MODERN AGES

Nota:

• The Modern Ages started in 1492 with the discovery of America (or in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople) and finished in 1789 with the French Revolution.

1. SOCIETY
   1. WAS DIVIDED IN STATES
      1. Privileged
         1. Nobility
            1. They didn't pay taxes, controlled the lands, dominated society and had important positions.
         2. Clergy
      2. Non privileged
         1. Bourgeoisie
            1. They became more prominent, and got rich due to trade and crafts. They married noble families, to change their status.

               Nota:

               • In the Modern Ages, there began to be social mobility, so if the bourgeois married the nobles, they became nobles too. 
         2. Peasants
            1. They got rid of feudal servitude and became free citizens, but their were still very poor.
               1. They had no privileges and they paid taxes.
2. POLITICS
   1. AUTHORITARIAN MONARCHIES
      1. Monarchs reinforce their power against nobility
      2. Modern states

         Nota:

         • Due to the decline of the feudal systems, the kings started to recover their power, and they unified territories. They were supported by the bourgeoisie.
      3. Different instruments
         1. Permanent armies

            Nota:

            • Kings had their own army, which only followed the monarch's orders.
         2. Increased taxes
         3. Diplomatic services
         4. Limited the power of the Church and nobility
      4. In Europe
         1. France
         2. Spain
            1. The Catholic Monarchs
               1. Unified the Iberian Kingdoms

                  Nota:

                  • Thanks to their marriage, they unified Castile and Aragon (1469), and they conquered the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada (1492), ending the Reconquest.
               2. Established new institutions

                  Nota:

                  • - The Holy Brotherhood: to fight against bandits and keep the peace.  - Royal Council: to advise them. - Corregidores: to improve royal authority in towns.  -Treasury: to collect taxes and increase their income. - Courts of justice. - Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition: maintained Christian orthodoxy. 
         3. England
         4. Russia
   2. ABSOLUTE MONARCHIES
      1. The king owns all power
      2. The king concentrates all the powers of the state

         Nota:

         • Legislative, executive and judicial powers.
      3. The first absolute king in Europe was Luis XIV of France.
         1. The absolutism in Spain started in 1556 with Felipe II.
            1. The Modern Ages finished because of the French Revolution in 1789, in which the French people rebelled against the absolutism.
3. CULTURE
   1. RENAISSANCE
      1. Antropocentrism
         1. The human being is in the center of everything.
            1. HUMANISM
      2. Back to the classical Greco-Latin ideas

         Nota:

         • It was a way developed by the bourgeoisie to break with the medieval ideas. The translation into more languages of the Greek philosophy was esential for this change.
      3. Renewed interest in
         1. ART
            1. Looks for beauty and proportion.
               1. ARCHITECTURE
                  1. Baroque

                     Nota:

                     • 17th century. It had an ornate style, with a lot of decoration and curves.
                  2. Neoclassic

                     Nota:

                     • 18th century. It imitated the Roman constructions.
                  3. Herrerian

                     Nota:

                     • 16th century. It had an austere style, with little decoration.
               2. SCULPTURES

                  Nota:

                  • The most important sculptors were Donatello and Miguel Angel.
                  1. It had great realism, looked for perfection and movement.
               3. PAINTINGS

                  Nota:

                  • The most important painters were Botichelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Miguel Angel, Rafael, Francisco de Goya and Diego Velázquez.
                  1. Paintings started to have volume and depth.
         2. SCIENCE

            Nota:

            • Some of the most important scientists were Johannes Kepler (astronomy and physics), Isaac Newton (physics), Leonardo da Vinci (anatomy, architecture, engineering, etc.), Nicolás Copérnico (astronomy), Galileo Galilei (astronomy), Robert Hooke (anatomy and biology) and John Dalton (chemistry).
            1. Renovation in the fields of astronomy, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics and anatomy.
         3. PHILOSOPHY

            Nota:

            • There were three main intellectual movements: -HUMANISM: human reason over the faith in God, and the human being is the thought center. -RATIONALISM: it defends that the world is logical and organized, and the intellect is over the senses. -ILLUSTRATION: it defends that reason gives knowledge and ends with the ignorance.
            1. Human reason is the only source of knowledge.
         4. LITERATURE
            1. Spanish Golden Age (16th and 17th centuries)

               Nota:

               • Some of the most important writers of the Golden Age were Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, Grcilaso de la Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Luis de Góngora and Santa Teresa de Jesús.
               1. In 1440, Gutemberg invented the printing press, a machine to copy books, so more people learnt how to read and write, and not only the privileged people.
4. ECONOMY
   1. IMPORTANT ECONOMIC CENTERS
      1. Lisbon
      2. Venice
      3. Seville
      4. Amberes
   2. NEW TRADE WITH AMERICA

      Nota:

      • After the discovery of America in 1492, they began to trade with gold and silver.
      1. New exotic products
      2. New trade routes
   3. REESTABLISHMENT OF TRADE
      1. Population increased

         Nota:

         • The 15th century was a recovering time, after the Black Death from the previous century, population began to recover slowly. 
      2. More craftsmen and farmers
      3. More products

         Nota:

         • There was an agrarian expansion due to the improvemento of the agricultural techniques. 
   4. THE BANKING SYSTEM IMPROVED
      1. Modern banks appeared
      2. Currency exchanges