Section 4-European Cultures

Chapter Objectives Section 4: European Cultures I can discuss the impact of the Crusades on Europe’s contact with the Middle East.I can discuss the impact of the Crusades on Europe’s contact with the Middle East. I can analyze the impact of the Renaissance on European exploration.I can analyze the impact of the Renaissance on European exploration.

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European Society The Crusades, called for by Pope Urban II in 1095, were almost two centuries of armed struggle to regain the Holy Land. For centuries the Roman Empire had controlled much of Europe with stable social and political order. By A.D. 500, however, the empire collapsed. Western Europe became isolated, trade declined, and law and order ended.

This period, from about A.D. 500 to 1400, is called the Middle Ages. Feudalism developed in western Europe. Under this political system, the king gave estates to nobles in exchange for their loyalty and military support. The lack of a strong central government led to frequent warfare. European Society (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 32–37)

The economic ties between nobles and peasants is called manorialism. In exchange for protection, peasants provided various services for the feudal lord on his manor, or estate. Most peasants were serfs who could not leave the manor without permission. Around A.D. 1000, western Europe’s economy began to improve. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. European Society (cont.) (pages 32–37)

Many villages were able to produce a surplus of food because of new agricultural inventions, such as a better plow and the horse collar. This revived trade in Europe and encouraged the growth of towns. After the fall of Rome, the Roman Catholic Church provided stability and order in Europe. People who disobeyed church laws faced excommunication. European Society (cont.)

Trade increased in the eastern Mediterranean area and especially benefited Italian cities. During the 1200s, an increasing demand for gold from Africa to make gold coins was a direct result of Europe’s expanding trade with Asia. Expanding Horizons Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Crusades helped change western European society by bringing western Europeans into contact with Muslim and Byzantine civilizations of eastern Europe and the Middle East. (pages 34–35)

Crusades Renaissance Pope Urban II –Reclaim Holy lands –Military failure Leads to in trade Muslims Europeans Fall of Mongols New trade routes ??

The rise of the Mongol empire in the 1200s broke down trade barriers, opened borders, and made roads safer against bandits. This encouraged even more trade between Asia and Europe. By the 1300s, Europe was importing large amounts of spices and other goods from Asia. Expanding Horizons (cont.) (pages 34–35)

The Mongol empire, however, ended in the 1300s, causing Asia to become many independent kingdoms and empires. As the flow of goods from Asia declined, European merchants began to look for a sea route to Asia to avoid Muslim kingdoms. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Expanding Horizons (cont.) (pages 34–35)

(pages 35–37) New States, New Technology Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Beginning in the 1300s, a number of changes took place in Europe enabling Europeans to begin sending ships into the Atlantic Ocean to look for a water route to China. The Crusades and trade with Asia weakened feudalism. New towns and merchants gave monarchs a new source of wealth to tax. Armed forces opened and protected trade routes.

Merchants loaned money to monarchs to search for a water route to China. Monarchs relied less on support from nobility and began to unify their kingdoms with strong central governments. By the mid-1400s, Portugal, Spain, England, and France emerged as strong states in western Europe. New States, New Technology (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 35–37)

An intellectual revolution known as the Renaissance began in western Europe around A.D and lasted until about It produced great works of art and started a scientific revolution. By the early 1400s, Europeans had acquired new technologies to make long-distance travel across the ocean possible. New States, New Technology (cont.) (pages 35–37)

Renaissance Exploration Strong central govts. Portugal, Spain, France, England Rebirth –1350 – 1600 –Navigation –Science –Education –Maritime Technologies

From Arab traders, Europeans acquired the compass and lateen sails, which made it possible for ships to sail against the wind. In the 1400s the Portuguese invented the caravel, a ship that was easier to steer and that made travel much faster. They learned about the astrolabe, a device that uses the position of the sun to determine direction, latitude, and local time. New States, New Technology (cont.) (pages 35–37)

In 1488 a Portuguese ship commanded by Bartolomeu Dias reached the southern tip of Africa. In 1497 four Portuguese ships commanded by Vasco da Gama found a water route to Asia. It went from Portugal, around Africa, and across the Indian Ocean to India. Portuguese Exploration Henry the Navigator set up a center for astronomical and geographical studies in Portugal in (page 37)