Summary Early Modern History
R. R. Palmer, J. Colton and L. Kramer, A History of Europe in the Modern World
Chapters: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Chapter 2: The Upheaval in Western Christendom
A process has taken place in the transition from traditional to modern societies known as
secularization, the development of non-religious activities. In the Late Middle Ages, Europe
was facing external problems such as clashes with other cultures, but internal problems as
well such as the Reformation.
§ 5. Disasters of The Fourteenth Century
During the fourteenth century, the Black Death, combined with local famines spread across
Europe killing 20 million. Since then, it has been returning at irregular intervals. This
disrupted the European demography and made it very hard for Europe to rebuild its
population. The social effects were immediate, and it was very hard for the poor to find jobs
and there were insurrections throughout Europe (i.e. Wat Tyler’s rebellion in England). Kings
tried desperately to maintain their base of power by fiddling with the monetary system and
taxation. Between 1337 and 1453 there was The Hundred Years’ War between England
and France. After England lost the war, turmoil formed in the upper-class and eventually
became the War of the Roses. The Pope opposed the royal taxations of church properties in
England and France with the bull Unam Sanctum which said that every human was subject
to the pope. So, the French king kidnapped him and brought him to Avignon, which meant
the start of The Babylonian Captivity (after a story in the Bible). Eventually, the cardinals
elected a second Pope in Rome and these two papacies are known as The Great Schism.
This caused opposition and disbelief among the Christians. They responded to these crises
in multiple ways such as luxury life or occult ceremonies. Among those were Lollards and
Hussite’s who were branded as heresy. After the council at Pisa there were now three
popes. At the council of Constance this was turned back, and a single Pope was elected,
and they all watched John Huss being burned at the stake. The church was subject to
corruption and indulgences such as simony and nepotism. This time was known as a
struggle for power between the popes and the councils, but the popes gained the upper
hand. Then, a series of cultivated gentlemen came to power who had studied at universities
and such: The Renaissance popes.
§ 6. The Renaissance in Italy
The Renaissance in the fifteenth century marked a new era in thought and feeling. Not as
much to natural science (Middle Ages) but high culture such as writing and arts a.k.a. human
skill. Also, civil questions. Since there was no universal king, The Italian city-states were on
their own and were ruled by the merchant oligarchies. Thinkers focused more on the human
capabilities instead on religion and this is again an example of secularization but also
individualism (virtú, the quality of being a man (also applied to women)). Humanism thanks
its name to the study of humane letters. Opposite of the medieval literature, the new class of
writers wrote in order to answer general questions or resolve difficulties. They wrote in Latin
as well as the vernacular or the normal tongue, for example Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Petrarch was one of the first humanists and devoted his life to literature. Criticism was also
new, and some documents were proven false.
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, The educational system was also upgraded: now students were sorted according to
age or levels of accomplishment. Rhetoric was very important. A courtier is a perfect
student. Still, there was no political authority in Italy. Machiavelli was an author who
dreamed of an Italy with a strong rule like in Northern Europe or the Roman Empire (The
Prince). Italy indeed proved to be vulnerable against foreign attacks which caused the
decline of the Italian renaissance.
§ 7. The Renaissance Outside Italy
The Northern renaissance was quite like the one in Italy, only the religious aspect was
much more present. The focus was much more on religious works and to deepen the
understanding of Christianity. Here, universities were still being founded and continued to
teach medieval intellectual interests. Inventions and discoveries such as the printing press or
mathematics and astronomy happened. Religion was practiced by some outside of the
church and this time, reform didn’t originate from within the church itself (to be discussed in
section 9). New organizations were created such as Groote’s The Sisters and Brothers of
The Common Life. This development was called the Modern Devotion. One of the greatest
northern humanists was Erasmus. His thinking was on a very small scale, how to improve
everyday living conditions. Part of this was translating the Bible into vernacular languages.
He criticized the practices of the clergy, but not Roman Catholicism itself.
§ 8. The New Monarchies
European kings trusted on the middle-class townsmen for support, who allowed him free
reign even though there was supposed to be a parliament. They made use of Roman law.
In England, the Tudors grabbed power after the War of the Roses and rendered the barons
powerless. There was a royal council which remained order in the kingdom.
The Valois in France had so much power they could levy taxation without parliamentary
consent. The Concordat of Bologna was an agreement with the pope regarding income from
French ecclesiastics. The Spanish were divided. When the Reconquista was completed in
1492, Catholicism was the link between the many different regions. Muslims and Jews were
expelled. The war against the Moors continued in North Africa.
The German states were also not united. The leader of all the different states was chosen by
seven electors and in 1452 the first Habsburg was elected and many more followed. They
had to fight off the Turks and ruled most of Europe as well as America.
§ 9. The Protestant Reformation
There were three ways in which religious upheaval was settled: discontent among common
folk about the church apparatus and politics/social order. This erupted in the Peasant
Rebellion in Germany. Second, intellectuals in European cities wanted to manage their own
religious practices because the church hierarchy was too distant and old-fashioned. The
Calvinist movement descend from this. Last, princes in Europe were disputing with the
church and wanted to take matters in their own hands. They decided which religion to follow
in their territory, and this way the Lutheran and Anglican churches were formed. Unlike
Erasmus who thought that only the clergy was wrong, the entire church was wrong.
The German monk Martin Luther came to realize that the mass and prayer were not
satisfying enough for him and he devised his own doctrine based on the justification by
faith, and faith is not something that the church can teach to an individual. He was firmly
against the trade in indulgences (aflatenhandel) and this made him publicize his doctrine.
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,He openly clashed with the Pope as well as the council and he was excommunicated. He
was however protected by local princes.
Social revolutions followed; peasants interpreted Lutheranism as an excuse to
distinguish right from wrong. They pressed for social and economic improvements. In the
end, the revolt was ineffective. Many different leaders with radical ideas sprout up
everywhere which terrorized Germany until they were all slain. Luther opted for a strong
authority who also had the support of the population in worldly matters. This resulted even in
revolts against the Holy Roman Empire which still lived in a Catholic world, called the
League of Schmalkalden. Many cities and states became Lutheran and confiscated church
property.
Charles V called upon a Europe-wide council, but this never happened. Eventually,
Germany became entangled in a civil war that was ended in the Peace of Augsburg (1555).
This is regarded a victory for Protestantism, because each ruler got the right to determine
their country’s religion. However, this encouraged the separation of small states.
Another church reformer was John Calvin. He used his juridical skills to address the
whole world about basic theological issues that the church couldn’t (Institutes). Calvin
agreed with most of Luther’s reforms. Main differences were predestination (everything is
pre-destined, and nothing can be changed) and the relation between church and state. The
state should be ‘Christianized’ and become one big Christian community. This was practiced
in Geneva and from this city Calvinism spread across Europe.
England however broke away from the Roman Catholic church for another reason.
King Henry VIII wanted to divorce from his wife in order to get a male heir, but the Pope
wouldn’t let him. So, he called upon the Archbishop of Canterbury and repudiated the
Roman connection. The parliament declared the king to be the supreme head of the
Anglican church: The Act of Supremacy. Nothing was changed about the clergy. Attempts
to re-establish Roman Catholicism failed, and the Church of England became increasingly
more protestant.
The protestant movement was not uniform, but one thing they held in common was
rejection of the papacy, the mass, transubstantiation, and the cult of saints. Instead, the one
true source of faith was the Holy Scripture, a.k.a. the Bible. Marriage became a very
important aspect of a new social institution.
§ 10. Catholicism Reformed and Reorganized
The Catholic response to Protestantism is the Catholic/Counter Reformation. A need rose
for a general or ecumenical church council. This was heavily influenced by political
influences of European sovereigns such as Francis I of France and Charles V of the HRE.
Eventually at the Council of Trent (1545), decrees were passed which redefined the
catholic doctrine. The Popes maintained papal authority over the councils. Salvation was the
reward for both works and faith, in which scripture (now the Vulgate translation) and tradition
played an equally important role. It however wasn’t effective in reforming abuses, only at the
highest levels in the ecclesial hierarchy.
A renewed sense of religious seriousness helped transfer the decrees of Trent to
society. This new Catholic religious sense focused on the reputation of the church and its
sacraments as something divine. New orders were created such as the Jesuits, who mainly
played a large role in education. A counteroffensive against Protestantism was initialized and
this was somehow effective in the ‘swing states’ of Europe. Every country tried to achieve
religious conformity, of which the Inquisition in Spain was the most extreme form.
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, However, these “machineries” were never as powerful as the states themselves. And so,
religious division became an inherent part of European society.
Chapter 3: The Atlantic World, Commerce, and Wars of Religion, 1560-1648
§ 11. The Opening of the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean turned from a barrier into a bridge between different cultures. This turned
out favourably for the Europeans, but many American and African cultures were lost. Along
with this development came widespread migration, world-wide trade and the European
societies themselves obtained greater wealth and new social classes. The Portuguese
explorers weren’t the first to sail across the oceans, but due to technological developments
such as cartography, the compass and rigging they were able to find a way to Asia (Vasco
Da Gama, 1498). Their first intention was to conquer already existing societies and set up
fortified trading stations. The new sea route to Asia marked the end of the Silk Road. The
Spanish meanwhile tried to find the westward route to Asia, but unfortunately there was an
unknown continent in the way (Christopher Columbus, 1492). The highly-civilized societies
were easily conquered by the conquistadores. Immediately the Spanish set up colonies
where the natives were set to work in mines and agriculture (new crops). Many died to
European diseases and violence, so African slaves were imported. The white population
however remained very small. Many natives adopted European customs such as religion.
Meanwhile, exploration continued and the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) was devised to
prevent conflict between the Spanish and the Portuguese.
§ 12. The Commercial Revolution
The factors that were key for the commercial revolution were population growth and the rise
of prices. The population growth expressed itself in an increase of population in the cities
and increase in the number of cities. The rise in prices meant a gradual inflation. It was
caused by the increasing demand for food. Due to agricultural setbacks, the prices rose
even more. The prices were even more influenced by the flow of gold and silver that came
from the Spanish colonies in America. Both of these factors enhanced the economic
opportunities for commercial enterprises. The number of customers increased, stocks
increased in value overtime and loans could be easily repaid. This meant more taxes for the
kings. Commercial revolution: The rise of a capitalistic economy and the transition from a
town-centred to a nation-cantered economic system. It was very slow and lasted for several
centuries.
Changes in commerce and production:
More articles that could not be produced everywhere
New business: Entrepreneurship. These were active in the long-term and long-
distance organization of trade. He also organized the production itself, arranging
resources which guild masters could often not provide. They worked around the
guilds and directed people on the countryside, which is known as cottage industry
or domestic system. Entrepreneurs generally started out as merchants and ended
high up as bankers (Medici, Fuggers).
The introduction of factories (late 18 th century) signified a divergence between
capital and labour. There was a big distinction between the workers on the one
hand, and the entrepreneur with the business on the other.
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