History Semester 1

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Condottieri

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Warloards and heads of bands of mercenaries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Italy. Condotierri ruled expansionist city states such as naples, sicily, florence and milan. They represented a change in the practices of the new state, as many of the condotierri were bastards or not of noble birth.

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Defenestration of Prague

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In 1618 in Prague, Bohemian protestants, furious over the Holy Roman Emperor’s attempts to curtail their religious freedom, mobbed a castle housing two catholic officials and threw them out the window. The defenestration is representative of the deep religious tension and instability of europe during the time of the reformation.

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Edict of Nantes

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1598, henry the 4th of france granted the huguenots a large measure of religious toleration in a catholic society. Religious toleration was not common in europe, but henry listened to the moderate catholics and calvinists called politiques who urged him to give priority to the development of a durable state. Big landmark in religious tolerance but was later revoked in 1685. The edict of nantes also ended the french wars of religion which had been threatening french stability and was also one of the reasons henry did it.

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Revocation of the Edict

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1684, louis the 14th renounced the edict and declared protestantism illegal with the edict of fontainblueau, more commonly called the.....this act was damaging to france as many protestant left france and it damaged the perception of louis abroad, making protestant nations abroad more hostile toward france and many would use it as an excuse for later wars against france. This act is representative of the religious intolerance and instability of the reformation period.

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Peace of Augsburg

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1555 in the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V agreed to the settlement recognizing the luthern church and catholics within the empire and established the principle that all princes had the sole right to determine the religion of their lands and subject. Although it temporarily relieved tension in the empire and somewhat increased tolerance, calvinists and anabaptists weren’t recognized. Intolerance towards the calvinists eventually caused tensions that would contribute to the start of the thirty years war.

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Sola Fides

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Sola fide, meaning “by faith alone”, is a protestant doctrine that arose in the sixteenth century throughout europe. The doctrine asserts that sinners can only be pardoned through faith or belief alone, without the traditions or earthly help of the church or any human action. Sola fide was strongly opposed by the church and became another point of contention between the two groups, leading to even great tension.

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Coffee Houses

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In the eighteenth century, coffee houses became popular places for people, largely men, to gather and talk about philosophy and politics. They are notable for leading to the popularization of the “englightened” man, and also notable because a continuous source of coffee represented a far away good, part of the new commerce system.

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Treaty of Westphalia

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1648, Germany, it settled the thirty years war, upheld the principle of national sovereignity, and established legally recognized political and religious boundaries. It was one of the first treaties to bring so many european parties together and would serves as a model for resolving future conflicts among warring european states. It also marked the re-emergence of france as europe’s dominant power.

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Brunelleschi Dome

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Completed in 1436 in Florence, Italy, by Filippo Brunelleschi, it was the first dome built in italy since the fall of the roman empire and was the tallest dome for it’s time. The dome’s innovations represented a new, modern way of thinking about architecture and an apprectiation and respect for antiquity- a true mark of being “modern”.

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Versailles

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Became a royal palace in 1682 when French king Louis XIV moved the court there from paris. Until 1789 when the court was forced to return to the capital, versailles was the center of political power in france. An extremely luxurious and extravagant palace built solely on the wishes of louis xiv, versailles became a symbol for french absolutism.

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Potosi

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A vast silver deposit in modern day Bolivia, it was discovered by the spanish crown and much silver was brought from it to spain in the sixteenth century. It was significant because it represented for the people of europe the great riches that could be found in the new world and also became a form of direct currency, a more modern form of commerce than the old trade or barter system.

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Francisco Pizzaro

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A spanish conquistador who, in 1532, defeated the Incas. He also established the port city of Lima and sent much gold and riches back to Spain. Pizarro’s conquest of the new world respresented the view of europeans towards their treatment of the new world and it’s inhabitants.

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St. Bartholomew's Day

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In 1572 in France, a massacre against the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. It had one of the highest casualty rates of any battle during the French Wars of religion, and wiped out a huge amount of the huguenots, in addition there were many conversions among the survivors. Representative of the extremely high religious tension and for protestants the bloody nature of the catholic religion.

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Dutch East India Company

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The Dutch East India Company, also known as the VOC, was a very large Dutch trading company operating from 1602-1800. The VOC eventually became so large they were a quasi-state organization, with many sovereign rights and the right to sign treaties. The VOC was part of the new world of commerce that was forming in Europe in the 17th century and one of it’s biggest “modern” corporations.

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Jean Colbert

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In 1665 Colbert was one of the first ministers to be appointed by French King louis xiv after he declared personal rule and dismissed his royal advisors. Colbert worked on many public works projects, but he is most significant for his role is assisting louis xiv’s ascent to even greater personal power and political absolutism.

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Louis XVI

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Louis XVI , King of France from 1774 to 1791, is most notable for having been executed by guillotine in 1793 at the hands of French revolutionaries. This is significant because people at the time didn’t think that regicide was acceptable under any circumstances, because under french absolutism the king was law and therefore could not wrong his own people.

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Council of Trent

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Starting in 1545 in the holy roman empire, it was a general council of the catholic church to set catholic doctrince, reform church practices, and defend the church against protestantism. The council of trent is significant because it marks a turning point in that the schism between catholic and protestant became permanent and all hopes of reconcilliation was over.

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Tulips

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Tulips were significant during the early seventeenth century when “tulipmania” occurred in the netherlands. People began trading in tulip “futures” and prices rose impossibly high before crashing in 1637. As this new form of trading arose with the new systems of commerce and a commerical society, the tulips represented the dangers of this system and also the new availabilty of far-away and luxury items.

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Gustavus Adolphus

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King of Sweden who led Sweden through many wars including the Thirty Years war, he wa in almost constant battle from 1611 to 1632. He is regarded as some as the first great modern general.