The Renaissance

1. Italian RenaissanceNorthern Renaissance -Greek Humanism (individualism) -Christian Humanism (reform) -Mirandola -Erasmus -Art glorifying man (harmony) -Art portraying man as he is (details) -Raphael’s “School of Athens” -Van Eyck’s “Arnolfini” -Diplomacy and city-states -Monarchy and centralization -Machiavelli (Italy) -Ferdinand and Isabella (Spain) -Henry VII (England) The Renaissance

2. Northern Monarchy and Centralization Feudal monarchies (small) gradually evolved into unified national monarchies (big). As a result, taxes and laws became national policies (uniformity). Political theorists defended the sovereign rights of monarchy. *There was intellectual support for political centralization. Monarchs needed increasing amounts of revenue, which brought them into conflict with the nobility who refused to pay taxes.

3. France Charles VII -professional army, strong economy, national administration Louis XI -France becomes great power after the Hundred Years’ War Charles VIII -invaded the Italian city-states (weakened France) Louis XII -invaded the Italian city-states, defeated Holy League, and gained authority over the French clergy (strengthened monarchy)

4. Spain -Results of union between Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile: 1. Secure borders 2. Subdue people 3. Military actions abroad 4. Christianize Spain -Under Ferdinand and Isabella the toleration of Judaism and Islam ceased due to the introduction of state-controlled religion. -The Inquisition, led by Tomas de Torquemada, monitored converted Jews and Muslims -1492, Jews are expelled from Spain and their property is confiscated -1492, Spain sponsors the voyage of Christopher Columbus, which leads to Spanish Empire in Mexico and Peru

5. England -Following the conclusion of the Hundred Years’ War with France, England experienced civil war over the throne between the House of York and the House of Lancaster (War of the Roses) -The conflict was resolved in 1485 when Henry Tudor (Lancaster) took the throne as Henry VII (reign 1485-1509). -Henry VII created the Court of Star Chamber to curb the nobility’s abuse of the law (more equitable court system) -Henry VII also used the court to advance the goals of the monarchy and his son Henry VIII inherited a powerful government

6. Holy Roman Empire -German territories and cities resisted all efforts of centralization and national unity. -“Germany” was actually 300 autonomous political entities -The power of Emperor Charles IV within the HRE was balanced by the power of the independent princes. -However, the Reichstag was created as a national assembly to coordinate internal “German” policies and to keep the peace. -The decentralized and independent nature of the German territories and cities would prove fertile ground for the Protestant Reformation

7. European Exploration The Portuguese began the era of “European Exploration” when they visited the African coast in search of gold and slave labor. Warfare within Africa produced political prisoners who were traded for horses, grain, and European goods. Later, the Portuguese sought a sea-route around Africa to Asia’s spice markets and the Roman Catholic Church supported their efforts with the intention of Christianizing pagan and Muslim lands. The Portuguese were successful: Bartholomew Dias sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1487 and Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498. While the Portuguese explored the Indian Ocean, the Spanish attempted to find a shorter route to the East.

8. Spanish Exploration “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” Note: NEVER, EVER…say this phrase, again! -What began as voyages of discovery became expeditions of conquest. -Result: The wealth extracted from the New World financed Spain’s role in European political and religious disputes. -Bigger result: Other European countries began their own expeditions and Europe experienced economic expansion. -Biggest result: Native Americans (North and South) suffered conquest, disease, and forced labor that they could neither evade nor survive. The “Black Legend” of Las Casas is born.

9. Spanish Empire -Spanish conquest brought Roman Catholicism and a new social hierarchy based on native inferiority. -Hernan Cortez conquered the Aztec Empire (Mexico) in 1521 -Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire (Peru) in 1530s -Result: Fundamental cultural and religious changes essentially destroyed entire histories as “Latin America” was gradually constructed by the Spanish Empire. Spanish missionaries sought to spread Christianity and European-style education to the natives, while Spanish merchants sought to exploit the natural resources and native labor.

10. Economy of Exploitation The colonial economy of Latin America had three major components: mining, agriculture, and shipping. Encomienda: A formal grant of the right to the labor of a specific number of Native Americans for a particular period of time (Native slavery). Conquistadores were primarily interested in gold, but silver mining provided the main source of wealth. Forced labor was used to extract the resources for the benefit of the Spanish crown. Spanish colonies possessed large agricultural estates called haciendas, which were owned by peninsulares (born in Spain) or creoles (born in America). Labor: Native forced (repartimiento = labor tax) or African slave. The West Indies possessed large sugar plantations, which produced massive amounts of sugar to meet demand in Europe. Labor: African slave.

11. Conclusion Our study of the Renaissance has introduced us to the “paradox of progress” that will be a central theme of the course. The same civilization that produced the High Renaissance in art and humanistic philosophy also imposed its values on people it deemed inferior, or uncivilized; and increased its own wealth due to forced and slave labor in overseas colonies. The same worldview that celebrated human dignity and insisted that man could be become divine used other human beings as the means to a financial end and arguably presented themselves as brutes to the people they encountered.