Renaissance

“Rebirth” of Greco-Roman Ideas, Art , and Architecture

Florence, Italy

A center of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance.

Medici Family

“The Godfathers of the Renaissance”Giovanni de'Medici (1360-1429) was born into a relatively poor Florentine family and

received only a nominal inheritance when his father died. He founded the Medici Bank in 1397, which became the most successful bank in Florence by his death in 1429.

ClassicismClarity in style, adhering to principles of elegance and symmetry, and created by attention and adherence to traditional forms.

“Renaissance Man”

A person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. (Leonardo da Vinci, for example)

Leonardo da Vinci

Michelangelo

RealismRealism in the visual arts and literature is the general attempt to depict subjects as they exist in objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation and "in accordance with secular, empirical rules.

Perspective

‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael (1518), a fine example of architectural perspective with a central vanishing point.

Humanism

Beginning in the late 1300s, a group of scholars centered in the Italian city-state of Florence began to look to the past for inspiration. These scholars were later called humanists because they stressed human innovation instead of spiritualism. The humanists studied the classics –

the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the works of the classics, Renaissance scholars found a way of thinking similar to their own time. They believed this outlook had

not been explored since the fall of Greece and Rome.

Machiavelli

Petrarch

Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. The poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven;

but at a deeper level, it represents allegorically the soul's journey towards God.

Erasmus“Prince of Humanists”

Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation;

but while he was critical of the abuses within the Church and called for reform, he

kept his distance from Luther and continued to recognize the authority of the pope. Erasmus emphasized a middle way, with a deep respect for traditional faith, piety and grace, and rejected Luther's

emphasis on faith alone.

William Shakespeare

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants, who objected to

("protested") the doctrines, rituals, and structure of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to the creation of Protestant churches.

IndulgencesBy making a contributing money to the church, a sinner would receive a partial indulgence not to commit further sins, while at the same time, diminishing the time period that he was to suffer in purgatory for remission of his sins.

Martin Luther

Ninety-Five Theses

The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences was written by Martin Luther in 1517 and is widely regarded as the initial catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. The act was a protest against

clerical abuses, especially the sale of indulgences to limit time in purgatory.

John CalvinA Christian theologian and pastor, John Calvin regularly preached sermons in Geneva, Switzerland. He preached the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God. Calvin's writing and preachings provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name, Calvinism. The Reformed and Presbyterian churches have spread the theology of Calvinism throughout the world.

Counter Reformation

Its aim was to reclaim the superiority of the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.

Council of TrentAfter 20-years of debate, the Council of Trent established the basis for Catholic Counter Reformation. Decrees were issued covering every aspect of Church authority, from the chastity of priests to reform of the monasteries.

Jesuits

Ignatius Loyola was charged with forming the Jesuits, a band of militant missionaries whose task was to reconvert the converted.

Johann Gutenberg

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese Naval Academy – Development of the caravel, lateen sail, and navigational maps

Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange, also known as the Grand Exchange, was the exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), disease, and ideas between the Americas

and Afro-Eurasia following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Gold, Glory, God

The Spanish that explored and conquered parts of the New World had three basic ideas that motivated them--Gold, Glory, and God.

Mercantilism

Wealth is Power – Power is WealthMercantilism is the economic doctrine that government control of foreign trade is of

paramount importance for ensuring the military security of the country. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. It required building a network of overseas colonies,

forbidding colonies to trade with other nations and the monopolizing markets.

CaravelA caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. Caravels were much used by the Portuguese for the oceanic exploration voyages during the 15th and 16th centuries in the age of discovery.

Lateen Sail

The lateen (triangular) sails gave a Portuguese caravel speed and the capacity for sailing windward. (upwind)

Vasco de Gama

James Cook

Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of

people from Africa were shipped to the New World, as part of the Atlantic slave

trade.

Northern Renaissance

VernacularA vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population. Martin Luther translated the Bible into the German vernacular, which was the first non-Latin version of The Bible.

The Inquisition

The Inquisition was a Roman Catholic tribunal for discovery and punishment of religious heresy, which was marked by the severity of questioning, torture, punishment and lack of

rights afforded to the accused.

Qing Dynasty

In 1644, northern invaders from Manchuria conquered China & created the second foreign dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty

Manchus

During this era of Manchu rule, China grew to its largest size by claiming Taiwan,

central Asia, Mongolia, & Tibet

Kangxi

But, Emperor Kangxi earned Chinese respect by keeping Confucian beliefs, lowering taxes,

& restoring peace and prosperity to China

Kangxi was the first emperor to tour China & visit peasant villages

Shinto

Japan’s isolation gave rise to a unique Japanese culture, most specifically the Shinto religion

Shinto is a polytheistic religion

based on the respect of nature & ancestor worship Shinto worshipers believed in divine spirits called kami that live in natureThe most important of the Shinto gods is the sun goddess who

gave light to the world

Japanese Feudalism

By the mid-1000s, the imperial gov’t grew weak, regional landowners

gained power, & Japan became lawless &

dangerous

As a result, Japan developed a feudal system

Daimyo

Farmers traded land to strong warlords called daimyo who

offered protection

Samurai

Daimyo were served by loyal warriors called

samurai

In 1192, the first shogun was named

by the emperorThe emperor remained in place, but the shogun held real power & ruled

as military dictators Shoguns’ power varied

over time, but the pattern of gov’t

controlled by a shogun lasted until 1867

Shogun

Tokugawa Shogunate

In 1603, Tokugawa became shogun of Japan, moved to capital to Edo (later called Tokyo), & restored gov’t

& order to JapanTokugawa ruled until 1615, but he created a line of

succession called the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan until 1867

IsolationismTokugawa shoguns decided to exclude foreign merchants &

missionaries

By 1639, Japan adopted a

“closed country policy” &

ended almost all foreign contacts