Transformations in Europe 1500 1750 Transformations in Europe

Transformations in Europe 1500 -1750

Transformations in Europe 1500 -1750 n As a result of the Renaissance of the 1400’s, Europe experienced an number of effects: n An era of religious reform call the Reformation. n The development of the Scientific Revolution.

Transformations in Europe 1500 -1750 §By 1500, many in the Catholic Church realized that the changing times required changes in religious practice to reflect the new technologies and scientific knowledge. §Roman Catholicism was the largest Christian branch in Europe. §Christianity had split earlier between Rome and Byzantium to produce the Catholic and Orthodox branches.

Transformations in Europe 1500 -1750 n Due to the influx of wealth from the Renaissance and the New World, worldliness and corruption became apparent among certain members of the clergy and Church hierarchy. n Education for Catholic clergy though did not keep up with the changing times of worldly knowledge and wealth, although the Church supported ideas in art, technology, mathematics, and architecture.

Transformations in Europe n Standards in religion for the behavior of Catholic clergy and the general population were not being enforced as strongly as before.

Transformations in Europe 1500 -1750 n The Church had also become more political in an effort to preserve its independence from the state. n As kings sought to become more powerful so did the Catholic Church to defend itself from the power of the monarchs.

Transformations in Europe Although the Church adapted to political and economic changes it did not adopt a theology for the modern times of that era. n Calls for reform were common. n Three main reformers emerge: n Erasmus n Martin Luther n John Calvin n

Transformations in Europe §Desiderius Erasmus was a Catholic writer and Dutch Renaissance humanist. §He wanted a removal of misguided individuals from the Catholic clergy and more practical religious practices based on Catholic Christian teaching. §Wrote In Praise of Folly in 1509; a religious satire calling for a restoration of Church integrity through Christian consciousness and daily spirituality.

Transformations in Europe § 1517: Martin Luther, a German Catholic monk, attacked the sale of indulgences, a practice that became popular at that time for papal fund raising. §Indulgence: a pardon from sin. §Wrote The 95 Theses: 95 ideas he would prove concerning Church reform based upon the sale of indulgences. Among them was the idea that salvation was easier to obtain than the Church practices of his time called for.

Transformations in Europe • Salvation was “by faith alone. ” • 1517: Luther nails the Ninety-Five Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. • Luther caused a split among Catholics and he and his followers eventually broke away from the Catholic Church to form a third branch of Christianity called Lutheranism, or “Protestantism. ”

Transformations in Europe Protestantism owed no allegiance to the Pope in Rome and advocated: § Use of the vernacular in prayer instead of traditional Latin. § Scripture (Bible) was the inerrant word of God and must be read continually by the masses. It was the basis of all Christian belief and independent of papal authority. § The Bible should be a vernacular bible. § A married clergy with no priesthood. § Religion should not be political, as politics will corrupt religion. But politics can and must be religion-based for a strong and stable morality. § Politically, the Church could be subordinate to the state’s laws , but not allow the state to dictate religious doctrine.

Transformations in Europe n It was a way for German nobles to take political and economic power away from the Catholic Church for themselves. n The German nobles, in becoming Protestant, could also take power away from the German emperor, Charles V, who was a devout Catholic. They could achieve political sovereignty in their own realms.

Transformations in Europe n Noble areas would also not be required to pay funds to Rome. n They felt they could have religious salvation and political power too. n 1521: Charles V issues the Edict of Worms to restrain Luther. It fails. Luther is declared an outlaw. Charles’ motives were both religious and political.

Transformations in Europe §Luther’s original aim was to reform the Catholic Church and not create a competing Christian branch. • Luther’s cause was strongly and quickly adopted by the kings and nobles in Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland. Question: Why so quickly would they leave the Catholic Church? It was finally a way to have their power and salvation too.

Transformations in Europe n Protestant ideas spread quickly due to the printing press, of which Luther made use. n Luther’s success was due to 1) the timeliness of his ideas in the humanism of the Renaissance, and 2) the desire of rulers for political power, and 3 ) nationalism in various regions that could not identify with an Italian religious structure. n The cause of Reformation spread quickly in Europe, particularly in Switzerland. n Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin had their own special forms of Protestantism. They agreed with Luther on many things, but felt he should go beyond “reformation” of Catholicism. n They sought a “new Christianity” (unlike Luther) that was “authentic. ” This was a Renaissance viewpoint in that it emphasized original sources.

Transformations in Europe John Calvin wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion, in which he spoke of: 1. Predestination 2. Independent churches and congregations 3. Theocratic government

Transformations in Europe n Predestination: determined at birth who is destined for heaven and hell. n “Protestant Work Ethic”: Christians are expected to work hard and keep the rewards of their hard work; government taxes were suspect. Governments cannot take away what God has given. n Theocratic government of and by clergy was necessary for a Christian society.

Transformations in Europe n Most people in Germany and northern Europe felt no identification to the Catholic Church centered in Italy. n Very often, loyalty to one’s culture and politics is stronger than loyalty to one’s religion. n During this time period, witch-hunting becomes common in specific regions of Europe. It was supported by both local Protestant and Catholic churches, but could only be carried out by consent of civil authorities. Its causes are debatable and varied.

Transformations in Europe n Kings in Europe saw an opportunity to gain power over the Catholic Church in their countries by joining the ranks of the Protestants: n In England, Henry VIII formed his own Protestant Church (Anglican Church, or Church of England). He confiscated Church holdings (wealth). n

Transformations in Europe n He forced Parliament to pass the Act of Supremacy that made the king the head of a national “Church of England. ” n This consolidated his power over church and state, exactly what German nobles did for themselves in following Luther, but not exactly what Luther wanted. n Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, all became Protestant. Northern Europe was the farthest away from Rome in proximity and felt less identification with it.

Transformations in Europe n 1555: Charles V signs the Peace of Augsburg that recognized the Protestant religion in Germany, for those princes who wanted it. A success for noble political power. n Those countries located closer to Italy remained Catholic such as Spain and France.

Transformations in Europe § The Catholic Church responded with the Catholic Reformation or sometimes the “Counter-Reformation. ” § Its goals were to stop the spread of Protestantism and restore the credibility of the Catholic Church. § Church leaders held the Council of Trent in 1545 until 1563.

Transformations in Europe § It reaffirmed the authority of the Pope and Catholic beliefs , but did away with the sale of indulgences and irrelevant practices that developed over the medieval centuries. § It also tightened up on religious education of clergy and the general population. • Religious education was overseen by a new Catholic religious order called the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) led by Ignatius Loyola.

Transformations in Europe • Until 1648, Europe experienced a large number of wars of religion as Protestant and Catholic populations and countries fought one another for control of whole regions.

Transformations in Europe § The Reformation caused war to break out in several places: § For 36 years French Catholics fought the Huguenot Protestants. Peace finally came with the Edict of Nantes. § In 1588, Catholic Spain warred against Protestant England the forces of Elizabeth I with an armada. § The Protestant Dutch Netherlands revolted against Catholic Spain which controlled them. It took 40 years.

Transformations in Europe n In 1618, the final religious war was the Thirty Years War involving many countries and the Catholic Church. n One issue was Catholicism’s influence, both political and religious, in Europe. n Countries also had political and economic goals involving land, trade interests, regional sovereignty, etc. , but religion added fuel to the fire.

Transformations in Europe n The Thirty Years War ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. n It recognized the sovereignty of each nation and the right to manage its internal (religious) affairs.

Transformations in Europe n The Scientific Revolution would arise from the influences of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. n From the Greeks and Romans, Renaissance thinkers received their ideas of science. n From the Reformation came the desire to explore more of the meaning of

Transformations in Europe n With its emphasis on literacy, Protestant Christianity would propel Europe into advanced learning and scientific discovery. n This stemmed fro the fact that Protestantism insisted upon a literate population and clergy in order to fully understand scripture. n This is one of many examples where religion became the driving force behind the advancement of human civilization.

Transformations in Europe n n Europeans before the 1600 s followed the scientific beliefs of Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria. His view of the universe dominated thought for centuries.

Transformations in Europe • Copernicus, a Polish Catholic astronomer formulates a heliocentric view of the universe with the planets (including the earth) moving in a circular orbit around the sun. • His views were presented as theory and supported by most Catholic Church hierarchy.

Transformations in Europe • Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician formulated a elliptical view of the universe with the planets (including the earth) moving in a oval orbit around the sun. • His views were published in Protestant Germany.

Transformations in Europe • Galileo Galilei an Italian astronomer, perfected the telescope of his day and observed visually what Copernicus and Kepler were saying with calculations. • His views were published in Protestant Germany. Galileo sunspot drawing, 1614.

Transformations in Europe • Isaac Newton of England followed in the 1600’s and proved “conclusively, ” in a Protestant country, how the universe operated. • He developed theory of the Law of Gravity and calculus. • Newton’s achievement is being able to explain the working of the entire universe according to Natural Laws. • All thinkers of the Scientific Revolution felt that Natural Laws could not be violated, and governed the universe. • They connected Natural Law to a plan created by God. They saw no conflict between science and

Transformations in Europe n The achievement of the Scientific Revolution was that man could now explain the universe according to scientific reasoning. All was ordered according to natural and scientific law. n Following the Scientific Revolution of the 1600’s, came the Enlightenment period of the 1700’s, which applied the idea of Natural Law to human society.

Transformations in Europe Economic and Social effects of the Scientific Revolution: • Scientific inquiry produced new technology while the new Protestant work ethic fueled the economics of the era of the 1500 s and 1600 s. • The Protestant Ethic emphasized freedom in thought and productivity. • Economic freedom and motivation advanced the middle class which was basically urban. • The French designated this urban middle class with the term “bourgeoisie. ”

Transformations in Europe The middle class was industrious and intended to keep its profits. n Cities expanded due to their efforts. n Amsterdam was the Netherlands' largest city and Europe’s financial center. n Large banking firms were created there to finance business ventures. Catholic restrictions on usury gave way to Protestant work ethic drive. n

Transformations in Europe • The Dutch backed new shipbuilding technology for investment and excelled in mapmaking. Both gave supremacy in the Indian Ocean. • Emphasis on literacy prompted a demand for more books and manuals and further research and technology. • European monarchs welcomed economic growth as a way of increasing revenues.

Transformations in Europe n The Dutch government pioneered the chartering of jointstock companies giving the Dutch East and West India companies monopolies over trade to the east and west Indies. n The Netherlands was resource-poor but commercially successful. n France and England followed the example and chartered companies of their own, selling shares to individuals for overseas projects. n Insurance companies emerged during this time also. n All of this showed a close connection between government and business and further centralized government control over the state.

Transformations in Europe n n As bourgeoisie became more successful they became members of the gentry, country landowners with large estates. This was early capitalism: the large-scale investing of wealth by business. n The rising middle class would affect the lifestyle of the aristocracy, which was reluctant to associate with the newcomers to wealth. n With exploration and investment came a need for more iron. This expanded the mining, lumber, charcoal production. In turn, the need for wood led to deforestation.

Transformations in Europe n Textile manufacturing affected rural and urban economies, shifting production from urban areas to rural and back again as costs required. n Arranging a “good marriage” was important, and Europeans generally married later than other peoples. Middle class families allowed for sons to complete education. n The later marriage led to high out-of wedlock birth rates (approx. 10%. ) in city areas.

Transformation in Europe Part II The New Monarchs

Transformations in Europe The New Monarchs n The Protestant Reformation allowed monarchs to consolidate power at last. n With a less influential Catholic Church monarchs in creased political power through taxation; control over nobility; and strong central administrations.

Transformations in Europe n Monarchs also increased the size of their bureaucracy to make tax collection and administration more reliable. n Spain and France needed large standing armies but England did not. n Politically, monarchical success in consolidating power through economics and over religion gave rise to the concept of “absolutism. ” Monarchs manipulated aristocracy through tax exemption privileges. n Absolutism: monarch is the personification of the state and has complete authority over its policies.

Transformations in Europe n Power still relied on religious influence and the concept of “divine right of kings” develops. n Divine Right: the monarch rules by the grace and authority of God. Remember: In China and the Muslim Empire period, religion was also used to consolidate power and strengthen administrations. Empress Wu and Buddhism; Neo-Confucianism and bureaucracy; Islam’s Shi’ite –Sunni power struggles based upon the heir to Mohammad’s political authority. n n

Transformations in Europe n By the 1600 s, European monarchies develop into 2 types: constitutional and absolute. n England Holland (Netherlands) had rulers share power with representative bodies. They did not have written constitutions, but political power was vested in a legislature. n France, Spain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia held power within the monarchy itself.

Transformations in Europe • France under Louis XIV ( 1643 -1715) and Philip II of Spain manipulated the Catholic Church which had fears of Protestantism. • Louis XIV declared himself to be the state: “I am the State, ” and became known as the “Sun King” at the royal court of Versailles. • He exercised tight control over nobles, economics, and Church. • He institutes a policy of strict mercantilism to develop wealth and support his military.

Transformations in Europe • 1. 2. 3. 4. His finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert constructed a strict mercantilist policy of state control of business: High tariffs on foreign goods. Storing of gold reserves to keep currency solid. Favorable balance of trade: export more than import. Increase French colonial holdings.

Transformations in Europe • In England, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I used Protestantism to seize Catholic landholdings and consolidate their own power over religion and nobles. • Calvinism spread to England, however, and rebelled against the Anglican state-controlled religion. • This caused the English Civil War of 1642 in which Charles I (Stuart) was beheaded. • Calvinism controlled England for nine years under Oliver Cromwell in the “Protectorate” period which did away with the monarchy altogether.

Transformations in Europe • The monarchy was restored to England during the Restoration Period under Charles II (Stuart) who was a Protestant of the Church of England. • When Charles dies James II becomes king and is Catholic and refused to share power with Parliament. • He is forced off the throne in the Glorious

Transformations in Europe • Britain Parliament invites James’s daughter Mary and her husband William from Orange from Protestant Holland to take throne. • This set the precedent for monarchs to be only Anglican Protestant from that point on. • This would impact upon the creation of the U. S. 150 years later, which could

Transformations in Europe • In contrast to this, the French monarchy ended its religious and political conflicts a century earlier than England in 1598. • With the Edict of Nantes, French Calvinist Protestants ( Huguenots) were granted political and economic rights in Catholic France.

Transformations in Europe • 1. 2. 3. • Economically, it was the tendency of all monarchs, in order to consolidate their power, to control business practices and regulate competition to some degree; to join hands with the rising middle class. to encourage overseas commercial trade. Monopolies were often granted through royal charters.

Transformations in Europe • Absolutism was being embraced by Austria, Prussia, Spain, and Russia (France was the most successful example). • The Romanovs came to power in the 1600 s and the Tsars (Czars) were firmly absolutist. • Under Peter the Great (Peter I 1682 -1725) Russia would be transformed from a medieval nation to a full 17 th century nation.

Transformations in Europe Peter I (the Great): 1. revised his bureaucracy to improve tax collection, administration, centralized a location of St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea ( like Versailles, Baghdad, and Beijing). 2. 3. 4. • He created a professional army and navy. Needed the Baltic sea region as a commercial outlet. Sought to use the Black Sea region as an outlet to the Mediterranean. Like Louis XIV he order massive building projects that were also symbolic of his power and authority.

Transformations in Europe • • • Catherine the Great was his successor. She divided Russia in to 50 provinces and continued Peter’s program of development. Although somewhat sympathetic towards peasants she sided with the Russian nobility ( Boyars) and protected authoritarian government and tight control over the military.

Transformations in Europe • States developed power through sophisticated military advances and ideas: professional officer corps; military academies; weaponry development. • China, India, and the Islamic lands also progressed and used cannons, but little incentive for more development, because their military efforts were focused on internal problems.

Transformations in Europe • Out of the European consolidation of power would come the concept of “balance of power. ” • For Europeans then and people today this involves the difficult understanding of the SPEARS forces.

Transformations in Europe END