AT LEAST KNOW THIS- AP Euro Review for College Board Exam -- 09-10 Late Medieval World
Dates- Ends as Renaissance Starts- no fixed date- probably starts in mid 14th century Black Death in 1350 Petrarch mid 14th century after 1st Hundred Years War- mid 14th to early 15th centuries great schism end of the 14th century mid 13th c
Basic Theme(s) The Middle Ages (Dark Ages) = the time period from the fall of Rome to the rebirth of Classical culture in the Italian Renaissance. So called because the level of culture (art, philosophy, science, technology) was relatively stagnant during this time period.
Early nationalism in England and France from 1st Hundred Years War Demonstrated by rising vernacular literature in the 14th century (Dante’ Divine Comedy, Chaucher’s Canterbury Tales, etc.). English long-bows (at the battle of Crecy) signals the end of chivalric fighting. Joan of Arc leads France to victory, pushing the British off of the Continent. British king is forced to limit his power by signing the Magna Carta to get noble aid during 1st H.Y.W. Parliament is formed in England. King are basically first among equals at the end of the war.
Scholasticism (the attempt to align classical and Christian teachings) is the intellectual legacy of the Dark Ages
Church in turmoil Great Schism (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in the 11th century) Babylonian Captivity in the 14th Century early critics Hus and Wycliffe- late 14th/early 15th centuries
European crusade sacks Constantinople, giving it to Italians and priming the pump for the Renaissance, as Italians will become key trading middlemen between Asia and Europe
Black Death is low point. Will split the futures of western and eastern Europe (an end to serfdom in the west) and will give surviving peasants relative bargaining power.
Renaissance
Dates - Starts in full swing in 15th century fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman in 1453 (key date… also date of printing press) will start a shift of the Renaissance out of Italy and to the Northern states (Northern Renaissance) ; at the same time period (early 15th c), Henry the Navigator was priming the pump for the Age of Exploration early 15th century is High Renaissance focused in Rome (this was ended by Charles V’s sacking of Rome as part of Habsburg Valois Warsin 1525AD)
Theme(s)- The Renaissance saw the revival of Classical themes in Europe: natural law, reason, humanism, secularism, individualism, etc.)
Many of the classical works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, etc. reenter Europe through the Middle East on account of The Crusades.
Gutenburg’s Printing Press allows Renaissance ideas to spread quickly and is also crucial in the later spread of Protestant ideas in the Reformation
Italian city states are free from feudal domination, and go through a series of governments Republics/communes to signori oligarchies (Florence and Medicis most famously); division of city states is a blessing (culture/creativity) and a curse (weakness to French and Habsburgs------ Habsburg-Valois War)
Art- portraits (Mona Lisa by DaVinci), single-point perspective (the Last Supper by Da Vinci), shading of light and dark (chiaroscuro) , classical influence, individualism (David by Michelangelo), status of artists (Michelangelo is divine and signs his work), classical architecture with a focus on columns and symmetry over gothic, medieval art
Education for women, but no access to power Laura Cereta
Wealthy families and the church are patrons of the arts
Northern Renaissance (Netherlands and England, primarily) less secular Erasmus wants to write a better translation of the bible (and in vernacular) and to improve education and literacy so that people can access and understand,biblical teachings (challenges church corruption-remember Erasmus’ mockery of the Pope trying to force his way into heaven- Borgia popes were so corrupt that Borgia became synonymous with corruption) paves the way for Luther-->> Thomas More’s Utopia is a subtle critique of feudal styles and the church. These are examples of Christian Humanists. The Northern Renaissance would lead to a culture flowering that would lead to artists such as Shakespeare.
Renaissance Princes start to assert power War of the Roses in England results in Tudor dynasty, Ferdinand and Isabella unify Spain and continue to marry into Habsburg clan (don’t forget the Reconquista and Ferdinand and Isabella’s patronage of Columbus’ voyages), uniting Spain and the HRE. These princes are partially able to rise out of ‘first among equals’ status because increasing secularism and falling church prestige frees the monarchs from one part of the Great Chain of Being.
A few of the more famous works: School of Athens by Raphael clearly demonstrates classical roots of the Renaissance. Pico della Mirandola’sOration on the Dignity of Man is a humanist anthem. Lorenzo Vallauses textual criticism to reject an ancient document as a phony. Castiglione writes The Courtier which explains the ideal of a Renaissance Man and explicitly rejects a key role for women. Machiavelli’s The Prince explains the need of a prince to do what is necessary to maintain power for the good of the people, even when the prince is required to do things considered bad morally if done by an individual. His name becomes synonymous with the ruthless leadership (similar to Bismarck’s later Realpolitik). Machiavelli wrote The Prince both to seek a government post and to give a way to strengthen Italian city-states to withstand foreign invaders (Habsburg-Valois’, for instance)
Age of Exploration
Dates set in motion by Henry the Navigator in early 15th century followed by Dias, Da Gama, and Columbus in 2nd half of 15th and then an explosion in 16th century (Magellan, Cortez, Pizzaro, etc.)
Theme(s)- European curiosity about the world in the Renaissance spurs exploratory interest (also a desire to find a way to Asia without paying Italian middlemen).
New technologies- Astrolabe, Caravel.
Treaty of Tordesillas- Pope divides land to be conquered between Spain and Portugal
Economic motivation conquering of the Inca and Aztecs- leads to Spanish Golden 16th Century
Slavery plantation economy sugar de las Casas start of transatlantic slave trade (asiento)
Impact on European philosophers land outside of Christian teachings (will eventually spur Enlightenment philosophers to consider new forms of government) Montaigne and On Cannibals Locke and Tabula Rasa Montesquieu’s Persian Letters.
Columbian Exchange Price Revolution (actually, caused in large part to growing population, too) and Spain’s Golden Century money to fight Reformation
Reformation
Dates Luther 1517, Council of Trent starts in 1540s, English Reformation 1530s
Theme(s) – a challenge to the increasingly corrupt ‘universal’ Catholic Church and the Pope
Luther’s beliefs 95 Theses,priesthood of believers, sola scriptura, sola fide, no celibacy, attacks certain sacraments. Specifically, Luther challenges Tetzel’s sale of indulgences, as well as absenteeism, simony, pluralism, and clerical immorality and ignorance.
Luther can get away with challenging the Pope because he is in the HRE, which is divided into many small areas with disobedient nobles, is far from the Pope’s control, and has the Ottoman Empire on its eastern border to contend with (Turks got all the way to Vienna in 1529). Many princes in the HRE support Luther for political reasons (no more money going to Rome!) Luther refused to recant to Charles V at the Diet of Worms.
Luther rejected the German Peasants Revolt , rejecting political rebellion (Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of the Peasants).
Calvin , Institutes of the Christian Religion,predestination work ethic most influential Scottish Presbyterians Huguenot Puritans
More radical sects: Anabaptists (adult baptism, women are equal)
English Reformation- Henry VIII (truly a Renaissance Prince) wanted an annulment to have a son to avoid the chaos of the Wars of Religion. The Pope was too beholden to Henry’s wife (Catherine of Aragon) who was related to Charles V to agree. Also, the Pope couldn’t afford to admit fault in originally marrying the two, because he was under pressure from the Reformation. Henry VIII, founded a church of England (Anglicanism) and even beheaded one of his top aides Thomas Cromwell for refusing to leave the Pope. Parliament aids the king by passing the Act in Restraint of Appeals, which nullified the Pope’s spiritual authority in England and the Act of Supremacy which made Henry VIII the head of the Anglican Church. This would result in a long struggle in England over religion Edward VI, Bloody Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I (and Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots), James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, James II.
Protestant faiths spread to Scandinavia and Scotland.
Counterreformation Council of Trent, Jesuits (Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises) , Ursuline Order reaffirm papal authority reform gross abuses Index of Forbidden Books, Inquisition Baroque Art
Wars of Religion -1st Half
Dates starts in France in the 1530s , ends in 1609 last major event is the Spanish Armada in 1588
Theme(s)– Medieval view says that only subjects with the religion of the king can be loyal; Europe must not have multiple religions according to many (France, and especially Spain/Habsburgs) desire Catholicism only. Wars fought to crush Protestant faith. Inevitably become wars about Balance of Power, too.
Spain represses iconoclastic (icon destroying) Protestants in the Netherlands (who have more trouble getting on with Spanish Habsburg Philip II than they had with Flemish Charles V) take Belgian part but don’t take United Provinces of the Netherlands (flooding, inquisition and taxes unite the Dutch)
England is forced in to decide whether to help the Dutch- if they do they have to deal with mighty Spanish… if they don’t, they may later have to deal with Spain alone. England’s Elizabeth I eventually decides to help the Netherlands after assassination of William the Silent of Orange. This causes Spain to launch an Armada at England which is defeated by British fire ships and the Protestant Wind. The Spanish Armada was also prompted by Elizabeth I’s decision to kill Mary Queen of Scots who was implicated in a Spanish plot to turn England Catholic. The Elizabethan Compromise refers to Elizabeth I’s attempts to walk a narrow line between English Catholics and Puritans by sticking to the Anglican church.
War of Three Henry’s is touched off in France by the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Catholics murder a prominent Huguenots at a wedding politiques eventually win out under Henry of Navarre aka King Henry IV, a Huguenot who declares that Paris is Worth a Mass and who passes the Edict of Nantes to keep Huguenot happy. Henry IV and his minister the Duke de Sully begin to build absolutism in France.
Concordat of Bologna keeps France Catholic by allowing the French monarchy more local control of the Catholic Church.
Religious fighting between princes in the HRE had been temporarily settled in the Peace of Augsburg which allowed princes to choose their religion (although only Lutheran or Catholic)- Cuius regio, eius religio.
Wars of Religion- Thirty Years War- 2nd Half
Key dates starts 1618 and ends in 1648
Theme(s)- Last gasp of attempts to wipe out Protestant faith. Will ultimately lay waste to the HRE, setting the long term stage for the rise of Absolutism in Prussia and Austria. Permanent failure to roll back Protestant Tide will eventually allow Enlightenment as tolerance is more widely accepted
Starts up on account of bickering in HRE, which is supposed to be open to Lutheranism and Catholicism decided by Princes, but Catholic and Protestant leagues are not truly obeying this
Defenestration of Prague in Bohemia (remember Jan Hus) sets it off, Bohemian and Dutch phases go to Catholics, who even roll back Protestant rights (Edict of Restitution) in the HRE temporarily, but under Balance of Power concerns, others join to keep Habsburgs weak Danish king (Christian), Swedish King (Gustavus Adolphus), and even Catholic Louis XIII (under Richelieu) despite the obvious contradiction for France religiously
Peace of Westphalia includes Calvinism and locks in earlier Augsburg treaty
Witch hunting has resulted from religious tension
Absolutism- Western Europe
Dates- Continuation of the rise of Renaissance Princes, in France particularly starts with Henry IV (late 16th century) and continues through Louis XIII (think Thirty Years War), and Louis XIV (who is a kid during the Fronde in 1848- notice this is the last year of the Thirty Years War- and he dies soon after the 2nd Hundred Years War starts near the end of his life – remember the start of the 2nd Hundred Years War relates to Louis XIV’s attempt to unite the French and Spanish thrones– War of the Spanish Succession in approx. 1700)
Theme(s)- European monarchs rise to great powers by attacking the power of the nobilities, building standing armies, building powerful bureaucracies (nobles of the Robe and bourgeois over nobles of the Sword, intendants), running the economies (Mercantilism- government run trading companies), one religion (divine right, destruction of La Rochelle), secret police, complete sovereignty
Economic ministers and Monarchs – De Sully- Henry IV, Richelieu- Louis XIII, and Colbert- Louis XIV
Symbols of absolutism- Versailles, sun king, etc. , l’etat c’est moi
Importance of the Fronde to Louis XIV’s attacks on the nobility
Balance of Power responses to Louis XIV’s wars of expansion/ conquest
French Classicism and the French lingua Franca, the French Academy
Spain becomes Quixotic (Cervantes) because of stagnation due to New World wealth. Spanish Golden Century ends.
Absolutism- Eastern Europe
Absolutism in Eastern Europe
Different pattern of development in the East. The Black Death reinforced serfdom rather than ending it. Local lords had great power between the Black Death and the 17th c. There was almost no middle class and town were kept weak. In the 17th c, kings start to rise above nobles. Eastern Europeans grew food for expanding Western Europeans in 17th & 18th c.
Austria- Habsburgs had little power after the Thirty Years’ War. They turned eastwards hoping for land and power. Habsburgs dominated Bohemia (crushed in the first part of the Thirty Years’ War) and Hungary (which was fiercely Protestant and independent, but unable to keep the Austrians out). This brought the Austrian Habsburgs face to face with the Ottomans. The Ottomans pushed into Europe and managed, at their high point to siege, but not take, Vienna (capital of Austria) in 1683 (second time they’ve gotten there). To consolidate land after victory of Ottomans, Habsburg Charles VI sought the Pragmatic Sanction, which would keep Habsburg land under one heir.
Prussia- Hohenzollern family was basically 1st among equals of nobility in Prussia until the Thirty Years War weakened Brandenburg-Prussia’s Estates and prepared the way for Hohenzollern ‘Great Elector’ Frederick William to start to assert absolutist power. The Great Elector used the constant war that was going on and his willingness to leave the Junker nobility in charge over their serfs and tax-exempt, to rise in power. Later, Frederick William, the Soldier King, greatly enhanced Prussian power by building a large standing army, literally of giants, and by forcing the Junkers into the military (trading them prestige for power). In Prussia, the military built the state
Russia- Tsars had to throw of the Mongol Khans to rule. Russians saw themselves as the Orthodox Christian inheritors of the Roman Empire. In the 16th c, Tsars like Ivan IV (the Terrible) reduced the power of the Russian nobility (known as Boyars) to service nobility. Ivan IV founded the Romanov line, which would rule Russia until the Russian Revolution of 1917. These tsars used secret police and violence to keep their people down and expanded Russia and the power of the tsar (Cossacks formed as peasants fled from the oppression of the tsars; they periodically rose in revolt). Peter the Great tried to modernize Russia in a primarily military fashion after he learned how far behind it was during his grand tour of Europe as a young man. He built up a strong standing army and defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War to gain access to the Baltic. There were few years of peace during Peter’s reign. He built St. Peterburg as a modern city and a ‘Window on the West’ and forced nobles to go live in it.
Constitutionalism
Dates- Arises in the 17th Century
Theme(s)- Absolutism was successfully challenged in the Netherlands and England.
Trouble for English absolutists came after the reign of Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen), in the reign of King James I (originally a Scotsman) of England. King James tried to be absolutist, but Parliament, and especially the House of Commons was starting to feel confident enough to challenge the monarch (they’d been gaining wealth from trade, ownership of church lands sold by Henry VIII …in short, economic power). However, James I was amiable, and so things never came to blows. Religion was complicated for the British at the time because the official Anglican Church was squeezed between Catholics on the one hand and Puritans on the other. Charles I, James’ successor, was headstrong and imperious and angered Parliament much more. Charles I was also a religious zealot and many feared he was pushing England back towards Christianity. Charles also angered the Scots by trying to enforce Anglicanism. When he tried to get Parliament to raise him an army, it refused. Instead it raised an army against him and he raised his own army and the ensuing clash was the English Civil War. This Parliament was known as the Long Parliament, because it wouldn’t let Charles disband it. Roundheads- aka New Model Army (against the king) versus Cavaliers (for the king).
The English Civil War was horribly destructive (prompting philosophers like Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan to declare that absolutism was the best form of gov’t). A Puritan military dictatorship took over England under Oliver Cromwell. Its rule is known as the interregnum. The people didn’t like this either, as it was too stifling and the chaos was seen as punishment by god for breaking the Great Chain of Being/Divine Right. Incidentally, Cromwell started the fierce mercantilist policies to seize Atlantic trade from the Dutch (Navigation Acts).
The English people eventually invited Charles I’s sons Charles II and James II to return from exile in the court of Versailles to restore the Chain of Being. Charles II knew to be easygoing and he hid his Catholicism and worked with the CABAL representatives of Parliament to keep the peace and raised his daughters Protestant (although he was secretly taking $ from Louis XIV). James II was not diplomatic and pushed his absolutism and his Catholicism. The English might have been content to wait for Charles IIs daughters to take over, but James II had a Catholic son. This sparks Parliament to invite Dutch William and Mary of Orange (Mary was one of James II’s daughters but had been raised Protestant) to invade England and take the throne (pulls the wool over the eyes of God and his darned chain). The revolution was a Glorious Revolution because there was little bloodshed after James II fled. The English Bill of Rights was written immediately after the Revolution and outlined a constitutional monarchy with Parliament over the king, a judiciary independent of the king, Habeas Corpus, regular meetings of Parliament, etc. John Locke wrote a philosophical defense of the new gov’t. (Two Treatise on Government) English gov’t was not a full democracy.
The Dutch were an alternate model as a Constitutional Republic with weak central authority (confederation with stadholder). The Dutch were famed as religiously tolerant, mostly work oriented Protestants), agriculturally advanced, and The Dutch Golden Age existed as the result of a great Dutch trading empire (Dutch East India Company) (Amsterdam), taken largely from the Spanish, and an advanced banking system (Bank of Amsterdam) with low interest rates. The Golden Age began to come to an end with competition in trade from England (Navigation Acts) and draining wars against Louis XIV.
Dutch, English and others formed an alliance against Louis XIV’s French juggernaut to maintain balance of power- Roots of the Second Hundred Years’ War
Scientific Revolution
Dates in 1540sCopernicus(heliocentrism) starts it but the 17th century is the heart of the revolution (makes sense as it is the century before the Enlightenment, which was spawned by the Scientific Revolution), Newton syntheses classical mathematics in Principia in about 1690
Themes- The Reformation allows Scientists some freedom to do their work. The Renaissance has aided the sense that contemporary scholars can equal and improve on classical ideas.
Copernicus- break with Aristotle and Ptolemy, Brahe --data Kepler – early mathematical success describing elliptical orbits Galileo –big on empirical experimentation – work with telescopes and gravity (although doesn’t successfully describe gravity) Newton –synthesizer (Principia)
Scientific Method – Bacon and empiricism combined with Descartes’deductive reasoning
Need often to use satire or secrecy to publish works that challenged the Church (think Galileo’s Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems of the World Protestants were often, surprisingly more anti-science since they relied more heavily on a literal interpretation of the bible.
18th Century Enlightenment
Dates – Late 17th and 18th Centuries
Theme(s) - Apply successful methods of science (reason) to society (social science): faith in human progress. The Enlightenment rose out of skepticism of absolute truth caused by the Wars of Religion and its inconclusive settlement and the increasing realization that European cultural values were relative (the result of increasing contact with non-Europeans (see Baron de Montesqueiu’s Persian Lettersor Locke’s argument that morals were not inherent, but instead built by culture- mind was tabula rasa).
By the end of the 18th c, most educated elites were adherents to the ideas of the Enlightenment. France, post Louis XIV, was ground zero for the Enlightenment, although many philosophe had to use sneaky means (satire, discussion in salons rather than writing, foreign publication, dialogues, etc.,) to get around the censors. Many were inspired by English Constitutionalism. Popularizers of science like Fontenelle (Conversation on the Plurality of Worlds) brought science to the public.
Montesquieu is most famous for his Spirit of the Laws, which argued for a separation of powers, in particular, that the nobility and bourgeoisie could provide a check on kings.
Voltaire believed in Enlightening monarchs (Frederick the Great for example), freedom of expression, and Deism . Voltaire’s most famous work (Candide) mocks the contradictions of society and religion.
Diderot and the Encyclopedia(the public deserves access to knowledge)
Madame du Chatelet serves as a reminder that women were not fully accepted into the Enlightenment (she translated works and helped Voltaire, but wasn’t accepted to Royal Academy). Women could find a way to participate as salonieres (Madame Geoffrin).
The Enlightenment was progressive, more moderate, and more unified before 1770. Afterwards, it became more radical (for example, some became athiests, others, like David Hume, argued that our understanding of the world was limited by our reliance on our senses; Hume was famous for his skepticism; Rousseau argued that spontaneous emotion was as important as reason and logic and argued that the General Will should guide society, even though the majority was not always clear on what the general will was, he also argued that sovereignty ought to come from the people). Many of the radicals in the French Revolution were inspired by Rousseau.
Enlightenment ideas: Hobbes and Locke’s Social Contract, Locke’s individual natural rights and right to rebellion, natural law, checks and balances, the general will
widening gap in the tastes and goals of the elites (or ‘the public’) and the mob; the salon
Adam Smith applies reason to the economy and comes up with Capitalist framework (On the Wealth of Nations, the invisible hand, the three basic roles of gov’t). a repudiation of mercantilism.
I forgot to teach Cesare Baccaria, but he was an Italian philosophe who argued for a reform of prisons and criminal law in On Crimes and Punishment.. If you stop to think about this, it is a very Enlightenment subject.
Enlightened Absolutism
Dates- Mid to late 18th century (in the wake of the Enlightenment
Theme(s)- Some absolutists believed in some parts of the Enlightenment canon. They believed in making their bureaucracies more efficient and rational and believed in giving some natural rights to their people. However, their main motivation was to increase their own power relative to other monarchs, not to truly liberate their people. They shied away from steps that would weaken themselves. Many of the philosophes believed that Enlightened Absolutism was the only way to improve society as democracy would give power to the mob- reform had to come from above.
Frederick the Great was a fascinating Prussia leader. As a young man, he was something of an Enlightenment wussy: pro-peace and art, a dabbler in atheism, he tried to run away from his domineering father as a young man. Yet when he took over, he immediately seized Silesia from Austria (War of the Austrian Succession). This greatly increased the power of Prussia. European powers aligned against Prussia in the later Seven Years War, and Prussia was only saved by Russian Peter III (who admired Frederick the Great and so decided not to crush him). Frederick pursued Enlightened policies (religious toleration except for the Jews, free press, reformed and efficient bureaucracy, he himself lived simply (1st Servant of the State as opposed to ‘l’etat c’est moi’). Voltaire was an admirer and the two wrote each other letters often.
Catherine the Great was an HRE noble with Romanov blood. She was married to Tsar Peter III, but was complicit in his downfall in a coup with her lover (Peter Orlav) who was an officer in the military. Catherine became leader of Russia and was an Enlightened leader who modernized Russian society (whereas Peter the Great had mainly modernized the military). She had to stop short of extreme liberal reform because of Cossack Rebellion that caused her to ally with the Boyar nobility. She also completed Peter the Great’s goal of winning a port on the Black Sea from the Ottoman.
Maria Theresa of Austria (Habsburg) was an Enlightened monarch, although she was much more religious (Catholic) than most Enlightened monarchs. Her son, Joseph II, tried to push reason too far… freed the serfs, tried religious toleration for Jews, all of which caused chaos and didn’t help much… eventually his more radical reforms were repealed by the next ruler (Leopold II)
France’s absolutism began to slip after Louis XIV’s death. The Duke d’Orleans restored power of remonstration to Parlement of Paris in return for stewardship of throne while Louis XV grew up. Louis XV managed to restore absolutism by abolishing the Parlement, but Louis XVI reinstated it, hoping to be loved and perhaps helping to bring about the French Revolution.
Agricultural Revolution – Rise of the Atlantic Economy --- 18th Century Social Changes
Dates- 18th century
Themes- The 2nd Agricultural Revolution led to a population boom, urbanization, and the Cottage Industry. This changed system of life in turn caused changes in Europe’s social structure. In the same century, international trade rose in importance, resulting in rivalry (2nd Hundred Years War) and ultimately English dominance and the Industrial Revolution.
Although I didn’t say it in class, the rise of the Cottage Industry and the boom in the Atlantic Economy in 18th century Europe are often called the Commercial Revolution
The Dutch led the Agricultural Revolution and the British followed: know, Charles “Turnip” Townsend as a champion of nitrogen-restoring plants, the end of the fallow, enclosure, loss of the commons and its social safety net properties, crop rotation, and selective breeding (linked to scientific farming). The 17th Century was a Dutch Golden Age.
Population boomed in the 18th c was the result of more food, end of Black Death (wander rat), ability to defeat famine with better transportation of food, hardier New World crops
Enclosure reduces the land available for small farmers, who in turn form a fairly new class (a proletariat).
These landless farmers helped to start the Putting Out System/Cottage Industry first in the wool industry in England; link between urban merchants and rural cottage workers.
Atlantic Economy is lead by Atlantic European states, especially England. African Slaves in the New World create sugar, tobacco, and cotton. Navigation Acts protect mercantilist British trade. Navigation Acts contain some privileges for the colonies, so they help America develop, too. Mercantilist policies add to tension that will lead to 2nd Hundred Years’ War.
rising number of kids born out of wedlock (foundling homes)
Growing treatment of young kids as unique and valuable rather than as little adults to be disciplined harshly (based partly on Rousseau’s ideas in Emile)
Second Hundred Years’ War
Dates- 1702 (War of the Spanish Succession) to 1814 (Waterloo)
Theme(s) The British seized trading control from the Dutch as well, starting with the Navigation Acts under Cromwell. With the Dutch weakened, France and Britain competed for naval and trade dominance. The S.H.Y.W. was born out of the Grand Alliance and other groups that unified to contain Louis XIV’s growing French military power and morphed into a battle between France and Britain for control of the Atlantic Economy and European dominance that lasted until the fall of Napoleon. Many historians believe that England won because of their transition to a Capitalist economy (think British East India Company) which allowed wealth to be spread to the people of the country and encouraged the British to apply themselves to the growth of the British economy, as opposed to the French mercantilism, which denied growing wealth to all but the king’s chosen elite.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis XIV, who had agreed after disastrous fighting with the League of Augsburg (Dutch, Habsburgs, Spain, and Sweden) to leave the Spanish Empire alone, was handed the Spanish throne (or his nephew Phillip of Anjou was) in the will of Carlos II (El Hechizado). Louis XIV accepted and was attacked by The Grand Alliance. The Grand Alliance defeated the French and the Treaty of Utrecht gave New World land from France to England and the Asiento from Spain to England. The Asiento provide a significant part of the capital that sparked the Industrial Revolution.
The War of the Austrian Succession had a Central/Eastern European part (struggle between Austria and Prussia over land sparked by Frederick the Great’s seizure of Silesia) and a Western/Colonial Part (inconclusive battle in the New World). In the Eastern part, Prussia greatly expanded its power, but allied many against Prussia from a Balance of Power perspective. These powers would attack Prussia in the next phase.
Finally, the Seven Years War (aka French-Indian War) proved conclusive in the New World. The British defeated the French forces by siege at Quebec. France lost all New World colonies (although the Spanish got Louisiana, not the British) in the 1st Treaty of Paris. The Seven Year’s War also had an Eastern/Central European component as Russia, Austria, and France tried to smash Prussia. Peter III of Russia backed out of the fighting, narrowly allowing Prussia to survive. The anger of the Russian army at Peter III’s decision helped his wife, Catherine the Great, launch her coup against him. Don’t forget, one reason that France lost in the New World is that they had to focus on European continental conflict as well, whereas the British could focus only on the New World, with their English Channel protection.
Second Hundred Years War continues as part of the American Revolution and the French Revolution. (see next two sections)
American Revolution
Dates- 1776- 1783
Theme(s) – Enlightenment ideas of popular sovereignty and limited government were put into effect in the American Colonies, who were gaining great wealth from their privileged relationship with Britain, but had not been given the political rights earned by British in England achieved in the Glorious Revolution. This Revolution would be a great influence on the French Revolution and on Liberalism everywhere. Themes of American and French Revolutions: LIBERTY AND EQUALITY!!!
The importance of the Seven Year’s War- cost England a great deal of money. England demands Americans pay taxes to pay for the cost and continued defense of the colonies. Americans are not taxed highly, but are used to independence. Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party, Coercive Acts. Colonists are declaring, “No taxation without Representation”.
Thomas Paine argues in Common Sense that it is illogical for American land to be ruled from afar by the British.
The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson is a summary of Enlightenment thought – particularly Locke’s natural rights, Montesquieu’s separation of powers, and Voltaire’s freedoms of expression.
The Americans surprisingly won, based on the strength of their home court advantage and the aid of the French (particularly the Marquis de Lafayette), who see an opportunity to get back at the British. America is granted independence in the Second Treaty of Paris.
The irony of the higher taxes Americans paid after winning the revolution.
The American Constitution set up a federal republic with natural rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
French Revolution
Date(s)- 1787 – Assembly of Notables, 1789 – Estates General, 1791 French Constitution, 1793- Louis XVI is guillotined, 1793-1795- Reign of Terror, 1795- 1799 – Directory, 1799 Napoleon, 1814 Waterloo, 1815 Congress of Vienna.
Themes- Inspired by the American Revolution and the Enlightenment, an attempt to bring liberty and equality to France. Unsuccessful in the short term but fundamental for European modernization.
Phases of the French Revolution and their dates: Bourgeois/ Moderate (1789-1791), Radical (1791-1795), The Directory (1795-1799), Napoleonic (1799-1814), the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)
Causes of unhappiness in France- Overwhelming debt caused by lavish nobility and wars (most recently the French and Indian War and the American Revolution). Unwillingness of privileged estates to give up their privileges.
Three Estates (ancient regime), their percentages (in terms of population) and privileges, and the different sections of the third estate (bourgeoisie, urban workers, rural peasants) and their unique attributes
Key Individuals/groups: Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, san-culottes, Jacobin, Girondin, the Mountain,, Napoleon, the Assembly of Notables, Estates General, National Assembly, Abbe Sieyes, Marquis de Lafayette, Olympe de Gouge and Mary Wollestonecraft, , Edmund Burke (Reflections on the Revolutions in France), Robespierre, Napoleon, Horatio Nelson, Metternich, Louis XVIII
Key Events in roughly Chronological Order- the failure of the Assembly of Notables to make concessions, cahiers and the deadlock in the Estates General, the necessity of meeting on a Tennis Court and the oath, the root of the fear leading up to the Storming of the Bastille, the Great Fear in the countryside, the concessions of the first two estates on the night of August 4th 1789 (and how to argue that this wasn't entirely a selfless act of the first two estates), the formation of the National Assembly and the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the radicalization caused by the Women’s March on Versailles and the stance of European monarchs towards the French Revolution, why the women’s rights movement emerged at this time, the disagreements in the 3rd Estate over what to do with the Church and what the National Assembly eventually did with church land (assignats), farmers get land (long lasting gain of the Revolution) rationalization of the French political bureaucracy (department, new calendar, etc.), Political Spectrum (right, center, left, reactionary, conservative, moderate, liberal, radical), the Reign of Terror and the Committee on Public Safety, early sparks of Socialism and its connections to Rousseau, the Levee en Masse, the fall of the Reign of Terror and the moderate Directory, Napoleon’s coup, a whiff of grapeshot’, the Battle of Trafalgar, Spain and guerrilla warfare, the Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon's plebiscite's, Concordatwith the Pope, and Napoleonic Code, Napoleon’s rise to emperor and show of power over the Pope, family members placed on conquered thrones, Continental System, Confederation of the Rhine, Invasion of Russia, Scorched Earth Policy, the Hundred Days, the Battle of Waterloo, the Bourbon Restoration and the Congress of Vienna (Balance of Power, Legitimacy, Contain France), the Battle of Waterloo, the Concert of Europe.
Prussia received territory on the Rhine to keep France contained (Sentinel on the Rhine)
Industrial Revolution
Dates- England – 1750; Continent 1815 (after Waterloo)
Themes- KEY development in European and World History, perhaps since 10,000 BC and the Development of Farming. Departure from human, animal, wind, and water power- Coal/Steam power- nearly unlimited. Ever since the Industrial Revolution the world has been attempting to deal with the social consequences- Marxism, Socialism, Revisionist Marxism, etc.
Doesn’t trickle down to help the average person until 1850 and later
Britain leads for a number of reasons: great infrastructure for transportation (canals, ocean), capital to invest built up from trade, especially with colonies, iron and coal, low tariffs and low gov’t interference in economy (capitalism), agricultural success as one of the leaders of the 2nd Agricultural Revolution (so average Joe has money to spend), stable banks and credit markets, stable constitutional gov’t that isn’t interrupted by invasion from Napoleon, available proletariat workforce, strong system of education (machinists, engineers), religious toleration in England kept skilled peopled there
First industry- textiles
Cotton gin (Eli Whitney)à spinning jenny (James Hargreaves)à water frame (Richard Arkwright) à power loom (Edmund Cartwright) . Understand how the creation of an invention in one stage of production puts pressure for inventions in other stages.
Early factories à water, animal, or human power à used foundlings as work force
Energy revolution à steam power à Newcomen (first steam engine) à Watt (separate condenser- improved efficiency of engine)à used first to drain minesà leads to almost unlimited power and the ability to mass produce iron and eventually steel
Trains à the Rocket (George Stephenson) connected Liverpool and Manchester.
Manchester is a good example of the extreme explosion of the urban population (urbanization) that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries
Skilled artisan jobs (weavers, say) replaced by machinery… possible social unrest
Crystal Palace Exhibition- demonstration of English Industrial might (1850)
Gains of Industrialization eaten up by pop. growth before 1850
Malthus (population grows exponentially, food grows geometrically)) and Ricardo’s (Iron Law of Wages) = pessimistic economic theories
Advantages for Continental European industrialization versus England as trailblazer (the Continent avoids some of the worst social unrest). England tried to prevent engineers from emigrating to maintain its lead.
U.S. and German industrial explosion after 1850- they start to gain on England
Zollverein ideas (economic union of HRE states under Prussian leadership- Austria excluded) (Friedrich List), tariffs
Limited Liability Partnerships (Credit Mobilier of Paris)
Government helps Industrialization get going on the Continent (monarchs)
Roots of Capitalist Entrepreneurship (risking money on factories, technologies, new businesses) are sown by Cottage Industry
In England the social impacts of Industrialization were especially harsh pollution, poor conditions in factories. The Sadler Commission conducted research and hearings on the treatment of British factory workers. Remember that the growing class conflict and separation will be a major cause of the Age of Ideologies (Marxism- Engel’s The Condition of the Working Class in England), Utopian Socialism, Utilitarianism, etc). Luddite’s smashed machines that were taking their jobs.
Edwin Chadwick was a parliamentary member who championed laws to help the factory workers. Robert Owen tried to set up model factory towns (utopias) Parliamentary reform, notably the Factory Act of 1833 helped to ease the roughest burdens on the working class.
The Age of Ideologies and the Revolutions of 1848
Dates(s) – 1815- 1848
Theme(s)- Attempts to integrate the new social structure of the Industrial Revolution with the liberal ideas that were unleashed but then bottled back up in the French Revolution. These ideologies came into conflict with the conservative governments reinstated by the Congress of Vienna. The Revolutions of 1848 were the (mostly failed) attempts to challenge these liberal governments.
Congress of Vienna headed by Metternich attempts to erase the French Revolution. Louis XVIII and other hereditary rulers returned to thrones. Concert of Europe is set up- major powers (Holy Alliance) will meet to avoid war and to crush liberalism anywhere. Will ultimately be shattered during the Crimean War when Austria, France, and Britain team up on Russia.
Nationalism- grows out of the French Revolution. Old Nationalism was a reaction against the French invaders, who supplied themselves at the expense of local populations. Many people now wish for political boundaries decided by culture (language, ethnicity) so that their unique voices can be heard. Conservatives hated Old Nationalism, especially Austria and Russia who had tons to lose considering their multinational empires. Old Nationalism is connected to Romanticism. Romanticism grew out of Rousseau’s emphasis on the importance of human emotion and spontaneity and was boosted by anti- Industrial sentiment and anti-French nationalism. The Romantics envisioned the pure voice of a people being heard among a symphony of nations. Romanticism was especially important in the HRE (Prussia). The Sturm and Drang movement in Prussia is one example. Artists like Goethe (The Sorrows of Young Werther- a young man commits suicide when his love does not love him in return) focused on nature and emotion (hippy-like). William Wordsworth was a famous Romantic poet. Eugene Delacroix (Liberty Leading the People) and Beethoven (Ninth Symphony- Ode to Joy) are other famous examples.
Utilitarians- Jeremy Bentham founded this school and John Stuart Mill served as its greatest popularizer- believed that the government should take the action that did the most good for the greatest number of people. To some degree Utilitarianism was the beginning of Socialism.
Socialism grew out of some Europeans interest in the extreme equality of condition created during the Reign of Terror. UtopianSocialists believed that history would eventually move mankind towards a more perfect society. They experimented with labor reforms and social laws to help the lower classes. The basic tenet of Socialism believes that the government should interfere in the economy in order to help the unfortunate. Marxian Socialists (Communists), were much more radical. They believed that the Capitalist system was a justification for class oppression and served only the interests of the bourgeois. Inspired by Marx(Das Kapital, the Communist Manifesto) and Engels, Marxists argued that history was a dialectical process of dominant model and antithesis. The fundamentals of this model were economic. However, new models repeatedly replaced the old- for example, capitalism had replaced feudalism. Marx believed a violent revolution of the working class would overthrow the bourgeois. Then, Marx intended to stop the historical dialectic process by abolishing private property so that the state would eventually wither away as all people worked happily for their common good. Don’t forget that these Marxists were influenced by the early stages of the Industrial Revolution when working conditions were at their worst. Marx believed the revolution would happen naturally as the urbanized proletariat became class conscious and realized his power.
Realist artists felt that rather than ignoring or rejecting the pains of the Dual Revolutions (French and Industrial), it was their job to bring it to the attention of the world through their art. Authors like Charles Dickens explored the rough parts of life in the new Industrial cities. After the development of the camera, many realists turned to Impressionism in an attempt to make emotional images that were ‘more real’ than photographs.
England saw a swing towards Conservativism during the post Napoleonic War period, largely as a response to the chaos of the French Revolution. Although issues were tense in G.B , they did not break out into full revolution like many continental countires. The Corn Laws after the French Revolution (high tariffs on imported grain) were an example of aristocratic power, especially considering that Parliament used the British army to crush a peaceful protest of the Corn Laws in St. Peter’s Field (Petersloo Massacre- called this in a mockery of Waterloo). Groups like the Chartists sought reform through a widening of the franchise and the franchise in England did expand over the 19th century. Parliament increasingly passed laws guaranteeing worker protections- Factory Act, Poor Act, etc. . By the mid 19th century the Corn Laws were repealed, partly in response to the harshness of the Irish Potato Famine. By the late 19th century, women, inspired by some of the key early feminists in the French Revolution (Wollestonecraft and DeGouges) begin to argue for women’s suffrage. The Whig (liberal) and Tory (conservative) parties ushered in the age of party politics. The Whigs won a great victory in the Reform Bill of 1834, which got rid of Rotten Voting Districts and widened the franchise.
The Greek Revolution was, in some ways, a precursor of the Revolutions of 1848. Anti-monarchical sentiment was rising in Europe from nationalists, liberals, and socialists. Kings in Europe sought to avoid any revolutionary fervor, but gave in on Greece. Greek independence became a romantic rallying cry as the Ottoman Empire weakened, largely because of their historic role as the foundations of European culture. At first supported mainly by poets and radicals (Lord Byron, a poet, fought and died there), eventually the monarchs of England, France, and Russia put down the Turkish forces.
During and in the wake of the French Revolution, many New World colonies were freed from European Imperialism.
France was a constitutional monarchy under Louis XVIII (Charter of 1814). Louis’ successor, Charles X tried to swing France back to Absolutism. The Parisian mobs revolted, and the bourgeois, terrified of a return to republican rule (which reminded them of the Reign of Terror) chose Louis Phillipe. He took power in 1830. His rule became known as the Bourgeois Monarchy since this was the social group he supported and counted on. He reinstated the Charter of 1814.
The Revolutions of 1848 were sparked partially by the miserable economy of the 1840s (think Irish Potato Blight) and partially by frustration with anti-democratic governments. In France, Louis Philippe stepped down to be replaced by a Republic. However, the new Republic was divided between liberals and radicals (wanting socialism). When the liberals started to seize power in the new assembly, the Parisian mobs rioted. In the rioting of the June Days, the army, mainly consisting of rural peasants who loathed the urban radicals, crushed the uprisings. Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III) was chosen by the liberals who now worried about chaos more than ideology. Austria followed with its own revolution, which after initial successes, fell apart because of the inability of the revolutionaries to agree. Metternich did flee to England, but eventually an absolutist state was returned to power. Hungarian/Austrian tension was a major factor in this revolution. Prussia also went through a revolution in 1848. It too failed in a similar manner. Interestingly, in this revolution, Frederick William IV of Prussia refused a ‘crown from the gutter’ when offered a unified Germany under his rule by the Frankfurt Assembly, but was denied a crown from above when the other HRE princes, mainly Austria, refused to offer it to him.
Themes- Reaction against French invaders and Romanticism led to a desire for national unity in central and Eastern Europe (old nationalism). The traditional leaders find a way to use this and manipulate it with widening franchises, social reforms, foreign wars, and New Imperialism, to win support for their essentially conservative agenda. This is known as New Nationalism and its intellectual model is France under Napoleon I. This new nationalism becomes especially important in a Germany unified under Prussia- aided by the Zollverein and Bismarck’s talents. Germany will unbalance the power in Europe, contributing to tensions that will lead ultimately to the First World War. Italy is also unified. Italy’s unification is more important as a model for Germany than for European geopolitics.
France, under Napoleon III pioneered the New Nationalist model. Napoleon III gained popularity by pushing through reforms- beautifying Paris under Hausseman (while also widening boulevards to thwart revolutionaries). He also widened the franchise and tried to help the poor. He allowed labor unions and strikes, as well. However, Napoleon III wasn’t really interested in giving the people power, as his ascension to emperor proves. He believed he would use the mob to vote for him to strip power from nobles and bourgeois, and then he, Napoleon III, could run the ship of state by himself (while never forgetting to carefully stay popular enough to win elections and plebiscites. Napoleon’s empire would eventually be brought down in the Franco-Prussian war of 1871.
Italian Unification- Italy hasn’t been unified since the Roman Empire. It doesn’t even share a common language. Nonetheless, Romantics envision a new Roman Empire that will lead Italy to a place of greatness. There is disagreement about how this unification can be accomplished. Some push for unification under the Pope. Others seek a socialist, radical unification through popular revolt and democracy (these people were led by Mazzini). Finally, a third group seeks a middle path; a Constitutional Monarchy under Piedmont Sardinia’s Victor Emmanuel. This third route makes sense since Piedmont-Sardinia was already fairly liberal and progressive, but safeguarded by its monarchy against radicalism. Other impediments to Italian Unification were France’s staunch support of Papal independence and Austrian control of lands desired by Italian nationalists. Cavour was Victor Emmanuel’s skilled leading statesman. He aimed to unite Northern Italy and allied with Napoleon III of France to do so without Austrian interference. He did so, but then was betrayed by Napoleon III who was worried about an Italian force to reckon with. Cavour eventually did manage to get his northern state after long debate with France. He had also excited southern Italians who were led in a more radical revolt by Garibaldi. After unifying the southern states, Garibaldi handed them over to Victor Emmanuel, avoiding a civil war in Italy and allowing the unification to succeed.
German Nation Building- Led by the Zollverein and conservative junker chancellor Otto von Bismarck (the real power during Kaiser William I’s rule) and inspired by Italian unification, the German nation was formed. Bismarck, a master of realpolitik (the decisions of the day will be decided by Blood and Iron) used the methods of New Nationalism (foreign wars, wider franchise, social reforms) to gain control of Prussia. He then maneuvered the other states of the German Confederation and Austria to his liking through a series of planned wars. He fought the Danish-Prussian War in order to prove Prussia was a leader of Germanic nationalism (punishing Denmark for attempting to fully annex Schleswig-Holstein). He then used Prussia and Austria’s joint ownership of Schleswig-Holstein to engineer a war against Austria. A quick victory of Austria in the Austro-Prussian 7 Weeks War allowed him to unify the Northern German states. The defeated Austrians were treated well but kept out of a unified Germany. The Austrians were so weakened that they were forced to allow an awkward dual monarchy with the Hungarians; thus, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Finally, Bismarck managed to start a war against France, which he knew would unite the Southern German states to his cause. He edited the Ems Dispatch (a letter sent by a Kaiser Wilhelm about offensive remarks made by the French diplomat) to make it seem more inflammatory, succeeded in stoking French and German opinion for war. The industrial powerful Prussians beat the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 very quickly. The Prussians had a great network of railroads as well as the advanced Needle-gun that was breech0loading. Napoleon III was actually taken prisoner and the French were forced to sign a humiliating treaty, despite pleas that the treaty would embitter international relations for generations. The French had to give up Alsace-Lorraine. International relations were indeed poisoned as France sought revenge. Britain, Austria, and Russia were also freaked out by a German juggernaut. William I was crowned Kaiser in the Palace of Versailles.
The Responsive National State is a term for something I’ve already described a bit in this section. After the unification of Germany and Italy, European nationalism had progressed a long way, and now national states faced each other. Conservative leaders realized that they could use nationalism, along with a widening franchise and wars focused on other nations, to deal with internal social problems and to maintain their own popularity with the people. The need for foreign diversion is one reason that New Imperialism exploded in the 1880s and 1890s. Bismarck, in particular, gave socialist reforms to Germans. The widening franchise for men encouraged a resurgence in the women’s suffrage movement, led by people like Emmaline Pankhurst. After women entered the factories in large numbers during World War I’s total warfare, women would earn the vote in most western societies.
