Origins of the Modern WorldUnit 1: World History

I. Forms of Government

A. Monarchy

Government ruled by a king or monarch

B. Aristocracy

Government ruled by noble, land-owning families

C. Oligarchy

Government ruled by a few powerful people

D. Democracy

Rule of the people

First developed by Ancient Greeks

II. The Legacy of Ancient Greece and Rome

A. Limited Democracy in Athens, Greece

1. Wealth determined class

2. All free adult males were citizens and could participate in government (1/10 of population)

3. Cleisthenes included both the rich and poor and expanded citizenship to about 1/5 of the Athenians

B. Greek Democracy Changes1. Athens became a direct democracy

2. Philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle reflected the Greeks’ respect of human intelligence and the power of reason

3. These ideas contributed to the growth of democracy

C. Rome Develops a Republic1. Rome created an indirect democracy

known as a republic

2. All citizens (free-born males) could vote

3. Patricians held the most power but Plebeians gained more rights from the Twelve Tables

4. Like Athens, Romans had separate branches of government

D. Roman Law1. Like the Greeks, Roman law

was based on justice and protecting citizens and their property

2. The Romans’ lasting legacy was their written legal code

III. Judeo-Christian Tradition

A. Judaism1. Hebrews valued the dignity of each

person since they believed that people were made in God’s image.

2. The Ten Commandments served as the code of ethics all people were to follow.

3. Jews put responsibility on the individual for bettering the human condition.

B. Christianity1. Christianity spread slowly

across the Roman Empire, primarily through an apostle named Paul

2. Paul stressed the equality of all people

IV. The Italian Renaissance

A. Italian Renaissance (1300-1600)1. The Renaissance was a rebirth

that brought back classical Greek and Roman culture while stressing the importance of the individual

2. Florence was the center

3. The Medici family were very powerful and were patrons of the arts

B. Classical and Worldly Values

1. Humanism focused on the potentials and achievements of the individual

2. Secularism was stressed even as Catholicism remained the dominant religion

C. Renaissance Men and Women1. The ideal Renaissance man

excelled at nearly everything and created art.

2. The Renaissance woman was educated and inspired art.

D. Renaissance Art1. Renaissance painters and

sculptors like Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo DaVinci created realistic art.

2. DaVinci was considered the epitome of the Renaissance man.

E. Renaissance Writers1. Writers wrote in the

vernacular and focused on self-expression or the individuality of their subjects

2. Machiavelli’s The Prince (1513) emphasized political effectiveness over moral integrity

V. The Northern Renaissance

A. Northern Renaissance Art1. German: Durer focused on

religious subjects and classical myths. Holbein painted portraits.

2. Flemish: van Eyck’s oil paintings were realistic. Bruegel painted common life.

B. Northern Writers1. Erasmus was a Christian

humanist famous for his work, The Praise of Folly (1509)

2. Thomas More wrote of a model society in Utopia (1516)

3. Christine de Pizan was a supporter of women’s rights and education

C. Elizabeth Age

1. English art and literature flourished under Elizabeth I. William Shakespeare was the most famous writer.

D. The Printing Press1. Johann Gutenberg’s

printing press made it possible to produce books quickly and cheaply.

2. This made more information available, and more Europeans were literate.

VI. The Reformation

A. Causes of the Reformation1. Renaissance values caused people to question the

Church.

2. The printing press helped ideas to spread.

3. Economic and political tensions between leaders and monarchs arose as they began to challenge the authority of the pope.

4. Corruption in the Church and the sale of indulgences upset some.

B. Martin Luther and Lutheranism

1. Luther posted his 95 Theses on a church door to air his grievances with the Catholic Church.

2. Luther’s ideas spread in Germany and started the religious Reformation.

3. Beliefs included salvation by faith, the Bible was the source of truth, and all people with faith were equal.

C. Henry VIII and Anglicanism1. England’s King Henry VIII wanted to divorce

his wife after she didn’t produce a male heir for him. The Pope wouldn’t annul Henry’s marriage.

2. He then made himself the head of the Church of England, or the Anglican Church.

3. This was the only legal church in England. Elizabeth I made some reforms to please Catholics.

D. John Calvin and Calvinism1. Calvin believed in predestination and

that God had chosen the “elect” to save.

2. Calvinism spread throughout Switzerland and later Scotland. Calvinists in France, Huguenots, faced a lot of violence.

3. Many Protestant religions, such as Presbyterians, evolved from Calvinism.

E. The Catholic Reformation1. Ignatius of Loyola and his

followers, the Jesuits, sought to add members to the Catholic Church and founded schools.

2. The Council of Trent reaffirmed several Catholic doctrines and shut down beliefs of the Protestants.

VII. The Enlightenment

A. Two Views on Government

1. Thomas Hobbes believed in a social contract in which people hand over the rights to a ruler in exchange for law and order.

2. John Locke preferred a self-government in which people had their natural rights protected.

B. Philosophes Advocate Reason

1. The core of the philosophes’ beliefs included reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty.

2. Voltaire combated intolerance in his writings.

B. Philosophes Advocate Reason

3. Montesquieu promoted a separation of powers.

4. Rousseau was committed to individual freedom.

5. Beccaria was an advocate for criminal justice.

C. Women and the Enlightenment

1. The male philosophes held a traditional view of women. Women writers, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, argued that women should be educated and sought more equality.

D. Legacy of the Enlightenment

1. A belief in progress and an increase in scientific knowledge supported human reason.

2. There was a rise in secularism.

3. Individualism, including the importance of the individual and the power of reason, flourished.