AP Euro Chapter 2

Marco Polo Travels to China

1271

Marco Polo travels to China, where he documents the spices and goods available. While Marco Polo himself was born decades before the age of exploration, his actual travels to China served as the breeding ground for the need of exploration itself; many European countries desired spices and needed new routes for trade to Asia with the Mongols, both of which were introduced to the Europeans through Marco Polo's studies.

Marco Polo Travels to China [cont]

1271

Thus, although Marco Polo himself did not physically contribute to the age of exploration in the 15th-16th centuries, his works contributed to serve as a precedent for naval exploration that represented the age of exploration.

Columbus Lands in the Americas [cont]

1492

After his death, many people realized that Columbus had in fact discovered a New World - which quickly sparked off European races to conquer the most land, such as Spain's conquistadors in South and Central America. Furthermore, Columbus' discovery led to the eponymous Columbian Exchange, an exchange of goods between the New and Old World of spices, crops, diseases, and slaves. This also served as a precedent for more naval routes, and more importantly, early globalization.

Columbus Lands in the Americas

1492

Born loving the sea, Christopher Columbus set sail for a trade route to India in order to find gold, spices, and a safe trade route that could avoid passing through the Middle East. He was sponsored by Spain and landed in the Americas (but thought it was India). He took control over indigenous tribes and was declared viceroy of many cities. While Columbus himself always believed that he was in India, his legacy served as one of the most important in the age of exploration.

Martin Luther writes 95 Theses

1517

Before this, the Catholic Church was corrupt. Characteristics like clerical immorality, ignorance, privileges, absenteeism, and indulgences plagued the Church, leading to a a need for reformation. Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses, which argued against the use of indulgences, which were essentially tickets to get out of purgatory. Importantly, while Martin Luther (and many other Protestants) believed that the Church should lose its power, they still believed in piety and God itself.

Martin Luther writes 95 Theses [cont]

1517

These 95 Theses marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and Lutheranism, which was a period of time in which Christians shifted away from Catholicism and the Holy Roman Empire stagnated. Many Protestant beliefs, like faith and scriptures alone, liberty of secular activities, etc. became prevalent as a result of the 95 Theses and Protestantism as a whole.

Cortes Conquers Mexica

1519

Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, conquers Mexica and the Aztec Empire, an empire renowned for its astronomy, engineering, and math. He was ruthless and killed many disloyal Aztecs. Cortes' conquering represents Spain's increasing foothold of European conquest within Spain, which is later followed by Spanish direct control to economically oversee their territories.

Cortes Conquers Mexica [cont]

1519

Furthermore, Cortes' brutal conquering of the Aztecs served as a precedent and a representation of violent European conquest at the time, where Europeans considered themselves to be noble and above the "savage" natives, a mindset which would also be used to justify indigenoeus slavery.

Diet of Worms

1521

Charles V summoned a diet of worms, or a council of many Catholic clergies, to debate about the new rise of Luther's Protestant beliefs. He threatened to ex-communicate Luther if he did not rescind his beliefs, but Luther refused and continued to spread Protestantism.

Diet of Worms [cont]

1521

This event truly marks one of the first conflicts between Catholicism and the newly founded Protestant, but also serves to represent Luther's unwavering piety and devotion to reforming the Church, which also led him to gain support due to his resilience.

Turkish Victory at Battle of Mohacs

1526

The Battle of Mohacs, which was fought between the Ottoman Turks and Hungary, led to the Turkish victory and control of Habsburg and Turkish domination of Hungary. While this battle itself split Hungary into three different portions, the Turks didn't care about Catholicism or Protestantism. All Christians were allowed to believe in their separate faiths as long as they paid taxes.

Turkish Victory at Battle of Mohacs [cont]

1526

Thus, many Lutherans took refuge in Turkey, which was already a predominately Protestant state at the time due to the spread of Protestant works. Ironically, through this savage takeover of Turkey, this served as a representation of the spread of Protestantism within the Holy Roman Empire itself, which eventually led for the Catholic Church to call for the counter-reformation.

Pizzaro Conquers Incas

1532

Francisco Pizzaro, Spanish explorer, conquers the Incan empire, which was already weakened by civil wars and disease. While the Incan empire attempted to trap Pizzaro and kill him, Pizzaro slaughtered the emperor after gaining ransom, while also gaining support from local conflicts to overthrow the Incans.

Pizzaro Conquers Incas [cont]

1532

Much like Cortes' conquests in the Aztec Empire, Pizzaro slaughtered many indigenous citizens in order to gain glory for Spain. Furthermore, much like Cortes, Pizzaro's exploration sets a precedent for violent conquests of Spainish conquistadors and European exploration in general towards the New World,

Reign of Elizabeth I

Jan 1, 1533

After Mary Tudor's death, Elizabeth I took control of the English throne and made massive changes to religion. She allowed more lenient religious freedom, allowing citizens to be either Catholic or Lutheran. This led to Philip II sending the Spanish Armada to protect Catholicism against England (but this failed miserably).

Reign of Elizabeth I [cont]

Jan 1, 1533

Overall, much like Henry VIII's decision to end the papal authority, this event marks the waning power of the Catholic Church and the rise of separate branches of Christianity, specifically Protestantism. Furthermore, this sets a precedent of increased religious diversity in general in European countries at the time.

Henry VIII Ends Papal authority in England [cont]

Jan 2, 1533

This event materializes the declining power of the Catholic Church and Holy Roman Empire at the time, while paving the way for Protestantism to rise in Europe, and would later lead to religious conflicts such as between Queen Elizabeth and Phillip II.

Henry VIII Ends Papal authority in England

Jan 2, 1533

English King Henry VIII desired a male son as an heir. While Henry VIII had multiple marriages, his wives could not produce the sons he wanted. After Catherine of Aragon was unable to produce a son, Henry VIII requested a divorce - but when the Catholic Church was unable to allow him a divorce, Henry VIII quickly ended the papal authority in England, and with the assistance of Thomas Cromwell and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, switched over England to Protestantism, which favored divorces.

The Council of Trent

1545

The Council of Trent was a Catholic counter-reformation effort to stop the rise of Protestantism. It attempted to reconcile with the Protestants over reformation of the Catholic Church, but due to sharp differences in beliefs, agreement was near impossible. While the Council of Trent was a failure, it still represented the short-lived counter-reformation; and more importantly, it allowed the Church to reform itself by giving Scriptures validity and spiritual renewal.

The Council of Trent [cont]

1545

Finally, the Council of Trent's failure also represents the "point of no return" between the Catholics and Protestants, and the eventual official branching off between the two beliefs.

Habsburg-Valois Wars

1551

The Habsburg-Valois wars were a series of battles for control of Italy between France and Spain. While the battles themselves had many casualties, the after-effects of French-Spanish tensions and Catholic-Protestant tensions still existed even after the wars. Furthermore, this also led to France's poor economic conditions requiring it to raise taxes and take measures such as the Concordat of Bologna, which favored Catholicism and increased the sharp divide between Catholics and Protestants.

Peace of Augsburg

1555

After seeing the rise of Protestantism, Charles V, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, felt threatened and obligated to secure authority of the state and Catholicism. He engaged in a war against multiple German principalities and cities and initially started to win, but France and the Pope intervened to starve him and force him to sign the Peace of Augsburg, which gave religious freedom to states, allowing them to choose between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Peace of Augsburg [cont.]

1555

This event marks the end of the hegemony on the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of religious diversity through multiple branches of Catholicism. Furthermore, this also marks a period of migration, as although states were allowed to choose what religion they were, people within those states could not (they were bound to the state religion). Thus, mass migration and refugees occurred between religious citizens seeking a state that matched their religion.

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

1572

The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre was a massacre perpetuated by the Catholics against the Huguenots in France. While this event itself had many casualties, it serves to encapsulate the broader trend of fighting between Catholics and Protestants, representing clashes between the two groups in countries outside of the Holy Roman Empire after Charles V singed the Peace of Augsburg.

England defeats the Spanish Armada

1588

During the reign of Elizabeth I, Elizabeth's lenient religious tolerance to Protestantism led to Philip II of Spain to send a fleet of ships against England to restore Catholicism. The Spanish Armada failed and allowed Elizabeth and her religious tolerance policies to reign in England. This event specifically represents not only the declining power of the Catholic Church, but also serves to represent one of the armed conflicts at the time that was over religion and Catholicism vs. Protestantism.

Edict of Nantes

1598

During this time, conflicts were occurring outside of the Holy Roman Empire between Catholicism and Protestantism. In France, many armed conflicts occurred, which threatened the stability of the government itself.

Edict of Nantes [cont]

1598

While the Peace of Augsburg marked the end of infighting in the Holy Roman Empire, this Edict of Nantes marks the end of infighting within France specifically, and serves to complement the current trend of increasing religious diversity from the Protestant reformation.