The Significance of the Rise of Scientific Societies

The rise of Scientific societies in the 17th century and beyond led to cultural advancements in the field of industry, reforms in the Church, and the development of western civilization.

Review

1560-1715

• The Church entered a crisis of authority caused by conflicts, revolutionists and other problems such as disease. 
• Machiavelli saw need to reform the Church.
• The merchants and the rising middle class resented that the bishops controlled all of the events in their city. 
• The main problem for the Church was corruption.  
• The Peasants in England, Italy,  France, and Germany revolted. 
• Martin Luther 1483-1536 became an Augustinian Monk. 
• He led the attack on the sale of indulgences. 
• 1517- Luther posted his 95 theses on the Cathedral of Edinburgh, beginning the German reformation.  
• The German people accepted Luther's views and grew weary of the Church's massive power and ability to evade taxes. 
• John Calvin believed that morality must be pursued for a full life. 
• Calvinism was based on self-control
• In England ,the reformation is held up with the politics of the Tudor line. 
• The Index of Forbidden Books was adopted at the Council of Trent. 
• Folk religion and witchcraft increased after the Church was shattered because of all of the reformations against the Church. 
• The power of monarchs increased. 
• Between 1516 and 1715, Europe had only thirty total years of peace. 
• The major war was the Thirty Years War. 
• 1555 Peace of Augsburg divided Germany and created relative peace. 
• The Thirty Years was began in Bohemia, a place where there had been peace. 
• Ferdinand II became the King of Bohemia and the people feared that he would try and make them convert to Catholicism. 
• There was a revolt against the imperial governors. 
• Ferdinand was deposed and the crown was offered to Frederick V
• This extended the War to all of the Holy Roman Empire
• The battles between Ferdinand II and Frederick V were on opposing sides
• Spanish Hapsburg intervened in Protestant states and the Catholic League seemed to be putting an end to the Protestants. 
• 1629- Denmark withdrew from the War 
• Ferdinand issued the Act of Restitution
• Gustavus Adolphus entered the War

• Cardinal Richelie, wanting to get rid of the Hapsburgs accepted any allies regardless of their religions. 
• He declared war on Spain with Protestant allies. 
• The Spanish Hapsburgs were defeated by France. 
• The Treaty of Westphalia follows
• The treaty confirmed the Treaty of Augsburg 
• The Thirty Years war destroyed much of Europe
• 1669-1698: Numerous outbreaks of civil war
• Protestantism was illegal in France but was practiced anyways
• By 1559 the Huguenots campaigned against Henry II and the Guise
• The Huguenots ordered better treatment and this started a War. 
• Henry of Nevar and Margaret of Valois married, supposedly to bring the religions together
• The wedding was attacked in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. 
• Henry of Nevar became King Henry IV only after he converted to Catholicism
• He signed the Edict of Nantes. 
• This gave Protestants tolerance
• Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes

• There was a social revolt against the King of Spain
• 1575, under William of Orange people fought against the tyranny of Phillip. 
• The Scots rebel against Mary Queen of Scots
• In England, the Stuart dynasty rises
• 1694, Charles II is beheaded and Cromwell takes over. 
• 1560-1715 The Dutch becomes the dominant power of the continent
• The period is defined by mercantilism. 
• The amount of gold in Europe increased by 20 percent. 
• The markets of Europe expanded
• A new class appeared- The Bourgeoisie
• The upper-middle class, the business people of Europe 
• The Dutch and English provided commercial spirit which would set industry in motion.

•  Exploration in the New World
• The main goal was to find a Northwest passage through Canada
• Many explorers go out to try and find this prospective trade route
• Harvard was the first university founded in America in 1636

• The Scientific Revolution 
• Scientists: Copernicus, Bruno, Kapler, Tycho Brahe, Galileo, Hooke, Boyle, Halley, Newton. 
• Philosophers: Descartes, John Locke, Francis Bacon, Hobbes, Leibniz, Spinoza.   
• Witchcraft
• 1660 there was a tradition of witchcraft in England.
• There was suspicion of witches, but the tradition carried on. 
• There were, in the public eye, two types of witchcraft
• Healing and fortune telling  
• Evil witchcraft with malevolent spirits
• The Church had its own definitions of witchcraft and said that witches had bonded with Satan to work against God and the church. 
• By the 17th century, persecutions became commonplace and cause by anxiety and fear. 
• The Church spread rumors about witches
• Malleus Malifacarum written by two Dominican friars that worked to show that witches were in cahootes with the devil.
• By the 16th century the Church had linked women with witchcraft. 
• The burning time died down in England
•  The reformation triggered a backlash
• An atmosphere was made that what goes in one's brain could figure out the world. 
• This did not fit into anyone's civilized  mind
• This led to the Enlightenment
• The Enlightment did not mean to get rid of religion but to bring faith into accordance within reason. 

Notes December 13

The French Aristocracy and Absolutism

• Louis XIV is the most dominant political figure in the 17th century. 
• The system he put in place was not broken even after he died. 
• Louis XIV's army threatened universal monarchy. 
• With the strength of his army he could gain dominance over all of Europe.  
• Because of the Thirty Years War there was no other power in Europe that could face Louis. 
• Alliances are created between the weaker countries of Europe to try and balance the power that Louis XIV has. 
• Louis tried several times to extend into the Dutch Republic but is always pushed back. 
• He also tries to push into Spain, but there were problems
•  in 1700 Charles II of Spain died and in his will he bequeathed his throne to Phillip of Anjou, the grandson of Louis XIV. 
• The Grand Alliance: Holland, Austria, Brandenburg principality, Italian Duchy of Savoy. 
• These nations wanted to suppress the power of Louis. 
• The War of Spanish Succession followed
• The war cost a lot of money and was blamed for the gutting of the economy. 
• In 1713 France and the Grand Alliance signed the Treaty of Utrecht. 
• The Treaty created a new balance of power in Europe that would last for 30 years. 
• France: Louis's grandson, Philip V, was allowed to remain the King of Spain 
• France is allowed to keep Ausaus. 
• The English get naval bases in Gibraltar and takes over the slave trade in Spain. 
• England picked up two French colonies: Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 
• The Austrians gained the Spanish Netherlands, which became Belgium. 
• Autria picked up French holding in Italy such as Naples. 
• The Duke of Savoy was given Sicily and became the King. 
• In 1720 he grew tired of being the King of Sicily and trades with Austria for Sardinia. 
• Brandenburg elector became the king of Prussia.

Dutch Republic

Discuss ways that the 17th-century Dutch Republic differed from its neighbors, telling how these differences contributed to the country's success.


The Dutch Republic did not operate in the same way as the rest of Europe. Its differences helped make the Netherlands become a respectable nation and  led to what is known as the Golden Age of the Netherlands. The Dutch Republic was very well-rounded in a multitude of subjects, ranging from agriculture to politics. The Republic became so respected that citizens of bordering countries immigrated there to experience the quality of life. France and England may have been more structurally sound than the Dutch Republic, but those countries did not excel as well or grow as rapidly as the Netherlands. The Dutch Republic achieved success, and also received recognition from the rest of Europe by developing their own goods to increase the standard of living, providing freedom and toleration for minority groups, and distributing power among several executive authorities.


The standard of living in the Dutch Republic was unusually high for its time. This aspect of Dutch life can be boiled down to the fact that most of the resources that the people used were made or found there. The Dutch were skilled craftsmen and they made or grew the resources they needed, and if they did not have something, they made sure that they received it in the most efficient way possible. Artists and scientists alike created useful tools and ideas that would culminate in the Scientific Revolution. All of the goods and resources procured in the Republic itself, the Netherlands experienced wealth. They did not have to spend excess amounts of cash on imports, instead they could focus on putting the money to good use building fine houses or providing patronage for the arts. The Dutch became a trading nation with the Far East, increasing its wealth two-fold. The Dutch lived moderately and worked more on developing items for trade. All of this gave everyone living in the Netherlands a high quality of life. 


The Netherlands became a sanctuary for anyone who sought religious toleration. The neighboring countries religiously persecuted minorities with inquisitions and suppression. Once Arminians received religious toleration in the Dutch Republic, many other social minorities flocked to the Netherlands to evade the harsh rule of  their home countries. The boosted population soon helped to increase the wealth of the Dutch even more than it had been. The cultures of each new religion helped define the culture of the Netherlands as a whole. This separated the Dutch from other cultures in which one religion was clearly dominant and the others were suppressed. Even though the Dutch republic was not free from faults, it provided a place of refuge for people who had faced bitter hardships for their religion. This helped the Netherlands grow into a powerful nation.   


The aspect of the Dutch Republic that greatly contributed to its success was its unusual, albeit effective, way to run its political system. Power was given to multiple people called "stadholders" and "burghers" who had limited but equal power. Decisions for the state of the Netherlands could not be made without the consent of the people. This displacement of power helped the Netherlands become more ordered than its neighboring countries. Unlike England and France, control was not given to one group of people or one specific person, instead it was divided up evenly. More time could be focused on the future of the region rather than deciding on political issues. The structure of politics in the Dutch Republic helped make the nation centralized and focused on one specific goal: becoming the most powerful nation in all of Europe. 


In the 17th century the Netherlands grew to be the greatest nation in Europe. Many aspects of Dutch life were not like any other culture in Europe. There was religious toleration, a well run political system, and resources in the Netherlands. These difference helped the Dutch Republic gain respect and glory. The Dutch Republic would never have gained such success had all of these tactics not been put into place. It was the strategy of the people that shaped the Dutch Republic into an ideal nation.   


      

Free Response Practice #1 (Second Entry)

Why are the trials and tribulations of Galileo often considered both predicative of the future of Western Civilization as well as a perfect encapsulation of the context of his own time?


Galileo Galilee was the most revolutionary scientist of the 17th century. His results changed the way people thought about the world they live in. Galileo's writings helped lead to the future of Western civilization. But he also faced many hardships along the way, which were predictable given his times. Galileo's findings in the area of astronomy, most importantly with the stars and the solar system, helped modern science develop; but he could have gone a lot further with his research had he not been hindered by his relatively primitive instruments, his need to evade persecution, and the necessity to make his results easy to understand.  

Galileo can be seen as the father of many branches of science, but most importantly in astronomy. All of his findings were new to the people, and sparked the Scientific Revolution which, in turn, led to the future of Western science. Galileo, one night, noticed that the stars around Jupiter were not the same as they had been on other nights. He had discovered the moons of Jupiter. Galileo accepted Copernicus's view of a heliocentric universe and rejected the geocentric theory. These results were both revolutionary, the latter much more than the former. His findings changed how people thought of themselves in relation to the universe and that led to many other scientists working together to try and discover why this was. Once people understood where they were, they could question why they were and these observations acted as the foundation for the future of western science.

It was not all easy going for the budding sciences, especially for Galileo. Galileo was living in the dawn of the Scientific Revolution and almost everything would be met with hardships. The major tribulation that hindered Galileo throughout his entire career was the lack of specialized instruments. Galileo's work with the stars was made difficult by the fact that he did not have a very powerful telescope. His results were made up of mostly assumed conjecture with extremely limited scientific proof. Galileo's scientific achievements had to be understandable to the common man, or all would be lost. The society and time in which he was living were major setbacks in Galileo's quest for the truth. It would not have been enough for Galileo to understand his findings, he needed to make it so that everyone could understand at least the basics of what he was trying to say. Galileo encountered many problems, but none were as great as attempting to start a revolution but make it known to the people  what science really meant. 

Trying to move ahead to the future while having to keep in mind the limits of one's own time proved to be near impossible for Galileo. Galileo found persecution awaiting him after almost every experiment that he conducted. His main source of trouble was found when he denounced geocentricism and replaced it with his heliocentric view. The Church felt that the Earth had to be the center of the universe, lest all of their teachings be proven incorrect. Galileo had to keep this in mind searching for the correct truth, but discovered that the Church was wrong. He faced the Roman Inquisition because he had not paid heed to the context of his time. Similarly, Galileo disturbed many citizens when he rejected Aristotle's view on the elements; one which had stayed firm for centuries. Galileo presented many ideas that were considered blasphemy in his time, but which he knew would lead to the revolution in science. 


In his prime, Galileo Galilee sparked the Scientific Revolution and helped to shape western and modern sciences. Even though he could have achieved greater things had a few major setbacks not been existent, his experiments were enough to change science forever. All of his problems were directly related to the man's time period. His mind was looking forward to the future while his peers were still following the guidelines of Aristotle. It took one man to change an entire civilization of people, and that man was Galileo Galilee.      

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Peer Review

Grade on a scale of 0-9.
8-9: Well developed thesis supported with credible historical information.
5-7: Partially developed thesis supported with some historical information
2-4: Confused and/or unfocused thesis
0-1: Essay lacks a thesis and demonstrates little to no understanding of the question

Free Response Practice #1

Why are the trials and tribulations of Galileo often considered both predicative of the future of Western Civilization as well as a perfect encapsulation of the context of his own time?


Galileo Galilee was the most revolutionary scientist of his time. His results changed the way people thought about the world they live in. Galileo's writings helped lead to the future of Western civilization. But he also faced many hardships along the way, which were predictable given his times. Galileo's findings in the areas of astronomy and motion helped modern science develop, but his relatively primitive instruments, his need to evade persecution, and the necessity to make his results easy to understand were setbacks to Galileo's genius. 


Galileo can be seen as the father of many branches of science, but most importantly in astronomy and motion. All of his findings were new to the people, and sparked the Scientific Revolution which, in turn, led to the future of Western science. Galileo one night noticed that the stars around Jupiter were not the same as they had been on other nights. He had discovered that Jupiter has many moons. Galileo accepted Copernicus's view of a heliocentric universe and rejected the geocentric theory. These results were both revolutionary, the latter much more than the former. His findings changed how people thought of themselves in relation to the universe and that led to many other scientists working together to try and discover why this was. Once people understood where they were, they could question why they were and these observations acted as the foundation for the future of western science.


It was not all easy going for the budding sciences, especially for Galileo. Galileo was, after all, living in the dawn of the Scientific Revolution and practically everything would be met with hardships. The major tribulation that hindered Galileo throughout his entire career was the lack of specialized instruments. Galileo's work with the stars was made difficult by the fact that he did not have a very powerful telescope. His results were made up of mostly assumed conjecture with extremely limited scientific proof. Galileo's scientific achievements had to be understandable to the common man, or all would be lost. The society and time in which he was living were major setbacks in Galileo's quest for the truth. It would not have been enough for Galileo to understand his findings, he needed to make it so that everyone could understand at least the basics of what he was trying to say. Galileo encountered many problems, but none were as great as attempting to start a revolution but make it known to the people  what science really meant. 


Trying to move ahead to the future while having to keep in mind the limits of one's own time proved to be near impossible for Galileo. Galileo found persecution awaiting him after almost every experiment that he conducted. His main source of trouble was found when he denounced the heliocentric view of the system and replaced it with geocentricism. The Church felt that the Earth had to be the center of the universe, lest all of their teachings be proven incorrect. Galileo had to keep this in mind searching for the correct truth, but discovered that the Church was wrong. He faced the Roman Inquisition because he had not paid heed to the context of his time. Similarly, Galileo disturbed many citizens when he rejected Aristotle's view on the elements; one which had stayed firm for centuries. Galileo presented many ideas that were considered blasphemy in his time, but which he knew would lead to the revolution in science. 


   

France from the Late 16th to the Early 18th Century

1598

• King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes
• Granted religious toleration to the French Huguenots 
• Established Henry IV as a politique
• The French tax system was problematic
• The nobility was exempt from paying taxes
• Sully is appointed to a position from where he can change the tax system
• He doesn't fix the problem completely, but he makes it so that the taxes are used for something. 
• The Nobility of the Robe saw an increase in the bottom-end of the middle class
• People could bribe their way into positions of power
• 1610 Henry IV died. 
• He was from the House of Bourbon, a prestigious house in France
• His son, Louis XIII is only nine years old
• Adults are appointed to lead the country for him- regents
• Cardinal Richelieu 1624-1642 was the unofficial ruler of France
• He put politics ahead of religion
• He wanted to get rid of the up-and-coming nobles
• He divided France into 32 segments, which were led by intendants chosen by Richelieu
• Middle-class people were chosen to be intendants
• Cardinal Richelieu wanted to suppress the Austrian Hapsburg
• He supported the Protestants in the Thirty Years Wars 
• Richelieu dies and Louis XIII dies shortly afterwards
• Louis XIV came to power as a child. 
• He is known as the Sun king
• Louis XIV has his own chief minister: Mazarin 
• No one wanted to overthrow the power of the king, but just limit it. Known as Lefrondes. 
• They caused Louis XIV to leave France and move to Versailles
• Bossuet was a French bishop and the man who theorized the Divine Rite of Kings. The principal architect of absolutism in the 17th century. 
• Louis XIV said, "I am the state!" He thought of himself as an ultimate ruler, given power by God. 
• Louis XIV increased the power of the intendants 
• The power of the nobility, in turn, decreased
• The nobility, if they wanted to get their power back, needed to prove their allegiance to the king. 
• Jean Baptiste Colbert was appointed to be the Minster of Finance
• He instituted the practice of mercantilism 
• France now had a major colony in the New World: Quebec 
• In 1685, France had a population of 19 million people, 1 million of which are Huguenots. 
• Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes   
• The French working class was full of Huguenots; 20,000 of them left France