CHAPTER 1 SECTION 2

TransAtlantic World- Life in Europe

Focus Question

• Answer the following prompt in your unit packets in 2-3 sentences:

• Some of you may have heard the phrase “Ignorance is bliss”, do you agree with this phrase? Why or why not?

DIRECTIONS:•Read the descriptions of the four regions on the handout•What region do you believe has the best chance in becoming the dominate power in the 1400s•Write a 2-3 sentence response

The World in the 1400s

Objectives

• Describe the conditions in Europe in the fifteenth century (1400).

• Analyze how the changes taking place in Europe affected the inhabitants.

• Describe the major developments on the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Renaissance.

Life in Europe in the 1400s

The early years of the Middle Ages Weak central government Famine, disease and foreign invasion

Development of political and cultural institutions Population shifts after Black Death

Black Death (bubonic plague) killed about a third of Europeans

Why was most of the population located in the countryside?

Economy based off of agriculture

Life in Europe in the 1400s

Movement to citiesGrowth of cities, especially in northern Italy and

the Netherlands, meant more production Manufacturing of cloth, tools, weapons, and ceramics

Unequal classes Ruling elite

Aristocrats Merchants Roman Catholic Church King or Queen

Commoners Middle- class families Working poor

Less Than Five Percent Owned Almost all Land

• A monarch was at the top of the social pyramid in each kingdom.

• Aristocrats inherited social rank, title, and landed estates worked by peasants.

Royalty and

Aristocrats

• The elite also included leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.

• Wealthy merchants shipped cargoes between cities for profit.

Church Leaders

and Merchants

Commoners

• These families owned enough property to employ themselves as farmers, artisans, and shopkeepers.

• Accounted for only a fifth of the population.

Middle-Class

Families

• In good years, they farmed on rented land or worked for pay, and in bad years, many were beggars.

• Accounted for three-fifths of the population.

The Working

Poor

Warring States

Western Europe divided

Most powerful kingdoms: Castile, Portugal, France, and England

Each kingdom was ruled by a monarch

Kingdoms waged war on one another to gain new territories

You Ought to Be in Pictures!

Directions:

Choose a person in the picture

Write a one paragraph, roughly four sentences, journal entry as if YOU ARE the person in the picture.

What would your life be like on a day-to-day basis?

Pair with partner across from you

Share your entries

Europe Looks Beyond Its Borders

The Roman Catholic Church controlled intellectual life Everything worth knowing can be found in the Bible Risks of scientific discoveries

The Crusades European Christians and Southwest Asian Muslims

fight over the Holy Land, Europeans defeated Crusades brought knowledge of distant lands and

promoted trade Silks, gems, and spices Demand for products causes traders to expand to Asia

Trade Routes

Renaissance

Interest in learning and the advancement of the arts and sciences

Awareness of the world beyond Europe expanded

ExplorationsPrinting press developed

Books became available Literature promoted individualism and

experimentation

European Rivals

Jealous of the wealth, power and technology of Muslim neighbors, including:o North Africa

o Areas around the southern and eastern Mediterranean Sea

o Parts of Eastern Europe and Southeast, Southwest, and Central Asia

Iberia Peninsula Prince Ferdinand and Queen Isabella unite Aragon and

Castile to create Spain (1469) Defeat Muslims Moors in Granada

Exploration

New trade routes were sought to expand European influence

Portuguese took lead in venturing out into the Atlantic

Technological advancements Compass Sturdier ships: the caravel

Prince Henry the Navigator School of navigation Sponsored several expeditions along the coast of West

Africa

Compare and Contrast

Europeans in 1400s

Native Americans in

1400s