1. The Rise of Europe

2. The Activities of Europe
1) The Renaissance and it’s movement north
2) The Protestant and Catholic Reformations
3) The rise of absolutism in the 17th century
4) Parliamentary monarchies of Britain and the Netherlands
5) The Scientific Revolution
6) The 18th century Enlightenment

3. Commercialization
Rural Europeans began to get involved in commercial activities
Villages and people began to specialize and bring goods to market
Importance?
A merchant class began to develop, and rural people start to devote themselves to producing goods
People shift away from communal ownership toward private ownership of property

4. Politics
Prior to the 17th century, Europe can still be describe as feudalistic
Areas of Europe begin to move toward a more centralized form of government
Military service aided this process (armies donned uniforms, officers, etc.)
Most of Europe, by the 18th century, had gained some sort of notion of a nation-state

5. Culture
The growth of commercialization and politics coincided with a change in the culture of Western Europe
Renaissance is French for “rebirth;” signaling a return to classical Greek and Roman artists

6. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages
Controlled by religious climate
No nudes (gasp!)
Portraits only of saints or religious figures
Expression of grandeur

11. Renaissance Art and Architecture
Received money from patrons (Medici’s)
Moved away from rigid poses to show the body in natural motion

19. The Reformation
In order to raise $ for the building of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Church begins to sell indulgences
Martin Luther sees this as a hypocrisy, “how can one be forgiven of sins by not doing penance?”
Breaks away from the Church with followers starting the Protestant movement

20. Counter-Reformation
In response to the growth of Protestantism, the Catholic Church does some reflection

21. Conflict
The Protestant break from the Catholic Church sparked many battles, most bloody, between the groups
The Thirty Years’ War ( ) killed 1/3 of the population of Germany

22. Printing
The creation of the printing press aided in spreading literacy
By the end of the 18th century, Europe was the most literate area of the world

23. The Scientific Revolution
Do not forget that scientific discovery had already occurred in both the Muslim and Chinese empires
Printing and literacy aided the European scientific expansion
The rate of discovery was unmatched in terms of the other empires