GRADE 8

History
 WORLD HISTORY
TOPICS
THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION
THE AGE OF REVOLUTION : AMERICAN
THE AGE OF REVOLUTION : FRENCH
 ASSESSMENTS

CA 1 : 20 %
PROJECT : 10%
SA : 70%

Project- Research and Essay based

What is expected ?
No more rote learning
SKILL BASED
Cause
Consequences
Perspective
Analysis
conclusion.
THE PERIOD OF
TRANSITION
1000 BC to 1500 BC
individual's economic and social privileges were determined at birth

concept of human rights did not exist

extremely rigid
Change very slow
heavily on their own internal resources and had little interaction with
others

individuals had rights and obligations based on birth status

Compare and Contrast the two societies in Europe
What is Transition and What led to the Transition?

The period between the end of the Medieval

Age and the beginning of the Modern Age was
called the period of transition.
 Modernisation

Modernisation implies making suitable changes and

bringing reforms to meet the present day challenges.
It includes changes in political and economic
structures and to develop social attitude based on
rationality and scientific approach.
 THINK

Do you think the process of modernisation followed a

similar pattern across all countries ?
EUROPE - Modernisation started with Voyages of
discovery
Which event led to the discovery of voyages and why ?
Fall of constantinople closed down all the silk road
routes which promted traders and merchants to
discover new maritime sea routes to foster trade .
Handout Question- 1

How did the silk route contibute

to conquest and expansion by the
foreign powers ?
THE SILK ROAD
 HOME ASSIGNMENT- Research

In what ways did the Silk Route facilitate economic

integration and cultural exchange between Europe
and Asia, and how did this impact the economic
development and commercial practices in Europe?
RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance was a fervent period of European
cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth”
following the Middle Ages.

Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy,

literature and art that was once a upon a time belonging to the
Roman empire
How did the fall of Constantinople contribute to the Renaissance in Italy and
other European countries?

The fall of the city was to have

immense consequences for the
Italian Renaissance.

Fleeing Greek scholars were to

decisively influence the direction
and the course of the Renaissance.
It led to an increasing availability of
Greek learning that changed the
intellectual climate in Italy.
 Handout actitivity First Picture: Demetrios Chalkokondyles (1424–1511) was a Greek
Renaissance scholar, Humanist and teacher of Greek and Platonic

List few works by Chalkokondyles philosophy.

Second Picture : Cardinal Bessarion (1395–1472) of Trebizond,
Pontus was a Greek scholar, statesman, and cardinal and one of
List few works by Cardinal Bessarion the leading figures in the rise of the intellectual Renaissance.
Third Picture: (R) Manuel Chrysoloras was a Byzantine Greek
classical scholar, humanist, philosopher, professor, and translator
of ancient Greek texts during the Renaissance.

List few works by Manuel Chrysoloras

It began in Florence (Italy) in the late Middle ages and
then spread to rest of the Europe.

Why Italy ?
HANDOUT QUESTION - 2

List a few point on why Renaissance start in Italy ?

Rebirth of Naturalism.
Patronage to Art .
Create Non Religious Themes.
Privately Owned properties
Advancements in new technologies such as printing and
gunpowder
Birth of Humanism -way of thought that focuses on human
beings and their potential for achievement.
Cultural and Artistic Flourishing

focus on realism, perspective, and human anatomy

Artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and
Raphael produced masterpieces that remain iconic. .
Literature flourished with writers such as Dante
Alighieri, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William
Shakespeare.
period saw a rise in vernacular languages, which
helped make literature more accessible to the general
public and encouraged the spread of Renaissance Painting of Monalisa
ideas.
 Michaelangelo
Leonardo Da Vinci

William Shakespeare
 Scientific and Intellectual
Advancements

Humanism: The Renaissance promoted humanism,

which emphasized the value of human experience
and the study of classical texts from Greece and
Rome. This led to a renewed interest in subjects
such as philosophy, history, and literature.
Advancements in science, with figures like
Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler challenging old
views and laying the groundwork for modern
Coppernicus
science.
observation and experimentation
 John Kepler
Galileo and telescope
 Political and Social Change
The development of modern political thought.
Machiavelli's "The Prince" offered a pragmatic
approach to power and politics

The Prince, political treatise by Niccolò

Machiavelli, written in 1513.

A short treatise on how to acquire power,

create a state, and keep it, The Prince
represents Machiavelli’s effort to provide a
guide for political action based on the
lessons of history and his own experience
as a foreign secretary in Florence.
Social Mobility: The period saw a gradual
shift in social structures.

IMPORTANT CHANGE DURING RENAISSANCE

Sepration of church and State

The rise of a wealthy merchant class and the

patronage system.
How did the church and the state exist together initially ?

A feudalistic society in Europe

What led to the separation of church and the State ?
Prime reason
Rise of Merchant Class

church had imposed numerous unjust rules and regulations to maintain

Political, economic and cultural control over European society.
Into this closed economy and society -Maritime Trade played a
vital role in import and export of goods from Europe to Asia and
vice versa.
import and export created money/ cash flow for the European economy
improvised the standard of living in the European society.
There emerged a new class which disrupted the feudal structure of society,
giving rise to a merchant class that travelled from place to place to trade
products
 1. Roman empire fell How the Merchant class disrupted
2. Papal states battled interference
3. Feudal aristocracy - gave rise to mercantile class the Feudalistic society ?
4. Development of urban area broke dominance of the Bishop
5. Increase in wealth among the merchant class overpowered the nobility .
6. New financial order established with huge growth in trade
7. Wealth of Italian states grew through merchant enterprise
8. Merchant classs took control over the government - Eg Cosimo de medici
9. They abolished or amended many restrictive medieval laws that impeded
commerce, like : eg the laws of usury and the embargo on trading with non-
Christians.
10. They renounced feudal laws that threatened with confiscation of land and
wealth designed to benefit the nobility alone.
11. Instead, they supported security to sustained economic growth.
12. With more people came increased demand for products
13. services, creating a competitive market for the growing class of skilled artisans,
merchants, and bankers.
14. Consequently, the church's dominance, which had been the largest monopoly
of power during the medieval period, began to wane
This particular change marked a clear transition where the separation of state and
church became evident. Monarchs, in pursuit of their own interests and power,
aligned themselves with the growing merchant communities.

The rise of Merchant class was not only the cause

for the sepration of church and state .
Another movement also became a part of
Transition known as
THE REFORMATION
 REFORMATION
The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform
movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. It
resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called
Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the
many religious groups that separated from the Roman
Catholic Church due to differences in doctrine.
The Road to Reformation
The invention of the printing
press played a crucial role in
this transformation, as it
allowed the Bible, previously
available only in Latin, to be
printed in various languages.

This enabled people across Europe to read, interpret, and understand

what God truly intended, rather than relying on the church's
interpretation, which had exploited people's faith and kept them under
fear over the years.
 Societies and economies rapidly expanded with
technological advancement which paved the way for

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

 Land, Labour and Capital became a driving force
1. began in the late 18th century and continued into
the 19th century.
2. sweeping changes in technology, economy, and
society, transforming agrarian and handicraft
economies into industrial and machine-based ones.
3. invention and adoption of significant technologies,
such as the steam engine, spinning jenny, and
power loom.
4. increased production efficiency and enabled mass
production.
5. factories sprang up, people moved from rural areas
to cities in search of work.
6. migration led to the rapid growth of urban centres
and significant changes in living conditions.
 ECONOMIC SHIFT

Industries such as textiles, coal mining, and

steel production became economic
powerhouses.
Too much concentration of wealth with Industrial Capitalist

Distinction between Labour unions began

the working class and to form as workers
sought to improve
the industrial
their working
capitalists
conditions and wages

The Industrial Revolution also had a global

impact, as industrialized nations sought raw
materials and markets for their goods, leading to
colonialism and global trade.
COLONY , COLONIALISM AND COLONIZATION
Colonization
1. Industrialized nations required vast
quantities of raw materials (such as
cotton, rubber, and minerals) for their
Tharoor’s speech : 1 min
factories.
to 4 min
2. Colonies provided these resources at a
lower cost.
3. Colonies served as captive markets for
manufactured goods from the
industrialized nations. For example:
Africa and India
 tion led to Impe
oita rial
xpl Do
l E mi
ia na
on tion
ol
C .

securing their economic interests increasing.

Intervened in the political affairs of the colonies

Leading to direct or indirect political control

indicating imperialism.
1. To protect their economic and political interests, colonial
powers established military bases and deployed forces in
their colonies.
2. This military presence reinforced imperial dominance and
facilitated further expansion.
3. Cultural dominance was also a hallmark of imperialism, as
colonial powers imposed their culture, language, and values
on the colonized populations, aiming to assimilate and
control them.
4. The competition among colonial powers for strategic
territories intensified, sparking a race for expansion.
1. Control of key regions became crucial
for maintaining global power, driving
the shift from colonialism to
imperialism.
2. Imperialist ideologies, such as the
belief in a civilizing mission or cultural
superiority, provided moral
justifications for expanding colonial
control and establishing empires.
CASE STUDY
LET’S READ THE HANDOUT