Europe in the Early Modern Period 1500-1700

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Europe in the Early Modern Period1500-1700

• Social Studies 9

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European Social Order

• 900-1400 feudal system dominated Europe
• Serfs paid tribute to lords in exchange for
  protection
• C13th onwards, rental agreements replaced
  feudalism
• Black Death (1348-49) greatly reduced number of
  workers

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• Nobles gave land in exchange for workers
• Workers became landholders
• Return of population caused wages to fall
• Workers lost their land

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Population Change 1500-1600
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Population

• C16th dramatic pop. increase in Europe
• Before that time, epidemics and war had caused
  pop. to fall
• Crop failure caused diseases (plague, smallpox,
  diphtheria etc.) to spread quickly
• War led to deaths, major disruptions to crops and
  plundering
• War was nearly constant at some points

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Economic Life

• In 1600, 75 of Europeans lived on farms
• Farming not very productive
• Great deal of uncertainty in daily life (disease,
  war, taxes to pay, robbery)
• Pop. growth caused people to move to less
  productive lands
• Men, women children forced to work for extra
  earnings

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• Poverty led to widespread deforestation
• Towns saw growth of merchant class
• Guild shops slowly replaced by capitalist
  workshops
• Urban poor became a growing problem
• Slavery widespread
• Overall, a time of economic growth
• Wealth concentrated in the hands of rich

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Women The Economy

• Europe very patriarchal for long time
• C16th century, role of women started to be
  limited
• Until C15th, women allowed in guilds
• Job competition caused women to be excluded
• Women not allowed in universities
• Women lacked money need to enter trade
• Worked in hospitals, orphanages, as midwives and
  servants

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Role of the State

• By C17th, growth of divine right of kings
  caused centralization of power
• Led to powerful monarchs and nation-states
• Helped trade
• Monarchs and nobles sponsored voyages of trade
  and exploration

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Religion

• Middle Ages, Roman Catholic Church dominated
  Europe
• Church collected a lot of money
• Sometimes fought with monarchs
• C16th reaction against the Church
• Protestant Reformation reaction to perceived
  flaws in Church
• Led to intolerance major wars
• Strong missionary movements (Jesuits, Ursulines)

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Culture Ideas

• Renaissance had started intellectual revolution
• Arts, writing, science experienced unprecedented
  creativity
• Time of inventions
• Military and commerce pushed on invention
• Improvements to ship building and navigation
  (caravel ships mariner's astrolabe, quadrant)

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Assignment

• Match each of these points with at least one of
  the PIES categories
• Write a paragraph
• Identify the most important social, political,
  economic and intellectual factors that led to the
  Age of Exploration in Europe