77

The Transformation and Expansion of Europe

 

OverviewLate Middle Ages, series of disasters Consequences of population increase Expansion of Islam

Capitalism, money and credit

Inventions

Government Taxes Armies

Struggle between subjects and rulers Representative assemblies

Contact with the Far East and renewed Muslim threat

Change in Western Europe

Crisis and Problems of the Late Middle Ages

The Calamitous Fourteenth Century Weather Population increase Peasant uprising in northern France, 1320

Seek a Christian commonwealth Put down by bands of knights

Jacquerie, 1358 Hundred Years’ War Bubonic Plague or Black Death

Began in western China about 1340 Rats Drastic economic, social, and psychological effects

Eastern Europe in the Late Middle AgesByzantium and Orthodoxy Chaos in the Balkans

Schism Spiritual and cultural hold of Byzantium over Orthodox people National orthodox churches Catholic Church regarded as an enemy

Eastern European States and Societies Europe divided into two

West: stronger with more highly developed countries East: weaker and less highly developed countries

Colonization and immigration German colonists into Poland and Hungary Jews fleeing eastward

Conflict Teutonic Knights

SerfdomMongols, Tartars, and Russia Asiatic attack

Ghenghis Khan, Mongols Batu Khan Kiev and Russia

The Mongol Empire

The Turks in EuropeArrive in Europe in 1352

Conquest of the Bulgarians and Serbs

Fall of Constantinople, 1453

Brought unity and peace to the Balkans

Religious freedom Non-Muslims had second-class status Conversions

Greek upper class Greek patriarchs and bishops held religious and worldly

power throughout the Balkans

The New EconomyThe Birth of Modern Capitalism Italian merchants lead the revival of trade in the

eleventh century Reinvestment of surplus Expansion of trading activities Hanseatic League Antwerp and Bruges

Innovations in Business Organization After 1200: throw off the shackles of the guilds Partnership

Woolens Industry “Putting-out,” or “domestic” system

The Rise of Banking and BankersEconomy geared to tradeUse of coinsBill of ExchangeBanking Successful merchants

Money lending Usury Jews

Christian banking Italian merchants, Florence Jacques Coeur Jacob Fugger

The Impact on Social Structure and Values

The End of Serfdom in Western Europe Disrupted relationship between the nobles and peasants

Nobles rent out their demesnes to free tenants Services converted into money payment

Emancipation of the serfs Serfdom disappeared in England by 1500

The Challenge to Medieval Values Dislocations in society led to dislocations in ethics

Pride, envy, and greed now regarded as the main- springs of economic life

The Church succumbed to materialism Emergence of the bourgeois, or middle class

The New TechnologyExposure to the technology of the Arabs and the Far EastNavigation Charts

Navigation and Ship Design Magnetic compass – China Astrolabe – Arabs Carrack – three masted ship

Firearms Gunpowder – China

“Fire-pots” or “tubes” (canones) Bronze cast cannons

Paper and woodcut printing Black printing did not catch on until Johann Guttenberg developed

it about 1450 Reduced the cost of printing allowing for the publishing cheaply

of books Mechanical clock

The New PoliticsGovernment

Use of money Levy tariffs on trade

New Developments in warfare Past use of knights New weapons equalized foot soldiers and horsemen

Longbow Pike Cannon Combined forces of infantry, cavalry, and artillery

Nobles still the leaders in society and government

Absolutism in Practice: ItalyCity-States and the Rise of Despotism Italian city-state Struggle between the pope and Holy Roman emperors Localism Struggle between rival states in north Italy Three leading states – Venice, Milan, Florence By the end of the thirteenth century most of the cities had won self-rule

from the feudal nobility and emerged as sovereign republics Emergence of political strongmen, supported bankers and capitalists Despots Condottieri Francesco Sforza, ruler of Milan in 1540 Florence in the hands of the Medici beginning in 1434 Venice

Despotism in Central and Southern Italy Papal States Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Fifteenth-Century Italy

The Theory of Absolutism: Machiavelli

Need for unified absolute governmentDespotic rule put down internal dissension in Milan and FlorenceThe Secularization of the State Thomas Aquinas

Temporal power is invested by God in the people as a whole who delegate it to suitable persons

State receives its authority from God (through the people) and must exercise the power for Christian purposes and in a Christian manner

Machiavelli Modern view of politics and the state Blamed papacy for keeping Italy divided Removed politics from Christian theology and placed it in the

secular world

The Pursuit of State Power The Prince seeks to achieve and maintain a strong state. Machiavelli regarded Italians as corrupt beyond

correction Use of the military to keep strength “Lion and the fox” Princes should never reveal true motives and methods

Building the National Monarchies: Unification of Spain

Spain unified through the marriage of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469

Broke the independence of feudal lords

France: The Monarchy & the NationHundred Years’ War, 1338-1453 Edward III of England laid claim to the throne of France

England triumphed by 1420 and most of France north of the Loire River was given to Henry V, now the English King Joan of Arc, 1429Charles VII Estates-General of France summoned in 1439 Taille Eliminated feudal officeholders and replaced them with royal

administrators recruited from the nobility Estates-General never developed into a constitutional body due to class

and sectional rivalriesLouis XI Duchy of Burgundy gained in 1477

Independence of the French Clergy Self-governing “Gallican” Church Declaration of administrative independence in 1438 King has the right to appoint French bishops and abbots

England: The King and Parliament

Magna Carta, 1215

Edward I held “Model Parliament” 1295 Evolution into two chambers Approved new revenues Determines the line of succession

Defeat by France in Hundred Years’ War War of the Roses Henry VII

The Eclipse of the Universal Empire: Germany and the Habsburgs

Germany was a patchwork of hundreds of fiefs

“Electors,” seven in number

Hapsburgs Emperor Charles V

A large empire of political and military problemsDivided his lands into west & east when he

abdicated in 1556

Europe in 1526

The New GeographyCapitalism and materialism provided incentives for exploration and empire buildingResponse to IslamThe Impulse to Overseas Expansion

Crusades had carried Europeans to the Middle East and excited curiosity

Wider Horizons Mongols Marco Polo Mali, Africa

Venice’s Monopoly and the Muslim Threat Impact of the Black Death Venice – eastern Mediterranean Genoa – western Mediterranean

New Routes to the EastDesire for the luxuries of the Orient

Eliminate the middleman profits of Venice Paid for with the gold of West Africa

Two routes to the Indian Ocean West to China South down the coast of Africa Hope to find riches to strengthen the economic

base, power, and glory Seeking an ally against Islam

The Voyages of European DiscoveryPortugal and the African Route Occupy the Madeira Islands and Azores Vasco da Gama, 1498, down the coast of Africa

Spain and the Atlantic Route Christopher Columbus

Proposal to sail west rejected by many nations Support of Queen Isabella of Spain in 1492 Bahamas Islands Three more voyages

The “New World” and the Pacific Ocean Amerigo Vespussi Demarcation Line of the Treaty of Tordesillas Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Ferdinand Magellan Giovanni da Verrazano

European Explorers and Empires, 1492-1534

The Colonial EmpiresThe Portuguese in the Far East Vasco da Gama to Calicut, India, 1498 Portuguese had naval bases and trading stations from western

Africa to the Far East by 1530 – Portugal now dominated trade between Europe and the East

The New World Empires Hernando Cortéz in Mexico, 1519-1521, against the Aztecs Francisco Pizarro

Peru controlled by Spain,1534

The Newcomers: England, France, and Holland Eager for profits overseas Three states dominated commercial trade by 17th century Wars of the 18th century were worldwide, being fought overseas

as well as in Europe

Overseas Consequences of Europe’s Expansion

Clash of the Old World and the New World

Exploitation

Christianization

Spain brought “Rome” to the New World Organized new cities, towns, churches and missions,

plantations, and industries Native people as “wards”

Destroyed native civilization

Portugal begins developing Brazil after 1600

Asia: The Limits of European Power Impact of the West on Asia was at first hardly

noticeable Unable to conquer and Christianize any Asian territories other than their tiny commercial footholds

and the Spanish Philippines Missionaries

Africa and the Slave Trade Civilization and cultures in black Africa south of the

Sahara could not be destroyed by the EuropeansFirst attracted by gold and then by slavesAfrican population movement between 1523 and

1880s Impact of the slave trade on America and Africa

For Africa, loss of human resources Profits for western countries through the slave trade

Consequences for EuropeEconomic, nourishing the roots of capitalismShift in the geographical distribution of prosperity and powerBritain, France, and Holland became the main trading gateways between Europe and the rest of the world Joint-stock companies

Triumph of capitalism assured by the acceleration of trade and production making it a worldwide systemNew foodsChristianity grows into an intercontinental religionMaterialismWestern civilization became a worldwide civilization

Worldwide Trade and Empire about 1770

Discussion Questions:What were the important events of the fourteenth century and how did these affect the civilization of Europe?What were the changes in the economy and how did this affect both the rich and the poor?What new technology appeared and what were its consequences?What adjustments were made in politics? Compare and contrast the political changes in the nations of Europe.Why did Europe become involved in overseas expansion? What were the consequences of this both for Europe, the lands conquered, and Africa?