The Black Death in Europe - Essay Example

Journal Entries/ Chapter Questions Chapter 11 Questions: Q1 The Black Death came to affect every aspect of the European society in the social, political, and economic level. On the social level, the Black Death caused the death of almost a third of the European population and made many others flee their homes in order to escape it. The escape of people from their homes led to certain areas of Europe to be sparsely populated and this, in turn, created a shortage of labor that forced many landowners to increase the wages of their workers due to the high demand for them. The labor shortage and the increase in wages made many in the European society to become more aware of their basic rights. Q2 Among the most significant consequences of the Hundred Years’ War is that it caused a lot of suffering among the people of France. In addition, despite the devastation in this country, France eventually won the war and achieved most of its current boundaries. While this happened, there was also the development of nationalistic feelings, where the two sides of the conflict started viewing themselves as either French or English. This nationalism continued to persist during the latter centuries and led to a great rivalry between the two nations. The war led to the development of new military techniques and weapons in a bid by each side to gain an edge over their opponents. Q3 Among the most significant causes of political instability in the fourteenth century was the Hundred Years’ war, which pitted France against England and went on because neither side could garner a decisive victory. In addition, there was the existence of a large number of knights who were not employed and to make ends meet; they often hired themselves out to different European rulers as mercenaries. When they did not have employment, they often formed groups, which lived by attacking villages and other settlements and pillaging them. Another source of instability was the emergence of the Black Death that killed a large number of Europeans, with the loss estimated to be about a third of the population. Moreover, either there was a schism in the Catholic Church whereby some popes based in Rome or Avignon vied with each other for ultimate power over the Church. As the central authority in Europe, the schism in the Church led to a lot of instability as people did not have proper guidance in dealing with matters in their lives. Q4 Among the greatest problems faced by the Church during the fourteenth century was the fact that there was a schism within it. The successive election of Frenchmen to the papacy and their preference for Avignon to France made people suspicious of the influence of the French monarch, and this led to the election of a rival pope in Rome, hence creating a crisis in the church. The second problem which plagued the church was the emergence of the Black Death that substantially reduced the church’s authority, and this is because the disease would also infect many priests refused to read the last rights to the dead or even to visit the sick for fear that they. There was also a sizeable corruption within the church, which tended to concentrate more in the accumulation of wealth than in salvation its followers souls. Q5 The fourteenth century can be considered a golden age in terms of literature, especially that written in English. It was a time when many writers in England chose to write in their native English as opposed to writing in either French or Latin as was the norm in that period. Among the literary achievements that were made in English include The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer which to the current day is a classic by many readers. Literary development was not just confined to English as works such as the Decameron were developed in Italy among many others. Chapter 13 Questions: Q1 Among the most important precursors of the Protestant Reformation were the Lollards and the Hussites who were among the first to voice their opposition to the Church. The Lollards, for example, stated that the church had gone against the teachings of the scriptures, but had wrongly vested power in itself for its own ends. The Hussites closely followed the teachings of the Lollards, who after their leader was burnt at the stake for heresy, brought about the Hussite wars in Bohemia. Q2 Among the charges reformers leveled against the Catholic Church was that the authority of the pope had no grounds in the scriptures and that, in fact, Christ was the true head of the church. In addition, many reformers believed that the celibacy practiced by the priests was on Christian teachings. Furthermore, the priests of the Church were accused of not being a good example to their parishioners as their lives did not exemplify the ideal life they preached about. The mandatory confessions prescribed by the church were also condemned because of the belief that priests had no authority to grant pardons for sins committed. Related to the latter, there was a strong opposition among the reformers concerning the Church’s selling of indulgences for the reprieve from sins. This was seen as a means through which the Church was enriching itself at the expense of those who sought to have their sins forgiven. Q3 The Reformation spread extraordinarily quickly across Europe because of the fact that many princes saw it as an opportunity to break free from the influence of the church. Moreover, there were some areas in Europe where the moral authority of the church had waned over the centuries due to the corruption within it. Therefore, the Reformation was welcomed in these areas with open arms as many saw it as a new beginning away from the church. Furthermore, many of those who were proponents of the reformation were, and this led many to believe that they had died for the sake of the truth. The brutal actions taken by the church to counter the reformation also played a hand in its spread because it tended to alienate those who would otherwise have defended the church. Q4 An impact of the Reformation in Europe is the fact that it led to the division of European society along doctrinal lines. In addition, it led to the reduction of the influence of the Catholic Church from a powerful force to a shadow of its previous nature. The Reformation also led to religious conflict in Europe as those nations that had remained Catholic fought those which had become Protestant. Furthermore, it led to the development of the idea that the church should be under the state and not equal or above it. In this way, the church in many European states came to be under the authority of the state and not all powerful as it previously had been. Q5 The Catholic Church responded to the Reformation by starting its own series of reform so that its teachings could be made clearer to its followers. These reforms were aimed at stopping any more of its followers from leaving the church and joining the ranks of the Protestants. Furthermore, it was a genuine effort to remove the corruption that had been plaguing the church for a long time and restore it to its former glory. The Catholic Reformation was aimed at salvaging as much authority as it had left within Europe. Chapter 14 Questions: Q1 There are two main factors, which led to the rise of the age of exploration and discovery and one of these, was the development of advanced maritime technology such as the stern mounted rudder. This enabled many European vessels to comfortably navigate the world’s oceans. The second main reason was the need by European traders to bypass the trade routes to Asia which were land based and Muslim controlled. The development of maritime technology meant that travel to the East by water was much more effective than by land. This gave rise to the need for Europeans to explore and discover the world outside their own. Q2 The Portuguese were the first European nation to look outward because of the fact that it was surrounded to the east by Spain and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Since the Portuguese could not move to the east without any conflict with Spain, it was only natural for them go westward and this led to their being highly innovative in the field of marine navigation and technology. This led them to the areas that were yet to be explored by any Europeans and established them as the first Europeans to explore the lands along the Atlantic. The Portuguese empire differed to the Spanish empire in that while the former was governed as an integral part of Portugal, viceroys appointed by the Spanish monarch governed the Spanish empire independently from Spain. Q3 While slavery was an abominable practice, it played a crucial role in the economy of three continents, namely Africa, the Americas, and Europe. The trade in slaves was leading business during that age, and it was extremely profitable for those involved in it; moreover, the slaves were used in the plantations of the New World to produce raw materials for the industries of Europe. The manufactured goods, on the other hand, were not only consumed by Europeans and those in the colonies, but were also traded in Africa for more slaves. Thus, slavery continued to fuel the international economy and that is why it went on for as long as it did. Q4 Many changes took place because of European expansion among which was the swift growth of the economy that had previously been stagnant. The expansion enabled the entrance of exotic goods into European markets ensuring that the Europeans acquired a taste for them. Such goods as spices were in high demand in Europe, and this intensified the trade in it, making the traders extremely wealthy as a result. Moreover, the European economy ceased being just domestic oriented and instead grew to become an export one instead. While, previously, raw materials were produced locally, Europe now came to heavily rely on its colonies for a steady supply. Q5 European expansion had a significant impact on the peoples of America, Africa and Asia because of the contact it brought between their cultures and the one of Europe. One of the impacts of European expansion was the development of colonization where the people of these three continents came to be placed under European rule. Furthermore, it led to the expansion of Christianity to these continents due to the increased missionary activity. Expansion created an avenue through which European culture and ideas came to be spread through these continents as the people within them came to adopt some of these ideas. With the culture came language, and this resulted in some peoples of these lands adopting the languages of the Europeans they came into contact with. Chapter 16 Questions: Q1 Among the developments which led to the scientific revolution was that of the expansion of trade with the world outside Europe. Moreover, there was the development of universities which enabled Europeans to have the opportunity to study their world, as well as that of their predecessors. The Renaissance also had a considerable influence in the development of the scientific revolution because it increased an interest in mathematics among scholars who worked hard to understand and expand its concepts. Furthermore, there was the development of humanism, which was the belief that there was no limit to human beings accomplishment, as long as they applied themselves to the task they wished completed. Q2 Among the most significant developments in the field of astronomy was the invention of the telescope, which enabled men to study closely the skies for the first time ever, and this led to the discovery of many planets and that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa. Q3 The invention of the telescope led to a closer study of the skies and this, in turn, made people realize that the world was not the center of the universe; furthermore, the previous belief that the earth was flat was destroyed when it was proven that the earth was indeed round. Q4 The church was intensely hostile to the scientific developments of the seventeenth century, viewing them as heresies and at times persecuting the inventors. In addition, the church tended to threaten those who had come up with various scientific theories with either excommunication or death at the stake. While the church did everything it could to stop scientific development, the tide was too much for it, and it has to let go. Q5 Science led to the development of Western society into what it is today because it is through it that technology came to existence. In addition, it led to the waning of the power of the church which had previously had such a powerful influence on the lives of the people of the west. A situation was, therefore created which enabled the development of secularism in society. Chapter 17 Questions: Q1 The Scientific Revolution created an atmosphere in which logical thinking on the various matters concerning the life sciences was encouraged. This greatly influenced the philosophers of the Enlightenment many of whom applied logic in their works. Moreover, the Scientific Revolution influenced some of the ideas that were used by the philosophes in their work such as the belief that the importance of rationality. Q2 The Enlightenment was a movement that came about during the eighteenth century that led to the intellectual change in Europe and North America, and among its most fundamental ideals was the fact that human beings were free to develop themselves using their own intellect instead of blindly following the teachings of others. Another ideal was the propagation of freedom where human beings were free to reason things for themselves. Next was the belief that enlightenment was a universal characteristic among all human beings and that they all had the ability to become enlightened. The most crucial aspect of the Enlightenment was the belief in the secularization of society where the church was to be separated from the state. Q3 Among the most influential philosophes were Voltaire, Rousseau, and Kant and it is the ideas of these men, such as the equality of all men and the belief in the separation of Church and state that led to the French Revolution. The effect of this revolution was that many European states, in an attempt to avoid such a situation, attempted to reform their societies to accommodate those who were likely to rise in revolt, namely the middle classes of society. Q4 The Enlightenment contributed a fantastic deal in the further weakening of religion as an institution in Europe. During this period and after, the political power of the church waned as more states in Europe actively worked towards the separation of church and state. Religion, therefore, did not have the standing which it has enjoyed during the medieval period and, in fact, many people started being more secular than in previous periods. Q5 Most of the innovations in art, music and literature tended to be based on the obsession with natural law, as well as reason. The art of the time tended to be based on the Greco-Roman style and in a field that was previously dominated by men, women also started painting. In addition, the music, which developed, was highly emotional, and it tended to follow the baroque style. Literature saw the development of the romantic novel as more women joined the ranks of men in writing. Subjects, which were previously considered to be taboo, came to be expressed in the works of literature. Chapter 20 Questions: Q1 Britain was the first nation to industrialize because it was the best organized European state of the time. Not only did it have the necessary raw materials for its industries, but it also had the market for the products from its industries. Because of the large market for its products, there developed the need for mass production of goods to satisfy the demand from consumers. This created a situation where industries developed in cities and led to the end of the cottage industries which had until then dominated the local market. The new ways of production created new jobs, which made people migrate to the urban areas where they worked in the industries for money. Britain had an abundance of coal which was used in the running of its factories, ensuring that it had a head start over the other European nations. Q2 Because of the frequent trade ties, as well as the free travel within Europe at the time, it was easy for the Industrial Revolution to spread to the European continent. Ideas from the revolution, therefore, spread to the continent through this means ensuring that the other European nations also developed their own industries. The revolution spread to the United States because of the large number of immigrants from Europe who brought the knowledge with them. Moreover, the revolution may also have developed independently in the United States due to the fact that all the conditions necessary for its development were present in the United States as they were in Europe. It can be said that the ideas from Europe came to be further developed in the United States as this nation came to have industries of its own. Q3 The lives of working people came to change significantly due to the revolution as many of them moved from the rural areas to the urban areas to find work in the factories. While in the factories, they worked under extremely harsh conditions and there was hardly an age limit to those who could work since even children got employed. Because of the large numbers of people willing to work within the factories, the factory owners tended to pay remarkably low wages, and many of those who worked for them thus remained poor. Q4 The conditions in the nineteenth century industrial cities tended to be extremely poor because of the fact that they were filled with factories which polluted the environment. The industrial cities tended to be highly segregated with the wealthy living in places away from the pollution in opulent houses. The factory workers, on the other hand, tended to live in poor accommodations, what would be considered slums, close to the factories and whose lives revolved around their work with little else to do for leisure. Q5 The state played a significant role in the industrial revolution because it ensured that the domestic industry had a stable market for its products. This was done through the acquisition of colonies, which provided a market for all the excess products produced by the industries. Moreover, the acquisition of colonies also meant that the industries in the home country had a steady supply of raw materials which enabled them to produce more manufactured goods for the market. The state ensured that its industries were protected from stiff competition from the industries of other countries as this would lead to their collapse. Read More