The Transformation of Europe

1. The Transformation of Europe

2. Before We Get Started • Europe experienced enormous religious, political, commercial, and scientific upheavals in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that produced the extensive global expansion by Europeans that we see in later centuries.

3. The Fragmentation of Western Christendom • Martin Luther • German Catholic monk and teacher who began protesting against the Catholic Church’s teaching of indulgences • Later protested priestly authority and the practices of the Pope. • Advocated a non – Latin bible for people to read • Teaching spread like wildfire because of the printing press • Most German states adopted these protestant teachings and disavowed the Catholic church

4. The Fragmentation of Western Christendom • Henry VIII • English monarch who separated from the Catholic church so that he could divorce his Spanish wife who was only bearing daughters. • Established himself as the head of the Anglican Church but changed little about church practices. • Successors adopted the more protestant practices advocated by Martin Luther. • John Calvin • Taught a very strict form of Protestantism called Calvinism that became popular in the areas of Holland and Belgium

5. The Catholic Reformation • Catholics responded to the Protestants by reexamining their doctrine and practices. • Council of Trent – Series of meetings over the course of 18 years in the early 1500s of high ranking Catholic officials. • Purpose was to cleanse the church of abuses while investing more into spiritual commitment with the hope of persuading lapsed Catholics to return to the church. • Ignatius Loyola was influential in this missionary process

6. The Fragmentation of Western Christendom • Witch-Hunts and Religious Wars • Wars • French Catholics and Huguenot Protestants fought for control of the French Monarchy for thirty-six years. • Thirty Years’ War – Fought on German soil but engaged most European countries in some way. • Religious alliances made it the most complicated and devastating war fought on European soil up to that point. • One-third of the German population was killed while no one state proved its dominance. • Resulted in the Peace of Westphalia which granted recognition of sovereignty to each nation and the right to manage internal affairs • Witch-Hunts • Some 110,000 brought to trial and over 60% killed • Many historians believe that the witch hunts in Europe from the 1500-1700s were indicative of the stress and strain of profound changes in a short period of time.

7. The Consolidation of Sovereign States • Ironically, most monarchs in Europe benefited from religious strife. • Established monarchs consolidated power while ambitious opportunists used the chaos to gain power. • Holy Roman Empire remained decentralized and lost its prominence but almost all other countries gained strength and the ability to compete with each other.

8. The Consolidation of Sovereign States • The Attempted Revival of Empire • Charles V • Hapsburg ruler who attempted to reunite the Holy Roman Empire under a centralized rule but failed due to his focus on the Catholic / Lutheran controvery

9. The Consolidation of Sovereign States • While Italian states dominated commercial enterprise in Europe, the new monarchs of England, France, and Spain increased their political power through taxation, control of nobility, and strong centralized administrations. • Monarchs in Spain, France, and England used taxes to increase financial stability (new and higher). • Increased bureaucracy to make administration and tax collection more reliable. • Spanish Inquisition • Used by Ferdinand and Isabel to consolidated catholic power and persecute Jews, Muslims, and Protestant movements.

10. The Consolidation of Sovereign States • Constitutional States • In the seventeenth century, European monarchies began to develop into two distinct types: constitutional and absolute. • Holland and England – Monarchies shared power with representative bodies in a “constitutional monarchy” • In England the “Glorious Revolution” was a civil war in the 1600s that finally brought about a royal family that would share power with Parliament. • France, Spain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia – Held power tightly within the monarchy itself in an “absolute monarchy” • Divine Right of Kings • France – Louis XIV (Strongest example of Absolute Monarchy) • Russia – Peter the Great, followed by Catherine the Great

11. The Consolidation of Sovereign States • The European States System • New European states were much more powerful than their predecessors and this led to more competition and war. • Competition and war, although it drained it drained European resources, strengthened many nations as a whole because it led to the development of stronger and better militaries and weaponry.

12. Early Capitalist Society • In addition to political and religious change, Europe also experience population growth as well as changes in communication and transportation, which in turn lead to changes in the economic and social structure. • Capitalist society developed • Western European countries experienced great economic prosperity while eastern European countries did not.

13. Early Capitalist Society • Population growth and urbanization • Bubonic plague’s fade from European society and increased availability of reasonable priced food lead to population growth and decreased mortality rates. • 1500 – European population was 81 million • 1800 – European population was 180 million • Urbanization occurred as a result

14. Early Capitalist Society • Early Capitalism and Protoindustrialization • Population growth and rapid urbanization fostered extraordinary economic growth which coincided with the emergence of capitalism • Capitalism – An economic system in which private individuals provide good in a free market while they bear the costs of production in terms of land, buildings, machinery, tools, equipment, workshops, and raw materials. • Government and upper classes do not direct commerce. • Profit or loss is entirely up to the individual. • Banking systems, insurance companies, and joint-stock companies evolved as a result.

15. Early Capitalist Society • Social Change in Early Modern Europe • Putting-out system – Raw material such as wool were given to family households to spin, weave, and be fashioned into garments. The businessmen then picked it up, paid the family, and sold the goods. • Changed life in Europe by infusing large amounts of cash that were previously unavailable to the peasant classes of Europe. • Again, Western Europe enjoyed great gains and modernized while Eastern Europe suffered and remained somewhat stuck in the past. • ADAM SMITH very influential in Capitalistic theories

16. Science and Enlightenment • The Reconception of the Universe • Ptolomaic View – Long standing view that the Earth was the center of the universe and was fixed and pure. • 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus – Proposed that the sun was the center of the universe with all other planets revolving around it. • Johannes Kepler – Used math to explain Copernicus’s theory. • Galileo Galilei – Used the telescope to study the movement of planets and other objects in the universe to provide evidence to support Copernicus • Issac Newton (1642-1727) – Developed gravitational theories that revolutionized physical sciences.

17. Science and Enlightenment • The Enlightenment • New ways of thinking about society, human existence, politics, and authority • John Locke - Politics • Montesquieu – Politics • Adam Smith – Economics • Voltaire – Politics and religion • France was the center of the Enlightenment as the philosophes gathered in salons to discuss and publish Enlightenment ideas. • Changed America and Europe profoundly and laid the groundwork for revolutions that changed the world.