Western Civ. Semester 1

Ancient Rome

200

The Romans had a republic style government, which is like ours. They had a huge territory and a strong military. They were very good at architecture and building and they were the first to use concrete on a wide basis. They invented roads. They made realistic art sculptures and they made paintings to. Their language was Latin.

Middle Ages

476

Life was difficult, the serfs had to work hard. The church was the most important thing, it had social services and it was the only place to get an education. All of the techonology and arts the Romans had was gone. Feudalism was a very important system during this time where lords were loyal to kings, knights fought for lords, and serfs worked as farmers.
Art during the middle ages was all religious because people could not read and they had to understand Bible stories from looking at pictures.

Renaissance

Nov 21, 1300

The Renaissance was a "rebirth" of Greek and Roman culture. The Renaissance was focused on human potential and culture. The art, sculpture and architecture are very famous.

European Exploration - Columbus

Nov 22, 1492

Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas for Spain. The Europeans defeated the Native Americans and forced them to be slaves. Many new foods and goods came from the Americas to Europe. After Native American slaves mostly died, African slaves were brought to the Americas.

Reformation

Nov 22, 1521

Martin Luther did not like that the Catholic Church sold indulgences and he nailed his 95 theses on the door of a church. He started to make his own religion, Lutheranism or Protestantism, and he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Protestantism was eventually made legal.

Spanish Armada

Nov 22, 1588

England's main religion was Protestant. King Phillip II of Spain wanted it to be Catholic, so he attacked with 130 ships. 34 English ships defeated the Spanish ships and the survivors went back to Spain.

Scientific Revolution

Nov 22, 1600

Explanations of natural things shifted from religious beliefs to science. Copernicus realized that the Sun is at the center of the universe. Galileo discovered that two falling objects of different weights will hit the ground at the same time. Isaac Newton was the father of modern scientists.

Absolutism - King Louis XIV

Nov 22, 1643

Absolutism is when a ruler has complete and absolute power. King Louis XIV is a good example of an absolute ruler. He controlled religion, taxes, the military, and every government decision. He called himself the "Sun King".

Glorious Revolution

Nov 22, 1688

King James of England was Catholic and Parliament wanted a Protestant king. So, Parliament invited the king's Protestant daughter and her husband to invade. King James fled the country.

Enlightenment

Dec 1, 1750

An 18th Century movement in philosophy sparked by the Scientific Revolution. Since scientists used observations and reason to understand the physical world, philosophers turned to using reason to study humans. Philosophers believed that they could use reason to understand all of human life, including human behavior, crimes, and best form of government.

Ancient Greece

Nov 21, 2000

The ancient Greeks started the Olympics. They invented philosophy, science, medicine, keeping track of history. They also had important art and architecture.