European Connections

1
European Connections

• What was happening in Europe while the Americas
  were thriving?

2
The Judeo-Christian Tradition

• Around 1700bc, a system of beliefs called Judaism
  arose among the Israelites a group of nomadic
  people in the Middle East
• Judaism is the first major world religion to
  teach monotheism or the belief in only 1 God
• Around 2,000 years ago, a Jewish teacher named
  Jesus of Nazareth began to preach in the region
  around the Sea of Galilee. The life and
  teachings of Jesus inspired a new religion called
  Christianity
• As Christianity began to spread, the Romans
  viewed it as a threat and attempted to stop its
  growth, later Roman emperors would not only allow
  the religion, but made it the official one in all
  of Rome

3
Greek and Roman Traditions

• In the 5th century bc, the Greek city-state of
  Athens experienced an explosion of learning and
  creativity, the most important was the
  development of democracy
• Athenians believed in a direct democracy or one
  where the people make the laws themselves without
  elected officials speaking on their behalf
• Athenian culture believed that slavery was
  acceptable and that women should not have a say
  in government
• In 509bc, the Romans overthrew their king and set
  up a republic or a form of government where the
  people choose representatives to govern them
• Rome had a strict code of laws that applied to
  everyone under Roman control, in their legal
  system a defendant was considered innocent until
  proven guilty
• Long years of civil war led to the collapse of
  the Roman Republic when Octavian declared himself
  emperor in 27bc, The empire would last almost 500
  years and control a large portion of the known
  world

4
New Horizons

• By the 9th century, feudalism had arisen in
  Europe, this is a system where the ruler grants
  part of his land to lords, in exchange the lords
  owed the king military service and financial
  assistance
• Life during the Middle Ages was dominated by the
  rituals of the Roman Catholic Church, the church
  also offered education and a more secure style of
  life for those who entered monasteries and
  nunneries
• The Crusades began in 1095, when Pope Urban II
  declared a holy war against the Muslims of the
  Middle East, the goal of the war was to win back
  control over the Holy Land, there were 9
  crusades over 200 years, while many died in these
  conflicts, the two armies on accident shared many
  aspects of their culture including foods,
  technology and goods

5
New Horizons

• Beginning in the 1300s, there was a rebirth of
  learning that is known as the Renaissance,
  Europeans rediscovered the ancient texts of
  Greece and Rome, while artists reflected a new
  interest in subjects that influenced ancient
  thinkers, science and invention flourished,
  Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press
  which helped to spread knowledge and education
• Since the late Roman Empire, most Europeans
  belonged to the Roman Catholic Church however not
  everyone was happy with Catholicism, in 1517 a
  German monk named Martin Luther demanded the
  Roman Catholic Church reform, when his demands
  were rejected Luther and his followers left the
  church and called themselves Protestants, over
  time many of the followers of Luthers reforms,
  split into their own churches

6
The Age of Exploration

• Prince Henry the Navigator wanted to expand the
  control and wealth of Portugal by exploring new
  lands, during a time that religious law forbid
  ocean exploration
• He set up a center for exploration and promised
  to help spread Christianity on all his voyages,
  he brought in mathematicians, geographers, sea
  captains, cartographers and scientists to teach
  others how to sail
• Using these new skills, Portuguese sailors began
  to sail into the ocean and explore the west coast
  of Africa, by 1498 Vasco De Gama had reached the
  southern tip of Africa, De Gamas route would
  become one of the most important trade routes in
  the world