chapter 10 renaissance and discovery

Chapter 10 OutlineRenaissance and Discovery

(RS = Renaissance)

1. Middles Ages: chaos, but also rebirtha. Two Dutch scholars used one word “Herfsttij” to describe the time period differently

i. John Huizinga says “decline”ii. Heiko Oberman says “harvest”

2. By late 15th century, Europe was recovering from 2 (Out of 3) Middle Age crisesa. Demographics – Population up after Plague and more employment and specialization of laborb. Politics – Able monarchs were imposing a new political order with councils vs c. Religion – Solution would have to wait till the Reformation in 16th century

3. City states of Italy fared better than N. Europe between 1300 and 1450.a. Due to strategic location to Eurasian tradeb. Wealth = arts, government, education.

i. All that wealth means RS has the biggest impact in Italy—center of Meditt and trade-> rise of merchant classii. “Divine Art”iii. Recovery of Classic knowledge

c. Italy started to decline after fall of Constantinople in 1453i. Limits trading empire

d. France invades Italy in 1490, city states begin warring against each otheri. By this time, RS is over.

4. Europe starts to develop national IDsa. Using vernaculars instead of Latinb. Listening to government instead of churchc. Nations voyage to Far East and America instead of Rome

5. Late 15th to 16th centuries = expansion and experimentation a. Permanent colonies = international trade = slavesb. Social engineering, political planning (newly centralized government), and long range economic plans (mercantilism)

The Renaissance in Italy (1375-1527)1. RS was the “prototype for the modern world”

a. Revival of ancient learning, new secular and scientific values began to supplant traditional religious caluesi. Adopt a rational obj stat. approach to realityii. Rediscover the importance of the individual and his/her artistic creativity

b. Far too modernizing an interpretation of Renaissance and have accused him of overlooking the continuity between the Middle Ages and the Renaissancei. Critics stress the still strongly Christian character of Renaissance humanism

(1) Revival of ancient classics(2) Interest in Latin language and Greek science(3) Appreciation of the worth and creativity of individuals

c. RS- transition from medieval to the modern world i. Medieval Europe= b4 12th cen.-> fragmented feudal society w/ agricultural economy

(1) Thoughts/culture dominated by church ii. RS Europe after 14th cent characterized by growing national consciousness and pol centralization

(1) Urban econ based on organized commerce and capitalism(2) Even greater lay and secular control of thought/culture including religion

iii. RS deeply influenced n. Europeiv. Most striking in Italy from 1375 to 1527

d. May be exaggerated, but Renaissance was a transition from medieval to modern times. i. Pre RS economy: fragmented society with agricultureii. Post RS economy: national urban based economy

2. Italy shows signs of RS more than any where else. 1375-1527 a. Humanism spreads and sparks this movement after the death of Petrarch in 1374 (“father” of humanism), and Giovanni Boccacio in 1375 (author of

Decameron)b. Creative expansion ends in 1527 when Spanish imperial troops loot and burn Rome

The Italian City-State1. RS first starts in merchant cities of Italy had money and time to go about w/ projects that had to do w the individual w/ portraits

a. Cultural advantage due to location between east and west. b. Trade = Money = Rich Italians with nothing to do but paint

i. Nobility a little obsolete because of land to money econ basis systemc. By 15th century the Italians are so rich and well versed in business and bookkeeping they are all of Europe’s bankers

Growth of City-States1. Warfare between Pope (supported by Guelf) and emperor (supported by Ghibelline) assisted growth of cities and culture

a. Factions weakened each other, left power vacuum for merchants to take over—fighting both in and out of city states; between merchants and nobility, etc

2. Merchants take control, little overarching national govt., so states are free to expanda. Cities assimilate local nobility and country side, 5 powerful CS’s emerge

i. The duchy of Milan, the republics of Florence and Venice, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples


(RS = Renaissance)3. Competition for political power is intense, so govt. evolved into despotism

a. Exception is Venice, which was ruled by merchant oligarchyi. Patrician senate of 300 members and ruthless, opponent suppressing judiciary body

Social Class and Conflict1. Florence is example of social division and anarchy

a. 4 social groupsi. Grandi – old rich (nobles)ii. Popolo grosso – “fat people”, new rich (merchants, bankers)

(1) Begin to challenge old rich in 13th, 14th centuryiii. Middle-burgher – guild masters, shop owners, professionals, small business

(1) Side with new rich against conservative oldiv. Popolo minuto – “little people” in 1457 one third of population is listed as paupers, having no wealth

2. Social divisions lead to conflict at every level of societya. 1378 Ciompi Revolt – uprising of the poor

i. 3 Causes(1) Feuds between new rich and old rich (2) Social anarchy for black plague(3) Collapse of great banking houses of Bardi and Peruzzi leave poor vulnerable

ii. Revolt leads to 4 year period of power for Florentine lower class power(1) Stability doesn’t return until ascent to power of banker Cosimo de’ Medici

Despotism and Diplomacy1. Medici was wealthy and natural statesman

a. Controlled city behind the scenes, influenced the six man council known as the Signoriai. 6 (later 8) Signoria members came from powerful economic guilds

(1) Medici, as the head Office of Public Debt, got his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent in power who ruled in totalitarian fashion for the last quarter of the 15th century

(2) Rival family assassinated Lorenzo’s brother, which made Lorenzo a cautious leader2. Elsewhere, groups in power cooperated to install despots to prevent social conflict and foreign influence

i. Despot had supreme executive, military and judiciary authority ii. Despots couldn’t rely on divided populace, so relied on mercenary armies obtained through military brokers known as condottieri

3. Despot is a hazardous job but high rewardsa. Subject to dismissal by oligarchies, often assassinatedb. Access to great power and wealth

4. Political turbulence and war led to diplomacy a. Embassies and ambassadors rise

i. Keep an eye on other governments, militaries to gain an advantage5. All groups support thought and culture, which makes city states ideal for RS

a. Despots, merchants, Pope, republicansi. Everybody supports because the requirement for RS was wealth

Humanism1. Much debate on what “humanism” actually mean2. Book defines humanism as the scholarly study of the Latin and Greek classics and the ancient Church Fathers, both for its own sake and in hope of

reviving respected ancient norms and values. 3. humanism- edu program that concentrated on rhetoric and sound scholarship for their own sakes4. Humanists support studia humanitatis: a liberal arts program of study embracing grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, politics, and moral philosophy.

a. Subjects were enjoyable, but also celebrated the dignity of humankindi. Term of humanitatis coined by Leonard do Bruni. Bruni was a student of the Byzantine scholar Manuel Chrysoloras who opened Greek

scholarship to Italian humanists5. First humanists were orators and poets

a. Wrote literature in classic and vernacular, taught rhetoric6. Study of Roman antiquity predates Italian RS

a. None really compare to the magnitude of the RS, obviously.b. RS was more broad and secular

7. Humanists weren’t tied to tradition, took the past and moved forwardPetrarch, Dante, and Boccaccio1. Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) was the father of humanism

a. Left law to pursue letters and poetry b. Spent life around Avignonc. Involved in popular revolt in Rome (1347-1349)d. Later in life served the Visconti family

2. Left legacy of critical textual studies, elitism, and contempt for Scholastics (focused on simply last works, not moving forward) 3. Combined Classical and Christian values, but less secular than near-contemporary Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) 4. Petrarch’s student Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) also pioneered human studies

a. Decameron (100 tales of social commentary), and Greek/Roman mythologyEducational Reforms and Goals


(RS = Renaissance)1. Humanists desired extensive knowledge of past to apply to current problems 2. Humanists want well rounded, morally good, well rounded people.

a. Roman orator Quintilian’s Education of the Oratory became the basic classical guidei. Vittorino da Feltre (d. 1446) embodied humanist teachings.

(1) Taught Pliny, Ptolemy, Terence, Plautus, Livy and Plutarch but also physical exercises and games ii. Guarino da Verona (d. 1460) streamlined study of classical languages iii. Baldassare Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier shows humanists want to known language, history, athletics, military, music, moral character

3. Noblewomen promoted education at royal courtsa. Christine de Pisan

The Florentine “Academy” and the Revival of Platonism1. Revival of Greek studies, Plato, in mid 15th century Florence

a. Many factors make the revival possiblei. Manuel Chrysoloras comes from Constantinople to promote Greek learning 1397ii. Reunion of Eastern and Western churches in 1439iii. After fall of Constantinople in 1453, Greek scholars flee to Florence.

2. RS thinkers liked Platonic tradition, and Plato + Chirstian teachinga. Influential Floretine humanists make up “academy”, simply informal gathering of scholars

3. Platonism – Philosohpy of Plato that posits preexistent Ideal Forms of which all earthly beings are imperfect modelsa. Influences Neoplatonists: Plotinus, Proclus, Porphyry, Dionysius the Areopagite

i. The appeal? Flattering view of human natureb. Pico’s Oration on the Dignity of Man famous RS Platonic address

Critical Work of the Humanists: Lorenzo Valla 1. Humanists review the past, so naturally becomes critics2. Leads to critiques on the medieval church

a. Lorenzo Valla (1406-1457) was a good Catholic, but his writings later influenced Protestant movements which he supportedi. Attacks the Donation of Constantine in a scholarly way through textual analysis and logic

(1) Didn’t make Valla less loyal to the church, but his criticism lead the way for young religiously critical humanists such as Martin LutherCivic Humanism1. Major critique of Scholastic education was that much of its content was useless

a. Humanists believed in education in civic humanism: learning that promotes individual virtue and public service.i. 3 Examples in Florence: Coluccio Salutati (1331-1406), Leonardi Bruni (ca. 1370-1444) and Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459)

(1) Served as chancellors of Florence, used rhetorical skills to exercise their power b. Toward the end of the RS, humanists become snobby

i. In reaction to elitist trends, humanist historians Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540) made contemporary history their subject matter.(1) Shows 2 sides of humanism: deep scholarship and practical politics

Renaissance Art1. Common people (not those associated with the church) establish leading roles in education, culture and religion

a. Possible due to church’s loss of international power 2. National governments staffed by laymen, not clerics

a. More people were education than ever before outside of the church i. Medieval Christian values were adjusted accordingly

3. High RS art (1450-1527) embraced the natural world and human emotions a. Symmetry reflecting harmony of the universe

4. Artists were aided by new technical skills a. Oil paint- better than watercolors used previouslyb. Chiaroscuro – the use of shadow to enhance naturalnessc. Linear perspective- disappearance into one point in the background

5. Giotto (1266-1336) was father of RS painting, signaled new direction. Many followLeonardo da Vinci 1. Master of many skills

a. Great painter, advised Italians and French on military engineering, supported scientific experimentation, foresaw future technology (submarine, airplane), Mona Lisa.

Raphael 1. Painter of sensitivity

a. Loved for his work and personality, tender madonnas and the great fresco in the VaticanMichelangelo 1. Excelled in a variety of arts and crafts

a. David (sculpture), 4 different popes commissioned his work, 10,000 square feet of Vatican covered.2. Style change marks end of High RS painting and start of mannerism: where artists express their own manners instead of focusing on harmony/symmetrySlavery in the Renaissance1. Slavery flourishes as much as art

a. Starts as early as 12th century when Spanish sell Muslim slaves to Italians 2. Slavery is merciful, better than killing captives3. Plantation slavery joins domestic slavery during the High RS following East Asian plantation model


(RS = Renaissance)4. Black Death reduces the population, need even more slaves5. Owners had complete dominion, and slaves could be had for a reasonable, worth while price.

a. Africans and Tatars were treated the worst, but slaves were generally accepted as family membersi. In owners interest to keep slaves healthy and happy

Italy’s Political Decline: The French Invasions (1494-1527)1. City-states work together to prevent foreign invasion, mostly from the Turks

a. Political alliance: Treat of Lodi (1454-1455) maintained protection i. Brought long time enemies Milan and Naples into alliance with Florence

(1) 3 stood for decades against Venice, who often allied with the Papal states to keep balance of power (a) However, if a foreign enemy presented itself, all 5 states united.

2. Ability to repel foreign enemies is ended when Milanese despot Ludovico il Moro invited French to fight Naples who was supported by Florence and Pope Alexander VI.a. Dangerous to invite in France back to Italy, French very hungry for new territory.

Charles VIII’s March Through Italy1. King Louis XI kept claims to Naples without invading.2. His successor, Charles VIII responded to Ludovico’s call for help in Italy eagerly

a. Crossed the Alps in August 1494b. Florence tries to appease French king by hanging over Pisa

i. Citizens then exile ruler who gave away Pisa, Piero de’ Medici, under instruction of Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) (1) Convinced Florentines that French king should be welcomed, justified by divine vengeance. Savonarola flatters Charles, Florence pays large

ransom and avoids destruction.ii. After Charles’ leaves, Savonarola rules for 4 years

(1) His policies are too antipapal, and once Charles, who Savonarola supported, was forced out of Italy, he lost all supported and was imprisoned and executed.

c. In response to Charles’ invasion, Ferdinand of Aragon formed the League of Venicei. Venice, Papal States, Emperor Maximilian I (r. 1493-1519) together with Ferdinand against French. Milan later joins, realizes the foreign

intervention of France was a bad idea.(1) Constant conflict between Spain and France until 1559

Pope Alexander VI and the Borgia Family1. French returned to Italy under Louis XII (r. 1498-1515)

a. Supported by corrupt Pope Alexander VIi. Used power of pope to support his children politically in Romagna

b. French alliance would allow Romagna to reclaim lost territory, so Pope needs to make it happeni. Annuls Louis XII’s marriage to Charles VIII’s sister so Louis could marry Charles’ widow, Anne of Brittany

(1) Was done to keep Brittany as French.ii. Makes Louis’ favorite cleric a bishop to win him overiii. Abandons League of Venice

2. Scandalous trade, but made Pope and French king happy. a. Pope and Borgias conquers around Romagnab. French invaded Milan, Louis and Aragon divide Naples between them

Pope Julius II1. Next Pope: Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere = Pope Julius.

a. Suppressed Borgias, paced newly conquered lands under papal controlb. Known as the “warrior pope” due to high point of papal military and diplomatic intrigue

i. Seemed very secular instead of religious, Erasmus writes humors Julius Excluded from Heaven, mocking at Pope2. Drove Venetians out of Romagna in 1509, fully securing Papal States 3. Drives out French by forming Holy League

a. Julius, Ferdinand of Aragon, Veniceb. French are in full retreat by 1512

4. France invades again, avenging themselves by killing many soldiers of the Holy Leaguea. Brutal victory lead to pope granting the Concordat of Bologna

i. Gave France control over French clergy in exchange for French recognition of papal superiority over church councils and collecting money (1) Keeps France Catholic in a time of Protestant reformation

ii. Allowed France access to Spain, lead to 4 wars with Spain, none of which are successful.Niccolo Machiavelli 1. Invasions of Italy cause Machiavelli (1469-1527) to realize importance of Italian unity2. Impressed by ancient Roman rulers and citizens ability to defend homeland.

a. Wrote romantic accounts of Ancient Roman history, upset by lack of passion of his contemporaries3. Held Republican ideals, upset with internal feuding4. His ideas make him the famous cynic which advocated for far sighted political strong men. 5. Wrote The Prince, some claim as a satire, but Machiavelli did advocate fraud and brutality as a means to unify Italy. 6. Machiavelli hoped that the Medici family would fulfill The Prince, but they failed to unite Italy and foreign invaders sacked Rome in 1527, the year

Machiavelli died.Revival of Monarchy in Northern Europe1. After 1450, shift from feudal monarchy to national monarchy


(RS = Renaissance)a. Dynastic and chivalric views from feudal monarchy remained

2. High RS feudal monarchy – division of power between king and semi-autonomous vassalsa. Nobility act through representative assembles (English Parliament, French Estates General, Spanish Cortes

3. After Great Schism and Hundred Years War the church is too weak to stop national monarchies a. Towns begin allying with king, broke bonds of feudal society

4. In new sovereign states, national governments tax, war, and make laws, not vassalsa. Monarchs are able to legislate without calling in representative bodies to meet due to unityb. Monarchs are employing bureaucrats and actually meeting with the governed more than ever.

5. Monarchs create standing national armies, composed mostly of mercenaries from Switzerland and Germany. Paid soldiers are more efficient than nobles fighting for honor

6. Growing cost of warfare leads to need for new incomea. Greatest obstacle was that the nobility thought they were immune to taxes, despire taxation

i. Expenses then had to come from those less wealthyb. Several options for raising money

i. Collect rent for loyal domainsii. Levy national taxes, such as a salt tax (known as Gabelle in France), or 10% sales tax in Spain known as Alcabala iii. Direct taxes on peasantry (Taille in France)iv. Creative ways: Sale of public offices, high interest bonds

France1. Charles VII (r. 1422-1461) “made great by those who served him”

a. Professional army created, inspired by Joan of Arc b. Strong economy, diplomatic corps, and national administration created by banker Jacques Couer

i. These tools allowed ruthless Louis XI (r. 1461-1483) to make France a power2. French nation building had two political cornerstones

a. Collapse of English empire after Hundred Years Warb. Defeat of Charles the Bold (r. 1467-1477) and strong political power of Burgundy

i. With those 2 gone, left Louis XI free to secure monarchy (1) With acquisition of new Burgundy lands, doubled size of empire, used the institution of Couer to create a powerful nation

3. Power went to the heads of next French rulers, and by the mid 16th century Frnace was divided againSpain1. Castile and Aragon were divided until union of Isabella and Ferdinand in 1469

a. Dynastically united Aragon and Castile, although they remained constitutionally separatei. Castile is stronger, 5 million population and strong econ vs. Aragon’s 1 mil.

2. Together, Ferdinand and Isabella could secure their borders, venture abroad militarily, and Christianize Spain a. Conquered Granda between 1484 and 1492b. Naples 1504c. Navarre (N. Spain) 1512

3. King and Queen also won allegiance of Hermanadad, which was a powerful league of cities4. End of religious toleration of Judaism and Islam, state controlled Christianity by Isabella

a. Appointed Tomas de Torquemada (d. 1498) ran a national agency which watched closely converted Jews (conversos) and Muslims (Moriscos)b. Those who didn’t convert in Granda were exiled

5. Arranged marriages for their children in a way to weaken France 6. Promoted overseas exploration, Christopher Columbus England 1. 2nd half of 15th century was tough for England

a. After Hundred Years War, civil war breaks out between House of York and House of Lancaster i. Keeps England in turmoil from 1455-1485

2. Edward IV (r. 1422-1461), son of the duke of York, seizes the throne, rules for 20 years a. Richard III (r. 1483-1485) “villain”, usurps throne from Edward’s son, allowed the exiled Henry the Tudor to return to Englandb. Henry the Tudor rules as Henry VII (r. 1485-1509), started Tudor dynasty dominates 16th century

i. Controls nobles with Court of Star Chamber, 1487ii. Used law to strengthen monarchy

The Holy Roman Empire 1. Did not achieve national monarchy - late 15th century Germany divided into 300 kingdoms 2. An attempt, Golden Bull, an agreement between Charles IV and the German territorial leaders established a 7 member electoral college/administrative

body a. Many limits on power, emperor was ruler in law, but still little power

3. Try to stop feuding with Reichstag, national assembly of 7 electors, nonelectoral princes, and 65 citiesa. Resulted in ban on private warfare, Supreme Court of Justice, Council of Regency

i. Reforms are still not as good as national unityThe Northern Renaissance 1. Humanists create climate that welcomes religious and educational reofmr

a. Humanism started by contact with Italian traders i. Northern Humanists had distinct culture

(1) Devoted to religious reform, wrote for the lay audience


(RS = Renaissance)The Printing Press 1. Schools and universities increase literacy2. Demand for books is very high, Johann Gutenberg (d. 1468) invented movable type

a. Books are produced rapidly, topics like religion, calendars, almanacs, how-to’s3. Printing press is profitable, large audiences of humanists4. Literacy increased self-esteem, intelligence, can’t be fooled by church/govt. Erasmus1. Famous northern humanist, Catholic but expressed need for reform via printing press2. Wrote Colliquoes and Adages, which had religious satire and proverbial common expressions 3. Wanted to unite humanity and Christianity, philosophia Christi 4. Republished the New Testament, edited it to make it ideal like he desired5. Left the tools for future reformers, “Erasmus laid the egg, Luther hatched it”Humanism and ReformGermany1. Rudolf Agricola (1443-1485) introduced Italian learning to Germany

a. Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523) German humanism = hostile to foreign culturei. Combined humanism, German nationalism, and Lutheran religious reformii. Von Hutten supported scholar Johann Reuchlin and his Jewish writing in the name of humanism

(1) Northern humanists later support Martin Luther England1. Humanism came to England via scholars and merchants visiting Italy

a. English humanistsi. John Colet (1467-1519) promoted religious reformii. Thomas More (1467-1519) wrote Utopia, social commentary, rivaled Shakespeare in popularity

(1) Became a trusted diplomat of Henry VIII (a) Fell out of favor do to disapproval of Anglican Church and kings marriage of Anne Boleyn, eventually executed

b. Humanists paved the way for English ReformationFrance1. French invasions of Italy bring humanism

a. Guillaume Bude (1468-1540) and Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples (1454-1536) lead French humanismi. Exemplified critical scholarship, influenced young minds

(1) Produced John Calvin Spain1. Catholic Church uses humanism

a. Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros (1437-1517) , “The Grand Inquisitor” i. Complutensian Polyglot Bible, six volume work that placed Hebrew, Greek and Latin versions of the Bible side by side.

Voyages of Discovery and the New Empire in the West and East1. America expands the horizons of Europe2. Battle for commercial supremacy shifts from Europe to AmericaThe Portuguese Chart the Course 1. Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) captures North African city of Ceuta

a. Motives were mercenary and religious, starts Portuguese exploration i. Later motives are slaves, and then trade routes to Asia

2. Portuguese broke up Venetian spice monopolies with trade routes, won the church as allies (exploration leads to converts)a. Bartholomew Dias made it to the Cape of Good Hope, Vasco de Gama all the way to Italy

3. Portuguese focused on going west instead of east The Spanish Voyages of Columbus 1. Lands in Bahamas, thinks he is in Japan, “Indians”

a. Met by friendly, “easy to enslave” natives 2. Later, Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512), Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), figured out Americas were not AsiaIntended and Unintended Consequences1. Discovery leads to conquest 2. Founding of colonies leads to European trade = economic expansion 3. “Colombian Exchange” The Spanish Empire in the New World 1. Aztecs dominated Mesoamerica, Incans dominate South America when Spanish arrive, both rich empires The Aztecs in Mexico2. Aztecs rule almost all of central Mexico when Spanish come3. Hernan Cortes lands in 1519, possibly Aztec think he is a god. Cortes begins to take advantage of Aztecs, relations break down, lead to conflict and

conquestThe Incas in Peru1. Francisco Pizarro lands in 1532, lures Incan leader into conference, kidnaps King Atahualpa, kills followers. Pizarro eventually executes Atahualpa

a. Capture Cuzco, but Inca resistance doesn’t end until 15702. Conquests of Mexico and Peru are brutal, small pox, destruction of culture, abuseThe Church in Spanish America 1. Priests accompany the conquistadors, want to bring Christianity 2. Without a conflict, priests can’t convert but priests hate the conditions of the wars


(RS = Renaissance)a. Bartolome de Las Casas criticizes conquests, led to new regulations for Indians after 1550

3. By end of 16th century, Church upholds the colonial status quo 4. America quickly became a conquered worldThe Economy of Exploitation1. Europeans exploit American lands and people for purpose of economy 2. 3 major components, mining, agriculture, shippingMining1. Early conquistadors wanted gold, but silver mining turned out to be more profitable

a. Great silver mine Potosi, Spain took 1/5 of all mining profit Agriculture 1. Hacienda system, plantations, owned by peninsulares or creoles

a. Provided food and leather products, but both farming and ranching were inferior to mining 2. Shipping was dominated by the peninsulares, trading of goods and slaves Labor Servitude 1. The economy need labor. How?

i. Encomienda: formal grant of labor of Indian, declined because Spanish monarchs feared holders would become too powerfulii. Repartimiento, mita, aka the labor tax, required labor for Indian males on a certain number of days iii. Debt peonage: the labor is technically unforced, but work for free, have to buy supplies from the people they are working foriv. Black slavery

The Impact on Europe 1. If traditional knowledge on geography was so incorrect, what else was it wrong about?2. Columbus backlash for treatment of natives 3. Supply of goods, bullion, and coined money led to inflation, but gradual

a. Wages lagged even farther behind inflation though4. Excess wealth allows government to sponsor mining, textile, printing, shipping and weapons research

a. Rise of “capitalist” institutions (1) Leads to the social problems of capitalism

ii. Divisions in society

Chapter 10 Outline: Renaissance and Discovery Section One: The Renaissance in ItalySection Overview

Jacob Burckhardt, a Swiss historian, described the Renaissance as the “prototype of the modern world” in his book Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860)

In Italy blossomed new secular and scientific views

People became to approach the world empirically and draw rational conclusions based on observation

Burckhardt saw the emergence of the modern world emerge from that of the pre-modern, or medieval, period

Some criticize Burckhardt for overlooking the continuity between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Scholars agree that the Renaissance (1375-1527)was a transition from medieval to modern times

Different from the feudal fragmentation of medieval times, Renaissance Europe was characterized by growing national consciousness and political centralization, an urban economy based on organized commerce and capitalism, and growing lay control of secular thought and culture

The Italian City State

Growth of City-States

When commerce revived in the eleventh century, Italian merchants mastered the organizational skills needed for trade: book-keeping, scouting new markets, securing new markets, and banking

During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, trade-rich cities became powerful city-states, dominating the political and economic life of the surrounding countryside

Incessant warfare between pope and emperor and the Guelf [propapal] and Ghibelline [proimperial] factions created an environment in which city-states could emerge and expand as the two major powers weakened each other

A unique urban rich emerged in Italy comprised of the local nobility and new rich

Five major city-states evolved: the duchy of Milan, the republics of Florence and Venice, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples

Social Class and Conflict


(RS = Renaissance) Florence as an example of social division and anarchy

Four social groups of Florence

Grandi—the old rich, or nobles and wealthy merchants who traditionally had ruled the city

Popolo grosso (“fat people”)—the newly rich merchant class, capitalists and bankers, who began to the old rich for political powers

Middle-burgher ranks of guild masters, shop owners, and professionals, the smaller businesspeople, who tended to side with the new rich against the conservative policies of the old rich

Popolo minuto (“little people”)—the lower economic classes

Popolo Minuto (“little people”)—the lower economic classes

Paupers—in 1457, one-third the population of Florence, was officially listed as paupers, or having no wealth at all

Ciompi Revolt—a great uprising of the poor that occurred in Florence in 1378

Three reasons that made life unbearable for the lower classes

feuding between the old rich and the new rich

social anarchy created when the Black Death cut the city’s population almost in half

the collapse of the great banking houses of Bardi and Peruzzi

the revolt established a chaotic four-year reign of power by the lower Florentine classes; stability did not return to Florence until the rise of the Medici family in 1434

Despotism and Diplomacy

Florence and the Medici Family

Cosimo de’ Medici, the wealthiest Florentine and natural statesmen, controlled the Florence from behind the scenes by manipulating the constitution and manipulating elections

Signoria—a council of first six and later of eight members governed the city; these men were chosen from the most powerful guilds, mainly those representing the major clothing industries (cloth, wool, fur, and silk) and such other groups as bankers, judges, and doctors

Despotism in Florence

Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruled Florence in a totalitarian fashion during the last quarter century of the fifteenth century

Lorenzo’s brother had been assassinated by a rival family, the Pazzi, who had long plotted with the pope against the Medicis which made Lorenzo a cautious ruler

Despotism throughout Renaissance Italy

Oligarchies, or a small group of wealthy elites, hired strongmen, or despots, known as podesta to maintain law and order

Podesta held executive, military, and judicial authority, and had the task of maintaining the normal flow of business activity in the city state by whatever means necessary

Condottieri—military brokers who sent mercenary armies who were hired by the despots of the different city-states; since the despots could not rely on the loyalty of their divided populaces to serve as soldiers, they relied on mercenaries who they contracted through condottieri

Some despots, like the Visconti and Sforza families in Milan, came to rule their respective city-states free from interference from oligarchies

Political turbulence and warfare of the Renaissance period gave rise to the art of diplomacy and many despots established resident embassies and appointed ambassadors to other powerful city-states and nations

Humanism

Scholars debate over the meaning of the term humanism


(RS = Renaissance) humanism is the birth of modernity, driven by an anti-Christian philosophy that stressed the dignity of humankind, individual, and secularism

humanists as the champions of Catholic Christianity, opposing the pagan teachings of Aristotle

humanism is a form of historic scholarship adopted to promote a sense of civic responsibility and political liberty

Paul Kristellar, a famous historian, believes that humanism was not philosophy or value system, but an educational program built on rhetoric and scholarship

Most scholars agree that humanism was the scholarly study of Latin and Greek classics and of the ancient Church Fathers, both for its own sake and in the hope of reviving ancient norms and values

Humanists advocated the studia humanitatis, a liberal arts program of study embracing , rhetoric, poetry, history, politics, and moral philosophy

First humanists were orators and poets, wrote literature in classical languages and vernacular, taught rhetoric and grammar at universities, and worked at princely courts as secretaries, speechwriters, and diplomats

Humanists ideas were spread throughout Italy when the Byzantine, Greek scholar Chrysoloras took a position as the head of classical learning at a university in Florence

Early humanists

Francesco Petrarch—the father of humanism

Wrote personal letters to Cicero, Livy, Virgil, and Horace

Wrote a Latin Epic poem, Africa, a tribute to a Roman general, and biographies of famous Roman men

Sonnets to Laura remains his most famous work

Classical and Christian values coexist in his works

Dante Alighieri

Wrote Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy which were far less secular than Petrarch’s works

Giovanni Boccaccio

Wrote Decameron, a collection of one hundred tales told by three men and seven women in a country retreat away from plague-ravaged Florence; it is a social commentary about sexual and economic misconduct as well as a sympathetic look at human nature

Educational Reforms and Goals

Pietro Paolo Vergerio wrote On the Morals That Befit a Free Man which is the most influential tract on education which encouraged the ideal of a useful education and explained that well-rounded people inspired far-reaching reforms in traditional education

Baldassare Castiglione’s Book of Courtier was written for the nobility at the court of Urbino, a small duchy in central Italy; it provided humanists guidelines for the standard of education and etiquette to which a member of court ought to aspire

Christine de Pisan wrote many poems, but most notably The Treasure of the City of Ladies, which was a chronicle of the accomplishments of the great women of history

The Florentine Academy and the Revival of Platonism

Unlike their medieval predecessors who embraced Aristotle, Renaissance scholars embraced the Greek scholar Plato

Platonism appealed to Renaissance scholars due to its flattering view of human nature

Platonism distinguished between an eternal sphere of being and the perishable world in which humans actually lived

Cosimo de Medici provided the patronage to create the Florentine Platonic Academy

The academy was not actually a school, but rather an informal gathering of Renaissance humanists devoted to the revival of Plato and Neoplatonists

Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola supervised the academy


(RS = Renaissance) Pico’s Oration on the Dignity of Man is perhaps the most famous Renaissance statement on the nature of humankind—the study of

human nature, the predecessor to modern psychology, was first studied by Renaissance humanists

Oration depicts human beings as the only creatures capable of controlling their own destiny—capable of rising to the level of angels but also just as quickly wallowing with pigs

Critical Work of the Humanists: Lorenzo Valla

Sometimes unintentionally, humanists works—like those of Valla—were critical of longstanding traditions like the Catholic Church

Valla’s Elegances of the Latin Language revealed that a document titled Donation of Constantine, purported to be a grant of vast territories that the Roman emperor Constantine donated to the Pope during the fourth century, was fraudulent

Valla used textual analysis and historical logic to prove that the document had been written in the eighth, rather than the fourth, century

Less than a century later, Valla became a hero to Protestant reformers

Civic Humanism emerged out of the belief that education—unlike that provided by scholastics—should promote individual virtue and public service

Three famous civic humanists were Coluccio Salutati, Leonardo Bruni, and Poggio Bracciolini who used their rhetorical skills to rally the Florentines against the aggression of Naples and Milan

Renaissance Art

New themes and techniques

In Renaissance Italy the values of interests of the laity were no longer subordinate to those of the clergy and the laity established models in education and culture for the clergy to emulate

This happened due to the loss of international power of the Church in the late Middle Ages when the rise of national sentiments and national bureaucracies—staffed by laymen rather than clerics—took a leadership role in the rapid expansion of lay education

Medieval Christian values were adjusted to a more this worldly spirit

Renaissance art embraced the natural world and human emotions and gave their work a rational, even mathematical, order—perfect symmetry and proportionately reflecting a belief in the harmony of the of universe

Availability of oil paints improved the quality of paintings

Chiaroscuro, the use of shading to enhance naturalness, and linear perspectivism, the adjustment of the size of figures to give the viewer a three-dimensional sense of the painting, equipped artists with the ability to create realistic paintings

Early Renaissance Artists

Giotto—considered by many as the first Renaissance artist

inspired by his love for Saint Francis, whose love for nature he shared, Giotto painted a more natural world

though still devoutly religious in practice and theme, Giotto’s works were no longer abstract and unnatural like the paintings that preceded him

the painter Masaccio and sculptor Donatello also portrayed the world around them naturally

Leonardo da Vinci

a true Renaissance man who was one of the greatest painters of all time, advised Italian princes and the French king Francis I on military engineering, advocated scientific experimentation, dissected corpses to learn anatomy, etc

most famous painting The Mona Lisa shows his skill at conveying inner moods through complex facial expressions

Raphael

Famous for his portrayals of the Madonna and his frescoes in the Vatican

His School of Athens is a perfect example of Renaissance technique as it depicts Plato and Aristotle surrounded by other great philosophers and scientists


(RS = Renaissance) Michelangelo

His statue David is a perfect example of Renaissance harmony, symmetry, and proportion, all serving the glorification of the human form

Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel were commissioned by Pope Julius II and remains the crowning achievement of Renaissance painting

His later works are more complex and suggest deep personal changes and mark the passing from the High Renaissance style of painting—which valued symmetry and simplicity—to a new style known as mannerism—which accepted the strange and abnormal, giving freer reign to the individual perceptions and mood of the artist

Tintoretto and El Greco are mannerism’s best examples

Slavery in the Renaissance

Slavery developed in Italy in the twelfth century when the Spanish sold Muslims they captured in raids and war to wealthy Italians and other buyers

This form of slavery was perceived as a merciful act by contemporaries as the alternative would mean death for these captives

Slaves were used as domestic slaves and to work on plantations in the savannahs of the Sudan and the Venetian estates on the islands of Cyprus and Crete where sugarcane was grown

When the Black Plague caused a major labor shortage in Italy, the number of slaved soared and were captured randomly and consisted of people of many races including Tatars, Circassians, Greeks, Russians, Georgians, and Iranians as well as Africans and Asians

Slaves became so commonplace in Tuscany that nearly every well-to-do household possessed them

Section Two--Italy’s Political Decline: The French Invasions (1494-1527)

Section Overview

As a peninsula of autonomous city-states, Italy had relied on internal cooperation in the second half of the fifteenth century to provide a united front against outside invaders

Treaty of Lodi (1454) brought Milan and Naples, long traditional enemies, into an alliance with Florence and these three city-states stood together in opposition to an alliance between Venice and the Papal States

if a foreign enemy threatened, the five could present a united front

When Ludovico il Moro rose to power in Milan, hostilities between Milan and Naples resumed

Naples, Florence, and the Pope Alexander VI allied and threatened Milan

Ludovico asked the King of France for help

French kings had ruled Naples from 1266-1442 before forced out by Duke Alfonso of Sicily

Ludovico invited the French to enter Italy and claim Naples but the French soon threatened Milan

Chalres VIII’s March Through Italy

The French army marched over the Alps and into Florence

Piero de’ Medici, leader of Florence who was allied with Naples against Milan, tried to placate Chalres VIII by handing over Pisa and other Florentine possessions

This offering led the citizenry of Florence, who were inspired by a Dominican preacher named Girolamo Savonarola, to exile Piero de’ Medici from Florence

Savonarola convinced the people of Florence that the French were the rightful rulers of Florence

Charles VIII leaves Florence under the control of Savonarola

The League of Venice

Ferdinand of Aragon —hoping to gain land in Italy from a base he established in Sicily—found himself vulnerable so he established the League of Venice with the Papal States, and Emperor Maximilian I


(RS = Renaissance) This set the stage for a bitter rivalry between France and Spain

Ludovico, realizing the fatal mistake he made by inviting France to Italy, joined the League of Venice

Charles VIII and his French army are forced to retreat from Italy due to the strength of the League of Venice

Pope Alexander VI and the Borgia Family

France returned to Italy under Charles’s successor, Louis XII, when Pope Alexander VI assisted them

Alexander VI is known as the most corrupt Pope in history who aligned his Church policies with his personal ambition to gain power and land

Alexander VI openly promoted the political careers of his two sons Cesare and Lucrezia

The Papal States had lost territory in the Romagna during the years the papacy operated from Avignon and Alexander VI aligned with the French king Louis XII to regain this territory

In 1499 Louis XII and his French army invaded Milan and conquered Naples which was split and half given to Ferdinand of Aragon

Alexander and his son Cesare Borgia were supported in their conquest of the cities of the Romagna by the French

Cesare Borgia was given the title Duke of Romagna and this territory became the possession of the Borgia family

Pope Julius II—“Warrior Pope”

Julius’s Wars

Succeeded Alexander VI to the papacy and fought incessantly to place the lands under the control of the Brogia family in the Romagna under papal jurisdiction

In 1511, Julius formed the Holy League with Ferdinand of Aragon, eventually joined by the alliance of Venice, Emperor Maximilian I, and the Swiss; the Holy League was successful in driving France from Italy

The French fought back in 1515 under the leadership of King Francis I and the French won a few quick victories

Concordat of Bologna—seeking to end the French from meddling in Italian affairs, Julius agreed to give the French king control over the clergy in France in exchange for French recognition of the papal authority over church council and the right to collect annates in France

The secular nature of the papacy during the reign of Julius II prompted the humanist Erasmus to write the satire Julius Excluded from Heaven

Niccolo Machiavelli

He lived through the tumultuous years when French, German, and Spanish armies wreaked havoc on Italy leading him to conclude that Italian unity was needed

He believed internal fighting had led to foreign interference

He was a humanist who studied classical Rome and was impressed by the ability of the Romans to fend off enemies and their commitment to the idea of virtu—to act decisively and heroically for the good of the country

In his book The Prince, Machiavelli encourages rulers to use fraud and deceit to maintain power; he dedicated the book to Lorenzo de’ Medici and he hoped that powerful leader of whom he writes in The Prince would emerge from the Medici family

Leo X, a member of the Medici family, had recently been named pope and this provided hope for Machiavelli’s grand vision

Nonetheless, the second Medici pope, Clement VII, fell victim to Emperor Charles V when he sacked Rome in 1527

Section Three—Revival of Monarch in Northern Europe

Section Overview

Truly sovereign monarchs begin to consolidate and centralize their power unlike the feudal monarchs of the High Middle Ages who forfeited power to semi-autonomous vassals, towns, and clergy

After the Hundred Years’ War and the Great Schism in the church, the nobility and the clergy were in decline and less able to block the power of growing national monarchies


(RS = Renaissance) During this period both townspeople and monarchs worked to create closer ties with each other. As towns became more prosperous, kings wanted to benefit from these

commercial centers in the form of tribute and taxes. Likewise, the towns wanted the protection that could be afforded by the king.

Loyal, business-wise townspeople, not the nobility and the clergy, increasingly staffed royal offices and became the king’s lawyers, military tacticians, and foreign diplomats. This new alliance between king and townspeople broke the bonds of feudal society and made possible the rise of sovereign states

In sovereign states, the powers of taxation, war making, and law enforcement no longer belong to semiautonomous vassals, but are concentrated in the hands of the monarch and exercised by his or her chosen agents

Monarchies began to create standing national armies in the fifteenth century. The noble cavalry disappeared and was replaced by the infantry and artillery

France

Charles VII (1422-1461)

created a permanent professional army in France

he used the expertise of an independent merchant-banker named Jacques Coeur to build a strong economy, diplomatic corps, and national administration for France

Louis XI (1461-1483)

During his reign, the English Empire in France ended when the English were slowly—but steadily—forced out of France during the course of the Hundred Years’ War

Burgundy, a duchy in France, had maintained its independence throughout the medieval period. With the death of its leader, Charles the Bold, in 1477, Burgundy was divided by French king Louis XI and Habsburg emperor Maximilian I

Louis XI ended his reign as king with nearly double the land holdings he inherited when he came to the throne

he established a national postal system, expanded trade and industry, and developed a lucrative silk industry

Louis XI’s successors, however, made poor foreign policy decisions. For example, France suffered from losing conquests in Italy in the 1490s and lost a series of wars with the Habsburgs in the first half of the sixteenth century

Spain

Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon work to Unify Spain

The marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 created a new power in Europe that alarmed both France and Portugal

Although the marriage dynastically united the two kingdoms, constitutionally the remained separate as each retained separate laws, armies, coinage, taxation and cultural traditions

Between 1482 and 1504, Isabella and Ferdinand had conquered the Moors in Granada, made Naples a Spanish possession, and conquered the kingdom of Navarre in the north

They won the allegiance of the Hermandad, a powerful league of cities and towns that served them rather the noble landowners

Spain, once a rare melting pot of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, became a Christian nation as Ferdinand and Isabella made Spain the shining example of a state-controlled religion

In 1492, non-converting Jews were exiled from Spain and their property confiscated; in 1502, non-converted Moors were exiled

Isabella and Ferdinand negotiate marriages for the offspring

Their eldest daughter, Joanna, married Archduke Philip, the son of Emperor Maximilian I

The son of Joanna and Philip, Charles I was the first to rule over a united Spain; with his inheritance and election as emperor in 1519, his empire almost equaled the size of that of Charlemagne

Their second daughter, Catherine of Aragon, first married Prince Arthur, the son of English king Henry VII; after Arthur’s premature death, she married his brother Henry VIII; the failure of their marriage led to the creation of the Anglican Church and English Reformation

Isabella and Ferdinand make Spain the supreme power in Europe in the sixteenth century


(RS = Renaissance) They promoted overseas exploration from which they benefitted when Columbus landed in the Caribbean Islands while searching for a shorter route to the Far

East.

They created the Spanish Empire in Mexico and Peru whose gold a silver mines helped make Spain the wealthiest nation in Europe

England

Turmoil in the latter half of the fifteenth century

Civil war broke out between the House of York and the House of Lancaster

The roots of the conflict lay in the succession irregularities after the forced deposition of the erratic king Richard II

The duke of York and his supporters in the prosperous southern towns challenged the Lancastrian monarchy of Henry IV. In 1461, Edward IV, son of the duke of York, seized power and ruled for more than 20 years; his reign was only briefly interrupted by Henry IV’s short-lived restoration

Edward IV’s brother, Richard III, usurped power from Edward IV’s son, and after Richard’s death, the new Tudor dynasty portrayed him as a villain who killed Edward’s sons in the Tower of London

Richard’s reign saw the growth for support of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor, who came back to England from France and defeated Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485

Henry VII consolidates his power over England

Henry Tudor married the daughter of Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, in order to make the throne of England uncontestable

He created the Court of the Star Chamber which took the power of administering justice away from nobles and placed it firmly in the hands of royal courts; nobles were no longer capable of rigging verdicts to promote their interests

Henry manipulated English law to confiscate lands and fortunes from nobles with such success that he was able to manage the government without depending on Parliament for royal funds

Holy Roman Empire

Germany and Italy were the exceptions to the rule when France, England, and Spain steadily began to politically centralize

Rulers in the Holy Roman Empire continued to partition their kingdoms, however small, among their sons; by the late fifteenth century, Germany was divided into over three hundred independent political entities

Golden Bull , an agreement reached in 1356, established a seventeen member electoral college consisting of the archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne; the duke of Saxony; the margrave of Brandenburg; the count of Palatine; and the king of Bohemia. They functioned as an administrative body and elected the emperor

Reichstag was created in the fifteenth century to bring to a halt the constant feuding. It was a national assembly of the seven electors, the nonelectoral princes, and representatives from the sixty-five imperial free cities Section Four—The Northern Renaissance

Section Overview

Scholars of the northern Renaissance created conditions that would help spring forth the Protestant Reformation as they read original Latin texts of the Church fathers and realized many discrepancies to the dominant Catholic orthodoxy

Northern humanists came from more diverse social backgrounds and were more devoted to religious reform than their Italian counterparts

The development of print, or moveable type, gave northern humanists, the Church and state new influence to popularize their viewpoints freely and to a wider audience

The Printing Press

Johann Gutenberg invented printing with moveable type in the middle of the fifteenth century in Mainz, Germany which became the printing capital for all of western Europe

Books were rapidly produced on religious as well as practical topics like how-to books on childrearing, making brandies and liquors, curing animals, and farming

Erasmus

Northern humanists who made clear in his many works that devout Catholics wanted the Church to reform

He prepared short Latin dialogues for his students to teach them good manners of speech and how to live well, but also anticlerical dialogues, and satires on religious dogmatism; this collection of his dialogues were titled Colloquies


(RS = Renaissance) He also published a book of Adages which included over 5,000 contemporary and ancient proverbs

He encouraged what he called philosophia Christi, a simple, ethical piety in imitation of Christ and his apostles

He translated old Christian texts from Latin and Greek into vernacular languages as to be available to more people

In the 1520s a popular saying developed: “Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched.”

Humanism and Reform

Germany

Rudolf Agricola (1443-1485), the “father of German humanism” studied in Italy under the Italian humanists and introduced these ideas to Germany when he returned

Conrad Celtis, the first German poet laureate, and Ulrich von Hutten, a fiery knight, fused humanism with nationalism that spread ideas that were hostile toward people of non-German cultures

Reuchlin Affair

Johann Reuchlin was Europe’s foremost Christian authority on Hebrew and Jewish learning who wrote the first reliable Hebrew grammar by a Christian

Pfefferkorn, a Jewish man who converted to Christianity, supported by the Domincan order in Cologne, began a movement to suppress Jewish writings and Reuchlin came under attack

German humanists, in the name of freedom and good scholarship, rushed to defend Reuchlin

The conflict lasted for years and produced Letters of Obscure Men, a merciless satire of monks and scholastics to which von Hutten contributed

England

Visiting lecturers spread humanism to England

William Grocyn and Thomas Linacre lectured at Oxford

Erasmus lectured at Cambridge

John Colet, the dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, patronized humanist studies for the young and promoted religious reform

Thomas More (1478-1535)—the most famous English humanists (and close friend of Erasmus)

More’s book Utopia, a conservative criticism of contemporary society, rivals the plays of Shakespeare as the most widely read English work

Utopia depicted a society based on tolerance and reason where all property was held in common

More was top advisor to King Henry VIII

When he refused to accept the Act of Supremacy and recognize Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, he was executed

France

French invasions of Italy led to the permeation of Italian humanism in France

Guillaume Bude—a Greek scholar—and Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples—a biblical scholar—were the leaders of French humanism

Lefevre’s work influenced Martin Luther

The future Protestant reformer John Calvin was educated by French humanists

Spain

Interestingly, humanism--the same weapon used to bring down the Catholic Church in northern Protestant countries like England, France, and Germany—was used to strengthen the Catholic Church in Spain

Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros, advisor to Queen Isabella and appointed “Grand Inquisitor” and Spanish scholar of humanism, enforced strict Catholic orthodoxy


(RS = Renaissance) Founded the University of Alcala near Madrid

His greatest achievement was the Complutensian Polygot Bible in which he placed the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin versions of the Bible in parallel columns

Section Five—Voyages of Discovery and the New Empires in the West and East

Section Overview

Discovery of the Americas expanded European horizons both intellectually and geographically

Mineral and human wealth set in motion the engines of capitalism and trade shifted from the Mediterranean and Baltic areas to the Atlantic seaboard

The Portuguese Chart the Course

Prince Henry the Navigator, the brother of the king of Portugal, captured the North African Muslim city of Ceuta

He was in search of gold, slaves, and also launched missionary efforts here to save the Muslims

Portuguese ships delivered over 150,000 slaves to Europe in the second half of the fifteenth century

Henry searched for a safe route around the tip of Africa to Asia’s spice market

Cloves and pepper were the most sought after spices

Prior to Henry’s expedition, a limited supply of spices had been made available by Venetian merchants who purchased them from Egyptian markets or trading posts in the Ottoman Empire

Bartholomew Dias was the first Portuguese explorer to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in 1487

Vasco da Gama sailed all the way to India and returned with a vessel filled with spices worth 60X the cost of the voyage

The Portuguese established colonies in Calcutta and Goa on the cost of India

The Spanish Voyages of Columbus

Whereas Portuguese exploration focused east on India, the Spanish sought a faster route to the east, and access to the spice trade, by sailing west across the Atlantic


(RS = Renaissance) Columbus’ first voyage across the Atlantic took thirty-three days and when he landed in San Salvador in the eastern Bahamas, he thought he had landed on an outer

island of Japan

Not until his third voyage to the Caribbean in 1498 did he realize Cuba was not Japan and South America was not China

Believing he landed in the East Indies, Columbus called the Taino Indians—who spoke a language known as Arawak—Indians, a name that stuck with Europeans

Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan explored the coastline of South America

Magellan rounded the tip of South America and continued onto the Pacific Ocean where he landed and was killed in the Philippines

Intended and unintended consequences

The Spanish launched a series of wars of conquests, along with missionary efforts, against the native people of the Americas

Gold and silver extracted from Spain’s colonies in America helped ignite a period of economic expansion in Europe and finance Spain’s wars of religion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

American Indian population were devastated by the epidemics of measles and smallpox that the Europeans carried with them while they returned to Europe with a deadly strand of syphilis

Spanish conquests in North and South America left an imprint of Roman Catholicism, economic dependency, and hierarchical social structure, all still visible today

The Spanish Empire in the New World

Spanish Conquests of the Aztecs in Mexico

The Aztecs ruled all of Central America from their capital of Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico city) when the Hernan Cortes arrived in 1519

Cortes arrived with five hundred men and a few horses, was initially believed to be the god Quetzalcoatl by Aztec emperor Moctezuma II, and established an alliance with Tlaxcala—an independent state and long enemy of the Aztecs

Cortes, along with his men and the Tlaxcala marched on the Aztec capital, killing most and driving the rest from the city; he declared this land New Spain

Spanish Conquests of the Incas in Peru

Incas controlled an enormous empire in the highlands of Peru

Francisco Pizarro landed on the western coast of South America with a group of 200 men, killed Atahualpa—the leader of the Incas—and captured Cuzco, their capital

This marks the transformation of South America into Latin America

The Church in Spanish America

Missionaries accompanied the earliest explorers and conquerors and attempted to convert Europeans to Christianity, and brought with them European style of education and civilization

A Dominican missionary, Bartolome de Las Casas was outspoken about the poor treatment of natives; he also believed that conquests was not necessary for conversion

The colonial Church prospered as the Spanish elite prospered by exploiting the resources and peoples of the New World

The Church became a great landowner in the new world as it was given large tracts of land by the crown

The Economy of Exploitation

Mining

Conquistadores set up gold and silver mines—Potosi in Peru

Forced natives to labor in the mines

Agriculture


(RS = Renaissance) Hacienda—unit of land owned by persons born in Spain (peninsulars) or persons of Spanish descent born in America (creoles)-- which were labored by

natives who had little legal freedom and no legal right to move around (similar to the status of serfs in medieval Europe)

Hacienda economy produced food for the mining regions and leather goods used in mining machinery

In Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and other islands, black Africans worked as slaves on the sugar plantations

Labor Servitude

Encomienda—a formal grant of the rights to the labor of a specific number of Indians for a designated period of time

Encomienda was replaced by the repartimiento—a law that required male Indians to devote a designated number of days annually to Spanish economic enterprise

Debt peonage—free Indian laborers were required to purchase goods from the landowner of mine owner, to whom they became forever indebted; this practice lasted well into the twentieth century

Interesting Fact—The native population of Mexico was reduced from 25 million to 2 million

The Impact of Europe

Columbus’s discovery demonstrated folly of relying on any fixed body of presumed authoritative knowledge.

Enlightenment philosophers compared Columbus’s discovery of the New World to the invention of the printing press in terms of their statuses as world historic events

New wealth enabled governments and private entrepreneurs to sponsor research and expansion in printing, shipping, mining, textile, and weapons industry

Whenever possible, entrepreneurs established monopolies

New industries disrupted the traditional social divisions and this made the way for the Reformation by making people critical of all traditional institutions

chapter 10 renaissance and discovery

Documents

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