe affected the inhabitants.
• Describe the major developments on the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Renaissance.
Life in Europe in the 1400s
The early years of the Middle Ages Weak central government Famine, disease and foreign invasion
Development of political and cultural institutions Population shifts after Black Death
Black Death (bubonic plague) killed about a third of Europeans
Why was most of the population located in the countryside?
Economy based off of agriculture
Life in Europe in the 1400s
Movement to citiesGrowth of cities, especially in northern Italy and
the Netherlands, meant more production Manufacturing of cloth, tools, weapons, and ceramics
Unequal classes Ruling elite
Aristocrats Merchants Roman Catholic Church King or Queen
Commoners Middle- class families Working poor
Less Than Five Percent Owned Almost all Land
• A monarch was at the top of the social pyramid in each kingdom.
• Aristocrats inherited social rank, title, and landed estates worked by peasants.
Royalty and
Aristocrats
• The elite also included leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Wealthy merchants shipped cargoes between cities for profit.
Church Leaders
and Merchants
Commoners
• These families owned enough property to employ themselves as farmers, artisans, and shopkeepers.
• Accounted for only a fifth of the population.
Middle-Class
Families
• In good years, they farmed on rented land or worked for pay, and in bad years, many were beggars.
• Accounted for three-fifths of the population.
The Working
Poor
Warring States
Western Europe divided
Most powerful kingdoms: Castile, Portugal, France, and England
Each kingdom was ruled by a monarch
Kingdoms waged war on one another to gain new territories
You Ought to Be in Pictures!
Directions:
Choose a person in the picture
Write a one paragraph, roughly four sentences, journal entry as if YOU ARE the person in the picture.
What would your life be like on a day-to-day basis?
Pair with partner across from you
Share your entries
Europe Looks Beyond Its Borders
The Roman Catholic Church controlled intellectual life Everything worth knowing can be found in the Bible Risks of scientific discoveries
The Crusades European Christians and Southwest Asian Muslims
fight over the Holy Land, Europeans defeated Crusades brought knowledge of distant lands and
promoted trade Silks, gems, and spices Demand for products causes traders to expand to Asia
Renaissance
Interest in learning and the advancement of the arts and sciences
Awareness of the world beyond Europe expanded
ExplorationsPrinting press developed
Books became available Literature promoted individualism and
experimentation
European Rivals
Jealous of the wealth, power and technology of Muslim neighbors, including:o North Africa
o Areas around the southern and eastern Mediterranean Sea
o Parts of Eastern Europe and Southeast, Southwest, and Central Asia
Iberia Peninsula Prince Ferdinand and Queen Isabella unite Aragon and
Castile to create Spain (1469) Defeat Muslims Moors in Granada
Exploration
New trade routes were sought to expand European influence
Portuguese took lead in venturing out into the Atlantic
Technological advancements Compass Sturdier ships: the caravel
Prince Henry the Navigator School of navigation Sponsored several expeditions along the coast of West
Africa