The Super Summary of World History (23 page)

Figure 16 Jan van Eyck, The Ancolfini Portrait, Mid 1400s

Art soared during the Renaissance. Discovering how to place
perspective
into paintings, making them especially lifelike, resulted in artwork never imagined before this era. The invention of
oil
paints
and the perfection of painting on canvas, turned the art world onto new paths never before contemplated. Oil painting revolutionized color, enabling the artists to impart a stained-glass look to the painting. By applying color in thin glazes, the artists could achieve a glow from within the painting as the light passed through the various layers and bounced back through those same layers to the viewer’s eye. The names of the giants of Renaissance art:
Jan
van
Eyck
(1383
to
1440,
Hans
Holbein
the
Elder
(1460
to
1524),
Hans
Holbein
the
Younger
(1497
to
1543),
Leonardo
da
Vinci
(1452
to
1519),
Albrecht
Durer
(1471
to
1528),
Michelangelo
(1475
to
1564),
and many others, launched Western art on an unparalleled journey to excellence. For the rest of the time, all paintings will be measured against the masters of the Renaissance.

Music
also began to become more complex and beautiful during the Renaissance. From about 1410 through 1600, music began to press forward. At least part of this advance was using the printing press to print sheet music. From 1470 on, the printing press was turning out sheet music. During this period, famous makers of musical instruments began to arise, for example:
Stradivarius
(violins) and Meuschel (trumpets).
Baroque
music began about 1600, and this eventually led to the Classical age. Composers such as
Vivaldi,
Handel,
and
Bach
were popular during the Baroque era. It was during the Baroque period that composers began to use more complex and elaborate musical themes, and changes were made in musical notation that were important in conveying the ideas of the composers to the performers of the piece. Baroque expanded the complexity of playing styles and forced the performers to become more proficient in their playing skills.

The Renaissance musical styles would lead to Baroque (1600 to 1760), the
Classical
musical era (1730 to 1820), and the
Romantic
era (1815 to 1910).

Let Us Learn

From the Renaissance era, we learn hope. A few fundamental changes, mostly in thought processes, changed the world. If the world changes for the better on such small things as thoughts, so can we. By adopting a mindset of progress, viewing the process of our lives positively, and seeing that a little knowledge goes a long way we can change ourselves. One good event or experience can trigger a mass of others. The history of the Renaissance shows us this is a fact.

We must learn to observe what is actually happening, rather than assuming we know or taking another’s word for what is going on. The scientific method changed the European world, and by using the same idea of close observation, we can change our own world. See for yourself, if possible, what is actually occurring. In addition, learn to question what you are told. Is it a fact that the continents move over time? Ask what evidence that proves movement. Find out if something else might explain the evidence cited. Great authorities may say it is right, but great authorities (Aristotle, etc.) have been wrong before. The only way to know is to investigate and ask fundamental questions of those espousing the idea. The Renaissance taught us to rely on facts, not long held opinions.

Figure 17 Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665-1675

Books and Resources:

The
Renaissance,
A
Short
History
, Johnson, P., 2002, Modern Library.

P 570 et seq,
The
New
Penguin
History
of
the
World
, Roberts, J., 2007, Penguin Books. Great on the large changes sweeping over Europe.

The
Politically
Incorrect
Guide
to
Islam
and
the
Crusades
, Spencer, 2005, Regnery Publishing, Inc

 
Chapter 5

The Age of Discovery 1463 to 1522

Figure 18 Drawing of Renaissance Ship

Another set of great events took place during the age of the Renaissance, the discoveries of new worlds outside Europe. (New to the Europeans. Folks living there thought the Europeans were “new”). This was part of the
Age
of
Discovery.
European monarchs wanted to reach the riches of China without using the overland route (the Silk Road) through the Muslim world because Muslims charged a lot for the privilege of crossing their territory, and the trips were long and dangerous. Prior to railroads, ships were the fastest and cheapest ways to move cargo long distances, so European nations wanted to reach the Orient by sea and avoid the Islamic tolls. One of the first monarchs to commit substantial resources to the quest for a sea route to India and China was
Henry
the
Navigator
of Portugal.

Under Henry, the Portuguese decided to find a route around the continent of Africa by a series of steps. Each voyage would go farther down the western coast of Africa mapping the area as they went. Year by year, each expedition would make more headway in trying to find a way around the continent. The Europeans had no idea how large Africa was so the Portuguese method was the safest. Along the way they established trading partnerships with the natives to get something out of the voyages, and that eventually led to slave trading. The Portuguese started acquiring settlements on the African coast in 1463. The
Cape
of
Good
Hope
was reached in
1487
and so named because at last the coast was turning east.
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The cape was aptly named for, in fact, they had turned the corner opening the sea route to India. By
1498
the Portuguese were in India and soon established a lucrative spice trade.

The Muslim world was not pleased with this new development because it destroyed their monopoly on trade with the East; thus, they declared a holy war on the Portuguese, built a large fleet, and confronted
Vasco
de
Gama
and his Portuguese fleet at
Du
in
1508
.
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The Portuguese won a total victory and drove the Muslims from the Indian Ocean. Soon afterward, Portugal established a series of forts along the route to India and monopolized the spice trade. The costs of sending out the explorers had been high so Portugal decided the trade route should be theirs alone. Portugal would eventually lose its spice empire to the Dutch and English one small piece at a time; but for decades, Portugal was the ruler of the Indian Ocean and its lucrative trade.

We should also note that Portugal became an empire. Thus, a small state on the edge of Europe ended up dominating the Indian trade routes for years. Other European nation states took notice and began a series of explorations that ended up claiming land and establishing empires. This is no small matter in history.
From
about
1600,
when
the
explorations
began
in
earnest,
to
1950
(350
years),
the
empires
of
European
nation
states
dominated
the
world
. The Age of Discovery led directly to the Age of Empires. All these empires were European, at least at the start. This is so because only Europe had an age of exploration followed by an age of land grabbing. Most previous empires, such as Rome, grew by warfare and seizing neighboring regions. Only Carthage, by comparison, grew somewhat like the empires of the 1600s and 1700s. The Phoenicians built an empire of trade and established the city of Carthage which grew to an empire itself by establishing trading posts that grew into cities answering to Carthage. The European empires started as empires of trade, slowly began to dominate the areas they traded with, and finally subjugated the peoples with superior technology and began to rule them.

Figure 19 Spanish and Portuguese Empires Black Equals Portugal

World War I ended at least four empires: the Austria-Hungarian Empire (all European), the Ottoman Empire (Middle East), the Russian Empire, which was replaced by the USSR—another Empire, and the German Empire (Africa and Pacific Ocean Islands). The Great War also added to the empires of France and England in Africa and the Middle East, and helped expand a new empire—Japan, which received “mandates” of Germany’s Pacific islands. By 1939, the major empires were England, France, Holland (Dutch), Portugal, Japan, and the USSR. With the exceptions of Japan and the USSR, none of these empires remaining after World War I would have been established without the explorers.
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