The Making of Modern Europe (1450-1700)

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The Making of Modern Europe (1450-1700)

• Europe began devising new techniques to increase
  its power and force to such an extent that
  European dynastic states achieved global
  domination.

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I. A New Way of Thinking
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A. The New World (Mundus Novus)

• First applied to Columbus voyages
• Later applied to a new societal outlook
• Francis Bacons The Great Reversal (1620)
• Priority of seeking knowledge through reason and
  the scientific method
• Observation and experimentation valued
• Practical knowledge was prized

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B. The Role of Doubt in the New Search for Truth

• Breakdown in the medieval system of unitary
  belief
• Aggravated by the Reformation
• Humanism competes rather than complements the
  Christian tradition
• The Essay a new literary genre
• Removal of politics from the realm of religion

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C. The Printing Press

• Intellectual Revolution through the spread of
  books and tracts
• Literacy grows
• Communication between scholars grows
• Standardization of texts

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D. The Scientific Revolution

• Aristotelian universe comes under scrutiny and
  attack
• The challenge of Copernicus
• Theological application of Aristotles cosmology
• The medieval, Aristotelian cosmos
• Aristotles understanding of motion
• Concept of matter and form

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II. A New World To Explore
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A. Motivation

• Western trade route to Asia
• Lust for Wealth
• Religious motives
• Notion of mercantilism
• Joint Stock Companies formed
• Nationalistic Competition
• Curiosity and Sense of Adventure
• Leave personal problems behind

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B. Method
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(1) New Inventions

• Medieval Navigational methods
• Earliest compass appears in Europe in the 1200s
• The development of the astrolabe
• Improvements in Cartography

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(2) New Ships

• Medieval Galley Ships
• The new Caravel or Fully-Rigged Ship
• Required new, tumble home hull design
• Ships become floating cannon platforms

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(3) Results

• European domination of the globeat a price
• Brutal warfare of Europeans and Native Americans
• Ecological Revolution
• Epidemiological Disaster
• The importation of African slaves

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III. A New Warfare to Wage
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A. The Introduction of Gunpowder

• Chinese origins
• First guns in Italy during the 14th century
• Cannons introduced to Europe during the Hundred
  Years War
• Cannons were instrumental in the Ottoman siege of
  Constantinople in 1453

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B. The Impact of this Technological Revolution

• Warfare was royalized
• Associated industries were stimulated
• --Between 1460-1530, there was a 500 increase
  in metal production in Europe
• Infantry became the primary fighting unit instead
  of the cavalry

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C. The New Significance of the Infantry

• Cost
• Professionalism
• Social Impact
• Ennobling Aspect of War questioned
• New Tactics
• Vulnerability of mounted troops

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D. New Technologies Resulting from Gunpowder
Warfare

• Improvements in the quality of gunpowder
• Shape, size and mobility of cannons are improved
• Standardization of the caliber of weapons
• Science of ballistics develops

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IV. New European Dynastic States
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A. Comparison to Medieval Monarchy

• Royal power was restricted regionally
• Complex pattern of overlapping jurisdictions
• Feudalism
• Changes in warfare described previously increased
  the power of the monarch at the expense of the
  nobility
• Royal efficiency in collecting taxes

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A. Comparison to Medieval Monarchy (cont)

• Royal bureaucracy became a national
  administration
• Global domination by European monarchies for the
  first time in history
• No standing army leads to a less powerful king
• Tax immunity for nobles
• Medieval institutions devolved over time
• Geographic shift in European political and
  economic power

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B. Absolutism The French Alternative
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(1) The Definition and Evolution of Absolutism

• Sovereignty embedded in the person of the ruler
• -- Letat cest moi.
• National crisis in France between 1570-1600 is
  ended by the Edict of Nantes (1598)
• The regency of Louis XIII Cardinal Richelieu
• Political power more important than religious
  purity

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(1) The Evolution of Absolutism (cont)

• Richelieu attacks the power of the French
  nobility
• The regency of Louis XIV Cardinal Mazarin
• The Fronde Rebellion
• Louis near drowning during the Fronde
• Reign of Louis XIV is the longest of any European
  monarch in history 1643-1715

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(2) Symbol of French Absolutism Louis XIV

• Versailles is the stage for this drama of
  absolutism
• The Sun King
• Louis use of gunpowder warfare
• The financial policies of Colbert
• Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
• Use of secret police
• French manners and absolutism copied all over
  Europe

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C. Constitutional Monarchy The English
Alternative
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(1) Background

• Elizabeth I dies without an heir
• Advent of the Stuart Dynasty
• --James I 1603-1625
• --Charles I 1625-1649
• Power of the British Parliament
• Powerful minority of Puritans in Parliament

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(2) Crisis

• The Long Parliament (1640)
• English Civil War 1642-1649
• Execution of Charles I in 1649
• The Interregnum
• --Oliver Cromwell

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(3) Restoration

• Charles II agrees to call Parliament often
  (1660-1685)
• Charles II develops a primitive cabinet system
• Secret deal to re-Catholicize England
• Reign of James II (1685-1688)
• Produces a Catholic male heir

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(4) The Glorious Revolution

• James II with wife and child fled to France
• Bloodless Revolution
• Parliament offers the throne to William and Mary
• English monarchs accepted they were under the
  rule of law and sovereignty rested with the people

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V. William Shakespeare The Prophet of Modern
Europe (1564-1616)

• Renaissance focus on Classical Culture
• Nationalistic impulses
• Exorbitant Ambition
• Increasing Individualism
• The Anguish and Uncertainty of Modern Man