Western & Eastern Europe

• 2000 BC – 476 AD Ancient Greece and Rome

– Established a standard of excellence by which later societies measured their culture.

Parthenon in Athens Greece

Ancient Greece• Geography let to trade and

borrowing of beneficial ideas

• Mountains cut them off from each other– Developed individual

city-states or polis– Each having own

government, laws and army

– Two major city-states• Athens• Sparta

• Athens – pluralistic society (encouraged free expression, new ideas, and change)-direct democracy (all native-born free males citizens over 18) took part in lawmaking assembly – citizens were educated, loyal, and willing to run the city-state

The major philosophers of ancient Greece by Raphael.

• Sparta – monolithic only one way of thinking and behaving)- totalitarian state (government controlled every part of the lives of its people – limiting freedom and demanding complete loyalty)

Golden Age of Greece

• Age of Pericles (461-429 BC) – growth of democracy and

building of Parthenon (temple to goddess Athena)

– as Athens grew – resent from Sparta grew

• Peloponnesian Wars – weakened Greece conquered by Phillip of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great

• Hellenistic Period– Alexander spread

Greek culture and blended it with Middle Eastern

Greek Contributions • Poetry –

– Homer wrote Iliad and Odyssey

• Theatre – tragedies ad comedies – – Sophocles, author of

Oedipus Rex• Philosophy – attitude of belief

that affects how a person lives– Socrates– Plato– Aristotle

• Architecture – marble building – 3 styles of

columns • Doric• Ionic• Corinthian

• Sculpture – emphasized

beauty and perfection – human body

• Mathematics– Pythagoras theorem

(right triangles) – Euclid (geometry based

on deductive reasoning)• Science

– Archimedes (lever and pulleys)

– Hippocrates ( Father of Medicine – ethical standards)

Ancient Rome• Monarchy from 753

– 509 BC (not like Greece)

– on peninsula where all people could be united under one government centered in

Rome

• Roman Republic– Government headed by

elected officials. Rome was larger than any of the Greek city-states so people couldn’t effectively participate directly in running the government

• Real power held by Senate – represented upper class

• Two Consuls – served as heads of state

• Twelve Tables of Law – rights of Roman citizens protected by these

• Roman Empire (27 BC – 476 AD)– Rome expanded its

territory through wars – borrowed from people they conquered – especially the Greek

– Gap began growing between rich and poor

• conflict arose and republic declined (people supported strong rulers during times of conflict)

• Autocracy – Power is held by one man

– the emperor – Augustus – established a strong central government

• Pax Romana – Period of great peace and

peak of Rome’s civilization

Roman Contributions to Civilization

• Architecture– Massive structures – The

Colosseum – domes and arches

• Engineering – Extensive roads and

bridges – “Every road leads to Rome” – Apian Way – aqueducts (carry water from country to cities)

• Language– Latin language of

Rome basis of Romance languages of Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and English

• Law/Justice – coded law– Centered on Twelve

Tables of Law and were carved into stone tales and displayed in the forum

• equal treatment• innocent until

proved guilty

• Growth of Christianity– Attracted poor and

slaves because of preaching’s of equality and brotherhood

– Emperor Constantine concerted in 395 AD and church became one of the most important institutions in western Europe

Fall of Rome - 395 AD divided into two parts

• Eastern Roman Empire– Byzantine Empire –

capital Constantinople • Western Roman Empire

– Capital in Rome – declined

Causes of the Fall of Rome

• Political– Weak and corrupt

government– No orderly way to

choose next emperor– Assassinations

common– Power went to

strongest general• Economic

– Heavy taxation– High unemployment– Decline in trade

• Social– Selfish attitude– Lack of patriotism– Had to rely on

mercenary armies of non-Romans who only went for spoils of war

• Rome fell to the Ostrogoths (Germanic Tribe)– Led to blending of

Roman and Germanic cultures

Middle Ages (500 – 1500 AD)

• Medieval - describes this period of transition when the people of Western Europe attempted to rebuild what had been lost as a result of Rome’s collapse.

I. Early Middle Ages (500 – 1000 AD) – Dark Ages - problems

• Lack of strong central government– Chaos and constant

warfare• Decline in Trade

– Roads deteriorated and merchants were afraid to travel

– Money ceased and people bartered

– Cities and towns declined because trade declined

• Decline in Formal Learning– Warfare destroyed libraries,

schools and museums – Education was neglected to

concentrate on survival

• Christianity– Kept learning alive through its

education system• Byzantine Empire

– Became center of trade and culture– Justinian’s Code

• Basis for legal system by recording ideas before the law and guarantee of legal rights

• Charlemagne (771 – 814 AD)– King of Germanic tribe the

Franks– Christian and spread his

beliefs through his conquests

– United many tribes in Europe

– After death many invaders tried to take over his lands

• Feudal system developed as means of restoring order and insuring protection against invaders

II. Feudalism

• Political System– Kings granted land ( a

fief) to nobles (lords or vassals) in return for loyalty and military support

– No strong central authority

– Lords made own laws and controlled own armies made up of knights

• Economic System – Manorialism– System in which land,

rather than trade and commerce, was the major source of wealth

– Replaced cities and towns, entirely self sufficient

• Social System

– Divided into classes

• Kings, lords, lesser lords, knights, peasants (or serfs) and townspeople

– No social mobility

• Kings lords and knights were noble elites bound by code of behavior known as chivalry

• Only relief peasants or serfs had was their Christian promise of heaven as a reward for a good life

III. Medieval Church

• 1054 AD Christian Church in Europe split into two churches– Eastern or Orthodox

• Became church of Byzantine Empire and Russia

– Roman Catholic Church

• Dominant religious institution in Western Europe

• Roman Catholic Church– Religious Function

• Place of refuge and hope• Violate laws –

excommunicated– Political Function

• Educated Church leadership

• Took on many responsibilities of government

– Kept records of births, marriages, deaths

– Made religious laws– Claimed supremacy

over civil authority and conflicts between kings and lords

– Economic Function• Important landowner in

Western Europe – tithe– Social Function

• Maintained education– First universities– Cultural influences

in music, sculpture, painting and architecture – Gothic cathedrals

IV. Late Middle Ages (1000 – 1500 AD)

• Catholic church– Influence criticized

non-believers– Anti-Semitism began

• Jews put in ghettos• Muslims

– Considered enemies of church

– Crusades (holy wars) against Turks

• Cultural Diffusion– Crusades resulted in

exchange of ideas when contact with advanced civilization of Muslim world

– People became curious about the world around them and renewed interest in learning began

• Revival of Trade– Demand for goods from East

• Silk, spices perfumes– Goods introduced by

returning Crusaders, stimulated trade and growth of cities

• Decline of Feudalism– Money came back into use

and middle class of merchants and craftsmen developed

– Organized under guilds (they regulated trade or crafts in towns)

– Members of guilds became rich and influential

– Shift from land to money declined power of lords and king’s dependence on lord

– Nation-states began with strong kings that hired armies provided by middle class wealth

V. Renaissance (1350 – 1650 AD)“rebirth” of culture and learning in western Europe

• Rediscovery of classical civilization of Greece and Rome

• Renewed interest in worldly or secular matters

• Emphasis upon uniqueness and worth of individual

• Began in Italy – 14th Century– Milan and Florence grew

rich from trade– Medici became a patron of

the arts – tombs - church employed artists

• Humanism – Focused on man and his

world – Conflict with Church

• Accomplishments of Renaissance– Literature – began writing

in the vernacular (language of the people)

• Machiavelli – The Prince – promoted ideas of “power politics – “the end justifies the means”

• Shakespeare

– Art – sculpture and painting employed Greco – Roman style and themes (realistic approach rather than two-dimensional style of Middle Ages

• Leonardo da Vinci – Mona Lisa– Last Supper

• Michelangelo– David – Pieta

– Science – Scientific Revolution

• Copernicus (1473 – 1543)

– Heliocentric theory – sun center of universe with mathematical formulas

• Galileo Galilei– Telescope– Against what church

taught and tried as heretic (a Christian that disagrees with official Church doctrine)

VI. Protestant Reformation (1517 – 1650)

• Challenged Roman Catholic Church

• Objected to teachings of church and attempted to reform

• Martin Luther– Indulgences

• Spread his ideas through use of printing Press

• Causes of Reformation– The Renaissance

• Philosophy of humanism

• Question church authority

– Rise of nation-states• Monarchs resented

pope’s power in their countries

• Rise of nationalism• More loyalty to king

than pope

– Economic restrictions

• Ban on usury• Middle class

wanted to lend money since they had wealth – resented tithe

– Worldliness and corruption within the church

• Crisis of faith

• Results of Reformation– Formation of new Christian

religions• Protestant

– denied authority of pope and looked to Bible as source of truth

– John Calvin – predestination and the theory of the elect

• All predetermined by God and nothing can change it

• Success of middle class was a sign of salvation

– Henry VIII of England

• Act of Supremacy in 1543 - created national religion

– The Anglican Church of England and English monarch was the head

– Greater power for civil authorities

• Church lost power because of split

• Religious differences led to warfare

• Protestant England and Catholic Spain

• Spanish Armada – competed for trade and rivalry for power

– Counter Reformation• Council of Trent –

ended sale of indulgences

• The Index (list of books condemned by Church) was created to stop anti-Church statements

VII. Age of Exploration and Colonization (1450 – 1750)

• Desire to find new route to riches of Asia– Portugal

• Prince Henry the Navigator (school for sailors – went down African coast)

• Bartholemeu Dias (reached the Cape of Good Hope)

• Vasco da Gama (rounded cape and reached India) – water route safer and more profitable than overland

– Spain• Christopher

Columbus• Ferdinand

Magellan (first to circumnavigate the earth)

• Curiosity about the world – inspired by Crusades,

Renaissance, Marco Polo

• Possible because of compass, astrolabe, gunpowder (safe to venture outside borders)

• Establishment of Colonial Empires – colonies – effects of building empires

– Competition for colonies led to war among European powers

– Christianity spread throughout world

– Ethnocentric attitude – mistreatment of natives (Mayas, Aztecs, Incas)

– Slave trade – violation of human rights and harmful effect on development of African civilizations

VIII. Age of Absolutism ( 1500 – 1789)

• Nearly all nations were ruled by monarchs

• Nations were autocracies and leaders were called absolute monarchs

• Theory of Divine Right– Justified their power

saying “The king is from God and the law is from the king”

– The people had no rights

– King was above the law and could rule any way he wanted to

• Louis XIV of France– French people very

poor during this time• spent money on

lavish parties– Palace of Versailles

• Left debt, social unrest that led to French Revolution

IX. Growth of Democracy in England(step by step until limited constitutional monarchy was established)

• Magna Carta – King John 1215– Limited power of king by

law, forcing him to consult with Parliament in order to raise taxes

• Puritan Revolution– Stuart rulers attempted to rule as absolute

monarchs and disregard Parliament– Civil war broke out and Puritan forces in

Parliament defeated Charles I armies and executed king

– Republican form of government set up led by Oliver Cromwell

• Limited monarchy restored after his death

• Glorious Revolution– James II –

Catholic, believed in divine rights of kings

– Bloodiest revolution and was replaced by William and Mary (daughter) who agreed to share their power with the people

– Ensured Anglican kings in future and limited powers

• English Bill of Rights (1689)– Placed further

limits on power of king to tax and make laws

– Listed basic civil liberties

• Right to fair and speedy trial by jury

– Became model for US

– From then on monarch less powerful and eventually a figurehead only