AP World History: Notes On The Italian Renaissance

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AP Euro Ch10 notes
1) The Italian Renaissance
• Italy was fragmented with multiple monarchs1
• “Jacob Burckhardt, a Swiss historian, described the Renaissance as the “prototype of the modern world”2
• New secular and scientific views in Italy1
• People gained a more statistical and rational approach to reality
• Scholars agree Renaissance was a transition from medieval to modern times2
• “Different from the feudal fragmentation of medieval times, Renaissance Europe was characterized by growing national consciousness and political centralization, an urban economy based on organized commerce and capitalism, and growing lay control of secular thought and culture"2
• The Italian City State
• Growth of City-States
• Its special location as the “natural …show more content…

• “Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruled Florence in a totalitarian fashion during the last quarter century of the fifteenth century”
• Lorenzo’s brother assassinated by the Pazzi (rival family), who plotted with the pope against the Medicis so Lorenzo was a cautious ruler
Italy
• Powerful groups combined to create a podesta which consist of strongmen or despots to prevent conflict
• Podesta held executive, military, and judicial authority, and had a goal of maintaining order no matter what
• Condottieri—military brokers who were hired by despots that sent mercenary armies to despots because despots couldn’t rely on loyalty of their people
• Visconti and Sforza families in Milan were despots that came to rule their city-states free from restrictions or interference from their oligarchies
• Political conflict of the Renaissance period gave birth to diplomacy therefore most city-states established resident embassies and appointed ambassadors to keep watch on the other …show more content…

• Guillaume Budeand19 and Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples19 lead French humanism
• Protestant reformer John Calvin19 was inspired by French humanists
• Spain
• Humanism strengthened the Catholic Church in Spain
• Humanist Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros under Queen Isabella enforced strict Catholic orthodoxy
• Founder of the University of Alcala
• The Complutensian Polygot Bible was his greatest achievement because he placed the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin versions of the Bible in parallel columns

• Overall Christian humanism relates to the Renaissance spirit of emphasizing individualism but exemplifying Christian ideas as well and it challenged the Church as Christian humanist sought a truer way of Christianity which sparked religious reformations17

5) Voyages of Discovery and the New Empires in the West and East

• Discovery of the Americas expanded the horizons of Europe intellectually and geographically
• Mineral and human wealth caused new cultural and economical forces to be introduced and trade shifted to the Atlantic seaboard
• Desire to increase the power of monarchs and the Church was the motivation for exploration20
• The Portuguese Chart the Course
• Prince Henry captured the North African Muslim city of Ceuta for its slaves, gold, and to ensure a sea route around Africa to Asia’s spice

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