AP Euro Questions Chapter 2

Why did Columbus sail west across the Atlantic in 1492?

Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic to try to find another route to Asia, and to prove that the Earth was round.

What criticisms have been leveled against it?

Criticisms that have been leveled against it is that he exaggerated and they accuse him of overlooking the continuity between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

In what ways was Erasmus the embodiment of the northern Renaissance?

Erasmus was the embodiment of the northern Renaissance because he lead the Renaissance in the north by united classic ideals of humanity and civic virtue with the Christian ideals of love and piety.

Why did the French invade Italy in 1494?

He asked the French for aid, and didn't foresee how insatiable the French appetite for new territory would become once French armies had crossed the Alps and encamped in Italy.

How would you define Renaissance humanism?

I would define Renaissance humanism as a form of resurrecting literature from the Golden Ages of Italy and Greece.

What was Jacob Burckhardt's interpretation of the Renaissance?

Jacob Burckhardt's interpretation of the Renaissance was that it was the gradual release of the "full, whole nature of man."

A common assumption is that creative work proceeds best in periods of calm and peace. Given the combination of political instability and cultural productivity in Renaissance Italy, do you think this assumption is valid?

No, because since they went through both cultural productivity in the Renaissance and political instability and there is a comparison between the two different times, it seems that the creative work was about the same quality.

Who were some of the famous literary and artistic figures of the Italian Renaissance?

Some of the famous literary and artistic figures of the Italian Renaissance were Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, Petrarch, Dante, and Boccaccio.

Why were the Portuguese interested in finding a route to the East?

The Portuguese were interested in finding a route to the East because they did not want to encounter the Ottomans, and wanted to beat the powerful Venetian-Muslim monopoly by sailing directly to the source.

How did the Renaissance in the north differ from the Italian Renaissance?

The Renaissance in the north differed from the Italian Renaissance because there was more of a climate favorable to religious and educational reforms on the eve of the Reformation.

How did the actions of Pope Julius II and the ideas of Niccolò Machiavelli signify a new era in Italian civilization?

The actions of Pope Julius II and the ideas of Niccolò Machiavelli signified a new era in Italian civilization by unifying Italy through political unity.

What factors led to the voyages of discovery?

The factors that led to the voyages of discovery where trying to find more trade routes and the need to find more land and resources.

What did the term mean in the context of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy?

The term the Renaissance means the adoption of rational, empirical, and statistical approaches to the world around them.

In what ways was the Renaissance a break with the Middle Ages, and in what ways did it owe its existence to medieval civilization?

The ways that the Renaissance broke the Middle Ages was the growth of city states that took control of political and economic life, there was an added social group and class, and the growth of humanism. The Renaissance owes its existence to medieval civilization, since it gave them a basis on how they should run and how they can improve.

How did this event trigger Italy's political decline?

This event triggered Italy's Political decline because every single time France invaded the killed their leader's which weakened the city-states.

What did they have in common that might be described as "the spirit of the Renaissance"?

What these figures had in common was that they all shared a humanistic goal.