Unit 2 (Reformation and the Age of Exploration)

Bartholomew Dias

A nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was an explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so. His exploration helped set the stage for the voyage of Vasco DaGama from Portugal to India. Helped Portugal establish a large trade empire beyond Europe.

Charles V

Came to the throne of Spain in 1516 and united it with the Holy Roman Empire. He strengthened the monarchy of Spain, weakened France in a long war and conquered large parts of Europe. His biggest failure was stopping the spread of Protestant beliefs. His rule of Spain, German states, the Netherlands, and parts of France and Italy made him the most popular monarch of his time.

Pedro Cabral

Portuguese noble, navigator, and explorer. His voyage enabled Portugal to lay claim to the territory that claim to the territory that later came to be called Brazil.

The Imitation of Christ

A Catholic Christian book by Thomas a Kempis that was widely read in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was first published anonymously in Latin in 1418. The life of Jesus is presented as the highest study possible to a mortal, as Christs teachings far excel all the teachings of the saints. The book gives counsel to read the scriptures, statements about the uses of adversity, advice for submission to authority, warnings against temptation and how to resist it, reflections about death and the judgement, and admonitions to flee the vanities of the world. It expresses the spirituality embraces by the Brethren of the Common Life which was a group of pious laypeople in Holland that called for Christians to live a life of simplicity while carrying out Gospel teachings to help the poor and sick. As a reflection of this groups values, this book demonstrates that there were already serious efforts to focus on the Bible as a guide to Christian life before the efforts of the Protestant leaders of the Reformation.

Audiencia

A board of 12 to 15 judges that served as the advisory council and highest judicial body under the royal governor in each Spanish colony. Such groups helped maintain Spanish control over most of Latin America into the 1800s

Predestination

A concept that John Calvin emphasized in stating that some are chosen for salvation and others chosen for damnation. Members of churches influenced by Calvin believed that they were members of the chosen and that others were fated to go to hell. This belief led to conflict between those who followed Calvinist beliefs and those who did not.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Agreement sponsored by the Pope in 1794 that divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain along a line off the west coast of Africa. The lands to the east would belong to Portugal and the lands to the west to Spain. The treaty was unsuccessful in dividing the rest of the world between 2 Catholic countries. English, French, and Dutch explorers chose to ignore it when they began their explorations.

Dutch East India Company

Chartered company established in 1602, when the States General of the Netherlands granted it a monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It enjoyed huge profits from its spice monopoly through most of the 17th century. The city of Amsterdam became a major trade and financial center as a result of this company's success. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the worlds first mega corporation, possessing quasi governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison, and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.

Anabaptists

Christians of the Radical Reformation who rejected conventional Christian practices such as wearing wedding rings, taking oaths, and participating in civil government. They adhered to a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount and Believer's baptism. Their name is derived from this, because adult baptism was considered heresy by all other major Christian denominations at the time of the reformation period. All major Christian denominations saw infant baptism as necessary for salvation but this group required that candidates be able to make their own confessions of faith and so refused baptism to infants. As a result, Anabaptists were heavily persecuted during the 16th century and into the 17th century by both Roman Catholics and other Protestants. Their beliefs and practices influenced the beliefs of later denominations such as the Amish and the Mennonites. Their stance on the separation of religious institutions from political authority may have contributed to the development of the standards for separation between church and state that are widely embraced today.

Council of Trent

Council of the Roman Catholic Church which met in the northern Italian city of Trentino. It opposed the Reformation, reformed discipline, and strengthened the authority of the Papacy. The Catholic Church's complete rejection of Protestant doctrines at this meeting ended any possibility of reconciliation between the two denominations.,

95 Theses

Document that was written by Martin Luther in 1517. Protested against clerical practices within the Catholic church, especially in regard to indulgences. This document is widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation and led to the eventual establishment of the Lutheran denomination.

Indulgences

Documents sold by the Catholic church that granted the purchaser absolution from sins. Originally instituted to help the Church provide financial support for the Crusades, these were also sold in order to raise money for other projects such as the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome in the 16th century.

John Tetzel

Dominican preacher who gained fame for his effective methods in the sale of indulgences. He is believed to have developed a sales pitch that included the following rhyme "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings/the soul from purgatory springs" Techniques attracted Martin Luther who condemned the sales of indulgences.

Ferdinand Magellan

Explorer who completed circumnavigation of the world.

Michel De Montaigne

French writer whose broad freethinking and unique humanist skepticism were directed against church orthodoxy and the Scholasticism that dominated the medieval universities, against superstition and fanaticism, against the cruelty and cynicism of rulers, and against feudal anarchy and tyranny. He is widely regarded as the originator of the modern essay

Martin Luther

German Christian reformer who challenged the authority of the Catholic Church in his 95 Theses and became the founder of a new Christian denomination when he was unable to convince Catholic officials to embrace his suggestions for reform. He helped start the Protestant Reformation of 1517.

John Calvin

He was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After helping to inspire religious tensions in France, he fled to Switzerland where he published The Institutes of Christian Religon and later became the leader of the church in Geneva

Astrolabe

Instrument of navigation that helped determine latitude

Philip II of Spain

King of Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Portugal. Launched Spanish Armada in an unsuccessful attempt to invade England. This contributed to the decline of Spanish power in Europe and the rise of England

Act of Supremacy

Parliament passed this legislation in order to make the King of England the head of the Church of England (the anglican church)

Vasco Da Gama

Portuguese navigator who was the first European to circumnavigate Africa, sail to India and return home. His success inspired other explorers to seek their fortune by following his route or finding a new sea route to the Indies

Prince Henry the Navigator

Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugals colonial empire. Portugal became a leader in oceanic exploration that eventually allowed this small country to have colonies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

John Knox

Religious leader who lived in Geneva where he was heavily influenced by the beliefs of John Calvin before he returned to his native Scotland. Started Presbyterian church in Scotland which embraced Calvinist ideas and condemned Catholic and Anglican ones.

Elizabethan Settlement

Response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VII, Edward VI and Mary I. This response, described as "The Revolution of 1559", was set out in two Acts of the Parliament of England. The Act of Supremacy reestablished the Church of England's independence from Rome, with Parliament conferring on the new queen title Supreme Governor of the Church of England, while the Act of Uniformity of 1559 set out the form the English church would now take, including the establishment of the Book of Common Prayer. This program helped reduce the religious tensions in England while also enhancing the power of the English throne in religious matters.

Counter Reformation

Revival in the Roman Catholic Church that took place between the mid 16th and 17th centuries. Efforts to reform the Catholic Church included a more spiritually papacy, the creation of the Jesuit order, and the Council of Trent to clarify religious doctrines. The Catholic Church embraced reforms without recognizing the validity of any Protestant doctrines.

Hernando Cortez

Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire. Began the first phase of Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who started the conquest of the Inca empire in South America. This extension eventually led to the development of a lucrative silver trade that greatly strengthened the Portuguese crown.

Babylonian Captivity

The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1305 to 1377 during which 7 Popes resided in Avignon (France). This event was later named by the Italian church officials for an event described in the Bible when the Jews were captured and forcibly relocated to the home territory of their captors. The return of the Pope to Rome led to turmoil when a new Pope was named in Italy but the French Pope refused to renounce his title. The turmoil and confusion engendered by this event helped to set the stage for a religious reform movement that ultimately resulted in the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation.

Quinto

The Spanish crown claimed one fifth of all precious metal mined in South America. It is estimated that this provided the Spanish gov with 25 percent of its total income in the 1700s and 1800s. This requirement on mining production illustrates how the government of Spain maintained a mercantilist view of their colonies as a source of income

Simony

The common practice of selling church offices in order to raise revenue for the Catholic Church or its sponsoring governments. Generally these offices went to the highest bidder. Protestant reformers condemned this practice for its materialism and the advantage it gave the wealthy in obtaining positions of religious leadership.

Henry VII

The king of England in 1509 when he succeeded his father. Although he was given a title by the Catholic church he proclaimed himself the head of the Church of England, dissolved monasteries, and divorced Catherine of Aragon. Three of his children rule. He expanded the powers of the monarch in England, established the Anglican church and increased the strength of the English navy.

Lollards

The name given to the followers of John Wycliffe in England in the 14th and 15th centuries. Their beliefs and those of their founder anticipated many of the central tenets of Martin Luther and John Calvin. Believing the Roman Catholic Church to be perverted in many ways, this group looked to Biblical Scripture as the basis for their religious ideas. To provide an authority for religion outside of the Church, they began the movement towards a translation of the Bible into the vernacular which enabled those literate in English to read the Bible. Wycifee himself translated many passages until his death in 1384. This group looked to reform Christian practices before Luther and Calvin called for similar reforms in the 16th century. Their limited success may have influenced the thinking of later Protestant leaders.

Confession of Augsburg

This document summarized basic Lutheran beliefs and was submitted to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at a meeting of princes in 1530 in the German town for which it is named. It was written by Philip Melanchton but largely inspired by ideas that had been set forth earlier by Martin Luther. It defends the Lutheran beliefs in justification by faith, the pre eminence of scripture over all other religious authority, private confession of sins to God, and the marriage of priests. This document came to be a standard for Protestant beliefs that influenced the development of Anglican practices in England and gained approval from John Calvin in Switzerland. The 95 Theses may have started the Protestant Reformation but unified support for this later document made it possible for Protestant ideas to survive the Catholic backlash.

Presbyterianism

This is a Christian denomination started in Scotland by John Knox who was strongly influenced by Calvinst ideas when he was exiled to Geneva. Like Calvinist groups in other parts of Europe, this denomination espoused beliefs in predestination and the need for believers to read the Bible. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the church board. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery. Specific roles in church services are reserved for an ordained minister or pastor. The organization of this denomination was developed as a rejection of single bishops. This denomination helped spread Calvinist ideas to European communities beyond Switzerland. It has enjoyed its greatest success in Scotland and North America. Beliefs and practices of this denomination led to conflicts with other Christians, particularly the Anglicans in England.

Jesuits

This is a religious order of men called the Society of Jesus who follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. Jesuit priests and brothers (also sometimes known as God marines) are engaged in missionary work, education, intellectual research, and crusades for social justice. It is considered to be an important agent for the Catholic Reformation in response to the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. This order toko a leading role in bringing Christian beliefs to Native Americans as well as to many Asian and African societies.

The Vulgate

This is the name of the official Latin translation of the Bible. The official Latin translation was the only one accepted by the Catholic Church, all members of the clergy were required to study Latin in order to perform religious services.

The Institutes of the Christian Religion

This was Johns Calvins seminal work on Protestant theology; it was published in Latin in 1536 and in his native French in 1541 Attacked the teachings of those Calvin considered unorthodox, particularly Roman Catholicism to which Calvin says he had been "strongly devoted" before his conversion to Protestantism

Peace of Augsburg

This was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, in 1555. This officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christendom permanent within the Holy Roman Empire. The Peace established a principle which allowed German princes to select either Lutheranism or Catholicism within the domains they controlled, ultimately reaffirming the independence they had over their states.

Pluralism

This was common in the medieval and Renaissance Europe in which a single individual would hold multiple offices within the church hierarchy. Obtaining a church office required a sizable contribution to the church so wealthy aristocrats or successful merchants would be able to afford these contributions and in many cases, help family members obtain more than one. Church reformers condemned this practice because those holding multiple offices were rarely able or willing to devote appropriate attention to each of their positions and such clergymen were often more motivated by financial than spiritual concerns.

Mercantilism

This was the theory and system of political economy that prevailed in Western Europe after the decline of feudalism. Based on policies of accumulating bullion, establishing colonies and a merchant marine, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade. This encouraged trade on the basis of national status and royal authority. It came under attack from Adam Smith and other champions of laissez faire capitalism