Europe before Transatlantic Travel

Topic 5

Ancient Greece

Valued Reason and deep thinking. Three Great Thinkers:

Socrates – question your thoughts and beliefs Plato – The Republic described an ideal society Aristotle – taught to live based on reason

Athens started democracy; all male citizens participated in the government

Ancient Rome

Roman Republic was another form of democracy

Elected representatives for one year

Laws were kept on display in public places

Believed in innocent until proven guilty and equality for all citizens

The Middle Ages in Europe

Lasted about 1,000 years.

People followed the feudal system

Nearly everyone was Catholic Christian.

The Crusades Series of Holy Wars

between Christians and Muslims in Southwest Asia (today’s Middle East).

Christians wanted control of Palestine and the “Holy Lands”.

Started permanent trade with countries in Asia.

Travel and Growth Technology in the early

1100s made farming easier. Population gets larger. Cities become larger. Travel becomes safer,

Increased trade along a trade route called the Silk Road.

Marco Polo – famous Italian traveller and merchant that brought back ideas, spices, paper money, even spaghetti!

The Black Death Around 1345, the Black

Death is brought back to Europe through trade.

It kills about 25 million! Everything is effected. Workers are scarce, so

they start demanding better treatment and conditions.

Begin seeing trade guilds and a middle class emerge.

The Renaissance

Means “rebirth” Love of education

during this period. Rulers had relative

peace and control. Advances in Art,

literature, science, politics, value of human individuals.

Begins in Italy, spreads across Europe.

Leaders of the Renaissance

Michelangelo – painter, sculptor, architect

Leonardo da Vinci – painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, engineer, mapmaker.

Dante Alighieri – writer Wrote in Italian instead of

latin – BIG step to making education available to everyone

Johannes Gutenberg – developed a printing press with movable type.