RenaissanceThe Rebirth of Learning

15th-17th centuries

Europe during the Middle Ages

Europe during the Renaissance

• About 1450, European scholars became more interested in studying the world around them. Their art became more true to life. This new way of looking at things became known as the Humanistic movement.

• They began to explore new lands. The new age in Europe was eventually called "the Renaissance." Renaissance is a French word that means "rebirth." Historians consider the Renaissance to be the beginning of modern history.

• The Renaissance began in northern Italy and then spread through Europe. Italian cities such as Naples, Genoa, and Venice became centers of trade between Europe and the Middle East. Arab scholars preserved the writings of the ancient Greeks in their libraries. When the Italian cities traded with the Arabs, ideas were exchanged along with goods.

• These ideas, preserved from the ancient past, served as the basis of the Renaissance. When the Byzantine Empire fell to Muslim Turks in 1453, many Christian scholars left Greece for Italy.

• The Renaissance was much more than simply studying the work of ancient scholars. It influenced painting, sculpture, and architecture. Paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics. Rich families became patrons and commissioned great art. Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people. In Britain, there was a flowering in literature and drama that included the plays of William Shakespeare.

• In the 1400s, Portuguese explorers began to travel along the western coast of Africa. They traded in gold, ivory, and slaves.

• In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic looking for a shorter route to Asia. He landed in the Americas claiming the land for Spain. Other Spanish explorers soon followed.

• Other European countries such as France, England, and the Netherlands saw the possibility for great wealth through overseas trade and settlement.

Age of Monarchs1600s-1700s

• The wealth from trade poured into the pockets of Monarchs (kings/queens).

• The traders became the new middle class.

• The taxes paid by the middle class made the monarchs even wealthier.

• Soon kings no longer needed the support of their feudal lords. Feudalism declined, lords got weaker, and kings gained power and became absolute monarchs.

Age of Revolution

• A revolution is a far-reaching change. European thought, beliefs, and ways of life all changed. This period was the beginning of the modern age of science and democracy.

• The English Revolution – King Charles was forced to share power with Parliament, the elected legislature. Charles I was defeated and put to death.

Age of Revolution (continued)• American Revolution – (1776) America declared itself

an independent nation.• French Revolution- (1789) In the name of freedom,

equality, and brotherhood, the French overthrew their government using extreme violence. New radical ideas inspired changes in politics, economy, and society.

• Revolutions in Science – scientific method, chemistry, and medicine, made dramatic advances.

• Isaac Newton – invented calculus and theory of relativity.

Industrial Revolution and Nationalism

• Until the late 1700s most goods were made by hand.• Goods were hard to come by and were high priced.• The first machines were invented in Great Britain to speed

up the process of textile or cloth products.• Goods were being made in large factories.• Things could be made quickly and more cheaply than they

had been by hand.• This new factory system was improved by new inventions in

machinery, transportation, and communication.• Improvements were also made in agriculture. Food good

be mass produced.• This freed up workers to move to the cities to work in the

cities.

Positive Social Changes

• 1900-many of the goods produced in Europe were made in factories.

• Inventions created to fuel the industrial revolution were used in everyday homes.

• Improvements in transportation meant that people could travel more quickly and cheaply than ever before.

• Communications improved meaning that people separated by long distances could talk to one another almost instantly.

Negative Changes• Cities grew rapidly and people

lived in cramped dirty housing.• Disease spread rapidly.• Factory work was dangerous and

people worked long hours and were paid low wages.

• Child labor was normal and children worked long hours sometimes not going to school.

• Unions were created to protect the rights of workers and get safe environments and higher pays.

Age of Imperialism 1800s

• Beginning in the 1600s, many European nations began taking control of colonies because they wanted their raw materials.

• Colonies supplied the raw materials and the European countries supplied the markets for the finished goods.

• European countries also tried to spread their religious beliefs to the places they colonized.

• By the 1800s, Africa, Southeast Asia, and many South Pacific islands had been colonized.

Nationalism and War

• 1900s- nationalistic pride led to twoWorld wars.• Nationalism can be either constructive or

destructive.• Between 1900-1950, destructive nationalism was

responsible for the deaths of millions of people.• During WWI alliances were created because nations

were afraid of each other. Eventually this led to the Great War.

World War I – The Great WarA Powder Keg in Europe

• At the end of the Roman Empire Europe dissolved into many cultures.

• Several smaller empires emerged but none were as large or powerful as Rome.

• By the 20th century, most of the smaller states of Europe combined or were conquered into larger nation-states.

• Germany and Italy became unified nations in the latter part of the 19th century.

….Continued

• Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, and Russia were all world powers.

• These nations were filled with nationalism.• They expanded their borders through

imperialism.• Most Europeans believed their nation to be

superior to any other, and many were willing to go to war to demonstrate their will.

• Europe in 1914 is often compared to a powder keg: safe and secure until a fuse is lit.

• That summer, a minor event lit a fuse that exploded across the entire continent.

• Austria-Hungary had seized the city of Sarajevo and the surrounding region in 1908. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife visited the city. He was the heir, or next in line to be emperor of Austria-Hungary.

• The Black Hand was an ethnic Serbian terrorist organization. Gavrilo Princip shot the Archduke and his wife.

• This started the War in Europe that would become known as World War I.

• Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the Archduke’s death. They wanted to punish their ethnic minorities and remind them of their strength.

• Russia has a large Serbian minority. Russia had ties with the Balkan region. Russia agreed to join Serbia if Austria-Hungary attacked.

• Austria-Hungary had an alliance with Germany.• Germany agreed to join Austria-Hungary in its war against

Serbia.• Germany and France had been rivals for many years.

Germany had defeated France in a small war in 1870, and claimed land along their border.

• France had an alliance with Russia so they joined the conflict.

• On July 28, Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia, Germany and France joined the fighting within a week.

Continued….

• Belgium hoped to stay out of the fighting but when German soldiers marched into it to reach France, the Belgians called on an alliance with Great Britain to help resist the Germans.

• Later on the United States were be dragged into the war when the Lusitania was sunk by German torpedoes and 100 Americans were killed.

• Germany tries to get Mexico to go to war with the United States as a way to keep the USA out of the war. Germany promised that it will help Mexico reclaim Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

The Great War• Both sides thought the war would end quickly. They were wrong!• The invention of the machine gun and rapid-fire artillery made

warfare more deadly. • Both sides were forced to defend their territory by fighting from deep

trenches.• The trenches were terrifying. Heavy rain made the trenches

hazardous. Thousands of soldiers drowned. Many soldiers had to have their feet or arms amputated because of standing in the water that had parasites.

• Chemical weapons like mustard gas was also used. Tear gas caused blindness, while chorine gas suffocated soldiers.

• The alliances of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey were defeated in 1918.

• By the end of the war in 1918, more than 9 million soldiers. About 13 million civilians had also died.

• Europe had lost almost an entire generation of young men.

Treaty of Versailles• The Allies met in Versailles and dictated the terms of the treaty.• Germany was not invited to the meetings.• Japan was an ally but it was ignored at the meetings. This

made Japan feel like it had something to prove to the rest of the world.

• Italy hoped to gain land as an ally but did not making it feel like it had fought for nothing.

• Germany had to pay billions as a punishment plus it lost territory.

• Austria-Hungary was divided• Ottoman Empire was dissolved• Nations such as Poland were created in Eastern Europe.

World War II• After Germany’s defeat in WWI, the people of Germany

were desperate for a new leader to bring them back to glory. Adolf Hitler was that man.

• The Treaty of Versailles had broken Germany’s spirit as well as their economy.

• There were two alliances in World War II. The Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, Japan. The Allies – Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, and the United States.

• More than 50 nations took part in the war. It was the most destructive war ever. More people died and more property was destroyed than in any other war in history. The war finally ended in 1945. The Allies had won. But millions of people had died.

The Cold War

• After WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as Superpowers.

• The Soviet Union was communist and the United States is democratic. Their ideas of governing are very different.

• The Western European nations rebuilt and prospered. They shared many of the same values as the United States and formed NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

• The Eastern European nations were under the Soviet Unions control. They suspended the freedoms of the people living there. The Eastern block of nations was called the Warsaw Pact.

• The United States and the USSR had tense relations for many years. The closest they ever came to actual war was during the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba and the Cuban missile crisis all under J.F. Kennedy’s Presidency.

Imperial Russia to the Soviet Union• The Slavs lived in the region that became

known as Russia.• 1200s the Mongol invasion (Kubla Khan)

swept through and conquered them.• 1330s, the prince of Moscow grows rich and

powerful and begins to conquer Moscow and the surrounding territory.

• Through warfare Moscow expands its territory to include most of the land that is Russia today.

The Tsars

Ivan IV Ivan the terrible Michael Romanov

Peter the Great

Catherine the Great

Alexander II Alexander III Nicholas II the last Tsar

Imperial Russia• Ivan the Terrible becomes the first tsar. He expanded his territory by

conquering the surrounding lands. He was very cruel. He even had his own son killed.

• Michael Romanov becomes the Romanov tsar in 1613. His family will reign in Russia for the next 300 years.

• Peter the Great- 1689. Brings Western European ideas and culture to Russia. He establishes schools and reorganized the government and the army. He believed good seaports would make Russia a world power. He moves the capital to the city of St. Petersburg which he has built to look like cities in western Europe. Under Peter Russia expands its empire to control land in present-day Poland, Turkey, China, and Sweden, making it an empire.

• Catherine the Great continues westernization of Russia. She also increases the size of the empire.

• Napoleon Bonaparte a French emperor and general invades Russia. He loses 90,000 soldiers during the winter. He returns home.

The run up to the Communist Revolution• Russian society was divided into two groups: landowners and the serfs• In 1861, Alexander II, frees the serfs and gives them their own land.• Alexander III reversed many of his fathers reforms and he regained absolute power.• 1904-05 – Japan badly beats Russia in a war.• Unrest grows among the peasants, workers, and a small middle class.• 1905- thousands march to the tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. They wanted reforms.• Troops fire into the crowd killing hundreds. - Blood Sunday-• Nicholas II is forced to establish the Duma – congress. It had very little power.

The Soviet Union• Millions of Russians were killed or wounded during WWI.• At home there were severe food and fuel shortages.• March 1917, the Russians rioted and Nicholas was forced to

give up his throne. He was killed along with his family.• Lenin returns home with the help of Germany in order to

overthrow the government and get Russia out of the war.• Lenin and his followers push aside the weak government in

November 1917. • Lenin becomes the leader and in March he signs a peace treaty

with Germany ending Russia’s involvement in WWI.

Communism

• Communism is a political system in which the central government owns farms, factories, and offices.

• No one person can own land or factories.• Each person is supposed to work and share

equally in the rewards of this work.• Actually the government took all the power

and most of the wealth for itself!

The Communist State

• A civil war took place in Russia and lasted for three years and many more people died.

• In 1922, the communists won and Lenin created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).

• The Soviet Union included Russia and several smaller republics under Russian control.

• Lenin died in 1924 and Josef Stalin became the next leader.

• Under Stalin’s form of Soviet communism, the government tried to control all aspects of citizen’s lives. He was a dictator with absolute power!

Stalin• He wanted to establish more industry and he didn’t care

about the people. He knew that the increased number of factory workers would require more food.

• He forced the peasants to work on farms and give their products to the government. If they resisted they would be sent to prison in Siberia. Millions died in Siberia.

• WWII – Stalin signed an agreement with the Germans in 1939 to stay out of the war. In return Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them. Two years later Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

• Millions of Soviet people died fighting the Germans and in 1943, the Soviets began to push the Germans out of Russia.

• Two years later, Soviet troops captured Berlin, the capital of Germany.

Causes of the Cold War

• Eastern Europe had been taken over by the Soviet Union and communist governments.

• Trade had been cutoff between the eastern countries and the western countries.

• Winston Churchill said that it was as if an “iron curtain” had fallen across Eastern Europe, dividing it form the West.

• The Soviets tried to expand their power into Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

• They also built powerful nuclear weapons to use against each other.

Collapse of the USSR

• The Soviet Union’s economy grew weak during the Cold War.

• The government had invested most of its money in weapons and heavy industries not food or clothing.

• People began to lose faith in the government.• Mikhail Gorbachev tried to make some reforms giving

people more personal freedom and some free enterprise.• In the 1980’s, Eastern European countries began to do

away with communism.• In 1991, the Soviet republics demanded freedom thus

ending communism.

The Russian Federation• The former Soviet Republics became independent nations.• Russia changed it’s name to the Russian Federation.• A federation is a union of states or republics. Each member agrees

to give certain powers a central government.• The Russian Federation includes Russians and people of many ethnic

groups.• They built a free-market economy.• The state-owned factories were sold along with the businesses to

private individuals.• There have been problems with some of the ethnic groups that want

to become independent from Russia. For example, Chechnya continues to fight bitterly for its independence.

• Today Russia faces many challenges.

European Union

• After the war the European countries wanted to make sure they came up with a plan to avoid wars by binding the nations economically and socially.

• Robert Schuman came up with a plan to have all the countries of Europe work together and control the coal and steel industries.

• Today the EU(European Union) has 27 member countries.• The European Union member nations signed the

Maastricht Treaty establishing the organization.• The currency is called the Euro.

What does the EU do?

• The EU is not a federation of states. It is a group of individual countries that have agreed to give up certain powers to the EU while keeping their independence.

• Social Policies – citizens are equal, travel to other EU countries without visas or permits, common laws, education, and policies concerning the environment.

• Economic Policies- trade without taxes (single market economy), member nations contribute to the central budget, cooperate to create jobs.

• Each country maintains its own healthcare, national defense, education, and housing policies.

• Three main policy-making institutions: European Parliament (makes the laws), Council of European Union (made up of the foreign ministers), European Commission (monitors the income and spending, economic policy, and long term investments).