Sopr. Beni Art. Stor. Firenze

The Della Catena Map of Florence, Italy, ca. 1471-82

Here you'll encounter Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Luther, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Galileo, and Napoleon Bonaparte. You say you want a revolution? Each of these figures profoundly changed the way Europeans — and sometimes the entire world — thought, behaved, worshiped, and lived.

We start in the Renaissance with artists such as Leonardo and writers such as Dante. They did something not done since Ancient Rome and Greece — they put people first. "Man is the measure of all things," wrote the ancient Greek Protagoras. They led Europe out of the Middle Ages, a time when God, as defined by the Catholic Church, was the measure of all things.

Europeans were not content to explore the corners of their minds — they began to explore the four corners of the earth. Renaissance thinking encouraged people to focus on the world around them. But European explorers were even more motivated by money and fame. "Modern" scientific inventions such as the compass allowed them to explore the globe spreading western values and conquering in the name of European monarchs.

During the Protestant Reformation, the values of the Church came under attack from clergymen such as Martin Luther. The first half of the 16th century witnessed a religious revolt that resulted in a division between Catholicism and denominations that would be known collectively as Protestantism.

If Italy dominated Europe during the Renaissance, things surely changed by the 18th century. Discover how things changed for the people and places of Europe over the course of a few centuries.

Wars ravaged Europe. Monarchs balanced religion, politics, and philosophy. Some, such as Queen Elizabeth, proved remarkably adept jugglers; others, like Philip II of Spain, lost great empires. Meanwhile, thousands gave their lives defending the ever-changing faiths of their rulers.

Henry VIII was upset that the Pope would not grant him a divorce, so he set himself up as head of the Church of England. Louis XIV had the magnificent Versailles built and every day "ordered" the sun to rise and set.

Most of the history of Early Modern Europe was dominated by questions of religion and politics. However, there were important changes that occurred in people's everyday lives. Clothing changed. Diet changed. People moved from farms to cities. And the role of women changed — mostly for the worse.

The 17th century may have been the most turbulent in England's long history, including a bloody civil war and the execution of their king and the beginning of a constitutional democracy.

In astronomy, mathematics, natural science, optics, and physics, great advances were made. This progress caused great tension between the scientist and the clergy.

The Renaissance led to The Age of Reason, also called The Enlightenment. "Dare to know" was the motto given to this age by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. The battle between faith and reason, feelings and fact, became an all-out war in Europe.

We hope you have an enlightening experience!

1. The Renaissance
   1. Why Italy?
   2. Early Italian Renaissance Art
   3. The High Renaissance
   4. The Renaissance of Letters
   5. Life in Renaissance Italy
   6. The Northern Renaissance
2. Europeans Explore
   1. New Technologies
   2. A Path to India
   3. The Fateful Journey of Christopher Columbus
   4. New World Conquest
   5. The Effects of Exploration
   6. Later Explorers
3. The Protestant Reformation
   1. Corruption in the Clergy
   2. Martin Luther's 95 Theses
   3. Henry VIII and the Anglican Divorce
   4. The Orthodoxy of John Calvin
   5. Other Protestant Movements
   6. The Catholics Strike Back
4. The Wars of Religion
   1. Elizabethan England
   2. Philip's Wars of Faith
   3. Philip vs. Elizabeth
   4. The Spanish Armada
   5. The Holy Roman Empire
   6. The Thirty Years' War
5. The Sun King Reigns in France
   1. Richelieu Sets the Stage
   2. The Boy King
   3. Louis Calls the Shots
   4. Life at Versailles
   5. The Twilight of the Sun King
6. Absolutism in the East
   1. The Austrian Hapsburgs
   2. The Rise of Prussia
   3. Peter the Great Leads Russia
   4. Peter's European Tour
   5. The Westernization of Russia
7. Constitutional Democracy Stirs
   1. Stuart Misrule
   2. The English Civil War
   3. Cromwell's Protectorate
   4. A King Restored
   5. The Glorious Revolution
   6. The Golden Age of the Dutch
8. Life in Early Modern Europe
   1. A Revolution in Agriculture
   2. Family Life
   3. Fashions of the Times
   4. Hunting Witches
   5. The Changing Status of Women
   6. The Baroque Era
9. The Scientific Revolution
   1. A New View of the World
   2. Galileo vs. the Church
   3. Newton Changes Everything
   4. Other Scientific Advances
10. The Age of Reason
    1. The Salons of Paris
    2. On Human Nature
    3. On Government
    4. The Life of Voltaire
    5. Other Enlightenment Thinkers
11. Revolution in France
    1. The Crumbling Old Regime
    2. The Tennis Court Oath
    3. The Storming of the Bastille
    4. Moderates Rule France
    5. The Execution of a King
    6. The Reign of Terror
12. The Age of Napoleon
    1. Napoleon's Early Career
    2. Napoleon Becomes Emperor
    3. France Under Napoleonic Rule
    4. The Downfall of Napoleon
    5. Return, Waterloo, and Exile