THE EARLY MODERN AGE

CONTENTS OF THE UNIT

• 0. Introduction: characteristics of the Modern Age

• 1. The Age of discoveries

• 2. The Modern State: political, social, and economic transformations

• 3. Humanism

• 4. Reformation and Counter-Reformation

• 5. The Renaissance

INTRODUCTION: BEGINNING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MODERN AGE

• Beginning: 1453 (fall of Constantinople) or 1492

• End: 1789 (French Revolution)

• In the 15th century, important transformations took place in several spheres: – Empires in the Mediterranean: The Turks took Constantinople

and became the most important power in the Eastern Mediterranean, and a constant threat for Europe.

– Politics: the Modern State replaced feudalism. – Religion: Reformation: Lutheranism and Calvinism. In England,

the Anglican Church was established. Catholic Counter-Reformation.

– Demography: population growth, bigger cities. – Economy: growth, development of commercial capitalism and

new financial practices. – Society remained divided into estates (clergy, nobility, third

estate), but the bourgeoisie played an increasingly important role.

– Knowledge of the world: Exploration and geographical discoveries.

– Culture: Humanism started in Italy and then spread through Europe thanks to universities, romance languages and the printing press.

• Secularization.

• Anthropocentrism instead of theocentrism.

• Scientific curiosity, reason and experience: development of astronomy, medicine, physics.

• Recovering the cultural inheritance of Antiquity

• Art: Renaissance, inspired by the ideals of beauty and harmony of Ancient Greece and Rome.

– Architecture: harmony, clarity of lines. Human scale. Classical elements: barrel vault, round arches, domes, columns.

– In painting and sculpture attention was paid to human anatomy, nature, proportions, and perspective. The themes could be religious, but also landscapes, portraits and mythology.

1. THE AGE OF DISCOVERIES

At the beginning of the 15th century, Europeans had limited knowledge if the world: they knew very little about Africa and they didn’t know that America, Antarctica or Oceania existed. But during that century, important geographic discoveries were made due to different reasons.

• Political:

– Fall of the Byzantine Empire and control of the East Mediterranean by the Turks, cutting off European trade routes in that area.

– End of the Reconquista in Portugal and Spain: expansion of the Christian kingdoms could only happen now overseas.

Causes of the discoveries

• Economic:

– Demand for spices (cinnamon, pepper, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger) and luxury products (ivory, silk, perfumes).

– Exhaustion of metal in European mines: new mines had to be found.

Causes of the discoveries

• Scientific: discussions about the shape of the Earth. Based of Ptolemy’s Geographica, many believed it was spherical and smaller than it is, so getting to East Asia through the West seemed feasible.

Causes of the discoveries

• Technical: important advances in navigation thanks to:

– the development of instruments such as the compass, astrolabe and quadrant.

Astrolabe

Quadrant

Compass

Causes of the discoveries

• Technical:

– Improvements in cartography: portolan charts

– Development of new ship types: caravels and carracks were lighter, safer, faster, and could carry more goods.

Causes of the discoveries

• Ideological:

– Scientific curiosity, coupled with an adventurous mindset and the thirst for wealth and fame, drove explorers to undertake these long and risky voyages.

– Modern monarchs also wanted to expand Christianism.

Causes of the discoveries

Pre-Columbian indigenous civilisations

• Before Europeans arrived in America, there were many native peoples across the continent. – The most developed

civilizations were located in Mesoamerica and in the Andes area.

– North America was mostly inhabited by hunters and gatherers, though more complex civilizations appeared or had existed in some areas (Mississippi, for example).

Cahokia

Mayas

They were located in the Yucatán Peninsula and were organized in independent city-states like Tikal of Palenque

Mayas

• Their civilization flourished between 300 and 900 AD and was in decline before the Spaniards arrived.

• Mayas were ruled by absolute kings supported by the priests.

• Their culture was very advanced and they developed major pharmaceutical, astronomical discoveries (calendar).

• They had a pictographic writing. • They were very good architects

and built important cities with pyramids, temples, and palaces such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, and Copán.

Aztecs

• Aztecs settled in central Mexico in the 12th century and by the 15th century had created an empire that obtained taxes from other peoples.

• The capital was Tenochtitlan. • Their society was very hierarchical and was ruled by the emperor or tlatoani

(the last one was Moctezuma II), who was assisted by the priests and the warriors. It was a warrior society. There were also peasants, craftsmen, and slaves.

Aztecs

• Agriculture (maize, tomato, and cacao) and mining (mostly gold and silver)were the most important economic activities

• Their culture was also quite developed in mathematics and astronomy. • They had a polytheistic religion. The main gods were Huitzilopochtli

(war and sun), Quetzalcoatl (feathered snake), and Tlaloc (rain and fertility).

• They spoke Nahuatl and developed a pictographic writing.

Tezcatlipoca ritual mask

Incas

The Inca Empire was located in present-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and parts of Chile, and Argentina. The capital was Cuzco.

• The empire was strongly hierarchical and it was firmly ruled by the emperor (Atahualpa was the last one) and the nobility.

• Inca administration was very complex and there were many roads that eased communication across the Empire.

• Incas did not have any writing. • Their language was called Quechua.

Quipu knots

Incas

• Their economy was based on agriculture (potato), cattle raising (llama), and mining (mostly silver).

• In their polytheistic religion, the most important gods were Inti (Sun) and Viracocha (creation).

• The most important Inca remains are in Cuzco and Machu Picchu.

Portuguese and Castilian discoveries

• They both wanted to find a new route for india and the far East

• Portugal would establish a route through the East • Castile would search for a way to get to the East by

sailing to the West.

Portugal: Eastern route

• Portuguese Reconquista ended in the 13th century, so they started earlier to explore new territories.

• They wanted to control silk, gold, slave, and spice trade with the far East.

• Prince Henry the Navigator was the most important promoter of navigation. He promoted expeditions to the African coast and opened a school of navigators where: – Crews trained – Cartographers drew accurate maps. – Instruments and ships (caravels)

where elaborated.

• The Portuguese progressively got closer to India by surrounding Africa and conquering strategis spots one by one: – Ceuta in 1415. – Archipelagos, such as Madeira (1418), Azores (1439), and Cape Verde (1456). – Islands in the Gulf of Guinea: Fernando Po, São Tomé and Príncipe – Angola (1483). – In 1487 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, accessing the Indian Ocean. – Vasco de Gama finally arrived at Calicut (India) in 1497 – From there the Portuguese expanded to other enclaves in Asia: Goa, Malacca, Moluccas Islands. – They also settled on the coast of Mozambique (1500) to protect the Indian route. – Another expedition led by Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered the Brazilian coast, which became the

only Portuguese colony in America.

Castile: Western route

• Castilians began their explorations much later than the Portuguese.

• The Castilian kings (Henry III, Isabella) commanded the exploration and conquest of some Canary Islands. The Portuguese, who had already explored these islands , also wanted to control them.

• The Treaty of Alcaçovas-Toledo (1479), which granted Castile rights over the Canary islands but established that Castile could not sail to the South of them. Thus, there was no other choice than to go West.

Castile: Western route

• Christopher Columbus defended that the Earth was spheric and that there was a route to reach Cathay (China) and Cipango (Japan) through the west.

• John II of Portugal did not accept to fund Columbus’ project, but the Catholic Monarchs did. In the Capitulations of Santa Fe (17 April 1492) they granted some privileges to Columbus and established that Christianism would be introduced in the new territories

• 1st voyage: – Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) on August 3rd 1492 with a

carrack (Santa María) and two caravels (Pinta and Niña). – They arrived at the island of Guanahani (Bahamas) on October 12th 1492 and

named it San Salvador. They then visited more islands and founded the first settlements.

• In the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th voyages Columbus explored more islands and the coast of Central America.

• The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) established an imaginary line 370 leagues (around 2,000 km) to the west of the Cape Verde Islands. Portugal would control lands to the East of the line except for the Canary Islands.

• Other important explorations: – Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean (South

Sea) in the Isthmus of Panama (1513).

– Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano led the first circumnavigation of the Earth (1519-1522) searching a westward

route to the Spice Islands (Moluccas).

CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISCOVERIES

• The discoveries affected not only Castile and Portugal, but all of Europe and America. There were several types of consequences. – Economic.

• Prices rose due to more gold and silver circulating. • New crops from America were introduced in Europe: potato, maize, tomato, peanut,

cacao, tobacco. • European cattle types and crops were introduced into America: pig, horse, cow, wheat,

vines, coffee, and rice. • New trade routes were established between Europe and America. European products

were exported and the Atlantic Ocean substituted the Mediterranean Sea as the main commercial sea.

– Demographic. Many Europeans emigrated to America causing an important impact: • The Mortality Rate rose among

native population due to the wars, and arrival of diseases they were not protected from, such as the smallpox, or the flu, and forced labor

• Black people were taken from Africa to America to work as slaves.

• Native and European population mixed and there was a strong miscegenation (mestizaje): – White people and Indians

mixed and the result were the mestizos.

– White people and Black people mixed and the result were the mulattos.

– Indians and Black people mixed and the result were the zambos

– Political. Two major colonial empires were created: the Spanish and the Portuguese. • Laws to protect Indians were enacted

in the metropolises (Leyes de Indias) • Other countries, such as England,

Holland or France started creating their own colonial empires. International tensions due to competition over this.

– Cultural. There were very significant and lasting effects of the discoveries on culture • Geography became a major field for

research since it was confirmed that the Earth was not flat. By the middle of the16th century the actual dimensions of the continents and oceans were known.

• The Spanish and Portuguese languages spread in the new territories.

• Christianity was taught across America by the peninsular missionaries.

2. THE EARLY MODERN STATE • The most important

political transformation of the Early Modern era in Europe was the establishment of stronger authoritarian monarchies which prevailed over the nobility. These monarchs had more direct power and imposed a new organizational model.

• This model entailed:

• Territorial unification: creation of a national territory considered to be royal patrimony to be defended against enemies.

• Centralized and more effective control of this territory and all the affairs related to it (including Justice) through a complex bureaucracy, with civil servants appointed by monarchs and a permanent court. Monarchs also avoided summoning parliaments.

• Permanent army of mercenaries. These professional troops

substituted private armies raised by the nobility. They were paid by the monarchs and obeyed them only.

• Foreign relations were managed through diplomacy. Ambassadors and embassies were established.

• Unified taxation system in order to provide for the increasing costs of the State.

Modern Age authoritarian monarchs

Spain: Catholic Monarchs England: Henry VIII

France: Francis I

Social transformations • Demographic growth in Europe: population had

decreased in the 14th century due to the plague. In the 15th century, it recovered and in the 16th century it almost doubled (from 80 million in 1500 to 150 million in 1600).

• Growth of urban population, though most of society was still rural.

Social transformations

• Society was still divided into three estates (clergy, nobility, commoners or third estate), but the end of the feudal system caused the nobility to lose power while the bourgeoisie became wealthier and more powerful and the peasants became freer.

Economic transformations

• Increasing population entailed increasing demand, particularly due to the growth of urban population. A more productive agriculture was developed, aimed at producing profits (beyond survival).

• Peasants complemented their incomes through domestic craft production called cottage industry. Businessmen provided raw materials and tools and were in charge of distribution.

• Capitalism developed: trade with exotic products from discovered lands made some members of the bourgeoisie very wealthy. Merchant fleets were protected by warships against pirates. Banks became common, and prices rose as more money was circulating as a result of the amount of precious metals coming from America. Joint-stock companies were invented.

3. HUMANISM • It was a cultural and intellectual

movement that started in Italy and then spread to the rest of Europe. It brought about a new worldview with these characteristics: – It was inspired by the cultural

inheritance of Antiquity: humanists based many of their ideas on their study of classical authors like Aristotle or Plato

– Anthropocentrism replaced theocentrism: they focused on man instead of God

– Scientific curiosity and the use of reason and experience were promoted.

– Education was very important: not only intellectual, but also moral and physical education. Being cultivated was considered a civic duty

• Humanism spread thanks to: – Universities – The use of Romance and other Modern languages instead of

Latin – The printing press, invented by Guttenberg in the city of Mainz

in 1440, which allowed to print books faster and cheaper.

Humanists

• Humanism in general entailed heightened curiosity about many different branches of knowledge, but the most important humanists themselves specialized in specific areas: philosophy, religion, political science, natural sciences, astronomy, medicine.

• Niccolò Machiavelli (Florence)

• The Prince • Treaty on how to

obtain and maintain political power. Effective government sometimes entails immoral decisions

• Erasmus of Rotterdam

• The Praise of Folly (Elogio de la locura)

• Best example of Christian humanism, combining criticism of social problems (war, greed, lack of education) with religious values, advocating a gradual reform of the Church and of society.

• Thomas More

• Utopia

• He criticized authoritarian monarchs and advocated an ideal society characterized by equality and fairness as much as by a simpler religion.

• Nicolaus Copernicus

• Heliocentric theory

• The Church defended Geocentrism

• Andreas Vesalius

• Treaty on Human anatomy based on observation

• Miguel Servet

• Pulmonary circulation of blood

• Cardinal Cisneros • Founded the

University of Alcalá • Promoted the

elaboration of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic

• Antonio de Nebrija

• First grammar of a modern language: Grammar of Castilian

• Juan Luis Vives advocated educational reform to spread knowledge

Spain

4. REFORMATION AND COUNTER-REFORMATION

• The Reformation was a religious movement that spread across Europe in the first third of the 16th century, establishing Protestant Churches that separated from the Roman Catholic Church.

• This movement was caused by the wealth, power, and practices of the Church: loose habits, sale of indulgences.

Lutheranism

• The German Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk who protested against Leo X’s sale of indulgences.

• He nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg (1517)

– Salvation through faith, not through deeds.

– Rejection of indulgences as a means to forgive sins.

– Freedom to interpret the Bible, which was translated into German so that everybody could read it. Priests were not necessary for that interpretation.

– Mass should be said in the language of each country with a very simple liturgy.

– Suppression of religious hierarchy and celibacy. The Pope was not the maximal authority any longer and he was not infallible.

– Worshipping the Virgin and Saints was abolished.

– He reduced the seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Priesthood, Marriage, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick) into just two: Baptism and Eucharist

• Lutheranism spread across the north of Germany, Denmark and Scandinavia.

• Some German princes who wanted to challenge Charles V’s imperial power, decided to support Martin Luther

The Diet of Worms (1521) was summoned by the emperor. Luther was to appear and reject his ideas. As he didn’t, Charles V issued the Edict of Worms for his arrest and punishment. But he escaped and afterwards was not persecuted again. Several religion wars were to take place in Germany.

http://www.history.com/topics/reformation/videos/martin-luther-sparks-a-revolution?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

Calvinism

• John Calvin was a French priest exiled in Geneva (Switzerland) after spreading Luther’s doctrines across France.

• He defended the predestination, by which fate is pre-established by God, either to condemnation or to salvation, regardless of actions.

• The sign of faith was to lead a righteous life.

• He advocated a theocracy, where priests ruled the cities or countries following the teachings of the Bible.

• Calvinism spread across Switzerland, France (Huguenots), west of Germany, the Low Countries, and in Scotland.

http://www.history.com/topics/reformation/videos/the-origins-of-calvinism

Anglicanism

• This new Church was established by Henry VIII not because he didn’t believe in the Catholic dogmas, but because he wanted to cancel his first marriage and the Pope wouldn’t let him.

• Henry VIII had attacked Luther and defended the Catholic Church and the seven sacraments. But when the Pope refused to grant the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, the king issued the Acts of Supremacy (1534).

– Acts of Supremacy (1534): • The King of England and the

Archbishop of Canterbury became the heads of the new church.

• The goods of the Roman Catholic Church in England were secularised and monasteries were dissolved.

• Roman Catholic bishops and followers were persecuted and killed (including Thomas More).

– Mary I Tudor (1553-1558), who was Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, restored Catholicism as the official religion in England.

– Elizabeth I (1558-1603), who was Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s daughter, restored the Church of England incorporating Lutheran influences that turned it into a real Protestant Church.

COUNTER-REFORMATION

• The Counter-Reformation was the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church against the Reformation by summoning the Council of Trent (1545-1563):

• It made the following decisions in order to strengthen Catholicism and prevent the expansion of Protestantism: – Dogmas were fixed:

• Salvation through deeds • Seven sacraments • Promotion of the worship of the Virgin Mary and the Saints (including relics) • The official Catholic version of the Bible was the Vulgate, its Latin translation done

by St. Jerome.

– The official Catholic catechism was approved. – Papal authority was strengthened, making the Church a strongly centralized

institution – Bishops were compelled to live at their dioceses and they would not accumulate

more than one ecclesiastical charge. – Priests had to attend the seminaries to be educated in the official Roman

Catholic principles. – The Pope confirmed the creation of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), which had been

founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534. This Society would contribute to the spread of Catholicism through the schools they created, the missionaries they sent across the world, and their political connections.