Unit Three Notes

WORLD HISTORY, 1450 - 1750

A. REVOLUTIONS IN EUROPEAN THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION

THE RENAISSANCE WAS A PERIOD FOLLOWING THE MEDIEVAL ERA, OR DARK AGES (MIDDLE AGES) IN EUROPE, THAT SAW TREMENDOUS GROWTH. CITIES GREW IN SIZE, POPULATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL NATION-STATES DOUBLED, AND IN SOME CASES TRIPLED. THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE CLASS BROUGHT AN INCREASE IN MONEY, WHICH IN TURN WAS USED TO RECAPTURE AND STUDY THE PAST.

1a. Humanism• A shift began to take shape in the lives of

Renaissance Europeans. People began to see life more as being something to experience and enjoy while being alive, instead of living in constant fear of what would happen when they died, and the possibility of Purgatory, Heaven and Hell.

• Personal happiness and accomplishment began to outweigh serving the Church on a daily basis.

• The Greek and Roman concepts of citizenship and humanity began to shift their attention to celebrating their own human achievements within the scholarly, artistic, and political experiences.

• Theology still played a huge role in the lives of Renaissance Europe, but it was no longer the only role.

• Focusing on the individual’s experience did lead to a reduction in the authority of institutions, like the Catholic Church.

I. A. 1. b. The Arts

• The Renaissance means “rebirth” and began in Italy’s powerful city-states of Florence, Venice, and Milan.

• The Medici family was the wealthiest in Italy, and used their wealth to showcase the art of Michelangelo and Brunelleschi.

• Paintings during the Renaissance depicted human characteristics as closely as possible, often studying autopsies to better understand the structure of the human body.

Donatello (Saint George)

Leonardo da Vinci (“The Last Supper”)

Raphael (“The School of Athens”)

Michelangelo (Ceiling of Sistine Chapel)

Jan van Eyck (Giovanni Arnolfini and his bride)

The Catholic Church recognized the importance of Renaissance artists and their works, and employed the best to paint the great cathedrals and palaces in Europe.

Michelangelo worked from 1508 to 1512, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Dutch and German painters, Jan van Eyck and Albrecht Durer adopted naturalism from Italian Renaissance artists.

Renaissance art focused on religiously symbolic objects, as well as color choices that resonated with the Christian faithful. Even secular artists were employed by the Church, who were all too ready to pay good money to have the best art in their cathedrals.

I. A. 1. c. Western Writers

By the mid-1400’s, the printing press was introduced in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg. Previous to that time, all books were in Latin, and printed by hand, in an exceptionally slow process.

The printing press allowed books to become more available to a greater audience, specifically the middle class, and most importantly, in their native language, not Latin.

The availability of books dramatically improved the literacy rate of Europeans, which in turn created a higher demand for books. The printing business became quite profitable.

Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, became a testimonial for monarchs in Europe who wanted to maintain power.

Books became popular for entertainment purposes, focusing on the daily lives of people, as well as the traditional systems like the military or the nobility.

In the early sixteenth century, Erasmus wrote In Praise of Folly, which poked fun at some of the most foolish political decisions of his time.

Thomas More wrote Utopia, which described an ideal society, where everyone shared their possessions, and all their needs were met.

Both books expressed purely Christian moral guidelines, which More and Erasmus believed people should follow to pursue their own goals.

William Shakespeare is considered to be one of the most popular writers to come out of Renaissance Europe. An Englishman, Shakespeare’s writing reflected the period well because they not only illustrated humanism in its extreme, focusing on the individual characters strengths and flaws, comedy and tragedy, but also demonstrated the Renaissance obsession with politics and mythology of the classical civilization. Remember, many of his plays focused on Ancient Greece and Rome.

I. A. 2. The Protestant ReformationPrior to the Reformation, the Catholic Church

held tremendous power and control over much of Europe. The pope was God’s representative on Earth, and headed the Church.

The main concept was that to get to Heaven, one needed to follow the directions of the Catholic Church.

Selling indulgences kept the Church financially afloat, as people would buy an indulgence, which was just a piece of paper, to reduce their time in purgatory.

During this time, nobles throughout Europe grew to resent the Church’s financial power, and the selling of indulgences impacted the already poor peasant-class. This revealed on a much larger scale the corrupt nature of the Church.

I. A. 2. a. Martin LutherMartin Luther was a German monk within the

Catholic Church who came to argue against the policies of the Church.

In 1517, he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church, in Wittenberg, Germany. Copies of this 95 Theses were quickly made using the new printing press, and widely distributed.

Aimed at the abuses of the Church, Luther pointed out the sale of salvation for profit as one of the biggest offenses.

Luther’s Complaints Church services should be in the native language

of the worshippers, not Latin.Salvation was not given by the Church, but by

God, through grace, and not indulgences.The Church was not God, but an organization

that God spoke through. The pope and the Church could not offer forgiveness, but only through direct supplication to God through Jesus Christ, could forgiveness of sins be given, and salvation received.

The Church reacted by ordering Luther to recant, or formally retract, his 95 Theses. When Luther refused, he was excommunicated.

In 1521, he defended himself and his theses to church leaders at Worms, Germany. After refusing to recant, the Pope Leo X ordered his arrest.

Luther was protected, however, by German nobility that agreed with his theology, and was able to continue to write and spread his ideas from within Germany.

I. A. 2. b. Divisions within ChristianityMartin Luther’s protest against the Catholic

Church was followed by John Calvin, of France. Calvinist doctrine stated that through predestination, God elected people who would accept and receive salvation. For Calvin, all were able to hear God’s message, but only some would accept it, and God foreknew who those people were. Calvin was able to live without persecution in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Lutherans of Germany, and the Huguenots of France, were Christians that had broken from Catholicism, choosing to follow the teachings of Calvin and Luther. In Scotland, anti-Catholic Protestants were led by John Knox, who was forced to flee to Geneva, because the monarchs of Scotland and England were Catholic.

Understanding that the main focus of the Protestant Reformation wasn’t open rebellion, or revolution, but more so a demand for change. Luther’s argument was that Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, should be able to read the Bible in their own language and come to understand what was written in it. This division with Catholicism was founded in that the issue of control over worship and obedience to God was not in the hands of the Church, but within the individual worshipper.

I. A. 2. c. The Counter-ReformationAlso known as the Catholic Reformation, the

Counter-Reformation of the sixteenth century banned the sale of indulgences, consulting more frequently with bishops and parishes, and training its priests to live the Catholic life instead of merely preaching it.

Weekly mass became obligatory.

Out of this reformation, the Jesuit movement emerged, led by Ignatius Loyola.

The Jesuits practiced self-control and moderation, believing that prayer and good works led to salvation. The piety of the Jesuits led to stricter training for the Catholic Church, with higher expectations of morality for the clergy. Many Jesuits were appointed by kings to high palace positions because of their oratory and political skills.

Church officials known as the Council of Trent presided over the Catholic interpretation of religious doctrine and responses to religious questions, such as the nature of salvation.

Those who disagreed with the Church were heretics, and were tried and punished.

Latin was reestablished as the language to be used during worship.

By 1600, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and southern Germany were Catholic. Northern Germany and Scandinavia were mostly Lutheran. Scotland was Calvinist/Presbyterian, and England was Anglican (under King Henry VIII). Small pockets within central Europe and France were also Calvinist, like the Huguenots in France.

This division within the tightly compact European continent resulted in wars of religion.

I. A. 3. The Scientific Revolution

Most people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe, and the sun, stars, and planets revolved around the Earth. This policy was part of the Catholic doctrine, which persecuted those who suggested otherwise.

Those scientists and theologians who broke from the Church on this point, even those within secular society, were often punished.

I. A. 3. a. Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus developed a mathematical theory that asserted that the Earth was round, and that the planets revolved around the Sun, as the Earth rotated on its axis on a daily basis.

Copernicus’ heliocentric theory had some support, but it wasn’t until Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter with his telescope that Copernicus was taken seriously.

In 1632, Galileo published his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World. In it, Galileo showed how the rotation of the earth on its axis produced the rotation of the heavens. His proofs made it difficult to accept the Ptolemaic model, which promoted the earth at the center of the universe.

The Church put Galileo on trial before the Inquisition in Rome for heresy, and he was forced to recant. His book was placed on The Index, a list of banned heretical works, until 1822. While under house arrest, Galileo continued to research and document his findings.

I. A. 3. b. The Scientific MethodThe Scientific Method demanded that one

had to prove what the mind concluded, document it, repeat it for others, and open it for experimentation. Reason alone was no longer good enough. Any underlying principles had to be proven with mathematical precision.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) published works on inductive logic, stating that scientists should gather all the data possible through experimentation and observation, and that through this scientific method proper conclusions would come from this data.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) developed laws of planetary motion, which Isaac Newton used to develop his laws of gravity, inventing calculus to help prove the theories of Copernicus, Galileo, and Bacon.

These scientists developed a scientific method based upon observation, reason, experiment, and mathematical proofs that could be applied to every conceivable scientific inquiry.

Francis Bacon argued that science was pursued not for science’s sake but as a way to improve the human condition.

Science led to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, but it also generated a greater rejection of the church’s rigid beliefs that conflicted with scientific findings.

Many people who left the church either became atheists, who believe that no god exists, or deists, who believe that God exists but plays a passive role in life.

I. A. 3. c. Deism

Deism became popular in the 1700’s, maintaining that God created and presided over creation, but did not interfere in it. God was viewed as a watchmaker, who set up the world, gave it natural laws by which to operate, then let it run by itself. These natural laws could all be proved mathematically.

I. A. 4. The EnlightenmentThe Enlightenment of the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries focused on the role of mankind in relation to the government. Enlightenment ideals greatly influenced the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

Enlightenment thought was created out of an opposition to the idea that all monarchs held authority as a divine right. Spain and France sided with Catholicism, and England, Germany, and Switzerland sided with Protestant reformers.

Out of an opposition to the idea of divine right came the enlightenment belief of the social contract. The social contract stated that governments were formed not by divine decree, but instead were to meet the social and economic needs of the people being governed. Think “Of the people, for the people, by the people.”

The social contract theory reasoned that because people existed before governments did, the governments arose to meet the needs of the people, not the people meeting the needs of the government.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote that by nature, people were greedy and prone to warfare. He argued that the role of government under the social contract should be to preserve the peace and stability at all costs.

John Locke (1632-1704) was more optimistic than Hobbes, believing that mankind was, for the most part, good. Locke believed that all men were born equal to one another and had natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. The primary function of the government was to secure for the people and guarantee those natural rights. If the government ever violated that social contract, then the people were justified in revolting and replacing the government.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788) took the social contract even further than Locke, stating that the government should be ruled by the people, according to the general will, or majority rule.

Enlightenment writers added to the philosophers. Voltaire wrote on the practice of religious toleration. Montesquieu argued for the separation of power among the branches of government.

The Enlightenment impacted the monarchies of Europe, especially Joseph II of Austria, and Frederick II of Prussia. These rulers were still absolute in their countries, but began to allow toleration, improved conditions for the lower class, and more closely address the responsibilities that their leadership required.

B. European Exploration and Expansion1. Exploration or Exploitation?

Because of the Crusades and the Hanseatic League in Europe, created the need for newer and more expedient trade routes on the seas.

Traveling around Africa, at the Cape of Good Hope, began in the late 1400’s by the Portuguese, and later by Vasco da Gama.

Spain wanted to increase its exploration, and financed Columbus’ voyage to reach the east by traveling west. When Columbus reached the New World, he initially believed he had reached China and India. The islands in the Caribbean are commonly referred to as the West Indies, as a result.

From the West Indies, the Spanish ventured north, further west, and south to explore the American continents.

Columbus’ First Voyage, Aug 1492- Mar 1493

Columbus’ Second Voyage, Sep 1493-Aug 1494

Columbus’ Third Voyage, May 1498- Oct 1500

Columbus’ Fourth (and final!) Voyage, Apr 1502- Nov 1504

The Treaty of Tordesillas

By 1494, Spain and Portugal were already fighting over these new ‘discoveries.’

The Treaty of Tordesillas established a longitudinal line (N and S) dividing the New World between east (Portugal) and west (Spain). Brazil became a Portuguese possession, and everything else in South and Central America fell under Spanish control, making Spain both extremely wealthy and a European superpower.

England, France, and the Netherlands began to launch their own explorations of the New World, to get in on the profit to be made there.

Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Balboa, and Ponce de Leon explored for Spain (Florida/ St. Augustine, 1513)

Ferdinand Magellan (1519) sailed around the world, exploring for Portugal. Sailing around the southern tip of South America, he made it to the Philippines, where he died. His crew made it back to Portugal, the first to circumnavigate the globe.

Giovanni da Verrazano sailed for France, exploring the North American coast.

Sir Francis Drake and John Cabot explored for England (1578-1597) looking for a northwest passage to Asia, through modern-day Canada.

Henry Hudson explored the North American east coast for the Dutch. The Hudson River in NYC, and well as Hudson Bay, in north Ontario, were named after him.

I. B. 2. Technology in Early Navigation

During the late fifteenth century, many explorers took advantage of new technologies, advanced mapmaking techniques, and applied them to political and economic goals.

The sternpost rudder allowed for better control of ships, which then allowed ships to increase in size. In turn, this created greater opportunity for more trade and cargo to be transported from Point A to Point B.

Lateen sails allowed ships to sail in any direction regardless of the direction of the wind.

The astrolabe was a portable navigational tool that measured the distance of the sun and stars from the horizon, which allowed sailors to determine the latitude.

The magnetic compass was borrowed from the Chinese, through trade with the Arabs, and gave sailors the ability to determine direction without being in sight of land.

The three-masted caravel was a larger ship with significantly larger sails, with larger provisions for longer journeys across the Atlantic to the New World.

Some of these technologies existed previous to the 15th century. However, the 1400’s were the first time all were utilized in Europe, and aimed simultaneously at exploring and trading with the New World. Leading to competition in trade and colonization, these devices in turn led to further advances in nautical technology.

I. B. 3. The New World

The Aztec and Inca empires became the target for Spanish explorers who continued to look for gold and wealth in the New World.

In 1519, Hernan Cortez landed on the coast of Mexico with 600 men, in the center of the Aztec empire. Because of the Aztec practice of raiding surrounding states for slaves, these neighboring communities were more than willing to help Cortez conquer the Aztecs.

Cortez to the New World, 1519-1521

Cortez advanced on Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, on horseback. The Aztecs had never seen horses before (introduced by the Spanish) and believed the pale skinned Cortez to be a god. The Aztec ruler, Montezuma, offered Cortez a gift of gold, which fed into the Spanish lust for riches in the New World.

Needless to say, Cortez and his men quickly seized Montezuma and lay siege to Tenochtitlan, with the help of firearms, steel, and some good old fashioned disease, for which the Aztecs had no immunity.

I. B. 4. DiseaseSmallpox was the most prevalent disease the

Spanish brought with them to the New World.In 1520, the Aztec population is estimated to

have been well over 20 million. By 1580, it was fewer than 2 million.

Because of superior technology, weapons, and the spread of disease, the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztecs by 1525.

I. B. 5. American Feudalism

The Spanish colonial society in the New World was a hierarchical organization. At the top of this system were the peninsulares, Spanish officials sent to govern the colonies. Next were the crillos, or creoles. These were people born in the colonies to Spanish parents. Next were the mestizos, with mixed European and Native American ancestry, followed by the mulattos, those with European and African ancestry. Last were the Native Americans, lowest in society.

The Encomienda System was a feudal system set up in the five regions of New Spain, each headed by a viceroy.

African slaves were brought to the New World by the Spanish when the Catholic Church complained about the harsh treatment of the natives.

Within a few short decades, both African slaves and natives were at the bottom of the social structure, with no rights at all.

I. B. 6. African Slave Trade

Initially enslaved by the Portuguese when they first began to explore Africa, the slave trade began before transatlantic voyages in the late fifteenth century.

African slaves were forced to work the sugar and coffee plantations, or in the mines, of South and Central America, as well the West Indies.

It was the British that would eventually bring African slaves to their colonies in North America.

I. B. 7. Exchange Between Europe and AmericaThe Spanish and Portuguese empires in the New

World began the Columbian Exchange. The European and African animals brought to New World horses, pigs, goats, chili peppers, and sugar cane. In exchange, the Europeans got squash, beans, corn, potatoes, and cacao.

Unfortunately, with the exchange came disease, weapons, ideas, and people, that were in many cases forced upon the indigenous people of S and C America.

Columbus brought sugarcane roots with him on his earlier voyages, which had originated in India. The growth of sugarcane in the West Indies created massive plantations, which led to the forced labor of the natives, and later, the African slave trade. The silver that was found in Mexico and the Andes Mountains of Peru, also led to forced labor and slavery.

I. B. 8. Commercialism and the New Economy

The Age of Exploration (trading, empire building, and conquest) led to new financial schemes from Europe. As a result, a new business structure emerged, the joint-stock company. Created to pool the resources of merchants, distributing the costs and risks of colonization and reducing the danger for individual investors.

The Muscovy Company of England monopolized the trade routes to Russia. The Dutch East India Company controlled the routes to the Spice Islands (Indonesia).

The theory of mercantilism meant that a country actively sought to trade, but tried not to import more than it exported, creating a favorable balance of trade. The colonies gave its “mother country” (Spain, England, Portugal) raw resources, but did not receive profit in return. Colonists were forced to pay for manufactured goods from Europe. This created resentment within the colonies (Think America) leading to revolt against European nations.

I. B. 9. Exploration in AsiaColonization of Asia did not begin on a large scale

until the 19th century. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, Europeans did trade with Asian empires, but it was on a much smaller scale than with the Middle East, or the American colonies. Following a route around the Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese set up a trading post in western India.

The Dutch set up the Dutch East India Company, becoming the biggest power in spice trading.

China and Japan remained isolationist countries.

II. Developments Within Specific Countries and Empires

Spanish, French, and English monarchies contributed to the development of strong national loyalties, which in turn led to many internal and external conflicts in Europe.

The wars in Europe were either:Religious, between Protestant and CatholicInternal, between monarchs and noblesTrade, disputes between rival nations

II. A. The European Rivals

1. Spain and Portugal

Spain and Portugal were early leaders in Imperial Europe. Under the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain was united under one powerful family. Financing the exploration of the New World, Spain profited from the gold and resources coming from Central and South America.

The grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand, Charles V, was also a Hapsburg, from Austria. Traditionally in charge of the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburg family married into the Spanish royal family, controlling most of Europe.

Charles V, from Spain, later became the Holy Roman Emperor, controlling Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and parts of France.

Spain fought with France for the possession of Italy, and with Ottoman Turks for Eastern Europe.

In 1556, Ferdinand I, the brother of Charles V, became the Holy Roman Emperor, and Charles’ son, Philip II, became king of Spain, as well as Sicily, the Netherlands, and the Burgundy region of France.

Philip II became overseer of the Spanish Inquisition. He lost possession of the Netherlands, in 1581. The northern provinces became the Netherlands, and the southern provinces, still loyal to Spain, became Belgium.

In losses to France, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the British, saw Spain beginning to slip as the dominant power, both in Europe and the New World. Britain and France increased in military strength, and by the mid-seventeenth, Spain held on to Central and South America, but little else.

II. A. 2. England

King Henry VIII (1509-1547) separated England from the Catholic Church. In an effort to produce a male heir, Anne Boleyn instead gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth I, who would rule England from 1558-1603, in what is known as the Elizabethan Age.

Commercial expansion, exploration, and colonization were large components of her rule. It was during her rule that English settlers landed in Roanoke, Virginia, establishing English dominance in the New World.

James I became king in 1607, uniting England and Scotland. His main struggle was founded in religious persecutions between Catholics and Protestants. The Puritans, who were Protestant Calvinists, refused to recognize the power of the king over religious matters. From this group, the first pilgrims migrated across the Atlantic to settle in North America, in the Plymouth colony (1620). A second British colony was founded at Jamestown, in modern-day Virginia.

James’ son, Charles I, became king in 1625.In an effort to get money from parliament,

Charles I signed the Petition of Right, which limited taxes and made unlawful imprisonment forbidden. Once he signed the document and got his money, he ignored it, and refused to see parliament for 11 years.

In 1640, the Scottish, fed up with Charles I, invaded England. Charles I was forced to call upon Parliament, which became known as the Long Parliament, because they met in London for 20 years (1640-1660).

In 1641, Charles I requested money from Parliament to put down the Irish rebellion, and was refused. He arrested the House of Commons, sparking a civil war. Parliament raised an army, called the Roundheads, to fight the king. Led by Oliver Cromwell, the Roundheads’ army defeated Charles I, tried and executed him.

Cromwell took power, but not as a king. More of a prime minister, Cromwell began what is known as the English Commonwealth.

After Cromwell died in 1660, the English Parliament invited Charles II, the son of Charles I, to become king. Known as the Stuart Restoration (1660-1688), Charles II, a Catholic, acknowledged the rights of the people to worship freely, and agreed to the Habeas Corpus Act (1679), which protected people from being arrested without due process. Following the death of Charles II, his brother, James II, became king.

Unpopular and Catholic, James II believed in the divine right of kings. He was forced to flee to France, a Catholic nation, during the Glorious Revolution, when the English parliament led a bloodless coup. In 1688, James II was replaced by his son-in-law and daughter, William and Mary, who were the Protestant rulers of the Netherlands.

William and Mary signed the English Bill of Rights, in 1689, ensuring that future monarchs of England would be Anglican.

II. A. 3. FranceAfter defeating England in the Hundred Years’

War (1337-1443), the French began to unify and centralize authority under a strong monarchy.

France was largely Catholic, but during the Protestant Reformation, French Protestants known as Huguenots, became a large and influential religious minority.

During the 1500’s, Catholics and Huguenots fought violent battles for control of France.

In 1598, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, which created an environment of toleration in France, thus ending religious violence.

Henry IV was the first Bourbon king, in France, and his family line continued until 1792, with the throne of Louis XVI and the French Revolution.

Cardinal Richelieu was a Catholic advisor, who tolerated the Protestants and helped them in their war against Austrian Catholics, the Hapsburgs.

The Austrian Hapsburgs, as you know, were also a part of the Spanish ruling family, under Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. By controlling this power in Europe, France was able to dominate Spain, during the reign of Louis XIV.

Louis XIV ruled from 1643-1715, leading a lavish lifestyle which glorified the monarchy, and lifted Louis to god-like status.

The War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) however robbed France of an opportunity to dominate both Europe and the New World.

Louis XIV’s grandson, Philip V, took control of Spain, as a result of an arranged marriage, causing England, the Holy Roman Empire, and German princes to form an alliance against France.

As a result, Philip V could rule Spain, but not combine with France. France had to give up much of its territory to England, giving England even greater power.

Louis XIV’s territorial invasions and wars proved costly and ineffective, and by the end of his reign, France’s military power was weakening.

II. A. 4. German Provinces (The H.R.E.)The Holy Roman Empire comprised the largest

area of Austria and the German states. To the north, Saxony, Brandenburg, and Prussia. These principalities were largely Lutheran, following the Protestant Reformation, while those in Southern Germany and Austria remained Catholic.

Under the rule of the Hapsburg family, which was also married into the Spanish monarchy, Catholicism had a powerful hold on the H.R.E.

Additionally, the Hapsburgs had married into the powerful families of prominent Italian city-states, creating a loose alliance of family members from several European kingdoms.

The HRE lost parts of Hungary to the Ottoman Turks in the early 1500’s.

The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) devastated the region and weakened the role of the Holy Roman emperors.

By the early 1700’s, northern German states, especially Prussia, were gaining power.

In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg was designed to bring an end to violence between Protestants and Catholics. It didn’t work, and the Thirty Years’ War began in 1618, as a result of religious defiance to the HRE (Catholic) in Bohemia.

Although other countries like France, Denmark, and Sweden became involved, most of the fighting was in Germany, and after 30 years of war, the region was devastated.

The HRE lost over one-third of its population, approximately seven million people.

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) gave independence from the HRE, with Prussia being the strongest.

Following the Peace of Westphalia, the HRE last another 150 years, before it was ended by Napoleon Bonaparte, 1806.

Centered in Berlin, the largest success of the Thirty Years’ War was Prussia, which also controlled parts of Poland.

II. B. RussiaWhen the Ottoman Turks conquered

Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) the center of Orthodox Christianity moved north to Russia.

Moscow was considered the “Third Rome” (Rome, Constantinople, Moscow).

In 1480, the Russians, under Ivan III, were overthrowing the Mongols.

His grandson, Ivan IV, ruled Russia, establishing an absolute rule. Known as Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV used Cossacks to expand Russian territory.

Ivan IV, ‘the Terrible’

Ruling until his death in 1584, Ivan the Terrible cut down any opposition to his power, including his own son. Since no heir was left to take the throne, Russia’s feudal lords battled for who should rule the empire.

The Time of Troubles, from 1584-1613, as one ruler was killed by another, and then another.

In 1613, Michael Romanov was elected czar (caesar), creating a dynasty that would last until 1917.

By 1689, Russian territory spread to the Pacific, Ukraine, and north to Manchuria.

Michael Romanov

Peter the Great ruled from 1682-1725. He westernized Russia, building its first navy, and formed a new capital at St. Petersburg.

The new capital became a collection point for Western Europeans to visit and exchange scientists, engineers, architects, and artists with Russia.

Catherine the Great, ruling from 1762-1796, brought more enlightened policies of education and western culture to Russia. Catherine aggressively expanded, in Poland and the Black Sea region, allowing access to the Mediterranean Sea.

Peter the Great

Catherine the Great

Russia

II. C. Islamic Empires1. Ottoman Empire:

The Muslim Empire began to form in Anatolia (eastern Turkey), under Osman Bey. It challenged the Byzantine Empire, a Christian Orthodox empire, and by 1453, the Ottoman Empire invaded Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire.

The Ottomans renamed Constantinople ‘Istanbul’, and converted Christian cathedrals into Muslim mosques.

The Ottomans conquered Greece, eastward to Persia, south to Egypt and all of North Africa.

Invading Hungary, and parts of eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire was stopped cold in Vienna, Austria, by the Holy Roman Empire, and the German and Austrian princes.

Istanbul became the center of the Islamic world. Their nearest threat came from the east, in modern-day Iraq, from the Safavids, who practiced Shia Islam.

II. C. 2. Safavid Empire

The Safavids were a centralized empire focused on military conquest, stuck in between the Ottoman and Mughal empires. The Safavids presence in a strongly Sunni region caused problems for Muslims that continue to this day.

The Safavids would often ally themselves with European nations against the Ottoman Empire.

II. C. 3. Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire dominated the Indian subcontinent for 300 years, beginning in 1526.

A Muslim leader, Babur, claimed to be a descendant of Genghis Khan, conquered northern India and defeated the Delhi Sultanate, in 1526.

Babur’s grandson, Akbar, governed from 1556 to 1605, and united most of India under a policy of religious toleration. Hinduism and Islam were allowed to practiced openly.

Akbar’s grandson, Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal, as a gift for his wife.

After Akbar’s rule, however, religious toleration ended, and Hindu temples were destroyed, and both Hindu and Muslims were fighting one another in India.

The arrival of Europeans in India brought change, as well. The British East India Company, by 1661, controlled much of Bombay (Mumbai). By 1750, under Queen Victoria, Great Britain controlled all of India’s coastal cities. It was the beginning of the end for the Mughal Empire.