Chapter 13: European VisionsThe Atlantic

North Atlantic was home of raiders and sailors rather than traders (8th-12th centuries)

Vikings were the major actors• Were explorers and raiders• Settled new areas and established cities such as Dublin • Swedes (Vikings) moved eastward into Russia• Became more peaceful after 1000

No records of non-Viking activities

Decline of Trade in the Mediterranean

By 950, Mediterranean was “Muslim Lake” but consisted of different cultural zones

Mediterranean now a war zone

Trade continued but was affected by fluctuations in European economy

European merchants frustrated by lack of link from Mediterranean to Indian Ocean

Europeans seek alternative routes

Trade and Social Change in Europe

Guilds/City-States Confront Rural Aristocrats

Trade organized by guilds that controlled wages, prices, production, and job trainingMost were local; exception was Hanseatic League of Germany

• Controlled trade from London to Novgorod• Faded with rise of new states such as

Netherlands, England, and Sweden

Trade and Social Change in Europe

Economic and Social Conflicts within the CityTextile manufacturers dominated some cities

Capitalist traders organized manufacture based on estimates of market demands

Production organized hierarchically with lower pay for tasks at bottom of production process

Women and children got even less pay

Class antagonism led to revolts

Trade and Social Change in Europe

New Directions in Philosophy and LearningRenaissance based on new urban wealth

Church renaissance from 11th century stressed intellectual dimension of faith

• Anselm, Abelard, and Bernard of Clairvaux• New monastic orders sought ties to early church

Intellectual opening to Arab world in 11th century• Links through Spain• Philosophers: Avicenna, Averroes, and Maimonides

Trade and Social Change in Europe

New Directions in Philosophy and Learning [cont.]

University emerged and promoted practical knowledge such as medicine, law, and theology

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) paved way for Renaissance (accepted ideas of Aristotle)

Assemblage of bright minds promoted wide range of ideas, criticism of status quo and its leaders

Trade and Social Change in Europe

Disasters of the 14th Century: Famine, Plague, and War

Italian prosperity brought population growth and strain on natural resources

Rural depopulation followed by mid-13th century

Plague reduced European population from 70 million (1300) to 45 million (1400)

Trade and Social Change in Europe

Social Unrest Follows the PlagueDepopulation benefited survivors with higher wages and ability to buy land

Ciompi (lowest class in Florence) demanded access to guilds, right to unionize, and participation in government

Successes were short-lived

The Renaissance

Motivating philosophy was humanism, the belief that the proper study of man is manAsserting importance of individual challenged authority of the ChurchStrong belief in God tied to belief that God gave mankind the power to shape its own destiny

The Renaissance

New Artistic StylesReligious themes influenced by humanistic and commercial values

• Masaccio, Trinity with the Virgin (1427)• Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (1434)

Florence and Medici family influenced art• Michaelangelo, sculptor and painter• Da Vinci, inventor and painter• Machiavelli, political philosopher

The Renaissance

Developments in TechnologyImprovements in sailing aided merchants

• Caravel and lateen sails• Astrolabe

CannonPrinting

• From China but better suited for alphabetic writing

Decimal system

The Renaissance

Church Revises its Economic PoliciesHad been critical of quest for private profit

• Opposition to money-lending led to Jewish role as lenders and bankers who were segregated from rest of society

Rise of commerce led Church to be more open to commercial practicesEconomic growth in secular city-states of Flanders and Italy

A New World

Portugal situated to lead explorationFirst goal was to gain supremacy over Muslims

Second goal was oceanic route to India

Prince Henry the Navigator, 1394-1460 • Outflanked Muslims by sailing around Africa• Interested in oceanic exploration• Circumnavigated Africa to reach India• Explorations around African coast opened commercial

opportunities in slaves, ivory, grain, and gold

A New World

Portugal [cont.]Bartolomeu Diaz rounded southern tip of Africa in 1488

Portuguese rejection of Columbus’ services led him to sail for Spain and connect Europe to what he initially believed was China

Vasco da Gama made Europe-to-India voyage• Defeated some Muslims and left armed force in India

A New World

Columbus funded by Spanish monarchyUnderestimated size of globe

Larger second voyage not a commercial success

Third voyage confirmed discovery of “new world”

Later voyages of Amerigo Vespucci and Vasco Nunez de Balboa confirm “new world” finding; discover the Pacific Ocean

Magellan circumnavigated the globe

Oceana

Australia largely untouched by European voyages

Abel Tasman circumnavigated Australia for Dutch East India Company (1642)

British sent James Cook and Joseph Banks to Australia (and also Antarctica)

These voyages completed the process of gaining understanding of the globe and its land masses

Legacies to the Future

Participants had different goalsChart the unknownPressure to find a new homeQuest for profitDesire to proselytize the worldLust for conquest and global supremacy

Eastern and Western Hemispheres now connected