how did we get a renaissance? · why italy? • geographically ... • edmund spenser – leading...

How did we get a Renaissance?The late Middle Ages—1300 – 1453• Black Death 1348-1359

• Left 2/5ths of the population dead• France vs. England

• Hundred Years’ War 1337-1453• English king Edward III asserted claim to French

throne after French King Charles IV• 68 years of peace, and 44 of war

• Papacy moved from Rome to Avignon, France• The Great Schism• 2 Popes• Eventually restored back to Rome as a city state: Papal

States

RENAISSANCE

• The Renaissance was a time of renewal

• Renaissance means rebirth and Europe was recovering from the Dark ages and the plague.

• People had lost their faith in the church and began to put more focus on human beings.

How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance?

• Increased demand for Middle Eastern products

• Stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets

• Encouraged the use of credit and banking

• Church rule against usury and the banks’ practice of charging interest helped to secularize northern Italy.

• New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced.

Why Italy?1300-1600

Why Italy?

• Geographically, Italy’s location opened it up to trade between Europe and Eurasia

• Easy trading gave rise to merchant wealth and rulers

Why in Italy at this Time?• Revival of Commerce and

Town Building was more intense in Italy

• Feudalism had less of a grip on Italy

• Italy didn’t unite• Presence of antiquity was

stronger in Italy than elsewhere in Europe

Major Italian States• Florence

– Oligarchy– Medici family

• Milan– Condottiere -

mercenaries– Spanish empire

• Venice– Great Council

• Doge - leader– Monopoly on spice and

luxury trade

• Papal States– Renaissance Popes

(Italian)– Borgias (Spain) 1492• Kingdom of the

Two SiciliesPoor landSpanish empire

Popolo Minuto1/3rd of Population

Popolo Grosso

Grandi

Middle-Burgher

• Northern cities had free men who competed with the Nobles (Political and economic)

• Merchant guilds and communes (Oligarchies)• Political rivals created an unstable government• The common people (popolo) were heavily taxed and

excluded from government– Frequent uprisings because society made life

unbearable– Ciompi Revolt (1378)

• 4-years of chaos established by lower Florentine classes

• The wealthy and nobles would gain back control by using the Condottieri (military leaders)

• The wealthy acted like nobles and created courts

Renaissance Society• Northern Italy: Very urban• Southern Italy: Rural land for farming

and villages• Very family-oriented society• Marriages were frequently arranged

to strengthen business ties• Father’s authority over his family• Some wealthy women played an

important role in Italian city-states• --Isabella d’Este of Mantua

• Concentration of wealth among great families

• -- “popolo grosso”

Renaissance Politics• Same pattern and problems as those of the Greek city-

states• Shift from republicanism (1300s) to despotism (1400s)

• Despotism: absolute rule | podesta• “hired” by their city to maintain LAW AND ORDER

• De’Medici Family (Florence)• Visconti (1278) and Sforza (1450)

• Inter-city warfare led to new advances in diplomacy• “balance of power”

• Signoria• 8 members

• Condottieri • Mercenary armies aided despot’s rule

Political Ideas of the RenaissanceNiccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli believed:

“One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit”

Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for the acquisition and maintenance of power by absolute rule.

He felt that a ruler should be willing to do anything to maintain control without worrying about conscience.

• Better for a ruler to be feared than to be loved• Ruler should be quick and decisive in decision

making• Ruler keeps power by any means necessary• The end justifies the means• Be good when possible, and evil when necessary

How did classical knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans foster humanism in the

Italian Renaissance?

Humanism

• Celebrated the individual

• Stimulated the study of Greek and Roman literature and culture

• Was supported by wealthy patrons

Renaissance Education and Philosophy

• Humanistic age• Various types of humanism• Great fervor displayed in

finding and collecting old documents

• Leads to critical examination of documents--Lorenzo Valla

• Education produces moral uplift—CIVIC HUMANISM

Renaissance Education and Philosophy (cont)

• A true liberal education• Humanist education for

women• Love for the study of history

most of all• A Greek language fad after

1454—wrote in vernacular• Petrarch (1304-1374): the

Father of Italian Renaissance humanism

• Focus on the individual and his dignity

Renaissance Education and Philosophy (cont)

• First influenced secondary education

• Extreme vanity of Renaissance scholars

• The importance of law and rhetoric in Renaissance education

• Classical political ideals were cultivated

• Knowledge needed to be useful

Renaissance Philosophy (cont)

• Renaissance philosophy flourishes during Greek revival after 1450

• Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)• The teachings of

Hermeticism• Giovanni Pico Mirandola

(1463-1494)--Oration on the Dignity of Man

Northern Renaissance

• Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas.

• Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity.

• The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas.

Northern Renaissance writers

• Erasmus—The Praise of Folly (1511)

• Sir Thomas More—Utopia (1516)

• Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular subjects


• The Kings and Queens of Europe brought in the great artists and scholars

• Trade and travel to Italy – people were educated in Italy -exploration

Renaissance in Germany and Low Countries

• Printing press w/ moveable type– Johannes Gutenberg– 1456 - the Bible– Rapid spread of

knowledge

• Christian Humanism– Unite classical learning w/ Christian

faith – Church encouraged Bible study

– This is different from the Italian Renaissance/ Humanism

Flemish Painting• Jan and Hubert van

Eyck– First to use oil paints– The Adoration of the

Lamb– Giovanni Arnolfini and

His Bride

• Peter Brueghel– Earthly and lively activities of

peasants– Peasant Wedding– Children’s Games

German Painting

• Albrecht Durer–Mastery of

expression–Woodcuts–Self-Portrait

• Hans Holbein the Younger– Portraits

• Henry VIII• Erasmus• Thomas More• The Ambassadors

Elizabethan Literature• Edmund Spenser

– Leading poet• Christopher Marlowe

– playwright– Brief career– Doctor Faustus

• William Shakespeare– Most famous playwright

• Thomas More– Utopia – beneficent

government

Spanish Renaissance

• Miguel de Cervantes– Don Quixote

• El Escorial – King’s Palace

• El Greco

Mannerism (1520-1600) – The artists did not focus on nature,

more on style

El Greco, ResurrectionTintoretto, The Last Supper

France

• Black Death and 100 years war left France depopulated

• Charles VII revived the monarchy, expelled the English, strengthened finances thru salt and land taxes.

• Charles VII created the first permanent royal army

• Concordant of Bologna (1516) – Frances I and Pope Leo X agreed to allow French kings to appoint bishops – set church policies

England• Decline in Population?• Tudors restored royal prestige, crush power

of nobility, and establish local order• Tudors, except Henry VIII, stayed away from

expensive wars• The royal council was filled with common

lawyers, not nobles – The Star Chamber• When Henry VII dies (1509), England is at

peace, wealthy from trade, and the royals are well respected

Spain

• Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon unite the royal houses, but not the two peoples – Spain not united

• They weaken the power of the aristocracy –excluded from royal council

• They secured the power to appoint biships in colonies

• Anti-Semitic pogroms – 40% of jews killed or forced to convert (conversos)- “purity of blood”

Spain

• Inquisition – Expel all Jews• Hapsburg dynasty continues with

Charles V and Philip II• Charles V – inherits the Netherlands

and Holy Roman Empire• Philip II – Unites Spain in 1580

Spread of Humanism to the Rest of Europe

• The significance of Gutenberg’s printing press

• Explosion of printed materials--By 1500, 40,000 titles printed and between 8-10 million copies

• The impact of movable-type printing presses: research and literacy

Spread of Humanism to the Rest of Europe (cont)

• Popular publications in the early days of the printing press

• Thomas More--Utopia--Executed by Henry VIII in 1535

• Erasmus—Dutch Christian Humanist

Sir Thomas MoreEnglish Humanist

Wrote: Utopia

A book about a perfect society.

Believed men and women live in harmony. No private property, no one is lazy, all people are educated and the justice system is used to end crime instead of executing criminals.

ErasmusDutch humanist

Desiderius Erasmus

Pushed for a Vernacular form of the Bible

“I disagree very much with those who are unwilling that Holy Scripture, translated into the vernacular, be read by the uneducated . . . As if the strength of the Christian religion consisted in the ignorance of it”

The Praise of Folly

Used humor to show the immoral and ignorant behavior of people, including the clergy. He felt people would be open minded and be kind to others.

Spread of Humanism to the Rest of Europe (cont)

• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)--Globe Theater

• Shakespeare returns to classical subjects and genres

• His history plays were the most popular at the time

• Macbeth: ambition• Hamlet: individualism• Keen sensitivity to sounds and

meanings of words

Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy. Education became increasingly secular.

Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation

VS.

Renaissance art and literature focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity.

Renaissance Artists embraced some of the ideals of Greece and Rome in their art

They wanted their subjects to be realistic and focused on humanity and emotion

New Techniques also emerged

Frescos: Painting done on wet plaster became popular because it gave depth to the paintings

Sculpture emphasized realism and the human form

Architecture reached new heights of design

Italian Renaissance Art

• Religious scenes focused on expressions• Holy as human - Humanism• God’s beauty in world• Nude body• Uniqueness - self-portraits

Born in 1475 in a small town near Florence, is considered to be one of the most inspired men

who ever lived

Michelangelo Buonarotti• Sistine Chapel

– Nine scenes of OT from Creation to Flood

• The Last Judgment• David• Moses• Pieta• Dying Slave• Night

Sistine ChapelAbout a year after creating

David, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to Rome to work on his most famous project, the ceiling

of the Sistine Chapel.

Creation of Eve Creation of Adam

Separation of Light and Darkness The Last Judgment

Michelangelo Buonarotti

La Pieta 1499Marble Sculpture

1452-1519

Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Engineer

Genius!

Leonardo da Vinci• First Italian artist to use oil

paints• Mona Lisa• The Last Supper• The Virgin of the Rocks• Religious matter in secular and

humanized fashion

The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci• Studying fossils• Anatomy from

dissections• First accurate

description of human skeleton

• Remained on paper

Notebooks

RaphaelPainter

1483-1520

Raphael Santi • Humanized Madonna paintings

• Sistine Madonna• School of Athens

The School of Athens

Pythagoras

Socrates

Plato and Aristotle

Euclid

Zoroaster & Ptolemy

Raphael (back)

Jan Van EyckPortrait of

Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife

(1434)


Van EyckPortrait of Giovanni

Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)

Sandro Botticelli• Vivid colors• Classical mythology• The Adoration of the Magi• The Birth of Venus• Primavera

Using these two paintings, comment on the similarities and differences between Italian and Northern humanism.

66

Renaissance Ideas That Influenced Exploration

• Most educated men believed that the world was round

• There were certainly stories of other lands, but they were not focused on the Western Hemisphere

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Exploration was partially fueled by the developing ideas of the Renaissance that had been discussed since the late Middle Ages. While most educated Renaissance humanists believed that the world was round, there was little real understanding of the size of the circumference of the earth, nor any reason to believe that a separate world existed in the Western Hemisphere. Stories of the mythical Christian king Prester John who purportedly lived in Africa or Asia, the lost continent of Atlantis, and a Japanese island called “Cipangu” all enticed Europeans to embark upon voyages of exploration. While these stories may have motivated some early explorers, there was no real sense that a new world would be discovered.

Portugal: Africa, South America, Indian Ocean, SE Asia [ da Gama, Cabral, Henry Nav., Dias ]Spain: Americas, Cape of Good Hope [Magellan, Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro ]France: Canada England: Hudson Bay, North AmericaNetherlands: Northeast North America

Age of Exploration• It was an expansion of trade (Asia &

Africa) AND Colonization (Americas)

• 15th-18th centuries

• Spain and Portugal started the exploration, starting with Prince Henry the Navigator

Why?• Exotic goods (silk, spices, minerals, etc.) were

expensive– Trade routes were already dominated by other

empires– LAND ROUTE: Ottomans– MEDITERRANEAN ROUTE: Italians

• 1453—Fall of Constantinople• Spain and Portugal can get around the “middle man”• Europe wanted to trade in Asia, but hated and was

afraid of Muslims in between them.

But really, why?

GODGLORYGOLD

The 3 G’s• God: spread Christianity to the

Americas and Asia• Glory: Sailors and conquistadors

sought to discover new lands and build empires

• Gold: European monarchs sought to gain wealth from finding gold & importing exotic goods

How?• New innovations

– Mercator projection and Cartography

• Mapmaking– Magnetic Compass– Caravel

• Small, sturdy ships

– Firearms

Social Classes & the Spanish

Mestizos

Native Americans

Creoles

Spanish

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Social classes within the empire were very clearly delineated. At the top of the social structure were the Spanish administrators and advisors. The second level of the social class system was composed of the Creoles, who were entirely of Spanish lineage but born in the Americas. These people often held governmental positions or owned wealthy businesses or estates. The next class within the social system were the mestizos, who were of mixed European and Native American ancestry. These people often ran small businesses or developed specific skills or trades. At the bottom of the social system were the Native Americans, who lived a very restricted life, with little freedom or independence. Later, as slavery was introduced along with the plantation system, a slave class was also introduced into the Americas.

Consequences

• Increase in global trade & European dominance

• Columbian Exchange– Permanent trade relationship established

between Europe and the Americas• More available goods at a cheaper price

because of competition

The Columbian Exchange

Plants, animals, and foodstuffs

Migrations and population

shifts

Disease

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The Columbian Exchange was the diffusion of food crops, plants, animals, people, and disease between the Americas and the Afro-Eurasian World. This represented a new degree of contact and exchange between the peoples of the world. There were enormously significant transfers that occurred once the New World had been discovered. Diffusion occurred in a variety of biological areas, including all sorts of plants and animals. People also moved (some voluntarily, others involuntarily), and as Europeans came to the New World they brought deadly diseases (smallpox in particular) that nearly wiped out the Native American population.

76

Columbian Exchange:Plants and Animals

From the Americas:Potatoes PumpkinCoffee MaizeCocoa SquashPeanuts HominyPineapple TomatoesChicle SorghumQuinine AvocadosAlpaca Llamas

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The Columbian Exchange was a profoundly important consequence of the Age of Exploration. The contact between two worlds that had previously been isolated resulted in the diffusion of all sorts of plants, animals, goods, and people between these two formerly separate spheres. Once the initial contact had occurred, items taken back to Europe, for example, then diffused along traditional trade routes and moved throughout the Afro-Eurasian world. This list is full of recognizable items, and the diffusion of some of these goods to Europe had significant impacts. The potato, for example, came to be heavily relied on in Ireland as a basic food staple that sustained a vast majority of the population. In addition, quinine played a critical role in future imperialism in Africa, as it was the treatment for malaria (which had previously kept Europeans from exploring the interior of Africa).

77

Columbian Exchange:Plants and Animals

From Europe:Wheat PigsCauliflower

ChickensRadishes CattlePeas HorseCabbage SheepClover

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Europe also had many things that became diffused through the Columbian Exchange. In addition to new crops, the introduction of certain animals played a significant role in the conquest of the Americas. The horse, for example, gave the Europeans a decided military advantage over the Native Americans and enabled them to conquer them more easily. The Columbian Exchange also involved the unintentional transfer of plants (like weeds), including the clover and the dandelion.

Columbian Exchange:European Diseases

• European diseases• Smallpox, measles,

influenza, and whooping cough

Smallpox victim

Presenter

Presentation Notes

As the Europeans conquered Native Americans, they brought diseases with them—diseases to which they had developed an immunity, but against which the Native Americans had no immunological defense. Consequently, the native population of the Americas was heavily depleted by the spread of those diseases. Perhaps the most deadly disease brought to the Americas was smallpox. European adults had developed an immunity to this disease, but Native Americans had no such defense. Consequently, these and other diseases spread throughout the Americas at a relatively quick rate and took a terrible toll on the native populations in America. In Mexico, for example, approximately 90 to 95 percent of the native population was killed between conquest and disease. By the time Aztecs had been conquered, only one million or so Native Americans were left in Mexico. Some historians argue that the Europeans also brought disease to Europe from the Americas—most notably syphilis—but it did not have the same deadly impact in Europe that European diseases had in the Americas.

Population and Migration

• Population changes• Migration and

colonization• Forced migration

Slaves arriving in America

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Conquest and the Columbian Exchange both had a significant impact on demography and migration. In Europe, the introduction of new foodstuffs helped facilitate a surge in population. In the Americas, the introduction of disease decimated the local populations; however, the total population gradually recovered as European migration increased. Once conquest had occurred, colonization followed. Fueled by a variety of goals, Europeans migrated and settled in the Americas. Colonies formed from Canada to South America. In addition to voluntary migrations, there were millions who were forced to come to the Americas. While there were some from Europe who came voluntarily as indentured servants, much of the work was done by those who had involuntarily come from Africa as slaves.

Development of Global Trade• World connected

by trade• Silver, bullionism,

and mercantilism

Mining in the colonies

Presenter

Presentation Notes

For the first time, true global trade appeared. Items from all continents were now traded and the world seemed to shrink. Broad commerce occurred, and goods diffused all over the world, even if no direct contact occurred. For example, goods from the Americas were taken to Asia by European traders so that merchants there could have access to American resources without having to travel to the New World. Hard metal (like gold and silver) from the Americas was of particular interest for the Europeans and the rest of the world. Enormous silver deposits were mined in South America (first by the Native Americans, and later by slaves). This silver was brought back to Europe (particularly to Spain) to help improve its economic position in Europe and the world. This desire to accumulate silver was based on an economic theory known as bullionism, in which countries attempt to control as much hard metal as possible, since it was perceived as the strongest representation of a country’s economic wealth. This concept was further developed under the economic theory of mercantilism. Mercantilism was the belief that governments should be heavily involved in promoting wealth and a favorable balance of trade by attempting to control as much capital as possible. Spain should have been the greatest holder of bullion, since much of the silver mining took place in colonies it controlled; however, much of the silver flowed out of Spain as payment for debts or in trade, particularly with Asia. Consequently, much of the silver made its way to northern Europe and to China.

81

Triangular Trade• How it

worked• European

supremacy

French seaport at the height of mercantilism

Presenter

Presentation Notes

One specific element of the developing global trade occurred in the Atlantic and was known as the “Triangular Trade.” In this system, the Europeans traded weapons and manufactured goods with Africans in exchange for slaves. These African slaves were then forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean to work in mines and on plantations. The natural resources produced in the Americas were then shipped back to Europe, where they could be traded or turned into manufactured goods that could be used in Europe or traded. The end result of this was that the Europeans came to dominate the world’s trading system. As China and Japan adopted policies of relative isolationism, Europe became the world’s leading trader and power.

Triangle Trade• Atlantic trading -- “Triangular Trade”

– Europeans traded weapons and manufactured goods with Africans in exchange for slaves.

– African slaves were then forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean to work in mines and on plantations.

– The natural resources produced in the Americas were then shipped back to Europe, for trade

How did the Pope keep Spain and Portugal from fighting over newly discovered lands?

Line of Demarcation: Spain tells Pope about discovery. Pope divides non-Christian world between Portugal and Spain so they don’t fight.

Treaty of Tordesillas, (June 7, 1494) agreement between Spain and Portugal aimed at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered or explored by Christopher Columbus and other late 15th-century voyagers.

The end result of the Treaty of Tordesillas was that Portugal was given free rein in Africa and Asia, as well as in Brazil. Spain was given control over the rest of the Americas.

Rise of Monarchy

• New monarchies increased royal power/ authority and decreased power of the church and nobility

• Wealth incurred from the Age of Exploration enriched monarchs and allowed them to centralize their power to strengthen their country.

how did we get a renaissance? · why italy? • geographically ... • edmund spenser – leading...

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