Transcript chapter 15 notes updated

The West and the Changing
Balance of World Power
Chapter 15
Introduction
• North Atlantic Global Warming Period ended and the
Little Ice Age (1300-1800) began. Period of climatic
cooling that affected weather conditions chiefly in the
Northern Hemisphere
• Period of political transition-coming out of Feudalism
and states are beginning to centralized their power.
• As Mongols conquered Arab Empires and the killed the
Abbasid caliphate in 1258 new power opportunities
were created.
• China for a short time and Western Europe would be
the ones to take advantage of this new power vacuum
Black Death
• The disease was carried
by fleas on infected rats,
who would bite humans.
Once bitten the person
would develop a high
fever, begin coughing,
and develop painful
swelling in lymph nodes
of the groin or armpits.
Final stage was vomiting
blood
• Spread bubonic and
pneumonic (person to
person)
• Death took 3-5 days to
kill most. Although,
airborne virus could only
take hours to kill
• killed ½ to 1/3 of
Europe’s population
• caused major economic
depression (increased
taxation, revolts, loss of
financial backing in some
cities, and increased gap
between the rich and
poor
"Der Doktor Schnabel von
Rom" (English: "Doctor
Beak of Rome") engraving
by Paul Fürst. The beak is a
primitive gas mask, stuffed
with substances (such as
spices and herbs) thought to
ward off the plague.
Plague has a long history as
a biological weapon.
Historical accounts from
medieval Europe detail the
use of infected animal
carcasses, such as cows or
horses, and human
carcasses, by Mongols,
Turks and other groups, to
contaminate enemy water
supplies. Plague victims
were also reported to have
been tossed by catapult into
cities under siege.
-wikipedia-
The Roman Catholic Church
• There was only one
church in the Middle Ages
in Western Europe
(Roman Catholic), which
held power both over
kings and countries. In
the late Middle Ages the
church began to lose its
powers:
• Babylonian Captivity
(Jewish) and Great
Schism (1054) are also
earlier events
• Babylonian Captivity: 1304-1374
popes lived in Avignon in
southeastern France (away from
Rome). French kings influenced the
pope and the church. Ended with
the death of pope Gregory XI in 1377
• Great Schism: various popes at same
time 1377-1415 –succession crisis!
Ended with the election of pope
Martin V
• Conciliar Movement: reform the
church by assemblies
(constitutional)
• John Wycliffe precursor of the
Reformation-scriptures alone should
be the standard for Christian belief
• Wycliffe attacked the
doctrinal and political
bases of the Church. He
was against the selling of
indulgences, stated the
sacraments were only as
good as the priest,
Eucharist was spiritually,
and salvation depended
on predestination. He
attacked the Church’s
right to wealth and luxury
which made the English
monarchy happy and thus
he was protected. His
followers were called
Lollards.
• Jan Hus-rejected much of
what Wycliffe thought, but
did agree that indulgences
were not good. He called for
Church reform of liturgy and
morals. Both pope XXIII and
Bohemian king Wenceslas IV
were outraged! Hus was
excommunicated and found
guilty of heresy. He was
burned at the stake! His
followers were called
Hussites
• Gunpowder- Mongols
New Technologies conquerors coming west used
bombs, rockets, and
incendiary weapons by mixing
• Printing Presssalt peter, sulfur, and charcoal
Gutenberg (1440’s)
to make gunpowder. The
based upon movable
earliest gun used in battle was
type printing circulated
probably in 1288 in China. By
by the Mongols.
the 1320’s European soldiers
• Gutenberg invented
were using gunpowder to
movable metal type for propel arrows or stones. By
the Latin alphabet. He
the 1400’s (late part of the
printed a Latin Bible in
One Hundred Years’ War),
1455.
French kings used guns for the
first time.
Introduction/ Compass
• Many innovations and discoveries were not
attributed properly to the people who invented
or discovered them due to prejudices
• For example, the compass was developed by the
Chinese during the Tang dynasty. The Chinese
introduced it to the Indians, Arabs, and then the
Arabs to the Europeans. This technology allowed
for greater navigation to lands for trade. Due to
trade routes established by the Mongols,
Europeans were introduced to many new
products and ideas which would dramatically
shape European culture like the compass
Mongol Interlude in China
• Xi Xia and Jin empires conquered then the Mongols focused their
attention on the Song empire of China under Kubilai Khan
(grandson)
• 1235-1279 Mongols on the march through China fighting. In 1260
Kubilai assumed the title of great khan. By 1271 he changed his
name to a Chinese dynastic title, Yuan dynasty. Kubilai ruled most of
China!
• Kubilai tried to make sure that Mongol culture was retained
through the process by not allowing Chinese scholars to read
Mongol script, not allow intermarriage or even friendships for the
most part, and keeping the traditional religions ceremonies and
customs of the Mongols.
• Kubilai prior to the conquest of the Song in 1279 had Chinese
advisors, practiced specific Chinese rituals and ceremonies, and
adopted the Chinese calendar!
• During Yuan era: Mongols, Asian nomadic and Muslim allies, north
Chinese, ethnic Chinese and Chinese of the south. Chinese ran local
bureacratic level, but never at the top. Also the censor of Bureau
was empowered though the Mongols to scrutinized local activities.
Gender
• Mongol women didn’t adopted footbinding!
• Mongol women retained their rights to
property and control within the household
and freedoms move about
• Mongol women rode into the hunt, some even
refused to marry!
• Kubilai Khan’s wife, Chabi was one of his
closest political confidants.
Mongol Tolerance
• Very tolerant of foreigners, artists, and
scholars
• Muslims were included in the 2nd highest
social grouping. Persians and Turks admitted
into the inner circle of Kubilai’s advisors
• Kubilai welcome travelers like Marco Polo!
Polo served and lived in Kubilai’s court for 17
years as an administrator!
Social Policies
• Kubilai’s attempt to promote Mongol adaptation to Chinese culture
was overshadowed by the idea of Mongol separateness. Many
Chinese still saw the Mongols as uncouth barbarians. Plus they
refused to reinstate the examination system and thus allow
Confucian bureaucrats power.
• Kubilai elevated status of artisans and merchants which Confucian
scholars weren’t happy about
• Even developed a navy which helped the Mongols conquer the
Song dynasty. Afterward used to control pirates.
• Poetry and writing were limited, but dramatic works and plays were
quite popular, The Romance of the West Chamber.
• Kubilai forbade Mongol cavalrymen to turn farmland into pasture
lands, restored the granary system, sought to lower taxes, and even
wanted to developed a new education system!
Fall of Yuan
• China was ruled for 9 decades most of which fell
under Kubilai Khan.
• He was unsuccessful in his campaigns to spread and
take over Japan, Vietnam, and Java!
• Kubilai got soft after the death of his wife, Chabi and
his favorite son. His successors lacked leadership and
didn’t care for day to day administrative duties
• Song loyalists raised revolts against the Mongols
• 1350’s Yuan decline in full swing: banditry and piracy
widespread, famine spread which led to more
uprisings, and religious sects took advantage of the
uprisings and encouraged the people to overthrow
their “barbarian” usurpers!
• Ju Yuanzhang (a peasant) started the next dynasty
that would rule China for 3 centuries: MING
Ming 1368-1644
• Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan (Mongolian) dynasty in
China. He had suffered greatly at Mongol rule: his parents
and 2 brothers died in a plague in 1344 and he had to beg
for land in which to bury them! He moved into a monastery
to survive and while there started to learn about the rebel
movement. He left the monastery and soon became a
leader! He fought other rival rebels and eventually then
Mongol rule. He declared himself, Hongwu emperor in 1368
and started the Ming dynasty.
• He immediately moved to repel Mongolian influence in
China. He even brought back the civil service exams…which
the Mongols had stopped. The exams became even harder!
2 level
-county level: 2 out of 3 yrs –low level bureaucrats
-Imperial: every 3 yrs –highest bureaucrats
• The test took days! Confined to a cubicle and watched. Very
competitive –4000 tried out for only 150 degree! Success
granted rise in status.
Hongwu’s Reforms
• Being a peasant he was suspicious of the scholar-gentry and dependence
upon it. He placed limits on power and influence of bureaucrats. Abolished
chief minister position (held lot of influence) and began public beating for
those bureaucrats deemed incompetent or corrupt. These public bare
bottom beating usually resulted in deaths because the wounds were so
severe.
• Hongwu also tried to limit the influence of wives by attempted to make
sure they were only from humble families (didn’t work). He wanted to
make sure these women didn’t try and give their relatives special privileges
at court.
• Sought to limit the number and power of eunuchs
• Made sure all potential rivals were exiled and that they couldn’t participate
in politics
• Also tried to improve the lives of peasants by: public works projects, giving
lands to peasants who cultivate it, and lowering the demand on
conscripted labor, and he also promoted silk and cotton production to
supplement peasants’ income. Didn’t work…large gentry households
allowed peasant to take out loans against their lands and when they
couldn’t pay they took possession of the lands and turned the peasants
into tenant farmers.
Social/ Age of Growth
• Confucian values of knowing your place in society still important.
Student beheaded for questioning teacher and he head was hung on a
pole at the entrance of the academy to sent a warning to other
students! Student protests went underground.
• Women were also subordinate. They were expected to be subordinate
to father and later husband. Women tried to influence men around
them by their positions as: wife, mother, mother in-law, concubine, or
even a courtesan. Importance placed still o having male children!
• Population and economic boom: silver from the Americas brought in to
buy luxury goods for western Europe AND new crops like corn, sweet
potatoes, and peanuts supported population growth. State made
revenue off taxes (tax collected in just silver!)
• 80-90 million in the 14th century to 120 million in the 16th to 300 million
in the 18th!!!
• Canton is where Europeans were officially able to do business in China.
• Merchant class rose and so did the wealth of China-art (more colorful Xuwei) and literature. 1st Chinese novels: The Water Margin, Monkey,
and The Golden Lotus.
Age of Expansion
• Ming rule drove out beyond China and China began exploring and
expanding! Emperor Yunglo launched a series of expeditions
1405-1423 under admiral Zhenghe. He traveled around Asia, the
Indian Ocean Basin, and all the way to Africa.
• Initial fleet: 62 ships and 28,000 men compared to Columbus’ 3
ships and da Gama’s 4-later had 150) The Chinese had the power
to expand on a global scale, but did not! Rivalry between
Confucian scholars and Zhenghe!
• 1390 1st edict aimed at limiting Chinese overseas commerce
issued  Ming war fleet decline and was restricted.
• Christian missionaries soon followed the merchants, but had little
success in Asia other than the Philippines. Tried to impress the
bureaucrats with their knowledge: Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall
(Jesuit scholars). But some hostile to the “barbarians” and felt
embarrassed by their corrections.
Zhenghe travels
Emperor Yunglo
Ming Decline
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mediocre and incompetent leaders 
Decades of unchecked official corruption 
Thousands of eunuchs that dominated the Forbidden City
Public works projects fell into disrepair 
Floods, drought, and famine soon happened 
Peasants ate bark off trees, wild geese excrement, sold children
into slavery, and even in some cases reverted to cannibalism! 
• Local landlords took advantage of desperate peasants and built
huge estates! Poor and displaced fled, turned to banditry, and
finally open rebellion!
• Foreign threats-northern nomadic peoples (Manchus) and even
Japanese pirates!
• 1644 Ming dynasty fell: emperor Chongzhen tried to kill his
daughter (but messed it up), wife killed herself, then he hanged
himself to avoid capture by rebel soldiers.
Chinese Thrust and Withdrawal
• 1368: rebellious Chinese drive out the Mongols
• Ju Yuanzhang (the peasant leader) becomes the leader of the next
dynasty, Ming. It ruled China until 1644!
• By 1400 the Chinese had regained tribute payments (under the
Tang) and started to sponsor state trading expeditions in the Indian
Ocean –to Africa
• Zhenghe led these expeditions. He was a eunuch who was castrated
for his services to the royal court. He led 2700 coastal ships, 400
armed naval ships, 400 long distance ships, and 9 treasure ships. By
1433 the emperor had called and end to these expeditions.
Confucian scholars who competed with Zhenghe for the attention
of the emperor convinced the emperor it was not fiscal to spend
such money on expeditions and that they should concentrate on
internal affairs. The Chinese did not need foreign products…they
had plenty of internal products! (Textile and porcelain )
• Think what would have happened had the Chinese not stopped
they surly would have easily conquered European vessels!
A map of Ming dynasty China, showing the
surrounding kingdoms and peoples.
Chinese Withdrawal
• This shift in Chinese foreign policy would allow
way for a less organized civilization to increase
their international powers
• China retreated and the Arab powers now
were eclipsed…giving way to the powers of
western Europe.
Timur and the Timurid Empire
• Nomadic warriors who were Turkish! After Mongols started to
fall from power Timur the Lame spread his forces!
• He was complex: known for his culture and at the same time
horrible atrocities
• 1360’s started to conquer Persia, Fertile Crescent, India, and
southern Russia
• Timur the Lame didn’t have a large empire to compare to the
Mongols, but he was ferocious!
• It is said that his armies built pyramids of skulls with the head so
those they killed. Tens of thousands of people were slaughtered
after they took Aleppo in Asia Minor. They wanted send a
warning to the citizens of Delhi in India not to resist his armies.
• In 1405 Timur died and his empire ended. His empire was brief
and violent. After his death his commanders fought with each
other and rivals tore the empire a part.
• Later rulers like Ulugh Beg oversaw the empire and Samarkand
transform into an intellectual center.
Timur
Timurid Empire
• The Timurid Empire would last until 1506. It
fell to the Uzbeks.
• A princes wanted to see the kingdom return,
but it was never met to come to pass
• The Safavid Empire would rise in its wake
along with other groups like the Uzbeks.
Eventually, a prince would raid India in the
hopes of restarting the empire. However, he
give up on his goal and began the Mughal
Empire in India. His name was Babur.
Timurid Empire
Mongol Links
• Mongols had a huge empire! From China to Germany!!!
• Their invasions and conquests ended or disrupted many of the
great empires of the postclassical era
• Extended world trade network. Reestablished the Silk Roads
between Europe and Asia! European demand of Asia good
super high! Merchants got rich off this trade.
• They had a wonderful war machine and were a highly mobile
force
• Conquered central Asia, northern China, eastern Persia, then:
China, Tibet, Persia, Iraq, and much of Asia Minor
• After Mongol decline land trade routes became dangerous so
people turned to sea routes!
• It is also believed that the Mongols transmitted the Bubonic
Plague into Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Decline
• 1200 Byzantine and Islamic empire/ caliphate
dominated the Middle East
• However by 1400 both the Byzantine and much
of the Islamic empire had fallen
• This created a power vacuum and gave a chance
for others to move into positions of power. The
Mongols originally took up this position, but
quickly fell from power. The Chinese were the
next to partially take up this vacuum, but
decidedly turned their toward internal interest
which allowed for a more weaken western
Europe to expand!
Social and Cultural Change: Middle East
• New piety: Sufi movement
• Literature: Focus on religious ideas
• Philosophy: Rationalistic idea like those of Ibn
Rushd came under attack in favor of religious
devotion
• Agriculture: As power of the caliph declined
landlords seized control of peasant and turned
them into serfs. Overall productivity declined and
no new agriculture technologies were developed
• Trade: Merchants lost some ground due to lower
tax revenues, but still were very important in
international trade
Power Vacuum
• Ottoman Empire did not unite all Arab lands
nor was it the center of international trade
• Mongols created a stable, profitable overland
trade. When the Mongols declined suddenly
overland trade was no longer safe and people
began turning towards sea routes for trade
purposes.
Timeline
570 -Muhammad born
632 -Death of Muhammad
632-634 -Ridda Wars under Abu Bakr
Sunnis (backed Umayyad) vs. Shi’a (backed Ali)
661-750 -Umayyad caliphate (Sunnis) (711 –Sind Kingdom of India takenMuhammad ibn Qasim)
732 -Battle of Tours -Muslims defeated by Charles Martel (France)
744-750 -(3rd civil war) (anger at Umayyad luxurious living). Abbasid- traced
heritage from Muhammad’s uncle, al-Abbas (Sunnis who used Shi’a
supporters)
750 – Abbasid caliphate begins (victory at the Battle of the River Zab). Abu
al-Abbas dinner party-slaughtered Umayyads. Nickname al-Saffah meaning
the blood shedder!
786-809 –Reign of Harun al-Rashid (thousand and one nights) Excesses!
777 -Independent dynasty in Algeria, 788- Morocco, 800- Tunisia
809 -First war between Abbasid princes over succession: after death of
Harun, idea of body guards and personal armies developed  846 slaves
945- Persian Buyids (Shi’a) capture Baghdad (remember they had advised
various Abbasid caliphs). Abbasid rule became weak b/c of slave armies and taxes
so independent kingdoms formed in former lands. Called themselves sultans.
1055-Seljuk Turks: (Sunnis) ruled in name of Abbasid caliphs like the Buyids
1096-1099 First Christian Crusade, 1099 Jerusalem taken and Muslim/ Jewish
inhabitants massacred. 12th century Muslims united under Saladin (Salah-ud-Din)
and they reconquered. Last crusader kingdom fell with fall of Acre in 1291
1206 – Delhi sultanate in India –Mahmud of Ghazni (Turkish slave dynasty who
seized Afghanistan in 962) led expeditions and Muhammad of Ghur who
conquered (assassinated 1206 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak who took power)
1258- Mongols (Hulegu) captured Abbasid capital of Baghdad and killed the 37
caliph.
1260- Ain Jalut-Mongols defeated by Mamluks (Turkish slave army that ruled
Egypt)
1281 –Ottoman dynasty founded
1453-Ottomans capture Constantinople
1402-Tamerlane’s invasions-1398 he sacked Delhi
• Three major Muslim dynasties of this time: Ottoman
Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire
• They came to power after the fall of the Mongols and the
harsh rule of Timur (power vacuum), they were created by
warrior leaders, and were Turkish-speaking nomadic
groups.
• The Mughals were successful because they relied on
cannons and muskets whereas other armies were not as
skilled yet in that technology!
• However the Mughals differed in that their conquest were
not launched out of religious desires like the Ottoman and
Safavid Empires
• Rival dynasties-sunni and shi’a split
• Science declined, but art/ architecture flourished!
Exchange between the 3 Muslim empires
Ottoman Empire (13-14 century)
• Prior to the rise of the Ottoman Empire Turkish peoples had played
key roles in Abbasid Empire as soldiers and administrators
• Osman was able to seize power because of the fall of the Seljuk
Turks and invasion of Mongols starting in 1243
• Eastern Anatolia turned into a chaotic state with warring Seljuk
sultans and people fleeing Mongolian raids. One such group,
Ottomans, began building a new empire in the western part of the
Anatolia. They were named after their leader, Osman. Sultan Murad
I would start the Janissaries (slave army) and they used gunpowder
weapons too!
• By 1350’s expanded beyond the Bosporus straits and in 1453
Ottoman sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople. Pillaged and
looted for 3 days! Other sultans extended into Syria and Egypt while
also expanding into Europe in the Balkan peninsula and Hungary!
Ottomans captured major Mediterranean cities and began to
control Mediterranean trade: Rhodes, Crete, and Cyprus were all
captured. The Ottomans also drove the Venetians and Genoese
from Eastern Mediterranean and even threatened southern Italy
with invasion.
Fall of Constantinople
Mehmed II
Great Ottoman leaders
• Mehmed II (1432-1481) – one of the greatest military geniuses
of world history. He consolidated the expansion of the Ottoman
Empire in Asia Minor and in 1453 organized the siege of
Constantinople. He personally directed the combined land and
naval assault and brilliantly improvised the tactics that led to
the fall of the city. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans
was a watershed.
• Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) {Dynastic Wars of
Europe} He entered into an alliance with Francis I of France to
control the powers of Charles V of Spain and the Holy Roman
Empire. He then captured places like Budapest and and really
threatened Europe! The Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559
ended the conflict. The Habsburgs couldn’t dislodge the
Ottomans from Hungary while they fueled their New World
wars. 1557 Spain and France declared bankruptcy  Francis I
son, Henry II, never forgave his father for abandoning him in
France and sought to make Charles V (his jailer pay). He
celebrated the treaty as a great victory and had a big feast and
entertainment including a jousting tournament in which he
died!!!!
A State geared to warfare
• Importance of military leaders directly affected the economy. A
warrior aristocracy developed where warriors were granted
control over lands and peasants in order to support their
households and military retainers
• Warrior aristocracy began to compete with religious leaders,
administrators, and even the sultan for power (revenue and labor
control)
• mid 15th century imperial forced made up of infantry divisions
called Janissaires (many conscripted in conquered areas as
adolescents). The boys were legally slaves even though they
were well educated and converted to Islam. Some even served in
palaces but the majority became Janissaries. (there when
Constantinople was sacked)
• Controlled the artillery and firearms of the Ottoman war
machine and became the most powerful component of the
military. Began to want political influence and by the 16th century
could depose the sultan and name which son would succeed
him!
Sultans and court
• Sultan was an absolute monarch, but realistically needed to
work with the various fractions within the state and pit them
against each other: warrior elite, Janissaries, religious scholars,
legal experts, traders- both Muslim and dhimmis [people of
the book-Christian and Jewish]. Sultans were often capable
rulers who had effective administration and gave tax relief to
peoples
• As wealth and empire grew so too did the sultans lavish
lifestyle with many wives and a large harems. The day to day
administration was carried out by the large bureaucracy
headed by the wazir (vizier). The vizier was the head of the
administration and held more real power than the sultan.
However, early sultans did like to lead their men into battle!
• Inherited succession problems like other Muslim empires
(vague principles over succession ) This could and did led to
warfare! Muhammad’s lack of naming an heir would still
plague Muslim empires well into the early modern period
Constantinople Restored
• After Mehmed II sacked Constantinople in 1453 he then moved to restore
the city to its former position of splendor. Specifically the Hagia Sophia.
Improved the city via Muslim advancements in architecture. Each sultan
created beautiful mosques and palaces like Suleymaniye built by Sulieman
(Suleyman) the Magnificent.
• Schools, hospitals, mansions, rest houses, and gardens were built around
the city to make it beautiful
• Built coffeehouses where men would come to gossip, read, and debate.
These men like to smoke tobacco coming out of America. Merchants and
artisans were members of guilds and the Ottoman regime regulated
business, weights and measurements, and commercial exchange.
• Language switch from Arabic to Persian to Turkish
• Ottoman Empire combined European, African, and Asian peoples
Rise of the West
• Church was now under attack
• Bubonic Plague spread throughout Europe
decimating the population. The plague most
likely was spread via Mongols to Asia, the
Middle East, and Europe. Around 30 million
Europeans died from the plague
• 1348-1378 Plague hit hardest in Europe
• 1300’s famines due to food shortages!
Sources of Dynamism: Medieval Vitality
• Feudal monarchies strengthened in Europe
and their powers became more consolidated
and centralized
• Innovations occurred in military organizationstate soldiers paid directly by governments
• Muslims of Spain were driven out thanks to
the Reconquista
• Cities and towns grew as well as commerce
• Technology improved
Imitation and International Problems
• Mongol empire and their trade routes established new access
to Asian knowledge like the compass, printing, and
gunpowder
• Trade problems between Europe and Asia: Europe had an
uneven exchange with Asia. They traded wool, tin, cooper,
honey, and salt for luxury goods of spices (cinnamon and
nutmeg), silks, sugar, perfumes, and jewels. Of course the
Europeans had to supplement their exchange with gold. Soon
the economies of Europe were drained of their gold and they
required a new source in order to keep getting the luxury
good from Asia
• The Europeans also feared the Muslims and therefore were
seeking alternative trade routes to Asia to by pass the
Muslims and unstable lands of the Silk Roads to get their
Asian luxury goods
•
•
•
•
•
Secular Directions in the Italian Renaissance
Human Values and Renaissance culture
Renaissance –rebirth of culture and
scholarship in Europe. Focus of activity within
aristocracy. 1350-1550
Used classical models for inspiration: Greece
and Rome
Started in Italy (geography, trade, root of
Roman Empire)
Franceso Petrarch-father of humanism
Innovations flourished and exploration and
conquest reflected the glory and nature of
man
Renaissance
• Rebirth
• Scholars use the term
Renaissance to describe
the cultural
achievements of the
14th –16th centuries
• Italy led the way due to
the commercial revival
of the area that started
in the 11th centuryCrusades
• Italy distinguished from
the rest of Europe by its
urbanization
• Italy had more major
and minor cities than
anywhere else:
geography key
• Amounts of disposable
wealth went up after
plague-luxury items
increased
• Life was hard for the
young and especially
the poor: children sent
to work: boys at age of
10 became apprentices
and girls domestic
servants
•
Renaissance
Art
The art of the
• Art was also a product of
Renaissance owed much
the educational system:
to the social system in
principles of the craft and
which artists lived
guild
• Wealth of cities
• Renaissance artists had
permitted for public
to solve problem of
works of art, which was
perspective and threecommissioned by
dimensionality. They
corporate sources to
returned to classical
show their power. Later
ideas, realism, nude
it was used on individual
figures, and expression in
level to show rich (newly)
the face
• Disposable wealth (non
• The artist was considered
critical personal funds)
a free intellectual worker
led to interest in
and was respected and
portraiture
rewarded.
Crucifixion
1335
Example of Middle Ages
Art
Museo
ThyssenBornemisza, Madrid
The Engagement
of Virgin Mary)
Example of
Renaissance Art
Raphael
1504
Great Renaissance Artists
Michelangelo
(sculpture)
Leonardo da Vinci
(painting)
Sandro Botticeli
(painting)
Brunelleschi
(architecture)
Donatello (sculpture)
Masaccio (painting)
Raphael (painting)
David, Sistine Chapel,
Pieta
Mona Lisa, Last Supper
Birth of Venus, Spring
Florence Cathedral
Judith Slaying Holofernes
Expulsion of Adam and
Eve
The Engagement of
Virgin Mary)
Works
• Leon Battista Alberti
(1404-1474)- On the
Family: classic study of
new urban values-thrift
and prudence
• Baldesar Castiglione
(1478-1529)-The Courtier:
an etiquette book that
prescribed every detail of
the education necessary
for the ideal state servant
• Francesco Petrarch (13041374): important figure in
literary humanism
• Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527): The Prince:
blueprint to realistic,
modern power politics.
Explores how a ruler
should gain, maintain,
and increase power. It is
better to be feared than
loved. A ruler should
also be concerned with
the way things are NOW
not the way things
ought to be.
Machiavellian: entered
the language as a
synonym for politically
devious, corrupt, and
crafty.
Intellectual Hallmarks•
• Individualism: stressed
personality, uniqueness,
genius, and full
development of one’s
capabilities and talents.
Leon Battista Alberti
(1404-1474) “Men can do
all things if they will”
• Humanism: revival of
antiquity (Greece/Rome).
Humanists studied the
Latin classics to learn
what they reveal about
human nature.
Humanism emphasized
human beings, their
achievements, interests,
and capabilities.
Humanists placed
importance on grammar,
rhetoric, moral
philosophy, and history.
Focused on 2 major
philosophers-Plato and
Aristotle. Philology or
the study of the origins of
words was central to a
humanist like Lorenzo
Valla who proved the
Donation of Constantine
was a forgery
• Secularism: involves a
basic concern with the
material world instead of
with the eternal world of
the spirit
Iberian Spirit
• Reconquista-pushed Muslims and Jews back.
Jewish converters to Christianity: conversos
• 1469 Castile and Aragon united =Spain with
marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella
• Reconquista –religious and military unification
of Spain
• Religion and spreading the message of the
Catholic Church was soon sponsored by Spain
to expand to other lands
Early Explorations
• 1200 –Vivaldis (Italian) brothers sailed passed
the Straits of Gibraltar seeking a new route to
Asia, but they were never heard from again!
• Until the 1430’s technological barriers kept
Europe from exploring and navigation far
beyond the Mediterranean. Soon Chinese
technologies via Arab merchants (compass
and astrolabe) and better ships allowed for
voyages.
• 1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal was the first
European to reach the Indies by sea
Colonial Patterns
• Spanish and Portuguese began to take advantage of new lands
they discovered. Prince Henry of Portugal known as Henry the
Navigator sponsored many voyages of Portugal prior to his
death in 1460. He also took advantage of these lands
economically, sending colonists to them as well as the
message of course of Christianity. The colonists would set up
large agricultural estates and grow cash crops that would be
sold back in European markets. Cash crops like sugar were
grown. Europeans also grew tobacco and cotton. Slaves from
Africa were used to farm these agricultural products.
• These ventures were successful enough to launch more
voyages beyond the Atlantic islands
Americas
• In the 1400 the Aztec and Inca empires ran
into problems. The Aztec empire created
many enemies with their tribute, need for
slaves, and need for human sacrifice while the
Incas had a problem in regards to claims to
the position of emperor and had broken out
into a civil war!
• When the Spanish conquistadors landed in the
1500’s, the Aztecs and Incas were divided and
already weakened. The Spanish just arrived at
an opportune time
Expansion, Migration, and Conquest in Polynesia
• 7th-1400’s developed in relative isolation like the Americas
• Postclassical era known for expansion, migration, and
conquest
• Spread to Society Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, and Fiji!!! I LOVE
FIJI!!! Fiji regional kingdoms and tribes would fight each
other…cannibals
• reached the uninhabited Hawaiian islands in 7th century by
way of war canoes! Remained in contact with Society Islands
and was cut off until European explores arrived in 1778
• Hawaii organized into regional kingdoms and were highly
warlike, hierarchy established, and had a complex culture
living with Neolithic technologies!
Isolated Achievements by Maori
• New Zealand. The Polynesians migrated to New
Zealand as early as the 8th century. They lived
primary in the northern island of New Zealand. The
people were called the Maori.
• New Zealand is colder so the Maori had to adapt to
this environment. They created great art and were
organized into tribes with military and priests who
held power. The tribe also included slaves who were
POW’s and their descendants. Their traditional dance
includes eye bulging to scare off enemies!
• They were totally isolated until the 18th century.
• Some Polynesians such as the Maori were totally
isolated.
Adding Up to Changes
• Complex coincidences led to changes
• Independent developments in Americas,
China, technological developments by Asia,
improvement of ships, and goals of leaders
like Prince Henry the Navigator.
• Sub-Saharan Africa had continuity. Mali fell,
but Songhay arose to power from 1464-1591
• Decline of Arabs meant the decline of African
trade networks. They also were kept from
major advantage of Mongol trade networks 
1450 and the World
• Postclassical period full of continuities and
changes. Changes came in empires that
contacted other empires like Muslims and
Mongols.
• Connection between Asia and Europe
• China active role for a short time in Indian
Ocean trade
• Shift from overland trade to sea routes
• Continuity: interest in trade and contacts.
Value of Afro-Eurasian contacts
Works Cited
http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/polynesia.html
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/1xarming.htm