Homework• HW #1 on the Unit #1 Assignment Sheet due Friday

Aim #1: Who held political power in Europe from ancient times until the 18th century, and how was that power challenged?

Do Now• Which of the following periods that you learned about in 9th grade do

you think was the most significant turning point in European history, and why:• The Roman Empire • The Middle Ages• The Renaissance• The Protestant Reformation• The Age of Absolutism • The Scientific Revolution

Rome (2nd century B.C. – 5th century A.D.)

• Started as a republic, eventually became a dictatorship

• Centralized government ruled by powerful emperors

• Strong enforcement of laws (12 Tables)

Middle / Dark Ages (5th – 15th centuries)• Feudal System – De-centralized power (no

strong governments in Europe that could unify people, weak kings relied on nobles for military support).

• Roman Catholic Church becomes the most powerful institution in Europe.

The Renaissance (15th – 16th centuries)

• Challenges the power the Church had during the Middle Ages

• Rebirth of Greco-Roman culture

• Humanism

• Protestant Reformation

Scientific Revolution (16th – 17th centuries) • Also challenged the power of the

Church

• People use the scientific method, logic and reason to investigate the natural world.

Age of Absolutism (17th – 18th centuries) • With the Church losing power, monarchs

centralize their power and claim divine right.• Louis XIV (France)• Peter the Great (Russia)• Phillip II (Spain)

Enlightenment (17th – 18th centuries) • Challenges the power of both the absolute monarchs and the Church.

• This movement argues that problems in society, religion and government can be solved using human reason and logic. Many Enlightenment thinkers will use their reason and logic to argue that people deserve more political rights and religious freedom than the monarchs / Church were providing.

Concluding Question (respond on a separate sheet of paper) • Provide one example of how EACH of the following events helped to

pave the way for the Enlightenment:

• The Renaissance

• The Scientific Revolution

• The Age of Absolutism