U7. early modern period

THE EARLY
MODERN
PERIOD:
the age of
geographical
discoveries
UNIT 7
2ºESO
IES Camilo José Cela
Teacher: Rocío Bautista

HISTORICAL PERIODS
Prehistory
4,2 m.y.a –
3,000 BC
Ancient
History
3,000 BC –
476 AD
Middle
Ages
476 –
1453/92
Modern
Age
1453/92 -
1789
Contemporary
Age
1789 - today

MIDDLE AGES
5th – 15th centuries
• Byzantine Empire
• Carolingian Empire
• Origin & spread of Islam
• Feudalism
• Theocentrism
• Monasteries, manuscripts
• East-West schism (Catholic VS
Orthodox)
• Romanesque & Gothic art
• Crusades
• Growth of cities
• Origin of the Middle class
(bourgeoisie)
• Universities
MODERN AGE
15th – 18th centuries
• Geographical discoveries
• Centralised power. Authoritarian &
absolute monarchies
• Capitalism
• Anthropocentrism
• Recovery of classical culture (Greek
& Roman)
• Reformation (Catholic VS
Protestant)
• Printing press
• Reason, science...
Renaissance, Baroque and
Neoclassic art.
• Increased power of the Middle
class (bourgeoisie).

MODERN AGE PERIODS
Renaissance / Humanism
(Renacimiento/Humanismo)
15th – 16th Centuries
Baroque
(Barroco)
17th Century
Age of Enlightenment
(Ilustración)
18th Century
Units 7 & 8 Unit 9 4º ESO

1. THE NEW CONCEPTION OF THE WORLD

1.1. The early modern period
 Early modern period = 15th – 16th centuries
 Beginning of this period. No agreement among historians:
 1453: fall of Constantinople to the Turks
 1492: discovery of America
 Changes in this period:
 Social changes: growth of the Middle Class (bourgeoisie)
 Political changes: Authoritarian monarchies
 Economic changes: new ways of producing & trading (rise of
capitalism)
 Religious changes: new crisis & schism in the Church (Reformation:
Catholics VS Protestants)
 Cultural changes: new mentality (Humanism) & art (Renaissance)

1.2. Causes of geographical discoveries
 End of 15th
Century 
known
world for
Europeans
was quite
small.
Map of the world
according to Ptolemy’s
work “Geographia”

REASONS THAT
MADE THE
DISCOVERY OF
NEW LANDS
POSSIBLE
Conquest of
Constantinople
(1453)  need
to search for
new routes to
Asia (spices, silk)
Growth of the
idea that the
Earth was a
sphere 
possibility to
reach India by
travelling west
New mentality
(Humanism) +
will to spread
Christian faith
 encouraged
exploration of
new territories
Technical
inventions
(compass,
astrolabe,
caravels...) &
more accurate
maps  made
navigation
easier
End of the
Reconqusita 
will to continue
expansion.

The silk, spices (cinnamon, cardamom, ginger,
pepper…), porcelain, perfumes, ivory… and
other luxury products from Asia entered Europe
via Constantinople. When this city was
conquered by the Turks in 1453, Europeans had
to search for new routes to reach the Far East.

"Liber Divinorum Operum”.
12th Century.
“Vox Clamantis”.
14th Century.
Copy of “Macrobius Commentarii in
Somnium Scipionis”. 12th Century.
MEDIEVAL DEPICTIONS
OF SPHERICAL EARTHS

World map.
Florence, mid
15th century
Compass & astrolabe
from the 16th century
Christopher Columbus’ nao (La Santa María)
and caravels (La Pinta & La Niña)

Activities
 Page 116  exercises 1, 2, 4.

2.1. The explorations of the
Portuguese
 Portuguese  first ones to explore the Atlantic Ocean
southwards.
 Portuguese goal: to reach India by sailing beyond the
cape of Good Hope.
Vasco da Gama reaching India
(1498)
 In different expeditions during the 15th Century they occupied
the coasts of Africa, until nearly a century later they reached
India (1498): animation
 Madeira
 Azores
 Archipelago of Cape Verde
 Gulf of Guinea
 Cape of Good Hope
 India  Vasco da Gama
 Portuguese new maritime routes & settlements on the coasts of
Africa & Asia enabled them to control the European trade of
slaves, gold, spices & silk.

Henry the Navigator
Bartolomé Diaz
Vasco da Gama

2.2. The discovery of America
 Christopher Columbus’ plan: to reach India by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean, since
he believed the Earth was a sphere.
 John II of Portugal rejected his project.
 The Catholic Monarchs accepted it. They signed the CAPITULATIONS OF SANTA FE,
an agreement that granted Columbus:
‐ The title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea (Atlantic Sea)
‐ The title of Viceroy (governor) of any lands he might discover
‐ 10% of the riches that he found
 First voyage:
 Departure: Palos Harbour (Huelva), 3rd August 1492.
 Arrival: Bahamas, 12th October 1492.
 Columbus made three more voyages from Spain to the
new lands. He died in Valladolid (1506) still thinking he
had found India.
 America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian
explorer who was the first to recognize the territories as
a new continent.

2.3. The Treaty of Tordesillas
(the division of the world)
 The Portuguese claimed that the new territories in America belong to
them according to the old TREATY OF ALCAÇOVAS (1479) which had
divided the discovered territories in the Atlantic Ocean between Spain
& Portugal.
 Canary Islands  Spain
 Rest  Portugal
 However, the Catholic Monarchs claimed that the territories discovered
by Columbus were to the West of the Canary Islands, not to the South.

2.3. The Treaty of Tordesillas
(the division of the world)
 To solve the conflict, the kings of Spain & Portugal signed the TREATY
OF TORDESILLAS (1494), which divided the newly discovered lands
outside of Europe by using an imaginary line located 370 leagues
west of Cape Verde:
 Portugal  received
all lands east
 Spain  received
all lands west

Activity 1
a) Which was the first European navigator that reached India? When
did he achieve it?
b) Draw a map of the Portuguese explorations locating all the
geographical features that are mentioned in the book. Research
the Internet to find out where in India they first arrived.
c) Define:
 Capitulations of Santa Fe.
 Treaty of Alcaçovas
 Treaty of Tordesillas.
d) Explain the project & first voyage of Christopher Columbus.
e) Research the Internet to find out which of the following
territories were explored in each voyage of Columbus. Organize
the information in a chart:
TRINIDAD / COAST OF PRESENT-DAY VENEZUELA / BAHAMAS / PANAMÁ
/ LA ESPAÑOLA / COSTA RICA / PUERTO RICO / JAMAICA /
GUADALUPE / HONDURAS / CUBA / NICARAGUA

Activity 1
1st voyage 2nd voyage 3rd voyage 4th voyage
 Bahamas
 Cuba
 La Española
(Santo Domingo
& Haití)
 Puerto Rico
 Jamaica
 Guadalupe
 Trinidad
 Coast of
present-day
Venezuela
 Honduras
 Nicaragua
 Costa Rica
 Panamá

3.1. Authoritarian monarchies
MIDDLE AGES
FEUDAL MONARCHIES:
Kings’ power was limited.
Nobility & clergy had
power inside their fiefs.
MODERN PERIOD
AUTHORITARIAN MONARCHIES:
Kings’ power becomes unlimited.
Kings reinforce their authority & power
by weakening the power of others
(nobles, clergy, parliaments, cities).

HOW DID
AUTHORITARIAN
MONARCHIES
REINFORCED THEIR
POWER?
Centralized
administration:
- Professional civil
servants.
- High public posts
appointed by the
king
Establishment of
the court in one
city (the capital)
Summoned
Parliament
(Cortes) as little
as possible
Limiting the
autonomy of the
cities by sending
“Corregidores” to
preside the
meetings of the City
Councils.
Professional army
 paid by the king,
so they obeyed his
decisions. Nobles
weren’t allowed to
have private armies
anymore .
Diplomatic system
 representatives
sent to different
courts to defend the
interest of their
nations in
international politics
Imposing regular
taxes.
Unification of
territories &
enlarging of
dominions by
marriage & wars

 Authoritarian monarchies were established in France, England and Spain.
 Germany and Italy weren’t united under single rulers
Henry VIII
(TUDOR Dynasty,
England)
Francisco I
(VALOIS Dynasty,
France)
Catholic Monarchs (TRASTAMARA Dynasty).
Their grandson, Carlos I, began the HABSBURG
Dynasty in Spain.

3.2. Economic recovery
 It was a PERIOD OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. Cause?
 AGRICULTURE: the basis of the economy
 CRAFTWORK: development of a new way of producing craft products due to the
incapacity of the guilds to attend the increased demand: the domestic system:
1) Wealthy people (merchants) provided raw materials and tools.
2) Poor people (peasants) made the products at home.
3) Investors took the finished products to sell them.
 TRADE: many changes due to the new trade routes (Africa, Asia, America):
 Ports in the Mediterranean lost importance, while the ones in the Atlantic grew in
importance (ex: Sevilla, Lisbon…)
 Banks, credit, currency exchanges developed  foundation for a capitalist
economy.
LESS
EPIDEMICS
INCREASE IN
POPULATION
MORE DEMAND FOR
AGRICULTURAL &
CRAFTED PRODUCTS
IMPROVEMENT
OF THE
ECONOMY

New trade routes with America,
Africa & Asia enabled the ports
in the Atlantic Ocean to grow in
importance

Financial instrument to facilitate international
trade “Promissory note” (letra de cambio)

Everyone
is free to
create a
business
The market
(not guilds)
determines
the price of
products &
the quality
they should
have
Capital
is the
engine
that
enables
wealth
CAPITALISM

3.3. Social changes
Society was still hierarchical, but economic changes brought
social changes too:
 Nobility and higher clergy: still the most important class
 Kept most of their privileges.
 Highest positions in government and army.
 Middle class (bourgeoisie):
 Grew in number and in wealth
 Economic assistance to kings  demanded more privileges.
 Peasants:
 Freed from serving others, worked in exchange of a wage.

Activity 2
a) P 121  exercises 1, 2, 5
b) From the following countries, which ones did establish
a authoritarian monarchy? Which ones weren’t unified?
Italy, Spain, England, France, Holy Roman Empire
(Germany)
c) Link the dynasty with its kingdom: Spain, England,
France, Valois, Trastamara, Tudor, Habsburg.
d) Explain the changes in craftwork and in trade during
the Early Modern Age.
e) How did the kings limit the autonomy of cities? And
how did they reduce the power and influence of the
nobles?

Reformation & Counter-Reformation
4. THE CRISIS OF THE CHURCH:

Since the end of the
Middle Ages there
was a general
discontent with the
Church:
REFORMATION
OF THE CHURCH
IN THE 16th
CENTURY:
a new schism
C
A
U
S
E
D
Luxury life of
high clergy
Little formal
training & non-
moral
behaviour of
low clergy
High
ecclesiastical
positions were
bought
Sale of
indulgences
(pardon for
sins)
CATHOLITHISM
PROTESTANTISM
LUTERANISM
CALVINISM
ANGLICANISM
4.1. Causes of the
Reformation

4.2. The Protestant Reformations
 1515: Pope Leo X
encouraged the sale of
indulgences to finance the
construction of St. Peter’s
basilica (Vatican City).
 1517: monk Martin Luther published
his “Ninety-five theses”, in which he
criticised the sale of indulgences. He
was excommunicated by the Pope.
He had began a new doctrine which
spread quickly due to the newly
invented printing press.

LUTHERANISM CALVINISM ANGLICANISM
Initial
location?
Germany Switzerland England
Who began
it?
Martin Luther
(Martín Lutero)
John Calvin
(Juan Calvino)
King Henry VIII
(Rey Enrique VIII)
He declared himself
Supreme Head of the
Anglican Church when the
Pope didn’t accept his
divorce from Catherine of
Aragon.
Main
principles?
•Salvation is achieved by
faith, not by merit .
•Individual interpretation
of the Bible (no priests;
pastors).
•Rejection of Pope’s
infallibility.
•Only 2 sacraments
(Baptism & Eucharist)
•No cult of the Virgin &
the Saints
•Based on the idea
of predestination:
salvation is
predetermined by
God, it can’t be
achieved by merit or
faith.
•The king is leader of the
Church.
•Salvation is achieved by
faith, not by merit .
•No cult of the Virgin & the
Saints

Martin
Luther
John
Calvin
King
Henry VIII

CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES
ROMAN
CATHOLIC
ORTHODOX
CHURCH
PROTESTANT
CHURCHES
LUTHERAN CALVINIST ANGLICAN
 After the Reformation, Christianity was divided into three main
branches:
 The religious differences caused by the Reformation led to armed
encounters between different European countries and an increase in
religious intolerance.

4.3. The Catholic Counter-Reformation
The quick expansion of Protestant doctrines made the Catholic Church
react by redefining itself.
The high clergy met in the COUNCIL OF TRENT (1545-63) where they:
 Reaffirmed the Catholic doctrine:
 Only the Church can interpret the Bible.
 Salvation is achieved by faith & merits.
 The Pope is infallible.
 7 sacraments.
 Cult of the Virgin & the Saints.
 Decided measures to improve the image of
the Church:
 Sale of indulgences was forbidden.
 Seminaries were created for clergy’s
education.

 Founded a new order to spread the renovated Catholic religion: THE COMPANY OF
JESUS (“Jesuitas”):
 Founded by the Basque priest Ignacio de Loyola.
 Devoted to teaching & preaching  they created schools & missions to evangelize the new
conquered territories.
Scene of the movie “The
Mission”, about the
experiences of a Jesuit
missionary who enters the
South American jungle to
build a mission and
convert a Guaraní
community to Christianity

Activity 3
a) P 123  exercises 1, 2, 3 (only the religions we’ve
studied).

HUMANISM
DEFINITION
CHARACTERISTICS
MAIN
REPRESENTATIVES
EXPANSION DUE TO...
Intellectual movement that changed the mentality of
the age. Originated in Italy in the 15th century.
•Inspiration in Classical Culture: texts from Ancient Greece
& Rome were studied & imitated.
•Anthropocentrism: human being at the centre of the
world, instead of God (Medieval theocentrism).
•Growing interest in science: observation of reality,
experimentation & reasoning to explain things (not
faith!)
•Religious humanism  Erasmus of Rotterdam: joined
classical antiquity & Christian religion
•Scientific Humanism  Nicolaus Copernicus:
formulated the heliocentric theory: sun (not the Earth) as
the centre of the universe.
•Movable types printing press invented by Gutenberg.
Books became cheaper  revolution in education.
•Academies where humanists met & share ideas. (e.g.:
Platonic Academy in Florence – Medici Family)

Erasmus of Rotterdam
Nicolaus Copernicus

Gutenberg’s
printing press
video

Platonic
Academy in
Florence.
Sponsored by
the Medici
family.

Activity 4
a) P 125  exercises 1, 3.

U7. early modern period

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