Kagan 9: The Late Middle Ages: Social and Political Breakdown

The Hundred Year’s War- (1337-1453). The English king Edward III asserted a claim on the French throne when the
French king Charles IV died w/o a male heir. The French instead chose Philip IV of Valois. England and France were
the emerging territorial powers in too close proximity to one another. England owned some French land, which was
repugnant to France b/c it threatened their royal policy of centralization. England and France also quarreled over
possession of Flanders, which was subject to political influence from England b/c of its principal industry, the
manufacture of cloth, relied on wool imported from England. The primary reason for France’s initial failures was
internal disunity caused by endemic social conflicts. France was still struggling in the 14thc to make a transition from a
fragmented feudal society to a centralized modern society. Needing money for war, French kings resorted to
depreciating currency and borrowing heavily from Italian bankers, which aggravated internal conflicts. The king
formed the Estates General to levy taxes. The English was more disciplined than the French. France was suffering until
the emergence of Joan of Arc. The English army, exhausted by a 6 month siege of Orleans, was at the point of
withdrawal when she arrived. She provided the French w/inspiration and a sense of national identity and self-
confidence. W/I a few months of the liberation of Orleans, Charles VII received his crown. She was later turned over to
the Inquisition and burned as a heretic.

Jacquerie (p.295)- To secure their rights, the French privileged classes forced the peasantry to pay ever-increasing taxes
and repair their war-damaged properties without compensation. This bullying became more than the peasants could
bear, and they rose up in several regions in a series of bloody rebellions in 1358. The nobility quickly put down the
revolt, matching the rebels atrocity for atrocity. During the reign of Richard II, England had its own revolts. In 1381,
long-oppressed peasants and artisans joined in a great revolt lead by John Ball and Wat Tyler. The revolt was crushed,
but it left the country divided for decades.

The Black Death- In the late Middle Ages, 9/10 of the population worked the land. The 3-field system, had increased
the amount of arable land and food supply. The growth of cities and trade also stimulated agricultural science and
productively. But as the food supply grew, so did the population. There were no now more people than there was food
to feed them or jobs to employ them. B/w 1315-1317, crop failures produced the greatest famine of the Middle Ages.
Densely populated areas experienced great suffering. Decades of overpopulation, economic depression, famine, and
bad health progressively weakened Europe’s population and made it highly vulnerable to the plague that struck in 1348.
It was probably introduced by seaborne rats from the Black Sea areas and followed the trade routes from Asia into
Europe. In entered Europe through the port cities of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, then spread through Spain and southern
France and into northern Europe. A full recovery did not occur until the 16thc. To the people of the time, the BD was a
catastrophe w/no apparent explanation and against which there was no known defense. Through much of Europe it
inspired an obsession w/death and dying and a deep pessimism that endured for decades after plague years. Popular
wisdom held that corruption in the atmosphere caused the disease. Among the most extreme social reactions was the
procession of the of the flagellants. Jews were cast as scapegoats for the plague. The BD lead to depopulation and a
shrunken labor supply.

Boniface VIII’s Unam Sanctum- Came to rule when England and France were maturing as nation-states. He was to
discover that the papal monarchy of the early 13thc was no match for the new political powers of the late 13thc. Viewing
English and taxation of the clergy as an assault on traditional clerical rights, he took a strong stand against it. In 1296
he issued a bull which forbade taxation of the clergy w/o previous papal dispensations in this regard. England retaliated
by refusing the clergy the right to be heard in royal court, removing them from the protection of the king. Philip the
Fair forbade the exportation of money from France to Rome, denying the papacy revenues it needed to operate.
Boniface had no choice but to come to terms w/him, giving him the right to tax during an emergency. Philip unleashed
a ruthless antipapal campaign. The Unam Sanctum declared the temporal authority was subject to the spiritual power of
the church. After the US, the French and the Colonnas moved against Boniface w/force

The Avignon Papacy- Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon in 1309. In 1311, he made it the permanent
residence, both to avoid Rome ridden w/strife after the confrontation b/w Boniface and Philip and further pressure from
Philip. It remained there until 1377. The French came to dominate the College of Cardinals, testing the papacy’s agility
to both politically and economically. Being cut off from Roman funds, the papacy had to innovate to get funds.
Clement expanded papal taxes. Clement VI began the practice of selling indulgences, developing the believe in
purgatory. It gained a reputation for being materialistic and having political schemes that gave reformers new
ammunition.

Marsilius of Padua’s Defender of the Peace- Stressed the independent origins and autonomy of secular government.
Clergy were subjected to the strictest apostolic ideals and confined to purely spiritual functions, and all power of
coercive judgment was denied the pope. He argued that spiritual crimes must await an eternal punishment.
Transgressions of divine law, over which the pope had jurisdiction, were to be punished in the next life, not the present
one, unless the secular ruler declared a divine law a secular law as well. It depicted the pope as a subordinate member
of a society over which the emperor ruler supreme.

Wycliffe and Huss- The Lollards looked to the writings of John Wycliffe to justify their demands, and both moderate
and radical Hussites looked to John Huss. Wycliffe was a spokesman for the rights of royalty against the pope. His
views on clerical poverty followed original Franciscan ideals and gave justification to government restriction and
confiscation of church property w/I England. He also maintained that personal merit, not rank and office, was the only
basis of religious authority. This was a dangerous teaching, b/c it raised allegedly pious laypeople above allegedly
corrupt ecclesiastics. Lollards preached in the vernacular, disseminated translations of the Holy Scripture, and
championed clerical poverty. Huss became the leader of the pro-Wycliffe faction at the university of Prgaue. He was
killed for heresy, and his death sparked anger across Bohemia.

The Great Schism and the Conciliar Movement- On Gregory’s death, the cardinals, in Rome, elected Pope Urban VI.
The French cardinals responded by calling for a return of the papacy to Avignon. The French cardinals elected Pope
Clement VII, insisting that they had voted for Urban under fear for their lives. Allegiance to two papal courts divided
along political lines. Two approaches were taken to ending the schism. One tried to win the mutual cession of both
popes, thereby clearing the way for the election of a new pope. The other sought to summon a council they knew would
depose them. On the basis of the arguments of the conciliarists, cardinals representing both popes convened a council
of their own authority in Pisa in 1409, deposed both popes, and elected Alexander V. Neither pope represented its
action, and there were now 3 popes. At the council of Constance, the Roman pope Gregory XII was recognized. At the
Council of Basel, the church negotiated doctrine w/heretics.

Sp. 12: Recovery and Rebirth: The Age of the Renaissance

The Renaissance- Many people who lived in Italy b/w 1350 and 1550 believed that they had witnessed a rebirth of
antiquity, marking a new age. The Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt created the modern concept of the Renaissance. He
portrayed Italy in the 14th and 15thcs as the birthplace of the modern world and saw the revival of antiquity and
secularism as its defining features. Renaissance Italy was largely an urban society. As a result of its commercial
preeminence and political evolution, northern Italy by the mid 14thc was mostly a land of independent cities. The city-
states became the centers of Italian political, social, and economic life. Within this new urban society, a secular spirit
emerged as increasing wealth created new possibilities for the enjoyment of worldly things. Above all, the Renaissance
was a time to recover from the Black Death, political disorder, and economic recession. This recovery was
accompanied by a rediscovery of the culture of classical antiquity. Increasingly aware of their own past, Italian
intellectuals became increasingly interested in the Greco-Roman culture of the ancient world. This rediscovery led to
new attempts to reconcile the pagan philosophy of the Greco-Roman world w/Christian thought, as well as new ways
of viewing human beings. New industries emerged across Europe. It inherited its social structure from the Middle
Ages, society remained divided into 3 estates

Italian Renaissance- Focused on individual abilities. A high regard for human worth and dignity and a realization of
individual potentiality created a new social ideal of the well-rounded personality or universal person who was capable
to achievements in may areas of life. These characteristics were common among the upper classes. Individualism and
secularism were two main characteristics of the Italian Renaissance. The most important movement associated w/it was
humanism.

Florence (1400s)- The wool industry began to recover during the Renaissance. It regained its preeminence in banking
in the 15thc, due primarily to the Medici family. In Florence, the humanist movement took a new direction at the
beginning of the 15thc when it became closely tied to Florentine civic spirit and pride, giving rise to civic humanism.

Civic Humanism- Began in Florence. Intellectuals began to take a new view of their role as intellectuals. It reflected the
values of the urban society of the Italian Renaissance.

Medici Family- They had expanded from cloth production into commerce, real estate, and banking. In its best days, the
House of Medici was the greatest bank in Europe, which branches in Venice, Milan, Rome, Avignon, Bruges, London,
and Lyons. They had controlling interests in the enterprises of silk, wool, and the mining of alum. Except for a brief
interruption, the Medici were also the principal bankers for the papacy, a position that produced big profits and
influence at the papal court. The Medici bank suffered a rather sudden decline at the end of the century due to poor
leadership and a series of bad loans.

Humanism (cf. Aristotle & Scholasticism)- Renaissance humanism was an intellectual movement based on the study of
the classical literary works of Greece and Rome. Humanists studied the liberal arts, all based on the writings of ancient
Greek and Roman authors. Most humanists were teachers or worked in courts. All these occupations were largely
secular, and most humanists were laymen. Humanists came to believe that their study of the humanities should be put
to the service of the state. They eagerly perused the works of Plato as well as Greek poets, dramatists, historians, and
orators, all of whom had been ignored by the scholastics of the High Middle Ages as irrelevant to the theological
questions they were examining. Renaissance humanists believed that human beings could be dramatically changed by
education. They wrote books on education and developed secondary schools based on their ideas. They wrote history
differently than their predecessors. They thought in terms of the passage of time, they had a new sense of chronology
and periodization in history. They also secularized the writing of history. They reduced to eliminated the role of
miracles. Greater attention was paid to the political events that affected territorial units.

Liberal arts- history, moral philosophy, eloquence, letters, poetry, mathematics, astronomy, and music. Vergerio
believed that they were the key to true freedom, enabling individuals to reach their full potential. The purpose of a
liberal education was thus to produce individuals who followed a path of virtue and wisdom and possessed the
rhetorical skills with which to persuade others to do the same. Humanist skills were geared mostly for the elite and
males.

Northern Renaissance/Humanism- In trying to provide an exact portrayal of their world, the artists of the north took a
different approach. The prevalence of Gothic cathedrals w/their stained glass windows resulted in more emphasis on
illuminated manuscripts and wooden panel painting for altarpieces. The space available for these works was limited,
and great care was required to depict each object, leading northern painters to become masters at rendering details.
They did not attempt to master the laws of perspective, but rather accurately depict details. Northern painters placed
emphasis on the emotional intensity of religious feeling and created great works of devotional art, especially in their
altarpieces.

Bruni, Petrarch, Dante, Boccaccio, Castiglione- Petrarch was known as the father of Renaissance humanism. He was
the first intellectual to characterize the Middle Ages as a period of darkness, promoting the belief that medieval culture
was ignorant of classical antiquity. He described the intellectual life as one of solitude. Bruni wrote a biography of
Cicero, in which he waxed enthusiastic about the fusion of political action and literary creation in Cicero’s life. From
Bruni’s time on, Cicero served as the inspiration for the Renaissance ideal that it was the duty of an intellectual to live
an active life for one’s own state.

Pico della Mirandola, Oration of the Dignity of Man- One of the most prominent magi in the late 15thc. He combed
through the works of many philosophers of different background for the common beliefs that he believed were part of
God’s revelation to humanity. He took an avid interest in Hermetic philosophy, accepting it as the science of the divine.

Lorenzo Valla- Wrote The Elegances of the Latin Language, an effort to purify medieval Latin and restore it to its
proper position in the vernacular. The treatise examined the proper use of classical Latin and created a new literary
standard. He identified the different stages in the growth of the Latin language and accepted only the Latin of the last
century of the Roman Republic and the first century of the empire.

Renaissance Art (characteristics, techniques)- Early Renaissance painting took two directions. One emphasized the
mathematical side of painting, the working out of the laws of perspective and the organization of outdoor space and
light by geometry and perspective. The other trend involved the investigation of movement and anatomical structure.
The realistic portrayal of the of the human nude became one of the foremost preoccupations of Italian Renaissance art.
The new style of churches, w/classical columns, rounded arches, and coffered ceiling created an environment that did
not overwhelm the worshipper materially or psychologically, as Gothic cathedrals did, but comforted as a space created
for human measurements. By the end of the 15thc, Italian painters sculptors, and architects had created a new artistic
environment. Artists had mastered the new techniques for a scientific observation of the world around them and were
now ready to move into individualistic forms of creative expression. The High Renaissance was marked by the
increasing importance of Rome as a new cultural center of the Italian Renaissance.

Giotto, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo- Giotto began the imitation of nature, though his style was not
taken up until Masaccio in Florence. W/his use of monumental figures, demonstration of a more realistic relationship
b/w figures and landscapes, and the visual representation of the laws of perspective, a new realistic style was born.
Donatello sculpted David, the first life-sized freestanding bronze nude in European art since antiquity. David also
radiated a simplicity and strength that reflected the dignity of humanity. Raphael and Michelangelo both worked during
the High Renaissance. Raphael was one of Italy’s best painters. He attempted to achieve an ideal beauty far surpassing
human standards. Michelangelo was influenced by Neo-Platonism, especially evident in the figures on the Sistine
Chapel.

Machiavelli, The Prince- He was active during a period of Italian tribulation and devastation. He was sent into exile
and forced to give up politics. His ideas on politics stemmed from his preoccupation w/Italy’s political problems and
his knowledge of ancient Rome. His major concerns in The Prince were the acquisition and expansion of political
power as the means to restore and maintain order in his time. From his point of view, a prince’s attitude toward power
must be based on an understanding of human nature, which he perceived as self-centered. Political activity, therefore,
could not be restricted by moral considerations. The prince acts on behalf of the state and must for the sake of the state
must be willing to let his conscience sleep. He was among the first to abandon morality as the basis for the analysis of
political.

Ferdinand and Isabella- There marriage helped unite the Iberian kingdoms in 1469. The two worked to strengthen royal
control royal control of government, especially in Castile. The royal council, which was supposed to supervise local
administration and oversee the implementation of government policies, was stripped of aristocrats and filled w/middle-
class lawyers. Trained in Roman law, these officials operated on the belief that the monarchy embodied the power of
the state. They reorganized the military forces in Spain. They recognized the importance of controlling the Catholic
church. They secured from the pope the right to select the most important church officials in Spain, making the clergy
an instrument of royal power. They also pursued a policy of strict religious uniformity.

The Spanish Inquisition- Questions about the sincerity of Jewish converts prompted F and I to ask the pope to introduce
the Inquisition to Spain in 1478. At first, it only worked to guarantee the orthodoxy of converts w/o being able to
control practicing Jews. In 1492, flush w/the success of their conquest of Muslim Granada, they decided to expel all
Jews from Spain. They also “encouraged” Muslims to convert.

Printing Press, Gutenberg- The art of printing had an immediate impact on European intellectual life and thought.
Printing spread rapidly through Europe in the 2nd ½ of the 15thc. Printing presses were established throughout the HRE
and spread to Italy, England, France, the Low Countries, Spain, and Eastern Europe. Venice was the center of printing.
Initially, most of the books printed were religious, next came Latin and Greek classics, medieval grammars, legal
handbooks, works on philosophy, and ever-growing number of popular romances. Printing became one of the largest
industries in Europe, and its effects were soon felt on European life. The printing of books encouraged the development
of scholarly research and the desire to attain knowledge. Printing facilitated cooperation among scholars and helped
produce standardized and definitive texts. It also stimulated the development of a reading public.

Sp. 13: Reformation and Religious Warfare in the 17thc

Erasmus- The most influential of all Christian humanists. He formulated and popularized the reform program of
Christian humanism. He thought that Christianity should be the guiding philosophy for the direction of daily life rather
than a system of dogmatic beliefs and practices that the medieval church seemed to stress. He emphasized inner piety
and deemphasized the external forces of religion. To return to the simplicity of the early church, people needed to
understand the original meaning of the Scriptures and early church fathers. To him, the reform of the church meant
spreading an understanding of the philosophy of Jesus, providing enlightened education in the sources of the early
Christianity, and making a commonsense criticism of the abuses in the church. “Erasmus laid the egg that Luther
hatched.” He had no intention of destroying the unity of the medieval Christian church, his program was based on
reform within the church.

Thomas More- Wrote Utopia, an account of idealistic life and institutions. The book reflects his concerns w/the
economic, social, and political problems of his day. He presented a new social system in which cooperation and reason
replaced power and fame as the proper motivating agents for human society. More’s religious devotion and belief in the
universal Catholic church proved important to the service of the king Henry VIII. He willingly gave up his life
opposing England’s break w/the Roman Catholic church.

Peace of Augsburg- Ended religious warfare in Germany in 1555. The division of Christianity was formally
acknowledged, w/Lutheranism granted equal legal standing w/Catholicism. The peace settlement accepted the rights of
each German ruler to determine the religion of his subjects.

Elizabeth I- Her religious policy was based on moderation and compromise. She wished to stop England from being
torn apart over religion. Parliament cooperated w/her, initiating the Elizabethan religious settlement in 1559. The Act
of Uniformity restored the church service to the Book of Common prayer, w/some revisions to make it acceptable to
Catholics. She proved adept in foreign policy and religious affairs. She handled Parliament well, it met 13 times during
her reign. Caution, moderation, and expediency dictated her foreign policy. She realized that war could be disastrous
for her country and rule. Unofficially, she encouraged English seamen to raid Spanish ships and colonies. While
encouraging English piracy and providing clandestine aid to French Huguenots and Dutch Calvinists to weaken Spain
and France, she pretended complete aloofness and avoided alliances that would force her into war. However, she was
drawn into more active involvement into the Netherlands. This move accelerated the already mounting friction b/w
Spain and England. This caused Philip II to invade. (see Spanish Armada)
A Politique- People who believed that no religious truth was worth civil war. They ultimately prevailed.

Huguenots- French Calvinists. They came from all levels of society: artisans and shopkeepers hurt by rising prices and
a rigid guild system; merchants and lawyers in provincial towns whose privileges were tenuous; and members of the
nobility. Included the House of Bourbon, which stood next to the Valois in the royal line of succession and ruled the
kingdom of Navarre. They were a potentially dangerous political threat to monarchical power. Opposed the crown.

Catherine de Medici (Valois)- Catholic, and controlled the Catholic church. After Henry II’s death, she dominated the
throne through her two sons. She looked to religious compromise as a way to defuse the political tensions, but found
that both sides had members who were unwilling to make compromises.

Ultra-Catholics- favored strict opposition to the Huguenots and was led by the Guise family. They formed a “holy
legue” vowing to exterminate heresy and seat a true Catholic—Henry, duke of Guise—on the throne in place of Henry
III.

The Guises vs. the Bourbons- The Guises were Catholics, had the loyalty of Paris through their client-patronage
system, and could recruit a pay for large armies and received support abroad from the papacy and Jesuits.

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre- (1572) occurred at a time when the Catholic and Calvinist parties had been
reconciled through the marriage of the sister of the Valois king, Charles IX, and Henry of Navarre. The Guise family
persuaded the king that his gathering of Huguenots posed a threat to them. Charles and his advisers decided to
eliminate them. The initial murders unleashed a wave of violence that gripped the city of Paris for 3 days.

Henry of Navarre, to be King Henry IV- The son of Jeanne d’Albret, who had been responsible for introducing
Calvinist ideas into her kingdom. He was the acknowledged political leader of the Huguenots. He saved his life during
the Massacre by converting.

Edict of Nantes- (1598) Acknowledged Catholicism as the official religion of France but guaranteed the Huguenots the
right to worship in selected places. Huguenots were allowed to enjoy all political privileges, including holding public
offices.

War of the Three Henrys- Henry, duke of Guise, seized Paris and forced King Henry III to make him chief minister. To
rid himself of Guise influence, Henry III assassinated the duke of Guise and then joined w/Henry of Navarre, who was
next in line for the throne, to crush the Catholic Holy league and retake Paris. Henry III was assassinated in 1589,
Henry of Navarre claimed the throne, and converted once again to Catholicism. W/the coronation of 1594, the French
Wars of Religion came to and end.

Philip II of Spain- The greatest advocate of militant Catholicism. His major goal was to consolidate the lands he had
inherited from his father, which to him meant strict conformity to Catholicism, enforced by the Spanish Inquisition and
the establishment of a strong monarchical authority. He expanded royal power by making the monarchy less dependant
on the landed aristocracy. He tried to be the center of the whole government and supervised the work of all
departments. He wanted Spain to be a dominate power in Europe, though he faced many economic problems. He
became the champion of Catholicism throughout Europe. His greatest misfortunes came from his attempt to crush the
revolt in the Netherlands and his relationship w/Elizabeth.

William of Orange- Wished to unify all 17 provinces of the Netherlands, a goal seemingly realized in 1576 w/the
Pacification of Ghent. This agreement stipulated that all the provinces would stand together under William’s
leadership, respect religious differences, and demand that Spanish troops be withdrawn. But religious differences
proved too strong for any lasting agreement. After the formation of the Union of Arras, he organized the 7 Dutch-
speaking states into a Protestant union—the Union of Utrecht—determined to oppose Spanish rule.

Mary I, policies of- Tried to make England Catholic.

The Puritans- Protestants within the Anglican church who, inspired by Calvinist theory, wanted to remove any trace of
the Catholic church from the Church of England. (see chapter 15). They wanted James I to eliminate the Episcopal
system in England. Many of them were part of the gentry, and formed an important and substantial part of the House of
Commons and held important positions locally.

John Knox- The Calvinist reformer of Scotland.

The Spanish Armada- After years of viewing invasion of England as impractical, Philip II of Spain was finally
persuaded to do so by advisors who assured him that the people of England would rise against their queen when the
Spanish arrived. Philip was easily convinced that the revolt in the Netherlands would never be crushed as long as
England provided support for it. A successful invasion of England would mean the overthrow of heresy and a return of
England to Catholicism. The armada proved to be a disaster. The Spanish fleet had neither the ships nor the troops that
Philip had planned. They hoped for a miracle that never arrived.

Martin Luther, justification by faith alone- In Luther’s eyes, human beings, weak and powerless could never do enough
good works to merit salvation. To him, humans are not saved through their good works but through faith in the
promises of God. The doctrine of salvation by grace alone became the primary doctrine of the Protestant Reformation.
The Bible was for Luther, as w/other Protestants, the chief guide to religious truth. Luther disapproved of the sale of
indulgences. Angered, he issued his 95 Theses, a stunning indictment of the abuses in the sale of indulgences. They
were quickly copied and distributed, receiving sympathy in a Germany that had a long tradition of dissatisfaction
w/papal polices. He was excommunicated in 1521. After a brief period of hiding, (see diet of worms) he established his
own church, which spread rapidly. Lutheranism spread to both princely and ecclesiastical states in northern and central
Germany as well as to 2/3 of the free imperial cities, especially those in southern Germany. During the Peasants’
Revolts, knowing how much his church depended on the support of the German princes, supported the rulers (see
German Peasants’ Revolt). To Luther, the state and its rulers were ordained by God and given the authority to maintain
peace and order. It was the duty of the princes to put down revolts. He kept 2 of the 7 sacraments—baptism and the
Lord’s Supper. Baptism represented rebirth through grace. ML rejected transubstantiation, though he continued to insist
on the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood in the bread and wine given as a testament of God’s forgiveness of sin.
His emphasis on the importance of the Scripture led him to reject the Catholic belief that the authority of Scripture
might be supplemented by the traditions and decrees of the church. The word of God as revealed in the Bible was
sufficient authority in religious affairs and a hierarchical priesthood was unnecessary since all Christians following the
world of God were their own priests. The Lutheran churches in Germany quickly became territorial or state churches in
which the state supervised and disciplined church members. He instituted new religious services to replace the Mass
featuring a worship service consisting of vernacular liturgy that focused on Bible reading, preaching the word of God,
and song.

Transubstantiation – teaches that the substance of the bread and wine consumed in the rite is transformed into the blood
and body of Jesus. ML rejected the doctrine.

John Tetzel, indulgences- hawked indulgences w/the slogan “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from
purgatory springs.” The sale of indulgences increased after Pope Leo X issued a special jubilee indulgence to finance
the ongoing construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in 1517.

Charles I of Spain/ Emperor Charles V- ruled over an empire consisting of Spain and its overseas possessions, the
Austrian Habsburg lands, Bohemia, Hungary, the Low Countries, and the kingdom of Naples in southern Italy.
Politically, he wanted to maintain his dynasty’s control over his empire; religiously, he hoped to preserve the unity of
the Catholic faith. The French, the papacy, the Turks, and Germany’s internal situation cost his him dream. At the same
time, the emperor’s problems gave Luther’s movement time to grow and organize.

Luther’s writings: Address to Christian Nobility, etc.-Published in 1520, moving towards a definite break w/the
Catholic church. AttNotGN was a political tract written in German in which Luther called on the German princes to
overthrow the papacy in Germany and establish a reformed German church. The BCotC attacked the sacramental
system as the means by which the pope and church had held the real meaning of the Gospel captive for a thousand
years. He called for the reform of monasticism and for clergy to marry.

Diet of Worms- Convened by Charles V, who was outraged at Luther’s audacity. By the Edict of Worms, Martin
Luther was made an outlaw within the empire. His works were to be burned, and Luther was to be delivered to the
emperor.

German Peasants’ Revolt- Peasant dissatisfaction in Germany stemmed from several sources. Many peasants had not
been touched by the gradual economic improvements of the early 16thc. In some areas, local landowners continued to
abuse their peasants, and new demands for taxes and other services caused them to wish for a return to the “good old
days.” Social discontent soon became entangled w/religious revolt as peasants looked to Martin Luther for support. It
was Thomas Muntzer who inflamed the peasants (“strike while the iron is hot!”). Revolt first erupted in southwestern
Germany in June 1524 and spread northward and eastward. Luther reacted vehemently against them, calling on German
princes to “smite, slay, and stab” the peasants. By May 1525, the German princes had suppressed the peasant hordes.
By this time, Luther found himself even more dependent on state authorities for the growth of this church.
Zwingli, Swiss Reformation- Began the Reformation in Switzerland. His preaching of the gospel caused such unrest
that in 1523 the city council held a public debate. These debates became a standard way of spreading the Reformation
to many cities. Over the next 2 years, evangelical reforms were made in made in Zurich by a city council strongly
influenced by Zwingli. He looked to the state to supervise the church. Relics and images were abolished, paintings and
decorations were abolished. The Mass was replaced by a new liturgy consisting of Scripture reading, prayer, and
sermons. Music was eliminated. Monasticism, pilgrimages, the veneration of saints, clerical celibacy, and the pope’s
authority were abolished. His movement soon spread to Bern(1528) and Basel(1529). By 1528, his reform movement
faced serious political problems as the forest cantons remained Catholic. Zwingli attempted to build a league of
evangelical cities by seeking an agreement w/Luther and the German reformers. Both the Swiss and German realized
the importance of unity in the face of imperial and conservative opposition. The 2 groups agreed on everything at the
colloquy of Marburg except the interpretation of the Lord’s Supper.

Marburg Colloquy- (see Swiss Reformation) Created by Philip of Hesse, who feared Charles V’s ability to take
advantage of the division between the reformers. The leaders of both churches attended to resolve their differences.
Able to agree on everything else, the gathering splintered over the interpretation of the Lord’s Supper. Zwingli believed
that it was entirely symbolic and only a meal of remembrance. Luther insisted on the real presence of the body and
blood of Jesus.

Anabaptists- favored a more radical reform movement. Anabaptism was popular among peasants, weavers, miners, and
artisans who had been adversely affected by the economic changes in the age. They felt that the true Christian church
was a voluntary association of believers who had undergone spiritual rebirth and then been baptized into the church.
They advocated adult baptism, b/c they felt that no one should be forced to accept the Bible. They also tried to return to
the practices and spirit of early Christianity. They followed a strict democracy in which all believers were considered
equal. Each church chose its own minister, who could be any member of the community, who led services, which were
very simple. They accepted that they would have to suffer for their faith. They rejected theological speculation in favor
of simple living according to what they believed was the pure word of God. The Lord’s Super was remembrance. They
believed in the complete separation of church and state. Human law had no power over who God saved. They refused
to hold political office or bear arms. They were regarded as dangerous radicals. They underwent persecution, especially
after the Peasant’s War. Munster became a haven for Anabaptists, especially to the Melchiorites, who believed that the
end of the world was near. By 1534, they had taken control of the city, driven out all nonbelievers, burnt all books but
the Bible, and proclaimed universal ownership of all property. In 1535, a joint army of Catholics and Lutherans
recaptured the city and executed its leaders. The religion then became more peaceful and was headed by Menno
Simons, who brought it back to its pacifistic tendencies and imposed strict rules on his followers. The Mennonites
spread to northwestern Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and the New World.

The Reformation and the changing role of women- Both Catholic and Protestant clergy preached sermons advocating a
more positive side of family relationships. The Protestants were especially important in developing the new view of
family. B/c Protestantism eliminated special holiness for the celibacy, abolishing both monasticism and a celibate
clergy, the family was now placed at the center of human life. A wife’s major role was to obey her husband and bear
children, which Calvin and Luther believed was part of the divine plan. B/c monasticism had been destroyed, the career
avenue was no longer available; for most Protestant women, family life was their only destiny. Protestants put much
emphasis on the father as the “ruler” of the family, removing women from their traditional role of controllers of
religion in the home. Protestant reformers called on men and women to read the Bible and participate in religious
services together, providing a stimulus for the education of girls.

Thomas Muntzer- (see German Peasants’ Revolt) A radical follower of Luther.

John Calvin, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, the “elect”, vs. Lutheranism- He was so convinced of
the inner guidance of God that he became the most determined of all Protestant reformers. On most important
doctrines, he was close to Luther. He adhered to justification by faith alone to explain how humans achieved salvation.
He placed emphasis on the absolute sovereignty of God. One of his ideas derived from his emphasis on the absolute
sovereignty of God—predestination—gave a unique cast to Calvin’s teachings. This meant that God had predestined
some people to be saved (the elect) and others to be damned (the reprobate). Calvin identified 3 tests that might
indicate possible salvation: an open profession of faith, a “decent and godly life,” and participation in the sacraments of
baptism and communion. The practical psychological effect of predestination was to give some later Calvinists an
unshakeable conviction that they were doing God’s work on earth. Thus Calvinism became a dynamic and activist
faith. To Calvin, the church was a divine institution responsible for preaching the word of God and administering the
sacraments. Calvin believed in the presence of Jesus in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, but only in a spiritual
sense. In 1541 Geneva city council accepted his new church constitution, known as the Ecclesiastical Ordinances,
which created a church government that used both clergy and laymen in the service of the church. During Calvin’s last
years, stricter laws against blasphemy were enacted and enforced w/banishment and public whippings. Calvin’s success
in Geneva enabled the city to become a center of Protestantism.
English Reformation- Initiated by King Henry VIII, who wanted a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, b/c
she couldn’t produce a male heir. Henry relied on Cardinal Wolsey to obtain from Pope Clement VII an annulment of
his marriage. Normally, the pope might have been willing to oblige, but the sack of Rome in 1527 made the pope
dependent on the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was Catherine’s nephew. Henry dismissed his advisor and
adopted two new ones: Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell, who advised him to attain an annulment from
England’s own courts. The most important step toward this goal was the promulgation by Parliament of an act cutting
off all appeals from English church courts to Rome, essentially abolishing papal authority in England. In 1534,
Parliament completed the break w/Rome by passing the Act of Supremacy. Parliament also passed the Treason Act,
making it punishable by death to deny that the king was the supreme head of the church. About 400 religious houses
were closed in 1536, and their land and possessions were confiscated by the king. Many were sold to nobles, gentry,
and merchants, adding to the treasury and the king’s ranks of supporters. Little change occurred in matters of doctrine,
theology, and ceremony. Thomas Cranmer wished to have a religious reformation as well as an administrative one, but
Henry refused. He was succeeded by Edward VI, who was only 9 at the time, so real control of the throne was held by
a council of regency. During Edward’s reign, Archbishop Cranmer inclined towards Protestantism. New acts of
Parliament gave the clergy the right to marry, eliminated images, and created a revised Protestant liturgy and elaborated
prayer book. Mary tried to make England Catholic again, though her attempts aroused opposition. Her foreign policy of
alliance w/Spain aroused further hostility. Her burning of more than 300 Protestant heretics made England more
Protestant b/c people now identified Protestantism w/English resistance to Spanish interference.

King Henry VIII, “Six Articles of Faith”- (see English Reformation) his desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon initiated
the English Reformation. He had 8 wives, and was succeeded by Edward VI, the son of this 3rd wife.

Act of Supremacy, Act of Uniformity- (see English Reformation) declared that the king was “taken, accepted, and
regulated the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England.” This meant that the English monarch now
controlled the church in all matters of doctrine, clerical appointments, and discipline.

Book of Common Prayer- (see English Reformation) the prayer book instituted during the reign of Edward VI by
Parliament. This was one of the many changes during that time that aroused opposition.

Counter-Reformation- The revival of Roman Catholicism. The best features of medieval Catholicism were revived and
adjusted to meet new conditions, seen in the revival of mysticism and monasticism. The regeneration of religious
orders also proved valuable to the reformation of Catholicism. New orders and brotherhoods were also created. The
meager steps taken to control corruption left the papacy still in need of serious reform, and it took the PR to bring it
about. In 1541, a colloquy had been held at Regensburg in a final attempt to settle the religious division peacefully.
Here Catholic and Protestant moderates reached a compromise on many doctrinal issues. However, more conservative
members refused to compromise. Pope Paul IV created the Index of Forbidden Books, which included the work of
Protestant theologians and Erasmus.

Paul III- His pontificate proved to be a turning point in the reform of the papacy. He continued Renaissance papal
practices by appointing his nephews as cardinals, involving himself in politics, and patronizing arts and letters at a
lavish scale. He saw the need for change. He appointed a reform commission to study the condition of the church,
which blamed the church’s problems of corrupt policies of popes and cardinals. He also summoned the Council of
Trent.

Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola- The Society of Jesus. Founded by Ignatius of Loyola, who gathered a small group of
individuals who were recognized as a religious order by a papal bull in 1540. They were grounded on the principles of
absolute obedience to the papacy, a strict hierarchical order for society, the use of education to achieve its goals, and a
dedication to engage in “conflict for God.” They began to resemble a military command. Executive leadership was in
the hands of a general, who nominated important positions in the order and was revered as the head of the order. They
established highly disciplined schools, borrowing from humanist schools for their educational methods. To them, the
education of young people was crucial to combating Protestantism. They propagandized Catholicism among non-
Christians, going to China and Japan. They were very determined to fight Protestantism. They succeed in restoring
Catholicism to parts of Germany and eastern Europe.

Council of Trent- (1542) Meant to resolve the differences created by the Protestant revolt. A variety of problems,
including war, plague, and changing popes, prevented the council from holding regular meetings. Moderate Catholic
reformers hoped that compromises would be made in formulating doctrinal definitions that would encourage
Protestants to return to the church. Conservatives favored an uncompromising restatement of Catholic doctrines in strict
opposition to Protestant positions. The latter group won. The final doctrinal decrees of the CoT reaffirmed traditional
Catholic teachings in opposition to Protestant beliefs. Scripture and tradition were affirmed as equal authorities in
religious matters; only the church could interpret Scripture. Both faith and good works were necessary for salvation.
The 7 sacraments were upheld. Belief in purgatory and indulgences was affirmed, though the hawking of indulgences
was prohibited. Theological seminaries were established in every diocese for the training of priests. After the CoT, the
Catholic church possessed a clear body of doctrine and a unified church under the acknowledged supremacy of the
popes.

Protestant Reformation- The two main pillars were justification by faith and the Bible as the sole authority of religious
affairs. From the outset the Reformation in Germany was largely an urban phenomenon.

Bartolome de Las Casas- (see chapter 14- Spanish Empire)

Sp. 14: Europe and the New World: New Encounters, 1500-1800

Treaty of Tordesillas- In 1494, it had divided up the newly discovered world into spheres of Spanish and Portuguese
influence. Most of South Africa fell into the Spanish sphere, which led to their particular interest in exploration. The
route around the Cape of Good Hope was reserved for the Portuguese while the route across the Atlantic was assigned
to Spain.

Mercantilism- a set of economic tendencies that came to dominate economic practices in the 17thc. Fundamental to
mercantilism was the belief that the total volume of trade was unchangeable. Since one nation could expand and hence
its prosperity only at the expense of others, to mercantilists, economic activity was war carried on by peaceful means.
According to mercantilists, the prosperity of a nation depended on a plentiful supply of bullion (gold and silver). For
this reason, it was desirable to achieve a favorable balance of trade in which goods exported were of greater value than
those imported, promoting an influx of gold and silver payments that would increase the quantity of the bullion. To
encourage exports, governments should stimulate and protect export industries and trade by granting trade monopolies,
encouraging investment in new industries through subsidies, importing foreign artisans, and improving transportation
by building roads, bridges, and canals. By placing high tariffs on foreign goods, they could be kept out of the country
and prevented from competing w/domestic industries. Colonies were deemed valuable as sources of raw materials and
markets for finished goods. Mercantilism focused on the role of the state, believing that state intervention in some
aspects of the economy was desirable for the sake of national good. Government regulations to ensure the superiority of
export goods, the construction of roads of canals, and the granting of subsidies to create companies were all predicated
on government involvement in economic affairs.

Joint-stock company- The commercial expansion of the 16th and 17thc was made easier by new forms of commercial
organization, especially the JSC. Individuals bought shares in a company and received dividends on their investment
while a board of directors ran the company and made important business decisions. The JSC made it easier to raise
large amounts of capital for world trading ventures.

Price revolution- A Europe-wide phenomenon, although different areas were affected at different times. Foodstuffs
were most subject to price increases. As a result of the PR, wages failed to keep up w/price increases. Wage earners
saw their standard of living drop. At the same time, landed aristocrats, who could raise rents, managed to prosper.
Commercial and industrial entrepreneurs also benefited from the PR b/c of rising profits, expanding markets, and
relatively cheap labor costs. Government was likewise affected by inflation. They borrowed heavily from bankers and
imposed new tax burdens on their subjects, often stirring up additional discontent.

Spanish Empire (extent and basic economic set up)- Spanish policy toward the Indians of the New World was a
combination of confusion, misguided paternalism, and cruel exploitation. Queen Isabella declared the natives to be
subjects of Castile and instituted the Spanish encomienda, a system that permitted the conquering Spaniards to collect
tribute from the natives and use them as laborers. 3000 miles from Spain, Spanish settlers largely ignored their
government and used the Indians to pursue their own economic interests. In 1542, largely in response to publications of
Bartolome de Las Casas, the government abolished the encomienda system and provided more protection for the
natives. In the New World, the Spanish developed an administrative system based on viceroys. Spanish possessions
were initially divided into 2 major administrative units: New Spain (Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
islands), with its center in Mexico City, and Peru (western south America), governed by a viceroy in Lima. Each
viceroy served as the king’s chief civil and military officer and was aided by advisory groups called audiencias, which
also functioned as supreme judicial bodies. The Catholic monarchs of Spain were given extensive rights over
ecclesiastical affairs in the New World. They could appoint all bishops and clergy, build churches, collect fees, and
supervise the various religious orders. The mass conversion of Indians brought the organizational and institutional
structures of Catholicism to the New World.

Sp. 15: State Building and the Search for Order in the 17thc

Witch hunts- Trials were held in England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, France, the Low Countries, and New
England. The practice had been a part of traditional village culture for centuries, though it became to be viewed as
something dangerous when the church began to connect witches to the devil, thereby transforming it into heresy that
should be wiped out. More than 100,000 were persecuted across Europe. Religious uncertainties played a part in the
increased number of trials. Many trials occurred in places where Protestantism had proved victorious or where
Protestant-Catholic controversies still raged. At a time when the old communal values that stressed working together
for the good of the community were disintegrating before the onslaught of a new economic ethic that emphasized that
one should look after oneself, property owners became fearful of the growing number of poor in their midst and
transformed them physiologically into agents of the devil. Old woman were particularly subject to suspicion. Most
lawyers, theologians, and philosophers in early modern Europe believed in the natural inferiority of women and thus
would have found it plausible that women should be susceptible to witchcraft. By the mid-17thc, the witchcraft hysteria
had begun to subside. The destruction caused by the religious wars had forced people to accept a grudging toleration,
tempering religious passions. As governments began to stabilize after the period of crisis, fewer magistrates were
willing to accept the unsettling and divisive conditions generated by witch trials. More and more educated people were
questioning their attitudes towards religion and finding in contrary to reason to believe in the old world view.

Thirty Years War- (1618-1648) Religion, especially b/w militant Catholicism and militant Calvinism, played an
important role in the outbreak of the war. As the war progressed, it became increasingly clear that secular, dynastic-
nationalist considerations were more important. Much of it took place in the Germanic lands of the HRE, though it also
became a Europe-wide struggle. Some historians view it as a conflict for European leadership b/w the Bourbon dynasty
of France and the Habsburg dynasties of Spain and the HRE. At the beginning of the 17thc, the Calvinist ruler of the
Palatine, the Elector Palatine Frederick IV, assumed the leadership in forming a league of German Protestant states
called the Protestant Union. To counteract it, the Catholic League of German states was organized by duke Maximilian.
By then, in 1609, Germany was dividing into 2 armed camps in anticipation of religious war. The religious division
was exacerbated by a constitutional issue. The desire of the Habsburg emperors to consolidate their authority in the
HRE was resisted by the princes, who fought for their constitutional rights and prerogatives as individual rulers. To
pursue their policies, the Habsburg emperors looked to Spain for assistance while the princes turned to the enemies of
Spain, especially France. It is divided into the Bohemian, Danish, Swedish, and Franco-Swedish phases. Some areas of
Germany were devastated by the war, while others remained untouched. Before, during, and after the war, a series of
rebellions and civil wars stemming from the discontent of both nobles and commoners rocked the domestic stability of
European governments. To strengthen their power, monarchs attempted to extend their authority at the expense of
traditional powerful elements who resisted the ruler’s efforts. At the same time, to fight their battles, governments
increased taxes.
Bohemian Phase- (1618-1625) began in one of the Habsburg’s own territories. The Protestant nobles rebelled
against Ferdinand in May 1618 and proclaimed their resistance by throwing 2 of the Habsburg secretaries out
the window in a castle in Prague. Spanish troops invaded the Palatine and conquering it at the end of 1622.
Emperor Frederick declared Bohemia a hereditary Habsburg possession, confiscated the land of Protestant
nobles, and established Catholicism as the sole religion.
Danish Phase- (1625-1629) began when King Christian IV of Denmark intervened on behalf of the Protestant
cause. He wanted to gain possession of Catholic territory in northern Germany to benefit his family. He was
defeated in 1626 by the Catholic League, which meant the end of Danish supremacy in the Baltic. Emperor
Frederick II then issued the Edict of Restitution, prohibiting Calvinist worship and restoring to the Catholic
church all property taken by Protestant princes or cities during the past 75 years. This sudden growth in the
power of the Habsburg emperor frightened many German princes, who feared for their independent status.
Swedish Phase- (1630-1635) marked the entrance of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, into the war. He
was responsible for reviving Sweden and making it into a great Baltic power. The imperials eventually won,
guaranteeing that Germany would remain Catholic.
Franco-Swedish Phase- by this time, religious issues were losing their significance. After 5 years of
negotiations, the war in Germany was officially ended by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The war b/w
France and Spain continued until the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659. By that time, Spain had become a 2nd
class power, and France had emerged as the dominant nation in Europe.

Peace of Westphalia- (see Franco-Swedish phase) ensured that all German states, including Calvinist ones, were free to
determine their own religion. France gained parts of western Germany, part of Alsace, and the 3 cities of Metz, Toul,
and Verdun, giving the French control of the Franco-German border area. The Austrian Habsburgs saw their authority
as rulers of Germany partially diminish. The 300 states that made up the HRE were recognized as virtually
independent, since each received the power to conduct its own foreign policy. The Habsburg emperor had been reduced
to a figurehead in the HRE. The PoW also made it clear that religion and politics were now separate. The pope was
completely ignored in all decisions at Westphalia, and political motives became the guiding forces in political affairs as
religion moved closer to becoming a matter of personal conviction. Formally recognized Dutch independence.

Absolute vs. Constitutional monarchy- absolutism meant that the sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state
rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right. A monarch’s absolute power was often limited by
practical realities. In 1700, government for most people meant the institutions that affected their lives: local courts,
local tax collectors, and local organizations of armed forces. Kings and ministers might determine policies and issue
guidelines, but they still had to function through local agents and had no guarantee that their wishes would be carried
out. The most important people were always the nobles.

James I- Coming from Scotland, he had little knowledge about the laws, customs, and institutions of the English. He
espoused the divine right of kings, which alienated Parliament, which had grown accustomed under the Tudors to act
on the premise that monarch and Parliament acted together. Parliament refused his request of additional money needed
to meet the increased cost of government. The Puritans (see chapter 13) wanted him to eliminate the Episcopal system
of church organization used in the Church of England (in which the bishop played a major administrative role). James
refused b/c he realized that the Anglican church, w/its bishops appointed by the crown, was a major support of
monarchical authority.

Petition of Right- Passed in 1628, the king was supposed to accept it before being granted any tax revenues. It
prohibited taxation w/o Parliament’s consent, arbitrary imprisonment, the quartering of soldiers in private houses, and
the declaration of martial law in peacetime. It was initially accepted by Charles I, but he rejected it later b/c it put too
many limits on his power.

Charles I- After the PoR, he decided that he could not work w/Parliament, so didn’t summon it to meet. From 1629-
1640, he pursued a course of personal rule, which forced him to collect taxes w/o the cooperation of Parliament. One
expedient was called ship money, levy on seacoast towns to pay for coastal defense, which was now levied everywhere
and used to fund other operations besides defense. His religious policies were also bad. When William Laud, the
archbishop of Canterbury, tried to introduce more ritual into the Anglican church, Puritans were offended. When
Charles and Laud attempted to impose the Book of Common Prayer on the Scottish Presbyterian church, the Scots rose
up in rebellion against him. Financially strapped and unable to raise troops to defend against the Scots, the king was
forced to call Parliament into session. (see Long Parliament) Condemned to death by the Rump Parliament.

Long Parliament- (1640-1641) took a series of steps that placed severe limitations on royal authority. These included
the abolition of arbitrary courts; the abolition of taxes that the king had collected w/o Parliamentary consent, such as
ship money; and the passage of the Triennial Act, which specified that Parliament must meet at least once every three
years. By the end of 1641, one group in Parliament was prepared to go no further, but a group of more radical
parliamentarians pushed for more change, including the elimination of bishops in the Anglican church. When the king
tried to take advantage of the split by arresting some members of the more radical faction, a large group in Parliament
led by John Pym and his fellow Puritans decided that the king had gone too far.

English Civil War- Parliament proved successful in the 1st part of the war thanks to the creation of the New Model
Army, which was comprised of more extreme Puritans known as independents, who believed that they were doing
battle for the Lord. They were led by Oliver Cromwell. A split then occurred in the Parliamentary forces. A
Presbyterian majority wanted to disband the army and restore Charles I w/a Presbyterian state church. The army,
composed mostly of the radical Independents, who opposed an established Presbyterian church, marched to London in
1647 and began negotiating w/the king. Angered by him, Cromwell and the army engaged in another war that ended in
Cromwell’s victory. He then purged the Presbyterian members from Parliament. Ended w/Pride’s Purge and the Rump
Parliament.

Pride’s Purge- (see English Civil War) Cromwell removed all the Presbyterian members from Parliament, leaving a
Rump Parliament of 53 members.

The “Rump Parliament”- (see English Civil War/ Pride’s Purge) 53 members of the House of Commons who tried and
condemned the king for treason. After his death, they abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords and proclaimed
England a republic.

Oliver Cromwell- Took over after Charles I. Faced opposition from Ireland and radically minded groups at home. To
him, only people of property had the right to participate in the affairs of state. He smashed the radicals by force. He
also found it difficult to work w/Rump Parliament and disbanded it by force. The army provided a new government
when it drew up the Instrument of Government, England’s first written constitution. Cromwell found it difficult to
work w/the new Parliament, especially when its members debated his authority and advocated against the creation of a
Presbyterian state church. In 1655, he once again dissolved Parliament and divided the country into 11 regions, each
ruled by a major general who served virtually as a military governor. To meet the cost of military government,
Cromwell levied a 10 percent tax on all former Royalists. Unable to establish a constitutional basis for a working
government, Cromwell had resorted to military force to maintain and rule the Independents. After his death, the
restoration of the Stuart monarchy ended England’s time of troubles.
Instrument of Government- (see Oliver Cromwell) Executive power was vested in the Lord Protector and legislative
power in a reconstituted Parliament. The new system failed to work.

Charles II- After the restoration, a new Parliament met in 1661 and restored the Anglican church as the official church
of England. In addition, laws were passed to force everyone, especially Catholic and Puritan Dissenters, to conform to
the Anglican church. He was sympathetic towards Catholicism, and his brother was a Catholic. Parliament’s suspicions
were therefore aroused when in 1672 he issued the Declaration of Indulgence. To foil the efforts of the Whigs and
Tories, he dismissed Parliament in 1681, relying on French subsidies to rule alone. When he died, his Catholic brother
came to the throne.

Declaration of Indulgence/ Test Act- (see Charles II) suspended the laws that Parliament had passed against Catholics
and Puritans. Parliament would have none of it and the king had to suspend the Declaration. Propelled by anti-Catholic
sentiment, Parliament then passed the Test Act of 1673, specifying that only Anglicans could hold military and civil
offices.

The Restoration- The Stuart monarchy was restored, but Parliament kept much of the power it had won: its role in
government was acknowledged, the necessity for its consent to tax was accepted, and arbitrary courts were still
abolished.

Whigs vs. Tories- The Whigs wanted to exclude Catholic James from the throne and establish a Protestant king
w/toleration of Dissenters. Tories supported the king, despite their dislike of James as a Catholic, b/c they did not
believe that Parliament should tamper w/the succession to the throne.

James II- his accession to the throne guaranteed a constitutional crisis for England. His attempts to further Catholicism
made religion a more primary cause for conflict b/w king and Parliament. Contrary to the Test Act, he named Catholics
to high positions in the government, navy, army, and universities. In 1687, he issued a new Declaration of Indulgence,
which suspended all laws barring Catholics and Dissenters from office. Parliamentary outcries against James’s policies
stopped short of rebellion b/c members knew that he was old and he had Protestant daughters, Mary and Anne.
Unforunatley, he soon had a son who was Catholic.

The “Glorious Revolution”- A group of prominent English noblemen invited William of Orange, husband of Mary, to
invade England. William welcomed this opportunity to fight France w/England’s resources. They raised an army and
invaded England while James and his family fled to France. The Revolution Settlement confirmed William and Mary
as monarchs. In 1689, the Convention Parliament asserted that James had tried to subvert the constitution and declared
the throne of England vacant. It then offered it to William and Mary, along w/the provisions of a declaration of rights,
later made into the Bill of Rights. Viewed by many as the end of the struggle b/w king and Parliament. By deposing
one king and establishing another, Parliament had demolished the divine-right theory of kingship and confirmed its
right to participate in government.

Bill of Rights- (see Glorious Revolution) affirmed Parliament’s right to make laws and levy taxes and made it
impossible for kings to oppose or do w/o Parliament by stipulating that standing armies could only be raised
w/Parliamentary consent. Both elections and debates of Parliament had to be free, meaning that the king could not
interfere. The rights of the citizens to petition the sovereign, keep arms, have a jury trial, and not to be subject to
excessive bail were also confirmed. The Bill of Rights helped fashion a system of government based on the rule of law
and free elected Parliament, thus laying the foundation for a constitutional monarchy. It did not settle the religious
questions that had played such a large role in England’s troubles.

Toleration Act- (1689) granted Puritan Dissenters the right of free public worship (Catholics were still excluded),
although they did not yet have full civic and political equality since the Test Act was not repealed. Although it did not
mean complete religious freedom and equality, it marked a departure in English history: few people would ever again
be persecuted for religious reasons.

Thomas Hobbes- Lived during the English Civil War, and was alarmed by the revolutionary upheavals. He wrote the
Leviathan, he which he elaborated on his belief in divine right. He claimed that the state of nature, humans were guided
by animalistic instincts and a struggle for self-preservation. To save themselves for destroying each other, people
contracted to form a commonwealth, which he called the great Leviathan. This commonwealth placed its collective
power into the hands of a sovereign authority, preferably a single ruler, who served as executor, legislator, and judge.
This absolute ruler possessed absolute power. Subjects may not rebel; if they do, they must be suppressed.
John Locke- Argued against the absolute rule of one man. He wrote the Two Treatises of Government. He believed that
humans lived in a state of equality and freedom rather than a state of war. In this state of nature. In this state of nature,
humans had certain inalienable rights—to life, liberty, and property. He did not believe all was well in the state of
nature. Since there was no impartial judge in the state of nature, people found it difficult to protect their rights. So they
mutually agreed to establish a government to ensure the protection of their rights. This agreement established mutual
obligations: government would protect the rights of the people while the people would act reasonably to the
government. If the government failed to keep up its part of the deal, the people might form a new government. For
Locke, however, the community of people was primarily the land-holding aristocracy who were represented in
Parliament.

Jean Bodin- believed that the sovereign power consisted of the right to make laws, tax, administer justice, control the
state’s administrative system, and determine foreign policy.

Louis XIII- came to the throne very young and was dominated by Cardinal Richelieu.

Cardinal Richelieu- Louis XIII’s chief minister from 1624 to 1642. He initiated policies that eventually strengthened
the power of the monarchy. By eliminating the political and military rights of the Huguenots while preserving their
religious ones, he transformed the Huguenots into more reliable subjects. He understood the important role played by
the nobles in the French state. He developed a network of spies to uncover noble plots and then crushed conspiracies.
Sent out royal officials called Intendents to the provinces to execute the orders of the central government. He proved
less capable in financial matters. The basic system of state finances was corrupt, but so many people benefited from the
system’s inefficiency and injustice that the government faced strong opposition to reforming it. His foreign policy goal
of confronting the growing power of the Habsburgs in the 30 Years’ War, led to ever-increasing expenditures, which
soon outstripped the additional revenues. French debt continued to mount.

Mazarin- Dominated the government after the death of Louis XIII and Richelieu. As a foreigner, he was greatly
disliked by the French population. The Fronde took place during his reign. When he died, Louis XIV came into power.

Intendents- (see Richelieu) royal officials sent to the provinces by Richelieu to execute the orders of the central
government. As their functions grew, they came into conflict w/provincial governors. Since they were victorious on
most of these disputes, they further strengthened the power of the crown.

Louis XIV- (1643-1715) (see Versailles) established a constant routine from which he seldom deviated. He created a
majestic spectacle at Versailles. His court came to set the standard for monarchies all over Europe. Despite the
centralizing efforts of Richelieu and Mazarin, 17thc France still had many overlapping authorities. Provinces had their
own regional courts, their own local estates, their own set of laws. The nobles still held much authority. He was able to
restructure the central policy-making machinery of government. The greatest threat to his power came from the high
nobles and princes of the blood who considered it their natural function to assert the policy-making role of royal
ministers. Louis eliminated this threat by removing them from his royal council, the chief administrative body of the
king and overseer of the central machinery of government, and enticing them to his court, where he could keep them
preoccupied w/court life and out of politics. He relied on his ministers. His domination of his ministers and secretaries
gave him control of the central policy-making machinery of monarchial power: the formation of foreign policy, the
making of war and peace, the assertion of the secular power of the crown against any religious authority, and the ability
to levy taxes to fulfill these functions. The traditional powers of French society were too powerful for the king to have
direct control of the lives of his subjects. Control of the provinces and people was achieved by bribing the individuals
responsible the individuals responsible for executing the king’s policies. Local officials could still obstruct execution of
policies they disliked. The desire to maintain religious harmony led Louis into conflict w/the Huguenots. He did not
want the Protestants to practice their faith in largely Catholic France. He had financial issues thanks to building
Versailles, maintaining his court, and waging wars. Louis made war an almost incessant activity of his reign.

Divine Right- (see Bishop Bousset) a monarch’s power came from God and was therefore unquestionable.

“I am the state”- (see Louis XIV) shows that he felt that the existence of a minority undermined his political authority.

the Fronde- (see Mazarin) The nobles, who resented the centralized administrative power being built up at the expense
of the provincial nobility, temporarily allied w/the members of the Parlement of Paris, who opposed the new taxes
levied by the government to pay for the costs of the 30 Years’ War, and w/the masses in Paris, who were also angry
about the taxes. The nobles of the robe led the first Fronde, which broke out in Paris and was ended by a compromise.
The second Fronde (1650) was led by nobles of the sword, whose ancestors were medieval nobles. They were
interested in overthrowing Mazarin to secure their positions and increase their own power. It was crushed by 1652, a
task made easier when nobles began fighting each other. W/the end of the Fronde, the vast majority of the French
concluded that the best hope for stability in France lay in the crown.

Bishop Bousset- One of the chief theorists of divine-right monarchy in the 17thc, who expressed his ideas in Politics
Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture. He argued first that government was divinely ordained so that humans
could live in an organized society. God established kings and through them ruled over all peoples in the world. Since
kings received their power from God, their authority was absolute. They were responsible to no one except God.

Versailles- (see Louis XIV) an elaborate structure built by Louis XIV. It was the personal household of the king, the
location of the central government, and the place where powerful subjects came to find favors and offices for
themselves and their clients as well as the main arena where rival aristocratic factions jostled for power. The lavish
court was intended to overawe subjects and impress foreign powers. It was home to the princes of the blood. By
keeping them involved in the daily life at the palace, Louis excluded them from real power while allowing them to
share in the mystique of being a companion of the king. Most daily ceremonies were carefully staged, the king was
constantly followed by a mob of nobles. Active involvement in the activities at Versailles was the king’s prerequisite
for obtaining offices, titles, and pensions that only he could grant. This policy reduced great nobles and ecclesiastics to
a plane of equality, allowing him to exercise control over them and prevent them from interfering w/the real lines of
power. Court etiquette was a complex matter.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert- (see Louis XIV) Louis’s controller general of finances. He sought to increase the wealth and
power of France through general adherence to mercantilism, which stressed government regulation of economic
activities (see chapter 14) to benefit the state. He attempted to expand the quantity and improve the quality of French
goods. He founded new luxury industries, drew up instructions regulating the quality of goods produced, oversaw the
training of workers, and granted special privileges such as tax exemptions, loans, and subsidies, to new industries. He
built roads and canals. He raised tariffs on foreign goods. Regulations were often evaded, and the imposition of high
tariffs often brought foreign retaliation.

Edict of Fontainebleau –issued by Louis XIV in 1685. Revoked the Edict of Nantes (see chapter 13), and provided for
the destruction of Huguenots schools. It caused many Huguenots to leave France and go to England, the United
Provinces, and German states. Many of them were skilled artisans, and their exodus weakened the French economy and
strengthened the states they went to, which later joined a coalition of Protestant states formed to oppose Louis.

Peace of Utrecht- Ended the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713. It confirmed Philip V as the Spanish ruler,
initiating a Spanish-Bourbon dynasty that would last into the 20thc. It also affirmed that the thrones of Spain and France
were to remain separated. The Spanish Netherlands, Milan, and Naples were given to Austria, and the emerging state of
Brandenburg-Prussia gained additional territories. The real winner was England, who received Gibraltar as well as the
French possessions in America of Newfoundland, Hudson’s Bay Territory, and Nova Scotia. England now emerged as
a formidable naval force.

Junkers- Prussian landed aristocrats. Many of them were official in the Prussian government. They also served in the
army. Their support for Frederick William derived from the tacit agreement that he made w/them. In order to eliminate
the power that the members of the nobility could exercise in the provincial Estates-General, he made a deal w/them. In
return for a free hand in running the government, he gave the nobles almost unlimited power over their peasants,
exempted them from taxation, and awarded them high ranks so long as they would not challenge his political control.
The nobles were allowed to bind their peasants to the land as serfs, something new to BP.

Philip IV- A flurry of domestic reform decrees, aimed at curtailing the power of the Catholic church and the landed
aristocracy, was soon followed by a political reform program whose purpose was to centralize the government of all
Spain and its possessions in monarchical hands. All the efforts meet w/little real success b/c the number and power of
the Spanish aristocrats made them too strong to curtail. Most of his efforts were undermined by a desire to pursue
Spain’s imperial glory and by a series of internal revolts. Spain’s involvement in the 30 Years’ War led to a series of
expensive military campaigns that incited internal revolts and years of civil war. The defeats in Europe and the internal
revolts of the 1640s ended any illusions about Spain’s greatness.

Brandenburg-Prussia- The evolution of BP into a powerful state was largely the work of the Hohenzollern dynasty,
who slowly received lands that came to consist of 3 disconnected masses in western, central, and eastern Germany;
only the Hohenzollern ruler connected them. The foundation for the Prussian state was laid by Frederick William the
Great Elector, who came to power during the 30 Years’ War. He built a strong standing army. To sustain the army, he
established the General War Commissariat to levy taxes for the army and oversee its growth and training. Directly
responsible to the elector, the new bureaucratic machine became his chief instrument for governing the state. In order to
build BP, FW followed mercantilist policies using high tariffs, subsidies, and monopolies for manufacturing to
stimulate domestic industry and the construction of roads and canals. When Frederick III aided the Holy Roman
Emperor in the War of the Spanish Succession, he was officially granted the title of king-in-Prussia.

Austria- The nucleus of the new Austrian Empire remained the traditional hereditary possessions: Lower and Upper
Austria, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, and Tyrol. To these was added the kingdom of Bohemia and parts of northwestern
Hungary in the 16thc. In the 17thc, Leopold I encouraged the eastward movement of the Austrian Empire, but he was
challenged by the revival of the Ottoman empire. By the treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, Austria took control of Hungary,
Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovenia, thus establishing an Austrian Empire in southeastern Europe. At the end of the
War of the Spanish Succession, Austria gained possession of the Spanish possessions in Italy. The Austrian monarchy
never became a highly centralized absolutist state, primarily b/c it contained so many different national groups. It
remained a collection of territories held together by a personal union. The Habsburg emperor was archduke of Austria,
king of Bohemia, and the king of Hungary. Each of these areas had its own laws, Estates-General, and political life.

Russia- In the 17thc, Muscovite society was highly stratified. At the top was the tsar, who claimed to be divinely
ordained. Russian society was dominated by an upper class of landed aristocrats who managed to bind their peasants to
the land. An abundance of land and a shortage of peasants made serfdom desirable to many landowners. Townspeople
were also controlled. Merchants were not allowed to move from their cities w/o government permission or to sell their
houses to anyone outside their class. In the 17thc, merchant and peasant revolts as well as schism in the Russian
Orthodox church created very unsettled conditions. Peter’s goal was to open Russia to the Baltic sea. W/the support of
Poland and Denmark, he attacked Sweden, its controller at the time. The Peace of Nystadt in 1721 gave Russia formal
ownership of Latvia, Estonia, and Karelia. Sweden became a second rate power.

Peter the Great- Peter gained a firsthand view of the western world when he made a trip there in 1697-1698 and
returned to Russia w/a firm determination to westernize his realm. His policy of Europeanization was largely technical.
One of his first priorities was the reorganization of the army and the creation of a navy. He organized the government
along western lines. In 1711, he created the Senate to supervise the administrative machinery of the state while he was
away on military campaigns. He divided Russia into 8 provinces and later, 1719, 50, in order to impose the rule of the
central government more efficiently. Few of his bureaucrats shared his concept of honest service and duty to the state.
Peter hoped for a sense of civic duty. He demanded that all members of the landholding class serve in either military or
civil offices. In 1722, he instituted the Table of Ranks to create opportunities for nonnobles to serve the state and gain
nobility. He adopted mercantilist policies in order to obtain the money needed for his army and navy. He tried to
increase exports and develop new industries. However, his military costs were so large that he went back to raising
taxes. He also sought to control the Russian Orthodox church. In 1721, he abolished the position of patriarch and
created a body called the Holy Synod to make decisions for the church. Women benefited from his cultural reforms.

Denmark- The system of electing monarchs forced the kings to share their power w/the Danish nobility, who exercised
strict control over the peasants. Danish ambitions for ruling the Baltic were curtailed by the loss of the 30 Years’ War
and later in the Northern War w/Sweden. Danish military losses led to a constitutional crisis in which a meeting of
Denmark’s Estates brought to pass a bloodless revolution in 1660. The power of the nobility was curtailed, a hereditary
monarchy was reestablished, and a new absolutist constitution was proclaimed in 1665. Under Christian V, a
centralized administration was instituted w/the nobility as the chief officeholders.

Sweden- It’s economy was weak, and the monarchy was locked in conflict w/the nobility. The establishing of a “First
Estate” occupying the bureaucratic positions of an expanded centralized government created a stable monarchy and
freed the king to raise an army and participate in the 30 Years’ War. The country experienced a political crisis after the
death of Gustavus Adolphus. The accession to the throne of Charles X defused a potentially explosive peasant revolt
against the nobility. He reestablished domestic order, but it was Charles XI who made the Swedish monarchy absolute.
By resuming control of the crown lands and the revenues attached to them from the nobility, Charles managed to
weaken the independent power of the nobility. He built a bureaucracy, subdued both the Riksdag and the church,
improved the army and navy, and left his son, Charles XII, a well-organized Swedish state.

Poland- Much of Polish history revolved around the struggle b/w the Polish crown and landed nobility. Poland-
Lithuania played a major role in eastern Europe in the 15thc and ruled much of the Ukraine by the 16thc. It had
assemblies in which nobles elected the king and limited royal power. In 1572, a new practice arose of choosing
outsiders as kings. It was the elective nature of the Polish monarchy that weakened its importance. The Sejm, or Polish
diet, was a two-chamber assembly in which landowners completely dominated. To be elected king, prospective
monarchs had to agree to share power w/the Sejm in matters of taxation, foreign and military policy, and the
appointment of state officials and judges. Poland, then, was basically a confederation of semi-independent estates of
landed nobles. By the late 17thc, it had become a battleground for foreign powers, who saw the state as easy to invade
but difficult to rule.
Sp. 16: Toward a New Heaven and a New Earth: The Scientific Revolution and the Emergence of Modern
Science

Scientific Revolution- questioned and ultimately challenged conceptions and beliefs about the nature of the external
world and reality that had crystallized into a strict orthodoxy in the Late Middle Ages. It taught Europeans to view the
universe and their place in it in a new way. It stands as the major force in transition to the largely secular, rational, and
materialistic perspective.

Ptolemy, Aristotle, Geocentricism- The universe was seen as a series of concentric spheres w/a fixed earth in its center.
Composed of the material substances of earth, fire, air, and water, the earth was imperfect and constantly changing. The
spheres that surrounded were made of crystalline, transparent substances and moved in circular orbits around the earth.
These heavenly bodies were embedded in the moving, concentric spheres, which in 1500 numbered 10. Beyond the 10th
sphere was the Empyrean Heaven—the location of God and all saved souls. The universe was finite. It had a fixed
outer boundary in harmony w/Christian thought and expectations.

Epicycles- a circle in which a planet moves and which has a center that is itself carried around at the same time on the
circumference of a larger circle.

Heliocentrism- a sun-centered conception of the universe.

Copernicus, On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres- His fear of ridicule kept him from publishing OtRoHS until near
his death. He relied on data and records of his predecessors. He felt that Ptolemy’s geocentric system was too
complicated and failed to accord w/the observed motions of heavenly bodies. He hoped that the heliocentric system
would offer a simpler and more accurate explanation. He argued that the universe consisted of 8 spheres w/the sun
motionless in the center and the sphere of the fixed stars at rest in the 8th sphere. What appeared to be the movement of
the sun and fixed stars around the earth was really explained by the daily rotation of the earth on its axis and the
journey of the earth around the sun each year. He did not reject Aristotle’s principle of the existence of heavenly
spheres moving in circular orbits. As a result, when he put forth the calculations to prove his theory, he retained
Ptolemy’s epicycles and wound up w/a system almost as complicated as Aristotle’s. His shift from the earth to sun-
centered model raised serious questions about Aristotle’s astronomy and physics despite Copernicus’ own adherence to
him. It also seemed to create uncertainty about the human role in the universe as well as God’s location. Protestant
reformers were the first to attack the theory. The Catholic church did not denounce him until the work of Galileo
appeared.

Brahe-On a island near Copenhagen, he built the Uraniborg castle, which he outfitted w/a library, observatories, and
instruments he designed for more precise observations. He complied a detailed record of his observations of the
positions and movements of the stars and planets. This body of data led him to reject the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic system,
but at the same time he was unable to accept Copernicus’ suggestion that the earth actually moved.

Kepler- The student of Brahe. He possessed a keen interest in Hermeitc mathematical magic. He believed that the
universe was constituted on the base of geometric figures, such as the pyramid and the cube. Believing that the
harmony of the human soul (a divine attribute) was mirrored in the numerical relationships existing b/w planets, he
focused much of his attention on discovering the “music of the spheres”. He gained possession of Brahe’s detailed data
and used them arrived at 3 laws of planetary motion, which confirmed Copernicus’ heliocentric system while
modifying it in some ways. He showed that the orbits around the sun were elliptical. He showed that the speed of a
planet is greater when it is closer to the sun, destroying the belief that the motion of the planets was constant. He also
discovered that the square of a planet’s period of revolution is proportional to the cube of the average distance from the
sun. He disproved the basic structure of the Ptolemaic system.

Galileo- He was the first man to make systematic observations of the heavens by means of a telescope, thereby
beginning a new age of astronomy. He discovered craters in the moon, 4 moons revolving around Jupiter, the phases of
Venus, and sunspots. His observations proved that the universe seemed to be made out of the same material as earth.
The Roman Inquisition of the Catholic church condemned Copernicanism and order Galileo to reject his ideas. They
felt threatened b/c Copernicanism threatened not only Scripture but also an entire conception of the universe. The
heavens were no longer a spiritual world but a world of matter. Humans were no longer at the center, and God was no
longer in a specific place. However, Galileo continued to write, and in Italian, which made his work widely accessible.
He was eventually placed under house arrest in Florence. He demonstrated by experiments that that if a uniform force
was applied to an object, it would move at an accelerated speed rather than a constant speed. He discovered the
principle of inertia when he argued that a body in motion continues in motion forever unless stopped by an external
force. His condemnation undermined further scientific work in Italy, which had been at the forefront of scientific
innovation. He sought an alliance b/w science and material interests when he assured people that the science of
mechanics would be useful.
Isaac Newton, Principia Methematica- He invented the calculus, a mathematical means of calculating rates of change.
He studied alchemy. In PM, he spells out the mathematical proofs demonstrating the universal law of gravitation. His
work was the culmination of the theories of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo. He was the first to create a complete
picture of the new cosmology. He defined the 3 laws of motion: every object continues in a state of rest or uniform
motion in a straight line unless deflected by a force, the rate of change of motion of an object is proportional to the
force acting on it, and to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. He showed that these laws govern
the planetary bodies as well as terrestrial objects. He also discovered the law of gravitation, which explained why
planetary bodies did not go off in straight lines but continued in elliptical orbits about the sun. He demonstrated that
one universal law, mathematically proved, could explain all motion in the universe. The secrets of the natural world
could be known by human investigations. His new cosmology showed the world in largely mechanistic terms. His ideas
were soon adopted in England.

Mechanical metaphors, the clock, God as a watchmaker- The Newtonian synthesis created a new cosmology in which
the world was seen largely in mechanistic terms. The universe was one huge, regulated, and uniform machine that
operated according to natural laws in absolute time, space, and motion. Later generations dropped Newton’s spiritual
assumptions. Newton’s world-machine, conceived as operating absolutely in time, space, and motion, dominated the
Western worldview until the 20thc.

Bacon, “Knowledge is power”- rejected Copernicus and Kepler and called for his contemporaries “to commence a total
reconstruction of sciences, arts, and all human knowledge, raised upon the proper foundations.” Bacon’s new
foundation—a correct scientific method—was to be built on inductive principles. Rather than beginning w/an assumed
first principle from which logical conclusions could be deduced, he urged scientists to proceed from particular to
general. From carefully organized experiments and thorough, systematic observations, correct generalizations could be
developed. He wanted science to contribute to the “mechanical arts” by creating devices that would benefit industry,
agriculture, and trade. The control and domination of nature became a central proposition of modern science and the
technology that accompanied it.

Empirical method- originating in or based on observation or experience. The belief of Bacon.

Rene Descartes (I think; therefore, I am)- began by reflecting on the doubt and uncertainity that seemed pervasive in
the confusion of the 17thc. One night, having perceived the outlines of a new rational-mathematical system, w/a sense
of divine approval he made a new commitment to mind, mathematics, and a mechanical universe. The starting point of
his system was doubt. He decided to set aside all that he had learned before and begin again. One fact seemed beyond
doubt—his own existence. He asserted that he would only accept those things that his reason said were true. From this
first postulate, he deduced an additional principle, the separation of mind and matter. From this came an absolute
duality b/w mind and body, Cartesian dualism. Using mind or human reason, the path to certain knowledge, and its best
instrument, mathematics, humans can undertand the material world b/c it is a mechanism. His separation of mind and
matter allowed scientists to view matter as dead or inert, something totally separate from themselves that could be
investigated by reason. He is called the father of rationalism. The Cartesian split b/w mind and body had devastating
implications not only for traditional religious views of the universe but also for how Westerners viewed themselves. He
emphasized deduction and mathematical logic. He believed that one could start w/self-evident truths, and deduce more
complex conclusions. Isaac Newton synthesized his and Bacon’s beliefs through the scientific method.

Cavendish- Came from an aristocratic background. She participated in crucial scientific debates of the time, though she
was not allowed into the Royal Society. She attacked what she thought were defects in the rationalist and empiricist
approaches to scientific knowledge and was especially critical of the belief that through science, humans would be
masters of nature.

Winkelmann- Gained opportunities through the craft organization of astronomy. She became an assistant at the
observatory operated in Berlin by the Academy of Science. She discovered a comet. When her husband died, she
applied for a position of assistant astronomer, though she was denied by the Berlin Academy.

Pascal, Pensees- Sought to keep science and religion united. He invented a calculating machine and devised a theory of
probability, though after a vision he devoted the rest of his life to religious matters. In the Pensees, Pascal tried to
convert rationalists to Christianity by appealing to their reason and their emotions. He argued that humans were frail
creatures, often deceived by their senses, misled by reason, and battered by their emotions. He was determined to show
that Christianity was not contrary to reason. He felt that it was the only religion that recognized people’s true state of
being both vulnerable and great. He refused to rely on the scientist’s world of order and rationality to attract people to
God. He believed that in the new cosmology of the 17thc, “finite man” was lost in an infinite world, a realization that
frightened him (“The eternal silence of those infinite spaces strikes me with terror”). He believed that the world of
nature could never reveal god. He believed that reason could only take people so far, and that faith was the final step.

The Case of Galileo- In Galileo’s struggle w/the Catholic church, we see the beginning of the conflict b/w science and
religion. To emerging scientists, it often seemed that theologians knew not of what they spoke. For Galileo, it made
little sense for the church to determine the nature of physical reality on the basis of biblical texts that were subject to
interpretation. The church decided to go w/the Ptolemaic-Aristotelian cosmology, no doubt b/c it fit w/its own
philosophical views. This decision had tremendous consequences, for educated individuals, it established a dichotomy
b/w scientific investigations and religious beliefs. As scientific beliefs prospered, Europe became increasingly secular.
Many 17thc intellectuals were both religious and scientific and believed that the implications of the split would be
tragic.

Sp. 17: The 18thc: An Age of Enlightenment

Philosophes- Philosophers of the Enlightenment. They were literary people, professors, journalists, statesmen,
economists, political scientists, and social reformers.

Enlightenment- defined by Kant as “man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity.” Whereas earlier periods had been
handicapped by the inability to use “one’s intelligence without the guidance of another,” Kant proclaimed the motto of
the Enlightenment : “Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own intelligence!” A movement of intellectuals.
They advocated the application of the scientific method to the understanding of all life. All institutions and all systems
of thought were subject to rational, scientific ways of thinking.

Newtonian Worldview- Very influential to Enlightenment thinkers. One of its characteristics was the world-machine,
conceived as operating absolutely in time, space, and motion. The universe was one huge, regulated, and uniform
machine that operated according to natural laws. The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were convinced that by
following Newton’s rules of reasoning, they could discover the natural laws that governed politics, economics, justice,
religion, and the arts.

Tubula Rasa- a “blank mind,” a concept developed by John Locke. He thought that our knowledge is derived from our
environment, not from hereditary; from reason, not from faith. His philosophy implied that people were molded by
their environment, by the experiences they received through their senses from their surrounding world. By changing the
environment and subjecting people to the proper influences, they could be changed and create a new society.

Montesquieu, The Persian Letters, Spirit of the Laws- Criticized French institutions, especially the Catholic Church and
the monarchy. He attacked traditional religion, advocated religious toleration, denounced slavery, and used reason as a
form of liberation. The SotL was a comparative study of the governments in which Mont. attempted to apply the
scientific method to the social and political arena to ascertain the “natural laws” governing the social relationships of
human beings. He distinguished republics, suitable for small states, and based on citizen involvement; monarchy, best
for middle-sized states and grounded in the ruling-class’s adherence to law; and despotism, apt for large empires and
dependent on fear. He advocated the separation of powers.

Voltaire, Candide- Highly admired English life, especially its political freedom and religious toleration. He criticized
traditional religion and had a strong attachment to the ideal of religious toleration. He fought cases of intolerance in
France. He championed deism, a religious outlook shared by most other philosophes, built on the Newtonian world-
machine, which suggested the presence of a mechanic (god) who ran the universe. To Voltaire, God had no direct
involvement in the world and allowed it to run according to its own laws.

Diderot, Encyclopedia- Condemned Christianity as fanatical and unreasonable. The purpose of the Encyclopedia was to
“ change the general way of thinking”. It became a major weapon of the philosophes’ crusade against the old French
society. The contributors attacked religious superstition and advocated toleration as well as a program for social, legal,
and political improvements that would lead to a society that was more cosmopolitan, more tolerant, more humane, and
more reasonable. In later editions, its price was reduced, making it available to doctors, clergy, teachers, lawyers, and
military officers.

Deism- A religious outlook shared my most philosophes. It was built on the concept of Newtonian world-machine,
which suggested the existence of a mechanic who had created the universe. God had no direct in the universe he had
created and allowed it to function according to its own natural laws. God did not extend grace or answer prayers. Jesus
was not divine.
Quesnay, physiocrats- Founders of the study of economics. Quesnay was their leader, they claimed that they would find
the natural laws that governed human society. They believed that land was the only source of wealth and that wealth
could only be increased through agriculture. They believed that the state’s revenues should come from a single tax on
the land. They rejected the mercantilist emphasis on the significance of money. They stressed that the existence of
natural economic forces of supply and demand made it imperative that individuals should be left to pursue their own
economic self-interest. They argued that the state should not disturb the free play of natural economic forces by
government regulations of the economy.

Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations- A believer in laissez-faire. Strongly attacked mercantilism. He condemned the
mercantilist use of tariffs to protect home industries. To him, free trade was a fundamental economic principle. He
believed that labor was the source of wealth. He assigned the government only 3 basic functions: to protect the society
from invasion, defend individuals from injustice and oppression, and keep up certain public works. Founded economic
liberalism.

Laissez-faire- The doctrine created by the physiocrats that the state should in no way interrupt the free play of natural
economic forces by government regulation of the economy but rather just leave it alone.

Rousseau, The Social Contract, the general will-Believed that to preserve their private property, people adopted laws
and governors. In doing so, they lost their liberty. Government was an evil, but a necessary one. He tried to harmonize
individual liberty with governmental authority. The social contract was an agreement on the part of the entire society to
be governed by its general will. Liberty was achieved by being forced to follow what was best for all people because
that was what best for each individual. Freedom is adherence to laws that one imposes on oneself. He believed that
education should foster not restrict children’s natural instincts. He sought to balance sentiment and reason. He was a
precursor to Romanticism.

Salons, Geoffrin, Lespinasse- Elegant drawing rooms in urban houses of the wealthy where invited philosophes
gathered to engage in conversation. The salons were important in bringing together writers and artists with aristocrats,
government officials, and wealthy bourgeoisie. As hostesses of salons, women found themselves in a position to affect
the decisions of kings, sway political opinion, and influence literary and artistic taste. Salons provided safety for people
unwelcome in the local court. The reputation of a salon depended on the status of the people it could attract. It
promoted conversation and sociability between upper class men and women.

Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women- Pointed out contradictions in the views of women held by
Enlightenment thinkers. To argue that women must obey men, she said, was contrary to the beliefs of the same
individuals that a system based on the arbitrary power of monarchs over their subjects is wrong. In addition, she argued
that the Enlightenment was based on an ideal of reason innate in all human beings.

Spinoza, Ethics- (ch.16) Unwilling to accept the implications of Descarte’s ideas, especially in the separation of mind
and matter and the apparent separation of an infinite God from the finite world of matter. He believed that nothing can
be apart from God. This philosophy, pantheism, was explained in Ethics. He believed that humans are as much a part of
God or nature or the universal order as other natural objects. He believed that humans made moral condemnations of
others b/c they failed to understand human emotions. Everything as a rational explanation, and humans are capable of
finding it. In using reason, humans can find true happiness. Their real freedom comes when they understand the order
and necessity of nature and achieve detachment from passing interests.

Sp.18: The 18thc: European States, International Wars, and Social Change

Enlightened Absolutism- Absolutists rulers who allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and press, and the right
to hold private property. They must foster arts, sciences, and education. They must not be arbitrary in their rule; they
must obey laws and enforce them equally for all subjects. Distrustful of the masses, the philosophes believed that
absolute rulers, swayed by enlightened principles, were the best hope of reforming their societies. Monarchs such as
Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II of Austria supposedly followed the advice of the
philosophes and ruled by enlightened principles, establishing a path to modern nationhood.

Frederick William I- promoted the evolution of Prussia’s civil bureaucracy by establishing the General Directory. He
strove to maintain an efficient bureaucracy of civil service workers. He kept a close watch over his officials to ensure
that they preformed their duties, causing close personal supervision of the bureaucracy to become a major hallmark of
18thc Prussian rulers. He caused rigid class stratification to continue. He ensured a close bond between the nobility and
the army, causing the nobility to feel a sense of service to the king or state.
Frederick II of Prussia- further developed the army and the bureaucracy—the backbone of Prussia. He was well-versed
in Enlightenment thought. He made few innovations in the administration of the state. His diligence in overseeing its
operation made the Prussian bureaucracy known for its efficiency and honesty. He established a single code of laws for
his territories that eliminated the use of torture except in treason and murder cases. He granted a limited freedom of
speech and press as well as complete religious toleration. He was too dependant on the nobility to interfere w/serfdom
or the hierarchical structure of Prussian nobility, he made Prussian society even more aristocratic. He allowed
commoners to rise to power in the civil service and reserved the higher positions in the bureaucracy for members of the
nobility. He enlarged the Prussain army. He became involved in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven
Years’ War. By the end of his reign, Prussia was recognized as a great European power.

Maria Theresa-stunned by the loss of Austrian Silesia to Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession, resolved to
reform her empire in preparation for the seemingly inevitable next conflict w/Prussia. She abolished the Austrian and
Bohemian chancelleries and replaced them w/departments of foreign affairs, justice, war, commerce, and internal
affairs that functioned for both territories. She curtailed the role of diets or provincial assemblies in taxation and local
administration. She forced clergy and nobles to pay property and income taxes to royal officials rather than the diets.
She made the Austrian Empire more centralized and more bureaucratic in order to strengthen the Habsburg state and
were accompanied by an enlargement of the armed forces.

Joseph II of Austria-was determined to make changes while enhancing Habsburg power within the monarchy. He
abolished serfdom and tried to give the peasants hereditary rights to their holdings. He abandoned economic restraints
by eliminating internal trade barriers, ending monopolies, and removing guild restraints. A new penal code was
instituted that abrogated the death penalty and established the principle of equality of all before the war. He introduced
drastic religious reforms, including complete religious toleration and restrictions on the Catholic church. He alienated
the nobility by freeing the serfs and alienated the church by his attacks on the monastic establishment. He attempted to
make German the official language, which alienated non-German nationalities.

Catherine the Great- She claimed that she wished to reform Russia along the lines of the Enlightenment ideas, but she
never realized that her success depended on the support of the palace guard and the gentry class from which it
stemmed. She called for the election of an assembly in 1767 to debate the details of a new law code, in which she
questioned the institutions of serfdom, torture, and capital punishment and advocated the principle of the equality of all
people before the law. The local nobility became responsible for the day-to-day governing of Russia. The gentry were
formed into corporate groups with special legal privileges, including the right to trial by peers and exemption from
personal taxation and corporal punishment. The attempt of the Russian government to impose restrictions on free
peasants in the border districts of the Russian Empire soon led to a full-scale revolt, to which she responded with even
greater repression of the peasantry. All rural reform was halted, and serfdom expanded to new parts of the empire.

The War of the Austrian Succession- The Habsburg Emperor Charles VI so feared the consequences of the succession
of his daughter Maria Theresa that he spent much of his reign negotiating the Pragmatic Sanction, by which different
European powers agreed to recognize his daughter as his legal heir. After his death, the sanction was pushed aside,
especially by Frederick II, who had just succeeded the throne of Prussia. He took advantage of the empress to invade
Austrian Silesia. The vulnerability of MT encouraged France to enter the war against Austria, causing MT to make an
alliance w/Britain. The war was fought in Europe, where Prussia seized Silesia and France occupied the Austrian
Netherlands, but also in the East, where France took Madras in India from the British, and in North America, where the
British captured Louisbourg. In 1748, all parties agreed to stop. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle promised to return of all
occupied territories except Silesia.

Seven Years’ War- Maria Theresa refused to accept the loss of Silesia and prepared for its return by rebuilding her
army while working diplomatically through her foreign minister to separate Prussia from its chief ally, France. In 1756,
Austria achieved a diplomatic revolution. France now abandoned Prussia and allied with Austria and was joined by
Russia. Great Britain allied with Prussia. This diplomatic revolution of 1756 now led to another worldwide war, w/3
major areas of conflict: Europe, India, and North America. In Europe, the British and Prussians clashed against the
Austrians, Russians, and French. Peter the Great’s withdrawal guaranteed a stalemate and led to a desire for peace. The
European conflict was ended by the Peace of Hubertusburg in 1763. All occupied territories were returned, and Austria
officially recognized Prussia’s permanent control of Silesia. The Great War for Empire was fought in India. The British
under Robert Clive eventually won. By the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French withdrew and left India to the British.
The French and Indian War took place in North America. The two primary areas of contention were the waterways of
the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Ohio River valley. By the Treaty of Paris, the French ceded Canada and the lands
east of the Mississippi to Britain. Spain transferred Florida to British control and the French gave Louisiana to the
British.