Major Events & Forces That Shaped European Culture: 1450 - 1815

1. Major Events & Forces That Shaped European Culture: 1450-1815

2. Renaissance • Intellectual movement that began in Northern Italy. • Focused on the study of Greek and Roman culture. • Led to an emphasis on education in order to fully develop the individual. • Creation of a curriculum that focused on the “Humanities”. • Artists and Writers as Humanists saw their status rise and greater value placed on their works. • Printing Press increased access to new learning.

3. Reformation • The Catholic Church was the only major religion throughout Europe in 1450. • Critics of the Church were silenced and often punished severely by both religious and political leaders. • In 1517 a priest named Martin Luther challenged the power of the Church and introduced his own form of Christianity. • The Protestant Reformation had begun.

4. Reformation • Luther’s success set off a wave of other individuals and groups breaking away from the Catholic Church. • The Catholic Church responded to Protestantism by reforming some of its practices. • Kings that stayed loyal to the Church were given greater control over religious matters in their states (France & Spain). • Both Protestant & Catholic political leaders were now gaining control of religion within their states. • The power and influence of the Catholic Church was slowly being diminished.

5. Exploration & Colonization • The Portuguese began exploring the African coast in the 1400s and reached India by 1498. • Spain began to build an empire in the Americas by the early 1500s. • Other European states soon also attempted to establish trade with the east and discover new lands with valuable resources. • England, France & the Netherlands. • By the early 1600s all of these states had established colonies in various places throughout the world. • A vast array of new and valuable products were now being traded globally with Europe at the center of this trade.

6. Scientific Revolution • By the late 1500s the Renaissance was helping fuel a growing interest in trying to better understand how the world was constructed and how it operated. • Growing trade introduced new technologies and information about science and mathematics. • Gifted scientists like Kepler, Galileo and Newton made new discoveries in physics and astronomy that disproved old theories and church doctrines. • By the late 1600s many people started to believe that science couldanswer all their questions and continually improve society.

7. The Enlightenment • This embracing of scientific thought led intellectuals to apply the principles of reason to all aspects of society. • Religion, Politics, Economics & History were all being examined in a more scientific way. • By the 1700s this development became known as the Enlightenment. • They proposed new ideas on government and rights of individual people.

8. Industrial Revolution • The early industrial revolution began in England in the mid-1700s. • The English harnessed water power to run machines in the first factories. • Eventually steam engine technology was developed to replace water power and by the late 1700s industrialization was well under way in England. • By the early 1800s England was the Industrial manufacturing capital of the world. • Industrialization was beginning to transform European society.

9. The French Revolution • The French Kings were the most powerful in Europe by the 1700s. • Their wealth and power was built on the labor of peasants, workers, craftsmen and businessmen. • 1789 the people of France rose up and overthrew the king’s government. • This began a 20 year process of changing French government & society. • The rest of Europe began experienced the effects of these changes and was never the same again.

10. Europe by the Early 1800s • Science was creating new technologies and making new discoveries. • The Church had lost much of its authority and found it more and more difficult to dictate how individuals should behave in society. • Exploration & Colonization had expanded the economy, spread European influence and provided a more accurate understanding of the world outside of Europe. • The Enlightenment had brought about growing disagreements regarding the purpose of government and the rights of the individual. • The French Revolution introduced the ideas of democracy and individual rights to European society. .