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Samenvatting Early Modern History II
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This is a summary of the course Early Modern History II. It concerns chapters 16 to 19 of the book “A History of Western Society”.
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Samenvatting Moderne Geschiedenis 1 - Radboud
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EARLY MODERN HISTORY IISummary
Chapter 16 – Toward a New Worldview 1540-1789
ca. 1540-1700 The Scientific Revolution
ca. 1690-1789 Enlightenment
ca. 1700-1800 Growth of book publishing
1720-1780 Rococo style in art and decoration
1740-1748 War of the Austrian Succession
1740-1780 Reign of the empress Maria Theresa of
Austria
1740-1786 Reign of Frederick the Great of Prussia
ca. 1740-1789 Salons led by Parisian elites
1751-1772 Philosophes publish Encyclopedia: The
Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts,
and the Crafts
1756-1763 Seven Year’s War
1762-1796 Reign of Catherine the Great of Russia
1780-1790 Reign of Joseph II of Austria
1791 Establishment of the Pale of Settlement
What revolutionary discoveries were made in the 16 th and 17th centuries, and why did they occur in
Europe?
Until the middle of the 16th century, Europeans relied on an understanding of motion and matter
drawn from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and adapted to Christian theology. The rise of
universities, intellectual vitality (of the Renaissance) and technological advancement European
scholars wanted to seek better explanations the Scientific Revolution. Major figures were devout
Christians who saw their work as heralding the glory of creation and who combined old traditions of
magic, astrology and alchemy with their experimentation. The growth of natural history is a major
achievement.
Why Europe?
In 1500, scientific activity flourished in many parts of the world:
Byzantine empire
o Expansion of Islam Muslim scholars
Inherited ancient Greek learning (built on older civilizations in Egypt,
Babylonia and India)
o Interaction of peoples/cultures (facilitated by religious tolerance/common scholarly
language) was favorable to advances in learning
o First universities scholars surpassed the texts they had inherited (such as
mathematics, physics, astronomy, medicine) invented algebra, decimal point
notation and improved on measurements recorded in ancient works
China
o Papermaking, gunpowder, use of compass in navigation
Mesoamerica
o Maya and Aztecs devised calendar systems based on astronomical
observations/mathematics/writing
1
,Europe would take the lead in scientific thought, due to:
The multiple world sites of learning
o Periods of advancement produced by intense cultural interaction are often followed
by stagnation and decline during times of conflict and loss of authority
Re-establishment of strong monarchies
renewal of learning in western Europe
Growth of trade
Europe became aware of the heritage of
ancient Greek learning and the way scholars have improved upon received knowledge
many Greek texts were translated into Latin
European cities created universities in which Aristotle’s works dominated the curriculum
o Universities established new professorships of mathematics, astronomy and natural
philosophy
Renaissance provided a crucial foundation for the Scientific Revolution
o Emphasized the value of acquiring knowledge for the practical purposes of life
o Quest to restore the glories of the ancient past led to the rediscovery of other
classical texts:
Ptolemy’s Geography
Encyclopedic treatise on botany by Theophrastus
European oversees expansion provided for new thought about the natural world
o Navigational problems required solutions new scientific instruments:
Telescope, barometer, thermometer, pendulum clock, microscope and air
pump
o Better instruments more accurate observations important new knowledge
o Crucial technology: printing
Western Europe remained politically fragmented, augmented by the Protestant Reformation
impossible for authorities to impose one orthodox set of ideas allowed individuals to
question dominant patterns of thinking
Scientific Thought to 1500
For medieval scholars, philosophy was the path to true knowledge about the world and its proof
consisted of the authority of ancients and their techniques of logical argumentation. A minor branch
of philosophy: natural philosophy. Was based primarily on the ideas of Aristotle and questions the
physical nature of the universe and how it functioned. Theologian Tomas Aquinas brought
Aristotelian philosophy into harmony with Christian doctrines.
Aristotle:
A motionless earth stood at the center of the universe and was encompassed by 10 separate
concentric crystal spheres:
o The moon, the sun, planets and stars
The world was distinguished between the celestial spheres and the earth: the sublunar world
o Spheres consisted of a perfect, incorruptible ‘quintessence’ fifth essence
o Sublunar world was made out of 4 imperfect, changeable elements: air, fire, water
and earth
Beyond the spheres was Heaven
Angels kept the spheres moving in perfect circles
A uniform force moved an object at a constant speed
dominated thinking about physics and motion on earth
Criticism on Aristotle’s view:
Did not account for the observed motions of the stars and planets
Provided no explanation for the apparent backward motion of the planets
2
,Ptolemy offered a theory for the backward motion of the planets:
The planets moved in small circles: epicycles
o Each moved in turn along a larger circle or deferent
less elegant than Aristotle’s neat nested circles & required complex calculations
also provided the basic foundation of knowledge about the earth
His Geography presented advances on medieval cartography by presenting a round earth divided
into 360degrees. He reintroduced the idea of using coordinates of latitude and longitude. However,
this map had some errors:
Only showed Europe, Africa and Asia
o Lacking the Pacific Ocean and the Americas
Vastly underestimated the distance west from Europe to Asia
The frameworks of Aristotle and Ptolemy reveal the strengths and limitations of European
knowledge. Europeans were not the first to use experimental methods (Muslims did that already),
but they were the first to:
Separate scientific knowledge from philosophical/religious beliefs
Accord mathematics a fundamental role in understanding the natural world
The Copernican Hypothesis
Polish cleric Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) preferred the idea espoused by some ancient Greek
and Arab scholars: that the sun, rather than the earth, was at the center of the universe. He did not
question the Aristotelian belief in crystal spheres or the idea that circular motion was divine.
Copernicus worked on his hypothesis (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) from 1506 to
1530, but only published it in 1543 because feared being ridiculed by scholars. The Copernicus
hypothesis had enormous scientific/religious implications:
1. It put the stars at rest: their apparent nightly movement was simply a result of the earth’s
rotation
Destroyed the main reason for believing in crystal spheres capable of moving the
stars around the earth
2. Suggested an universe of staggering size
3. By using mathematics (instead of philosophy), he challenged the traditional hierarchy of the
disciplines
4. By characterizing the earth as just another planet, he destroyed the basic idea of Aristotelian
physics (that the earthly sphere was different from the heavily one)
Religious leaders varied in their response to Copernicus’s theories:
Some Protestants scholars became avid Copernicans
Some accepted some elements of his criticism on Ptolemy, but rejected the notion that the
earth moved this contradicted the literal reading of some passages of the Bible
o Among Catholics, Copernicus’s ideas drew little attention because they never held to
literal interpretations of the Bible
It was officially declared false in 1616.
Some elements were essential in creating doubts about traditional astronomy:
1572: a new star
o Contradicted the idea that the heavenly spheres were unchanging and perfect
1577: a new comet
o Cut straight through the supposedly impenetrable crystal spheres
3
, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo: Proving Copernicus Right
Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601):
Agreed with Copernicus
Europe’s leading astronomer with his detailed observations of the new star
o He observed the stars and planets with the naked eye to create new and improved
tables of planetary motions; the Rudolphine Tables
His limited understanding of mathematics and his sudden death prevented him from making
sense out of his mass of data
All planets except the earth revolved around the sun
Brahe’s assistant, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630):
Re-examined Brahe’s notations could not be explained by Ptolemy’s astronomy
Developed 3 revolutionary laws of planetary motion:
1. Demonstrated that the orbits of the planets around the sun are elliptical rather than
circular
2. Planets do not move at a uniform speed
o Closer to the sun, moves more rapidly
3. The time a planet takes to make its complete orbit is precisely related to its distance
from the sun
Proved mathematically the precise relations of a sun-centered (solar) system
united for the first time the theoretical cosmology of natural philosophy with
mathematics
demolished the old system of Aristotle and Ptolemy
Completed Brahe’s Rudolphine Tables
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642):
Focused on the deficiencies in Aristotle’s theories of motion
He showed that an uniform force (gravity) produced an uniform acceleration
Law of inertia: an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by some external force
Made a telescope and trained it on the heavens
o Discovered the first 4 moons of Jupiter suggested that Jupiter could not possibly
be embedded in an impenetrable crystal sphere
Wrote in 1610: The Sidereal Messenger
crucial corners in Western civilizations being turned: no longer should one rely on established
authority
Newton’s Synthesis
By about 1640, the work of Brahe, Kepler and Galileo were accepted by the scientific community,
while opposed by religious leaders. However, these theories failed to explain what forces controlled
the movement of the planets and objects on earth. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) took this up. He tried
to find a single explanatory system that could integrate the astronomy of Copernicus, as corrected by
Kepler’s law, with the physics of Galileo and his predecessors. Newton did this through a set of
mathematical laws that explain motion and mechanics Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy (Principia).
The key feature was the law of universal gravitation every body in the universe attracts
every body in the universe in a precis mathematical relationship, whereby the force of attraction is
proportional to the quantity of matter of the objects in inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between then.
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