The+Transformation+of+the+West

17.1 Transformation of the West ESPIRIT Civilization: Western Europe Time Period: 1400-1750 - The economic structure of Western Europe began to change completely in the 16th century, after an massive influx of silver from the Americans led to inflation, and encouraged entrepreneurs to engage in risky voyages and economic endeavors - Governments granted regional monopolies to certain companies in vast geographic expanses - New economic ventures in commercial trading spurred the development of a domestic manufacturing system --> lead to increase in prosperity for business leaders and commoners - People in Europe began to purchase more and more processed goods; tea from India, sugars from West Indies - New agricultural techniques (nitrogen-fixing crops lead to the end of the three field system, draining swamps, seed-drills, scythes vs, sickles, spread of the potato) - Domestic manufacturing systems (industrial weavers, business owners, employment for the poor) - Increase in openness towards capitalism || - The "European-style family" began to emerge by the 15th century, which included late marriage, a nuclear structure, and greater attention paid towards children (and a child's growth and development). - A new proletariat class formed as a result of a growing and interconnected economy; wandered towards cities homeless as beggars --> lead to a new social attitude that the poor result in all of society's problems - 1400-1750 was also a period of social upheaval in Europe, with many protests and revolutions; peasants and townspeople sought protection from poverty + new ideas of political and social equality - New witch hunts targeted less fortunate members of society || - Feudalism saw a gradual decline as governments around Europe sought consolidated power. - Northern Renaissance began some political change, allowing for more state control. - The Edict of Nance helped to maintain peace between Calvinist and Catholic forces. - The Thirty Years War was fought between HRE and German Protestants (with the backing of Lutheran Sweden)--> ended by the treaty of Westphalia (Christian religious 'tolerance') - The English Civil War dealt with issues over the powers of parliament vs. powers of the king - Religious wars ultimately weakened the position of the state and improved the standing of government - Louis XIV acted as an absolute monarch that paid no heed to parliamentary establishments--> increased the role of government by collecting taxes, importing raw materials, and adding tariffs (policy of mercantilism) --> served as a model for the rest of Europe (Spain followed by trying to exert more political influence over their Latin American holdings) - Hapsburg kings also increased their poltical influence and continued territorial conquest. - In England (Glorious Revolution) and in the Netherlands government power shifted towards parliament and away from an absolute monarch (parliamentary monarchy) - Nation-states emerged that linked people of similar religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, unlike previous large empires; created important diversity between nations within European mainland - Later in Prussia, Frederick the Great introduced greater freedom of religion and greater govt. roles, enacted laws with greater commercial coordination and greater equality; "enlightened despot' || - Martin Luther helped to spur the Protestant reformation by writing his 95 theses (propositions) to the wall of his local Catholic church; argued against the ideas of indulgences (grants of salvation that could be bought with money), while also promoting the idea that faith alone was all that was necessary to achieve salvation - Other church groups followed Luther in splitting with the Catholic church --> Lutherans (Sweden, Northern Germany), Calvinists(France), and the Anglicans (England --> created by King Henry I) all broke their ties with Catholicism ---> lead to years of intense religious infighting within Europe - Catholics retaliated with the Catholic Reformation, where church doctrine was revisited and central Protestant tenets were rejected - Initially, a religious and social backlash to the Scientific Revolution; eventually died down || - Western European society saw a marked shifted in the way children were treated (they were now grouped into a stage of life where they demanded certain attention important to their individual development and self-growth. - The family dynamic also began to change, with more emphasis being placed on love in marriages and between members of the family. - The Early Renaissance in Italy had its most profound effects on art --> artists increasingly used techniques of realism to portray the human body; but in addition, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince about how to realistically seize and maintain power, and merchants improved banking methods and became more profit seeking - Northern Renaissance (France, the Low Countries, Germany, and England) also had profound effects on art; however, unlike their Italian counterparts, they merged religious and secular ideas as subjects for their paintings; also a move towards classics - Growing literacy in Western Europe - Idea of Deism (there was a God, but he could only set natural laws in motion - John Locke --> emphasis on sense and reason; faith irrelevant; also -> social contract between government and governed (govt. worked for people) - Enlightenment thinkers though that ideas from the Scientific Revolution could be applied to humanities (Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, promoted free trade, criminologists supported education for criminals rather than prisons, Denis Diderot assembled Encyclopedie, idea that people are inherently good, "reason is the key to truth", religions shouldn't rely on blind faith, Encyclopedia Britannica, Mary Wollstonecraft argued for women's rights --> against male dominated establishment) || - Workers imporved pumps in mines and how to forge stronger iron products - Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type in the 15th century, allowing for the printing of books, and easier dissemination of ideas across vast geographical regions of Western Europe - New navigational improvements and advancements - Scientific revolution lead to new framework of discovery (Scientific Method, Rene Descartes encouraged people to challenge traditional ideas and beliefs - Copernicus discovered that the Earth revolved around the Sun, Johannes Kepler advanced astronomical understanding, Galileo discovered new laws of gravity and planetary motion, William Harvey demonstrated the heart was the pumping center for blood, Isaac Newton published the Principia Mathematica (+ calculus) || 17.2 Machiavelli Document media type="custom" key="7961206" Summary: In this selection, Nicolai Machiavelli discusses the relative strength of political leadership, by breaking leaders into two categories: I. Leaders who rely on others for vital resources. II. Leaders who are independent and do not rely on others for resources. Category II leaders are considered by him to be more powerful because they can not be manipulated; essentially they are self-sufficient. Category I leaders are advised to build defense systems stockpile weapons in case for attack. This should also act as a deterrent for any warring nation that wishes to attack them. (A modern equivalent of a Category I leader could be North Korea. The fact that they possess nuclear weapons is a major reason why they have not been invaded by the United States). Machiavelli believes the German political model best fits this advice. Also, he notes that leaders should be simultaneously virtuous and evil. In order to maintain political control, they must possess a delicate balance of "good" and "bad" qualities.
 * E || Main Idea: A change in cultural mindset towards profiteering, in addition to the alignment of other political and technological conditions, lead to an explosion of commercial economic activity in Western Europe.
 * S || Main Idea: Western Europe in the Early Modern period was characterized by changes in family structure, changes in the working class, and gradual improvement of conditions, on the whole, for most people.
 * P || Main Idea: The Early Modern Period saw the decline of the system of feudalism, and the emergence of new, diverse nation-states with consolidated power.
 * I || Main Idea: The rise of Western Europe was partly linked to global trade with Asian nations, whose technology allowed Europeans to gain a foothold in a new world order. ||
 * R || Main Idea: A religious split between Catholicism and Protestantism lead to constant infighting among Europeans, and to a decline in the power of the church establishment as a whole.
 * I || Main Idea: The Renaissance began an extended period in Western Europe where people placed greater emphasis on humanism, logic and reason,
 * T || Main Idea: New technological and scientific discoveries placed Europe at the forefront of educated civilization, and allowed them to exert influence over other peoples in other economic, political, and military realms.