Summary of Medieval Europe (5th–15th centuries)
- Fall of the Western Roman Empire→establishment of Germanic kingdoms
- Frankish Kingdom→unification under Charlemagne→division into three parts
- Feudal system: lord–vassal relationships based on land and military service
- Crusades (1096〜1291): failure→decline of papal authority・decline of feudalism・exchange between East and West
- Innovations in agricultural technology・urban development・birth of universities
Summary of Early Modern Europe (15th–18th centuries)
- Renaissance (14th–16th centuries): development of humanism・art・science
- Age of Exploration (15th–17th centuries): Christopher Columbus・Vasco da Gama
- Reformation (1517〜): birth of Protestantism
- Absolute monarchy (16th–18th centuries): establishment of national sovereignty
- Thirty Years’ War→Peace of Westphalia system (beginning of the modern state system)
Comprehensive Practice Questions
- Give three main causes of the collapse of the feudal system in medieval Europe.
- Explain why the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 was historically important.
- State the birthplace (although he served Spain) and the year of Columbus, who reached the American continent during the Age of Exploration.
Answers
- ①Decline of the nobility caused by the failure of the Crusades ②Population decline caused by the plague (Black Death) ③emancipation of serfs due to commercial development・urban growth
- It ended the Thirty Years’ War and recognized the sovereign equality of each country. It was the starting point of the modern international order (the sovereign-state system).
- Born in Genoa (served Spain), 1492