European Regional States Strengthen Society

Submitted By kendallia
Words: 1592
Pages: 7

1400s, W. European regional states strengthened society. Laid foundations for powerful monarchies emergence.
State building efforts involved 2 important elements. 1: fresh sources of finance development. Through new taxes levied directly on citizens & subjects. Supplementing income rulers received from subordinates. 2: standing armies maint. Composed of mercenary forces & equipped with gunpowder weps supported by state funds
State building process began in Italy. Industrial production profits & trade enriched major cities. Principal Italian states needed large #s of officials to admin complex affairs. Needed ready access to military forces protecting interests
1200s, Italian city states finances needs by levying direct taxes and issuing long-term bonds repaid from treasury receipts
Fresh sources of finance, principal Italian states strengthened authority within own boundaries and controlled public affairs in most Italian peninsula
1300s & 1400s, Italian admin methods made way beyond Alps. Enormous expenses for Hundred Years’ War, England and France kinds levy direct taxes & assemble powerful armies. French kings taxes sales, hearths salt. English taxes hearths, ppl, plow teams. Both rules asserted authority of c. gov. over nobility.
English kings not establish standing army. Able to raise powerful forces when rebellion threaten public order
In France, King Louis XI (1461-1483) maintained perm army of 15k troops. Many pro mercenary soldiers equipped w/ firearms. High expense of maintaining forces beyond nobility means, Louis & successors enjoyed decisive edge over ambitious subordinates challenging royal authority or build local power bases
Process of state building most dramatic in Spain. 1469, marriage of Fernando of Aragon & Isabel of Castile united 2 wealthiest and most important Iberian realms. Receipts from sales tax, primary source of royal income, supported powerful standing army. Called “Catholic Kings”. Christian forces completed reconquista by conquering Granada kingdom & absorbing into state. Catholic Kings projected authority beyond Iberia.
French army threatened Naples kingdom 1494, seized S. Italy. 1559, Spanish forces established hegemony throughout Italian peninsula. Sought to make place for Spain in Asia markets by sponsoring Columbus’s quest for w. route to China
European states’ competition intensified as they tightened authority in territories. Completed -> small scale wars
Encouraged technological advantages over neighbors. Encouraged refinement & weps, ships, sails improvement
Technological innovations strengthened European armies as they venture again into large world
Renaissance = rebirth. Refers to round of artistic & intellectual creativity in 1300s-1500s. Reflect continuing development of sophisticated urban society in W. Europe
Renaissance era ppl drew inspiration from classical Greek & Roman artists rather than from medieval predecessors
Admired convincing realism for classical sculpture & stately simplicity of classical architecture
Renaissance scholars aka humanists looked to classical rather than medieval literary models. Sought to update medieval moral thought and adapt to needs of bustling urban society
Italian city states sponsored Renaissance innovations in art & architecture. Searching of realistic depictions, Italian artists studied human form & represented subjects’ emotions.
Italian painters, Masaccio (1401-1428) & Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) relied on technique of linear perspective to represent 3D of real life.
Sculptors Donatello (1386-1466) & Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) sought to depict subjects in natural poses reflecting actual workings of human muscles rather than awkward & rigid postures in earlier sculptures
Designed buildings in simple, elegant style preferred by classical Greek & Roman predecessors.
Most impressive achievement: domed buildings, enclosed large spaces. Kept them open & airy under massive domes
Built domes. Technology &