Renaissance and Age of Exploration Quiz

Renaissance

• Art Techniques: Sfumato, a technique used by Leonardo da Vinci, involved using light and shadow effects.
• Pre-Renaissance Event: The Black Death decreased Italy's population significantly.
• Italy's Advantage: Italy's geography facilitated trade and cultural exchange.
• Famous Painting: Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.
• Focus Areas: The Renaissance focused on painting, literature, and rhetoric.
• Catholic Church Role: The Catholic Church funded artists and projects.
• Renaissance Contributions: Revival of Greek and Roman ideas, focus on human potential, and secular/individual accomplishments.
• Meaning of Renaissance: Rebirth.
• Origin: Began in Italy.
• Birthplace City: Florence.
• Father of Humanism: Francesco Petrarch.
• Major Trading Hub: Venice.
• Author of The Prince: Niccolò Machiavelli.

Age of Exploration

• Ferdinand Magellan: Proved the circumnavigation of the globe, inspiring further exploration.
• Indirect Rule Advantage: Reduced the need for military presence, controlled trade, and managed resources efficiently.

Spanish Armada Defeat

• Result: England, the Netherlands, and France rose as imperial powers.

Americas as Cash Crop Source

• Advantages: Ideal climate and soil suitable for crops like sugar and tobacco.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

• Impact: Provided labor for colonial agriculture.

Birth of Globalization

• Description: A worldwide trading network connected the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Connection to Humanism

• Impact: Encouraged scientific knowledge and geographic discovery.

Maritime Science Improvements

• Impact: Enabled faster and more extensive sea travel.

Christopher Columbus

• Impact: Opened the Americas to European colonization.

Primary Economic Motivation

• Focus: Searching for new trading routes and valuable resources, such as spices and gold.

Spain & Portugal's Exploration Leadership

• Support: Received backing from the Catholic Church.

Mercantilism

• Focus: Encouraged colonization to gain wealth through controlled trade.

Reformation & Religious Changes

• Society of Jesus (Jesuits): Founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola for missionary and educational work.
• Council of Trent: Reaffirmed Catholic doctrines in response to the Protestant Reformation.
• St. Teresa of Avila: Founded the Discalced Carmelites, and wrote The Interior Castle.
• Peace of Augsburg (1555): Allowed German princes to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism.

Protestant Reformation

• Purpose: Reform the Catholic Church.
• Initiator: Martin Luther, with the 95 Theses.
• Key Figures: Martin Luther, Huldreich Zwingli
• Focuses: Selling inducements (forgiveness of sins) opposed by Luther. Emphasis on opposing the reverence of saints, and predestination—a Calvinist belief in pre-determined salvation.

Renaissance Influence on Modern Europe

• Revival of Arts, Literature, Humanism: Brought back emphasis on human potential, and arts.
• Emphasis on Secularism: Focus on non-religious subjects, and individual potential.
• Feudal System in the Early Middle Ages: provided governance and security, consisting of lords, vassals, and serfs.
• Christianity's Influence in the Byzantine Empire: Shaped values, seen in art, law, and cultural traditions.
• Henry VIII: Founded the Church of England.

Test your knowledge on the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. This quiz covers key art techniques, significant events, and influential figures from these transformative periods in history. Explore how geography, culture, and humanism shaped the world during these eras.