Chapter 24: The Transformation of Europe

Vocabulary

• Martin Luther/95 Theses: A catholic revolutionist that spoke against the sale of indulgences as an individual (which was promoted by the Roman Church). He proclaimed this in a document called the “Ninety-Five Theses”. 

• Henry VIII: King Henry VIII severed himself from the Roman church when the Pope did not allow him to divorce his wife who had not born him a son (a male heir).Thus he proclaimed himself Head of the Anglican Church. 

• John Calvin: John Calvin was the head of a religious reformation that took place in France and some parts of Switzerland during the 1500s. He was a French lawyer who converted to Protestant Christianity. Calvin formed a Protestant resistance in Switzerland to rise up against the Protestant repressing French Government. 

• Catholic Reformation: Catholic reform occurred partly because of the Protestant Reformation that was going on at the same time. They sought to define their doctrine more clearly, to increase the communities’ commitment to the Roman Catholic Church, and to persuade recently converted Protestants back to Roman Catholicism. 

• Thirty Years’ War: The Thirty Years’ War was a multi continental conflict that was the culmination of the religious wars from between 1618- 1648. It began when the Holy Roman Emperor tried to force the return of some followers that converted to other religions. 

• Spanish Inquisition: The Spanish Inquisition was an institution that used religious reasons to help advance the government and the state. They were often used to investigate cases of heresy. This has been criticized, however, as an institution that ran amok – framing innocent citizens and subjecting many to torture. 

• English Civil War: The English Civil War was a war that took place between 1642 and 1649. This led to a constitutional government in England. It involved, for most part, two sides, the Anglicans and the Puritans – and both sides had large armies. The Puritans ended up winning the conflict. 

• Absolute Monarchy: A kind of government in which the monarch had absolute power over the entire goings on in the state. This form of government was embraced (sometimes only for a short while) by France, Spain, Austria, Prussia and Russia. 

• Peace of Westphalia: The Peace of Westphalia was a treaty that ended the Thirty Years’ War. This was signed and put into effect in 1648. This laid the system for independent, and competing European states. 

• Ptolemaic Universe: European astronomers based their understanding of the universe on this theory (procured by Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria) until the seventeenth century. This stated that the Earth was motionless and surrounded by nine spheres. The first seven of these spheres were the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The eighth held all the stars, while the ninth embodied everything.

• Copernican Universe: A theory presented by Nicolaus Copernicus in his treatise On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. He proposed that the sun, rather then the Earth, was at the center of the universe and that the planets, even Earth, orbited around the sun.

• Philosophes: The group of prominent intellectual philosophers that were clustered in France. They made up the core group of the center (which was France) of Enlightenment. Instead of forming treatises, they mostly composed histories, novels, dramas, satires, and pamphlets on religion, moral, and political issues. 

Focus Question #1

            How did the Protestants and Catholics respond to problems in the Catholic Church?

            Both the Protestants and Catholics responded to the problems in the Catholic Church with series’ of reformations. These problems tended to lead to positive things for the Protestants, such as the converting of followers from Catholicism and negative things for the Catholics, such as losing followers to other rising religions.

            The Protestant reformation took place all over Europe. Some of the most influential figures in this movement were Martin Luther in Italy and John Calvin in Switzerland and France. Both of these two activities started a wave of Protestant reform that spread all over Europe. An example of this is the reform in Germany that was inspired by Martin Luther. Many important German cities passed laws that renounced Catholicism and allowed only for the observance of Protestant doctrine and procedures.

            The Catholic Church, in response to their own problems of declining popularity and the rising popularity of other religions, such as those of the Anglicans and Protestants, wound up going through reformation themselves. Two important people to this reformation were St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Thomas Aquinas helped define the elements of Roman Catholic theology more clearly while St. Ignatius Loyola led an extremely effective team of missionaries known as the Jesuits.

Focus Question #2

            Compare and contrast the political systems of England and France.

            The political systems in England and France were similar in the way that in both, religion played a large role in the governing of both states. They differed in ways such as the fact that for a while, France was an absolute monarchy, while England went through a civil war to become a constitutional state.

            Roman Catholicism was the primary religion in both states at their creation. However, when the Protestant reforms began to occur, Roman Catholicism began to lose it’s foothold in their governments. The Protestant movement in England was inspired and influenced by Martin Luther’s reform in Rome, while in France reform came from a movement started in Switzerland by John Calvin.

            The absolute monarchy in France began with King Louis XIII, between 1624 and 1642. On and off for the next century, different monarchs ruled with absolute authority. King Louis XIV, the son of the one who brought absolute monarchy to France, proclaimed himself “the sun king”. He epitomized royal absolutism.

            The English Civil War was a war that took place between 1642 and 1649. It involved, for most part, two sides, the Anglicans and the Puritans. The Kings and other royalty of England made up the majority of the Anglican leaders, while the Puritans’ leaders were composed mostly by members of the English Parliament. The Puritans eventually won the war and guided the state to a constitutional government in England.