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| | | | | The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History, Second Edition
Richard W. Bulliet, Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, David Northrup
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The Transformation of Europe 1500-1750
Maps
General Relief Map of Europe
West-Central Europe
This map shows major urban centers in Europe around 1500.
Holy
Roman Empire and Central Europe, 1490
Europe
about 1560
This map shows the holdings of the House of Habsburg.
The
Reformation in Europe
This maps shows the religious breakdown in Europe after
1600.
Europe
in 1648
This is an older map that shows the political ramifications
of the Treaty of Westphalia.
Europe
at the end of the seventeenth century
The
World ca. 1700
This global map shows European nation-states and their
overseas possessions in addition to other political entities such as the
Qing Empire in China.
Images
Citta
del Vaticano
This site provides images of the Saint Peter's Basilica
in Rome, both interior and exterior shots, which was built in the early
sixteenth century as the seat of the papacy.
Passing
Through St. Peters
This site has great images but little description of
Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Chateau
de Versailles
Discover the world of Louis XIV at this spectacular site.
A
Tour of Schönbrunn Palace
Tour this imitation of Versailles built by the Austrian
Habsburg monarchs.
The Famous Naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571
This site provides several European depictions of this
well-known naval battle between the Spanish and Ottoman Empires.
The
Spanish Armada
This essay provides images of the naval battle between
Spain and England in 1588 and of the two monarchs involved.
Pages
from the Original King James version
See manuscript of King James I of England's influential
undertaking at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Amsterdam
Heritage: Dutch Classicism
Explore seventeenth-century Amsterdam at this site.
The
City on Neva River: Sankt-Peterburg
View images of St. Petersburg, the seat of Peter the
Great's Russian kingdom.
Selected
Hogarth Prints
Explore a sampling of this eighteenth-century English
social critic's view of urban life.
Images
from the Scientific Revolution
This site contains images of the major figures of the
Scientific Revolution and illustrations of their work.
Index
of Renaissance Maps
This comprehensive site allows the viewer to trace the
evolution of cartography in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe.
It also gives examples of Mercator's original work.
Activity One
A major theme of this chapter is the rise of nation-states
in Western Europe between 1500 and 1750. Unlike the urban empires
of Rome or Han China explored in Chapter 6, An Age of Empires: Rome and
Han China, 753 B.C.E.-330 C.E., these new political entities were smaller
in area and less diverse in population. Indeed, statecraft worked
to homogenize the population of these emerging nation-states through the
use of a common, state-controlled religion; the promotion of one vernacular
language; and strong national institutions. For the most part, the
pioneers of this new development were monarchs. Two of the more notable
heads of state during this period were Henry IV of France and Elizabeth
I of England. Go to Henry
IV and Elizabeth
I and answer the following questions: What were Henry's and Elizabeth's
goals as monarchs? Did they achieve them? How? In what ways did these monarchs
deal with the religious divisions within their realms? What were
their personal religious beliefs, and how important were these beliefs
to their duties as monarchs? How did their reigns symbolize a new
age in Europe? In other words, how did the nation-state system that
these monarchs created differ from the way of life during previous eras
of European history? You might want to review Chapter 16, The Latin
West, 1200-1500 and Chapter 10, Christian Europe Emerges, 300-1200 in Bulliet,
et al., The Earth and Its Peoples (Second Edition) before completing
your answers.
Activity Two:
Although this chapter explains that a revolution in thinking
occurred during this period in European history, especially in the realm
of science, the majority of the population remained illiterate. Monarchs
such as Henry IV and Elizabeth I had to rely on means of communication
other than the written word to create a sense of legitimacy for the consolidation
of power around their thrones. Elizabeth was particularly adept at
this process. Review Elizabeth
I from Activity One. You might also want to access Historic
Royal Profiles: Elizabeth I. What were the methods and policies
that Elizabeth utilized to increase her power and authority? What
obstacles did she face, and what mystique did she personally cultivate
to overcome them?
Study the images at Elizabeth
I Gallery closely. Click on each image to enhance its size and
be sure to view all three pages of images. While examining these
representations, search for the visual methods which Elizabeth used to
propagandize her authority or enhance her stature with the English people.
For example, In The
Armada Portrait, which suggests the stability of Elizabeth's reign,
notice her calming hand on the globe. Be creative in your analysis.
Can you think of ways in which modern-day leaders have used visual imagery
or other methods to create a certain image of themselves among the public?
Activity Three:
Other monarchs of this period also used art to enhance
their prestige and power. This practice was so common that art historians
have labeled the seventeenth century as the
baroque period.
According to Baroque,
what characteristics define this artistic trend? (Pay close attention
to the site's last paragraph.) What political developments in European
history did it reflect? (See The
Baroque Era for clues.) Next, take the virtual tour of Versailles
and Schönbrunn
Palace. What were these two palaces used for? How do they
reflect the values of absolutism and baroque sensibilities?
Activity Four:
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europe
experienced the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment.
Analyze the images at The Medici Collection, (click next in the right hand corner for the next image) paying close attention to the prints that depict the work of the period's scientists. Compare and contrast these representations with those at Best
Witches: The Witch and Devil in Art Prints. Note that the
images at the latter site appeared at roughly the same time as the scientific
achievements. Historians have long noted this apparent contradiction:
How could the same society produce both the advances in science that Europeans
did yet also execute thousands of victims because of a superstitious belief
in witchcraft? The authors of Bulliet, et al., The Earth and Its
Peoples (Second Edition) provide some insight into recent scholarship
on the issue in Traditional Thinking and Witch-Hunts on pages 464-466.
For additional information, read the essays at Climatic Change
and Witch-Hunting. Next, place this author explanation into
broad categories. Do you find one of the explanations of the causes of this witch-hunting hysteria more plausible than the others, or do you believe there are multiple explanations? Defend your answer.
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