Religions have strengths and weaknesses that can cause impact. The Catholic Church caused impact for their weaknesses during the Renaissance. The Protestant group of religions all came from the main Catholic Church. Protestant churches started forming during 1450-1750 BCE in Europe. The protestant churches of the early modern period were strong, had weaknesses, and impacted each other.

                Protestant churches all began with one strong leader that was willing to fight against the Catholic Church. The German monk Martin Luther believed that the church was not properly following the bible so he nailed his 95 theses to the door of The Castle church of Wittenberg. He gained many followers who wanted to protest the taxes of the Roman Church. King Henry VIII of England created the Anglican Church when the Catholic Church refused to let him divorce his first wife. Jean Calvin, a French theologian, created Calvinism with his theory of God’s predestination of those who would be saved.

                Although these new religions were strong enough to break away from the church, they had a weakness for fighting with each other. The Catholic Reforms caused a war between the Calvinists and the Catholics that was resolved with a treaty that stated a tolerance for Protestants. German Protestants allied with Swedish Lutherans in the Thirty Years War against the Holy Roman Empire who allied with Spain. Religious fighting also punctuated British history before the reign of Elizabeth in the 16th century and during the English Civil War.

                 The biggest impacts these religions had on their neighbors was conversion. Obviously the new religions spread to new places. The Lutheran church converted many other countries including the Netherlands and Sweden. The religious wars also caused some impact on neighboring countries and their allies. Also the witch craft persecutions spread because of religion.

                Religions have many strengths as well as weaknesses. The influences of these strengths and weaknesses can cause impact. The Protestant Churches were very strong, but had weaknesses that caused impact on their neighbors. The new religions did not always see eye to eye, so many wars pollute the history of this era. Neighbors and allies alike as well as religion its self were all affected by the creation of protestant churches.

            Through history there have been a great number of religious landmarks and revolutions. One of the most important during the time period was the Protestant Reformation. As it shows, even religious matters can come to the point of bloodshed as revolts are never a clean process.  Most would also have to agree that the only way anything can be won is within the power of a good leader. The Protestant Revolution was caused by a mix of political, economical and social issues and affected Europe by splitting the religions into Protestants and Catholics.

            The Protestant Revolution took place in the 16th century and was led by Martin Luther, a German monk. He held the belief that the Roman Catholic Church had become corrupt over the years and it needed to be reformed, he also debated that the reform was required with rather peculiar regards. He said the language of the Bible was too hard to understand because not many people read Latin and therefore couldn’t be fully understood. Luther considered this immoral.  To light the flame of the reform, Martin Luther wrote his 95 Thesis and posted it at Wittenberg church. The printing press helped greatly with the publishing of ’95 Thesis’, which caused a great deal of trouble with the Catholic Church. The thought of Religious Reformation hadn’t been a new thought, actually many other had very well thought of it and the printing press made things much easier to be spread. Reformers such as Zwingli and Calvin became popular and vied for the right to practice their religion openly. However, the religion at the time was evolved with political, social, and economical stability at the time to the point to which started as a mere statement ended up in a revolution.

The underlying causes of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century were economic, social, and political in nature. The economy during the 15th and 16th centuries consisted of extreme poverty throughout the majority of the land and peasants. However, that also meant that economic prosperity did not directly affect the peasants because they were taken care of by the lords they worked for. With nothing to do even with extreme taxation, the peasant class began to wrap themselves around new religion forms. Another group of unhappy citizens were the Parish Priests, who suffered with the lower class to pay their bills. With these priests in such a bad state the Pope and cardinals took advantage of them by adding new taxes that were to “benefit Rome”” and were often threatened if they decided not to pay said taxes. Along with economical issues, social issues made things difficult as well.

For many people during this time period they felt the only way to communicate with God or interpret scripture was through a priest. As Luther came to point out, Priests are not the only one who can communicate with God. We can all communicate with God through prayer, that is, however, simply what he was directing too. He continued to produce the Address to the Nobility of the German Nation where he told the Pope’s claim that they were the only ones who could talk interpret scriptures. On top of that there were intense political movements, which helped countries to embrace Protestant ideas.  At the time, the Pope declared that he was the head of all Christendom and that he alone had say over all secular rulers and their people. This, however, did upset the German princes but out of fear of excommunication. The Catholic Church believes that the church is more important than the state and therefore has the higher authority. However, over time that had been changed and now the church is being dependent and coexisting with the state.

Within reason it is clear to say that the printing press and other technological advancements gave way to the help of the revolution. It can also be agreed that it was Martin Luther who gave way to that little push it took to start the movement. Either way, the Protestant Reformation brought about two different types of Christian - the established Catholic Church and the Protestant churches. This gave us the permanent separation of Catholicism and other Christian denominations. This, in turn, helped form Western Europe as we so know it to be.

 During the time, Europe has skyrocketed forward beyond anyone's expectations. The Dark times had given away to a time of technology and knowledge that snuck up on the other countries, such as China and the Muslim world, who were so focused on the internal problems they had been facing to notice. This had caused them to "fall behind" and fall to the new super power that ruled the new world. However, the Muslim world still conflicted with the West. With the Byzantine Empire no longer able to cushion them from them, they had to face them head on. As they fought, both countires also began to develope more and more in different ways. Both the West and Muslim world changed from 1450 C.E to 1750 C.E., the West in religion and technology, and the Muslim world in architecture and riches.

 After the Black Plauge had wiped away most of their population, Europe was left in a different state. Slowly they would rebuild and led the way to new ideas and science, as well as in introduction of new religions into their society. The Islamic world stuck to traditions of their Muslim religions, Europe had begun to experience religious wars in which Catholic Church and Protestant religion split the country as men began to fight for their beliefs. There were full wars, massacres, people fleeing into exile and martyrs. By 1750, Europe had mostly settled down into the patterns we observe throughout the Industrial period with some nations Catholic, some Protestant and most people able to live and worship in peace.

When the Italians began gainning wealth through the Renissance, so did the Muslim world. They had already been rich in architexture, which was given to them through the Ottomen sultains, who had given them things such as the Taj Mahal and many other bueaitful buildings. These riches that came with the Italians only bettered them. Europe also developed a bit in it's architecture, creating different styles of buildings to fit the new age. Painters began to paint on cielings, and some of the most complicated and beautiful buildings that are icons today.

The West had advanced greatly in their technology during the start of the 15th century. They had finally pulled themselves out of the Black Plauge and were rebuilding. Slowly they would rise to power, as England, Spain, and France began competing with each other to be at the forefront of technology. They were given a drive, and incentive to continue forward. Luckly the rest the world had fell distract with their own internal conflict to ever notice to West. They had just been at the right place at the right time to be given the chance to advance. From there, they opened the way to the Industrial revolution, and a period of scienece which would answer some of life's questions.

Though the West and the Muslim World had their conflicts, they developed in oddly similar yet different ways. They constantly butted heads, however were able to benefit from each other in some way, shape or form. They made riches from each other's sucess, as well as suffered from each other's advantages as well.Though they would continue to fight, they would also continue to grow and become different, individual powers. Those powers we would know today as some of the worlds greatest super powers.

Document: Arraignment of Women

Author: Swetham

Place and Time: 1615 Western Europe

Prior Knowledge: The Renaissance in the 1500’s already took place

New ideas over family structure and where women stood in the world

Scientific Revolution taking place

A time with Isaac Newton, Galileo, John Locke, and Copernicus thinkers

Audience: To men in Western Europe

To women who are wanting a better social status

Reason: Men are superior over women

Anti-woman views

Don’t let women gain a better position in society

Main Idea: All women are temptresses

Women can’t live without men

Men can’t live without women

Women don’t do good things

Significance: The significance of this document at the time was to persuade men to not allow the rise of women’s status in the 1600’s in Western Europe.







Document: Women’s Sharp Revenge

Author: Tattle-Well and Hit-Him-Home

Place and Time: 1640 Western Europe

Prior Knowledge: The Renaissance in the 1500’s already took place

New ideas over family structure and where women stood in the world

Scientific Revolution taking place

A time with Isaac Newton, Galileo, John Locke, and Copernicus thinkers

Audience: Women of Western Europe

Some men as well who supported the change of women’s status

Reason: To change the way women are treated and their lowly status in the world

Women have more good qualities than men do

Women have less bad qualities than men do

Main Idea: Women are equal, and possibly more than equal, to men

Equal rights for both men and women

Significance: The significance of this document at the time was to get women to start questioning why the men get an education and provide for their families out in the world while women stay behind at home to sew.

King Louis XIV, as France's longest lasting monarch, is one of the most important figures in Western European history responsible for a number of key changes to the feudalistic system among other accomplishments. Born the only son to an already old Louis XIII the new heir would succeed the throne at the age of 4 and, during this period, have his rule primarily made by other mature members of the aristocracy such as Cardinal Mazarin. Eventually taking the throne for himself Louis would be a decisive and largely successful king whose influence shaped modern day Europe. It wasn't until his later years that Louis would come across problems and difficulty in his rule. During King Louis' early life the Cardinal Mazarin made the treaty of Westphalia before Louis finally took hold of the throne in adulthood and changed the system his government worked under destroying the foundations of Feudalism before, finally, having his reign end in an string of failures including a number of decisive battles.

Due to Louis' father dying while he was still a child numerous “Cardinal Ministers” ruled the nation of France before Louis himself became old enough to forcibly take the throne for himself. During this time period Louis and his family lived a turbulent life as he caught in the middle of a French civil war. It was during this time that Cardinal Mazarin finally was victorious in controlling France and created a strong administration for the nation. Afterward, Mazarin helped orchestrate both the Treaty of Westphalia and the Treaty of the Pyrenees (which required the political marriage of Louis XIV and the daughter of Philip IV of Spain) which ended The Thirty Years war and ended a number of internal strife in France.

After Mazarin's death Louis became his own chief minister and began a series of reformations that helped end feudalism in Western Europe. First and foremost Louis, who was soon nicknamed the “Sun-King”, eliminated rival for the position of chief minister Nicolas Fouquet. He then established total control for himself working through his high state council and a few ministers whom he could dismiss at will. Finally, against established tradition, King Louis XIV excluded all immediate family and other older nobility from being a council member. His reformations then went on to attack the corrupt government of France removing Parliament's power to obstruct legislation and revamping the judicial system itself. Among his other famous achievements was manipulating the aristocracy at a personal scale by moving all figures into his palace at Versailles. Finally, he went on to have a series of successful wars and land acquisitions before, in the twilight of his life, he began to face insurmountable challenges.

Louis XIV went into a period of decline during the latter years of his life that ended in the loss of a number of provinces and disputes. His first major mistake was in what has been called his “Revocation of the Edict of Nantes” which caused the protestant population of France to leave in anger weakening the French economy and the availability of skilled craftsmen. It also led to the Protestant population of Europe to unite in hatred against the French king. This new league, which included rivals such as England and Spain, united in their assault on French lands causing a number of problems to the nation. Finally, these war ended with the successful recapture of some French lands and King Louis grudging acceptance to the idea of keeping the crowns of Spain and France separate despite dynastic connections. Finally, his personal monarchy had become an increasingly convulsed bureaucracy further complicating matter. Finally, Louis died the longest living monarch of France in 1715.

Louis XIV led the longest life of any French king and his successes helped bring an end to feudalistic rule in Europe. Despite his failures at the end of his life the foundations laid by him and his contemporaries allowed the power of the aristocracy to be significantly diminished. His mistreatment in childhood helped fuel his hatred for the noble families and thus many of the reasons for his reduction of aristocratic power. The fall of feudalism and the rise of modern day France can be attributed much to the work of the late “Sun-King”.

It’s very interesting how much Western Europe evolved during the period from 1450 to 1750. It started out as a backwards civilization after the fall of Rome. By 1750, the West was a leading world power. Many changes took place within Western Europe to make that evolution possible. Starting with the Renaissance in 1450 to the Scientific Revolution in 1600 and finally to the Enlightenment in 1750, Western Europe went from a relatively backwards civilization to a big world power.

In 1450, Western Europe experienced a cultural movement called the Renaissance. Starting with Italy, it moved north to the rest of Western Europe. The arts became more important and more focused on realism and humanism. Religion began to slip from being the central focus of society, although in the Northern Renaissance, religion was included more. It was also during this time that exploration of the world by the West began. Spain and Portugal led the way in explorations and conquests of the Americas. World trading networks began to take form with the West at the center.

Science began to gain a new importance in Western society during the Scientific Revolution in 1600. It followed after the Protestant Revolution and the Catholic Reformation. Scientists tried to find basic laws that would explain nature. For example, Isaac Newton used mathematics to describe his laws of motion. Religious ideas about the world lost popularity as science offered new views. Science became central to intellectual life in Western Europe as it had never been done in other civilizations.

The Enlightenment in 1750 followed after the Scientific Revolution. It used many of the same methods of the Scientific Revolution to study social sciences. It argued that rational laws could describe human behavior just like the Scientific Revolution used laws to describe nature. Enlightenment thinkers attacked the religions that relied on blind faith, especially the Catholic Church. It was during this movement that Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations, arguing that economies would regulate themselves if left up to the people. By this time, England was leading the world in trade.

By 1750, Western Europe had gone from a society in the Dark Ages after the fall of Rome to a leader in world trade, science, and technology. This evolution was caused by the Renaissance, which led to the Scientific Revolution, which led to the Enlightenment. This evolution greatly affected other areas of the world as Europe began to control trade. These changes also eventually led up to the Industrial Revolution and imperialism. Many other societies began to fall behind Western Europe.

            During the high point of the 1700’s, there were many aspects about Western Europe that would change forever. These were the times of the Enlightenment. One of the weirdest of all facts that comes from the years of the Enlightenment is the story of the potato. Coming from the New World, the potato was believed to cause plagues. However, when the peasants of Europe needed something nutritious to eat, the potato seemed to do just the trick. With the widespread use of this crop, the food supply and agricultural efficiency improved greatly. During the times of the Enlightenment that took place in Western Europe, new ideas about the economic and political aspects of Europe rose up, a leap in commercial progress took place, and the newly found social course of Europe changed world history forever.

            The cause for all of these new ideas on how people should be living came from the general wanting by the people to live better lives. Most of the time, the way these ideas spread was by the words and books of the great philosophers of the times. For example, Adam Smith, a leading philosopher of the Enlightenment wrote The Wealth of Nations. Upon reading this book, some European governments changed their entire economic policies. Politics were revised during this time in Western history as well. With the rise of the parliamentary monarchy, where kings were regularly checked by legislative powers, became a whole new way of monarchy rule that kicked out the old feudal monarchies for good.

            With the development of new inventions in Western Europe, came a steady rise of commercial and agricultural progress. When the potato became a vital part in peasant lives, a great explosion of population occurred. With more people around, there was more than enough labor for things other than just agriculture. The first few hints of the Industrial Revolution showed themselves with John Kay’s flying shuttle invention. With that, just one weaver could do the work of two. When Western Europe during the Enlightenment started to experience commercialization, more and more people of the general population were moving out of the rural farm villages into the busy and entertaining cities. While living in these exciting cities, the jobs people had to make their living were primarily in manufacturing the raw materials that were shipped in from places like the New World and other countries.

            Many social statuses of the people of Western Europe during the Enlightenment started to change for the better. When ordinary peoples’ lives started to drastically change, the radical change of how these people thought and acted changed next. With new rights and freedoms for men being made almost constantly, many women were beginning to argue that they should have these rights as well. Women all over Western Europe began writing journals and pamphlets to get their ideas out to other women. The idea that men were also to blame for women’s lowly status was very popular at this time. Women’s status over the years of the Enlightenment was never the same in Europe’s history ever again. Not only did women’s status change during this time in history, but the status of children did as well. Before the Enlightenment, children were seen as little sinners who needed to be kept in check by adults. However, this all changed and children were then thought of as innocent and capable beings.

The Enlightenment gave Western Europe new ideas on how to handle its political and economic institutions, commercial progress ran its course, and the reformed social statuses of women and children affected the course of world history forever. Western Europe’s political structure went a long way from a feudal monarchy to absolute parliamentary monarchies. The expanse of commercialization and agricultural progress paved the way for the great Industrial Revolution. Women wanted a better position in the world, and children were being treated in a much better fashion than before the Enlightenment. This was the time where it was evident that the Western world really became the top global power of the world.

The value and status placed on individuals was quite distinct between Western Europe and China. Family life and the importance of family members varied between both societies because of the value given to their work. The status of women, though not very highly regarded in either society, was given a higher status to those of Western Europe. Family structure, the status of women, and those who were valued and praised in society were quite unparallel between Western Europe and China due to current events that were going on, religous views, and centuries of tradition and values.

Both China and Western Europe followed basic patriarchal structures, however, they were much more coerce in China than in Western Europe. Women in China were treated as collection items, much like dolls or trophies. Western European women retained certain rights and were treated at a better standard than Chinese women. However, they were married off in arranged marriages for land and property, whereas in China it was to create strong family clans. Chinese couples were married at a much younger age than their Western European counterparts. Elders and ancestors were highly regarded in Chinese families, but in Western Europe they were seen as senile burdens to the family. In both cultures, widows assumed the position to run the family if the sons were too young.

As Western Europe's trading economy grew, merchants became a quite wealthy and respected class. Their connections to exotic goods gave them a preferential status in society. In contrast, merchants in Chinese society were no better than slaves because they didn't contribute food by agricultural work or were nobility. It was even recorded that during times of war, they were locked outside of the city gates to defend themselves. The highest in status in Chinese culture were the scholar gentry and nobility. Those that stuck to Confucian ideaology survived and prospered. In Western Europe, those that could adapt to the changing tide of the economy became powerful and had great influence over politics.

Women lost many rights during this time period in both China and Western Europe, but signs of rebellion were starting to take form. Most of the times, lower class women retained certain privileges than those of higher classes. High class unmarried women in Western Europe were sent to convents after they reached a certain age without a husband. Many intellectual and outspoken women were accused of witchcraft and unrightfully persecuted by the church, who had a stake invested in keeping women at an inferior level. Though usually fair in order to gain members, including women, the church was not interested in giving women positions of power within the church itself. Convents were an alternative that benefited both the family and church. Women in China were treated as property. Footbinding, a common occurence was meant to make them look cute. A quiet and submissive nature was a quality quite admired by the Chinese at the time. Lower class, working women in China and Western Europe had more leeway because their work was needed and somewhat respected.

Status, position, and gender played a crucial role in how you were treated in China and Western Europe. What you were defined you in China. Who and what you did defined your status in Western Europe. In a transitional period, your rank in society could rise and fall based on your trade and connections. As society moved to a period of new thoughts about women and family structure, society adapted to these new needs by slightly altering traditional thoughts.