Ap European History Dbq Analysis

Some historians hypnotize that Europe’s history helped form what it would become doing urbanization. One of these historians, was a man named Fernand Braundel. Fernand Braundel was a 20th century historian, who was recognized by the academic community for his greatness. Fernand Braundel theorized that European town were marked by unparalleled freedom. He offered the thesis about the development of European society into urban life. His thesis states that since the European state was so weak, these towns developed autonomous, self-governing bodies that considered themselves a community that was made up of most middle-class citizens, which tended to govern themselves through a number of organizations. (Document 1) By examining Europe, as well …show more content…
Among these organizations were guilds and parish churches. It is said there were numerous political, welfare, and religious groups. On public holiday these organizations would gather together in the spirit of comradery. An account of Florence written by Gregorio Dati, examines these groups and rituals during the feast day of St. John the Baptist which falls on June 24. Dati states that two months in advance, the public begins planning wedding feasts or various celebrations in the honor of St. John. Dati also described that relatively early in the morning, the guilds display outside their shops their wares. Also, during the third hour of the day there is a solemn procession of the clergy with so many religious orders and relics of the saints, that the procession seems endless. These accounts show how the community comes together around the time of the feast to show unity among its people. (Document …show more content…
According to an account of the explorer Marco Polo there various traits of Mongolia and China that were similar to those of the civilizations of Europe. When Marco Polo travel across the Silk Roads to Mongolia and China, which was under the ruling of Kublai Khan, he stayed in the city of Kinsay. In Kinsay, Marco Polo observed that in the city there were twelve guilds which specialized in different crafts and that each of those guilds had twelve thousand households in their employment as workmen. The difference in these two civilizations lies in their ruling body. In Europe, the communites were loosely ruled by the general public, while in China laws were passed down by the monarchy. An example of this, is the law stating that a man must follow his father’s business and no other. No matter how much money he accumulated, there was no way for the man to create his own path. (Document