HIST 110HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS

DECEMBER 19, 2015

What was there in the Early Modern Era ?An overview

Significant processes that shaped Modernity 1. The European Reconnaissance2. The Renaissance3. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation4. The Scientific Revolution5. The new world economy6. The military revolution7. The modern state8. The Enlightenment

Significant processes

(1) The great voyages of geographical exploration and conquest, or the European Reconnaissance.

What may this term mean ? How is it different from “the Age of Discovery” ? What were some of the consequences

of the encounter with the New World ?(2) The rise of the first generation of European colonial empires, or the “merchant empires”.(3) The Renaissance.(4) The Protestant Reformation,

the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the Wars of Religion.

(5) The Scientific Revolution or the birth of the New Science.

(6) A new, Atlantic-centered,

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commercialized economy that acquired global networks.

(7) The Military Revolution and the rise of the modern state.

(8) The Enlightenment.

Preparation for thinking about these processes :what do we know ?

* Symbolic dates for each process* Men or women associated with each of these major processes * Great, symbolic events that were involved* Visual materials that can represent these processes

The European Reconnaissance

May 12, 1492 : Columbus erects the cross and baptizes the Isle of Guanahani (now Cat Island, Bahamas) by the Christian name of St. Salvador [a print from 1590]

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Some crucial dates and events involved

1406 Ptolemy's geography is introduced in Europe.1487 Bartholomeu Dias barely touches the Cape of Good Hope. 1492 Columbus sets sail.1497-98 Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope

and reaches India.1519 Magellan begins his journey around the world

with five ships and 270 men. In September 6, 1522only one ship returns with 18 men.

1577 Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Englandand circumnavigates the globe.

Some historical figures associated with the Reconnaissance

Christopher Columbus (1451 - 1506) - After securing support from the Spanish monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Columbus was the first to explore uncharted seas to the west. In four voyages, he discovered the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Central America, and South America.

Bartolomeu Dias (ca. 1450 - 1500) - Portuguese navigator who discovered the Cape of Good Hope and probably named it. He set the stage for explorers following him to reach India by sea. Dias died at sea when his ship sank in a squall in the south Atlantic in May 1500.

Francis Drake (1540 [or 1542] - 1596) - Second explorer to circumnavigate the globe. Successful pirate who helped break the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of key sea routes. First Englishman to explore the Pacific. Died from dysentery off the coast of Panama.

Vasco da Gama (ca. 1460 - 1524) - Followed Bartolomeu Dias' route to the Cape of Good Hope and continued sailing along the other side of the African continent to the east. Discovered a route to India, defeated the Arab fleet in 1502, and opened the way for Portuguese trade routes to the East Indies.

Ferdinand Magellan (1480 - 1521) - Portuguese explorer who led the first circumnavigation of the earth by sea for Spain. He discovered the Strait of Magellan. He was killed in the Philippines in 1521 and his voyage was completed by Sebastian del Cano (or Elcano).

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European colonial empires

The painting depicts Diego Huallpa, an Indian sheep-herder, discovering the richest source of silver the world has known. It has all of the major players in the early history of the Spanish colonial empire -- the Spanish emperor and the conquistadors, the Christian God and the officials of the Catholic Church, the Virgin Mary combined with Pachamama, the Incan Earth Goddess in the form of Cerro Rico, the Bolivian mountain.

Some crucial dates and events involved

1432 Portuguese navigators discover the Azores. 1441 Portuguese navigators cruise along West Africa.

and re-establish the slave trade.1470-84 Portuguese explorations discover

Africa's Gold Coast and the Congo River.1494 The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world

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between Spain and Portugal for the alleged purpose of spreading Christianity.

1509 Europe launches the African slave trade with the New World. 1511 Portugal defeats the Arabs (Malacca Sultanate)

in a major naval battle at the Straits of Sunda, taking control of the Spice Islands as the center of Far East trade. (The Straits lie between Java and Borneo, now Indonesia.)

1512 England begins construction of double-decked warships. 1534 Jacques Cartier enters the St. Lawrence River.

Land around the Great Lakes claimed for France. 1609 Henry Hudson explores present-day New York

and the Hudson River, and claims them for the Dutch.

Some historical figures associated with the European colonial empires

Prince Henry, the Navigator (1394 - 1460) - Patron of Portuguese exploration. Sent several expeditions down the west coast of Africa to outflank the Muslims, establish trade routes, and spread Christianity. Established a school for navigators in 1450.

Charles I (Charles V) (1500 - 1558) - King of Spain from 1516 to 1556; Holy Roman Emperor (Charles V) from 1519 to 1556. He ruled over a lot of the Old World as well as the newly discovered lands to the west. He was the first king to rule a united Spain.

Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) - Queen of England and Ireland. She supported Drake's voyage around the world. During her reign, the English succeeded in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588.

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The Renaissance

Some crucial dates and events involved

1417-1436 Brunellischi builds the dome of Florence Cathedral. 1435 Leone Battista Alberti completes his book On Painting. 1469 Leonardo da Vinci moves to Florence

ruled by Lorenzo de Medici (the Magnificent).1480 Botticelli’s Primavera.1497 Leonardo da Vinci paints The Last Supper.1497-1500 Michelangelo’s Pieta. c. 1505 Leonardo da Vinci paints Mona Lisa.1508 Michelangelo begins painting the Sistine Chapel.1512 Raphael’s Sistine Madonna.

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1531 Niccolò Machiavelli completes The Prince.1597 Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is published.

Some historical figuresassociated with the Renaissance

Leon Battista Alberti (1404 – 1472) was an Italian author, artist, architect, poet, linguist, philosopher and cryptographer, and general Renaissance humanist polymath.

Sandro Botticelli (1445 – 1510) was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance. His work is seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting, and The Birth of Venus and Primavera now rank among the most familiar masterpieces of Florentine art.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) was an Italian polymath, having been a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. Born at Vinci in the region of Florence, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter Verrocchio. He worked in Milan, Rome, Bologna and Venice, spending his final years in France at the home given to him by King François I.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) was an Italian diplomat, political philosopher, musician, poet and playwright. Machiavelli was a central figure of the political scene of the Italian Renaissance, and a central figure of its political scene.

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564) was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal “Renaissance man”, along with his rival and fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci.

Raphael (1483 – 1520) was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, celebrated for the perfection and grace of his paintings and drawings.

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The Protestant Reformation

Some crucial dates and symbolic eventsassociated with the Reformation

1455 Gutenberg Bible is printed in Mainz. 1516 Publication in Basel of Erasmus's

Latin translation of the New Testament. 1517 Martin Luther nails his Theses to the door of his church

in Wittenberg, launching the Protestant Reformation. 1521 The Diet of Worms meets to debate the freedom of conscience.

Luther's confrontation with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor result in his being excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, and also being declared an outlaw.

1522 Publication in Wittenberg of Luther's German translation of the New Testament.

1526 Publication in Worms of William Tyndale's English translation of the New Testament.

1542 The Inquisition established in Rome.1563 Final session of Council of Trent.1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.1598 Edict of Nantes.

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Some significant historical figures

Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400 – 1468) was a German goldsmith and printer who is credited with inventing movable type printing in Europe around 1439. His major work, the Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible), has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466/1469 – 1536) was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and Christian theologian. Using humanist techniques he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament which raised questions that would be influential in the Reformation.

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas launched and influenced the Protestant Reformation. Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority.

John Calvin (1509 – 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology.

The Scientific Revolution

Book cover of the Tabulae Rudolphiane by Johannes Kepler

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Some crucial dates and symbolic events involved

1512 Copernicus writes that the Earth circles the sun.1536 Publication of Paracelsus's Great Book of Surgery.1543 Publication of Nicolaus Copernicus's Revolutions of the Celestial

Orbits, which sets out his sun-centered theory of the universe.1543 Publication of Andreas Vesalius's On the Human Body.1600 Gilbert publishes On the Magnet.1609 Galileo builds his first telescope.1628 Harvey publishes his book on the circulatory system.1687 Newton publishes his laws on gravity.

Some historical figures associated with the Scientific Revolution

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543) was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically based heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. His book On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the Scientific Revolution.

Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) was a Danish nobleman famed for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations. He built large astronomical instruments and took many careful measurements. He was assisted by Johannes Kepler, who would later use Tycho's astronomical information to develop his own theories of astronomy.

Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism.

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th century astronomical revolution. He is best known for his laws of planetary motion.

René Descartes (1596 – 1650) was a highly influential French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer. He has been dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy”. His influence in mathematics is also apparent, the Cartesian coordinate system that is used in plane geometry and algebra being named for him, and he was one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution.

Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) was a natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, inventor, and early gentleman scientist, noted for his work in physics and chemistry. He is best known for the formulation of Boyle's Law.

Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian. His Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, is considered to be the most influential book in the history of science. In this work, Newton described

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universal gravitation and the three laws of motion.

Some key symbols and concepts of the Scientific Revolution

Heliocentric System. In astronomy, heliocentrism is the theory that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the earth at the center.

Scientific Method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.

Important technical advances, such as the telescope (invented by Hans Lippershey, 1570-1619) and the microscope (developed by the Dutchmen Hans and Zacharias Janssen, by the English chemist, Robert Hooke, and by the inventor, Anton van Leeuwenhoek).

Scepticism. Scientific scepticism or rational skepticism, sometimes referred to as sceptical inquiry, is a scientific or practical, epistemological position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. Scientific scepticism utilizes critical thinking and inductive reasoning while attempting to oppose claims which lack suitable evidential basis.

Quote

Michel de Montaigne on skepticism:“Protagoras saith there is nothing in nature but doubt: that a man may equally dispute of all things: and of that also, whether all things may equally be disputed of: Nausiphanes said, that of things which seem to be, no one thing is no more than it is not. That nothing is certain but uncertainty.”

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The Military Revolution

Dutch town of Breda represents a classic case of the new fortifications associated with the angled bastion and the trace italienne.

The 17th century was an age of almost continual warfare in Europe, and military tactics and technology improved with practice. During the “military revolution”, defensive and offensive advance leapfrogged until European armies were the most effective in the world.

One major consequence of the military revolution was that warfare became increasingly expensive. To fight successfully, governments had to recruit more men and raise more money than ever before. Large armies required the expansion of central government and gave it the power to overcome opposition from local elites (nobles and cities).

Some crucial dates and symbolic events

1648 the end of the Thirty Years' War.1683 the second siege of Vienna by the Ottomans.

Eventually, the 150,000 Ottoman troops were defeated by a Polish/German relief army of 68,000.

1697 the Ottoman army suffered at least 20,000 casualties at Zenta (and lost its artillery and provisions) while the Imperial forces lost only 300.

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Some significant historical figures associated with the Military Revolution

Simon Stevin (1548-1620) applied his knowledge of mathematics, hydrostatics and surveying to the construction of military fortifications.

Cardinal Richelieu (1585 – 1642) was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman. Consecrated as a bishop in 1607, he soon rose in both the Church and the state, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642. He sought to consolidate royal power and crush domestic factions. By restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a centralized state. His tenure was marked by the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe.

Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory. Hobbes is remembered today for his work on political philosophy and absolutism.

Jean Colbert (1619 - 1683) served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving French manufacturing and bringing the economy back from the brink of bankruptcy. Colbert worked to create a favorable balance of trade and increase France's colonial holdings. Historians of mercantilism consider Colbert a key figure.

Louis XIV (1638 -1715) ruled as King of France and of Navarre. He acceded to the throne in 1643, but did not assume control of the government until the death of his prime minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin in 1661. Louis would remain on the throne till his death in 1715. His reign is the longest documented of any European monarch. During his reign, he increased the power and influence of France in Europe, engaging in three major wars -- the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV worked successfully to create a centralized state governed from the capital in order to sweep away the fragmented feudalism which hitherto persisted in France, thus giving rise to the modern state.

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The Enlightenment

Some significant historical figuresassociated with the Enlightenment

John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher. He was an important empiricist who expanded and extended the work of Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes. He was a seminal thinker in the realm of the relationship between the state and the individual, the contractual basis of the state, and the rule of law. He argued for personal liberty with respect to property.

Voltaire (1694 – 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist and philosopher known for his wit and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade.

David Hume (1711-1776) was a Scottish historian, philosopher and economist. Best known for his empiricism and scepticism, as well as his advanced doctrines of naturalism and material causes.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) was a major philosopher and literary

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figure of the Enlightenment whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and the development of liberal, conservative and socialist theory.

Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was a French founder of the Encyclopédie, speculated on free will and attachment to material objects, contributed to the theory of literature.

Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783) was a French mathematician and physicist, one of the editors of Encyclopédie.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher and physicist. He established critical philosophy on a systematic basis, proposed a material theory for the origin of the solar system, and wrote on ethics and morals. He was influenced by Hume and Isaac Newton. He was an important figure in German Idealism, and important to the work of Fichte and Hegel.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was an Irish parliamentarian and political philosopher, best known for pragmatism, considered important to both liberal and conservative thinking.

Some key symbols of the Enlightenment

* Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements and revisions in 1772, 1777 and 1780 and numerous foreign editions and later derivatives. Its introduction, “the Preliminary Discourse”, is considered an important exposition of Enlightenment ideals. The Encyclopédie's self-professed aim was “to change the way people think.” Denis Diderot explained the goal of the project as : “All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings.”

* Dare to know !

Kant's opening paragraph of the essay, “What is Enlightenment?” is a much-cited definition of the Enlightenment:

Enlightenment is man's emergence from self imposed immaturity for which he himself was responsible. Immaturity and dependence are the inability to use one's own intellect without the direction of another. One is responsible for this immaturity and dependence, if its cause is not a lack of intelligence, but a lack of determination and courage to think without the direction of another. Sapere aude! Dare to know! is therefore the slogan of the Enlightenment.

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