1. What were the causes of the Renaissance?
Major cultural, intellectual, and artistic
changes that characterized the Renaissance?
Key Dates: 14th-17th century
Causes:
Fall of Constantinople (1453): Scholars fled to Europe, bringing classical knowledge.
Economic prosperity in Italian city-states like Florence and Venice.
Rise of Humanism, emphasizing the value of human potential and achievements.
Invention of the printing press (1440s) by Johannes Gutenberg spread ideas.
Changes:
Art: Realism and perspective (e.g., Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David).
Intellectual: Rediscovery of Greek and Roman philosophy, flourishing of sciences (e.g.,
Copernicus, Galileo).
Cultural: Shift from a theocentric (God-centered) to a more anthropocentric (human-
centered) view.
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2. What are the causes and results of the Reformation?
Key Dates: 1517-1648
Causes:
Corruption in the Catholic Church, such as the sale of indulgences.
Martin Luther’s 95 Theses in 1517 criticized Church practices.
Spread of reform ideas facilitated by the printing press.
Rise of nationalism in Northern Europe, where kings wanted more control over religion.
Results:
Religious Division: The Protestant Reformation led to the creation of Protestant churches.
Wars: Religious wars like the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) ended with the Peace of
Westphalia.
Counter-Reformation: The Catholic Church responded with reforms, reaffirming doctrines
but addressing corruption.
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3. What are the outcomes of the Counter-Reformation? Was it successful?
Key Dates: 1545-1648
Outcomes:
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) clarified Catholic doctrines and reformed Church
practices.
New religious orders like the Jesuits (founded 1540) played a key role in education and
missionary work.
Revival of Catholicism in parts of Europe, especially Southern Europe.
Catholic art and architecture flourished (e.g., Baroque style).
Success: It was partly successful in curbing Protestant expansion in regions like Poland,
Southern Germany, and France, but failed in Northern Europe.
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4. Who were the enlightened despots and why?
Key Dates: Mid-18th century
Key Figures:
Frederick the Great of Prussia: Promoted legal reform, religious tolerance, and education.
Catherine the Great of Russia: Modernized Russian administration, expanded the empire,
and corresponded with Enlightenment philosophers.
Joseph II of Austria: Implemented radical reforms, including religious tolerance and the
abolition of serfdom.
Why: These rulers embraced Enlightenment ideas such as rational governance, education,
and reform but retained their absolute power, believing they knew what was best for their
people.
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5. What were the causes, results, and impacts of the French Revolution?
Key Dates: 1789-1799
Causes:
Social inequality between the estates (clergy, nobility, and commoners).
Financial crises, worsened by France’s involvement in the American Revolution.
Enlightenment ideas questioning monarchy and promoting equality.
Bad harvests leading to food shortages and unrest.
Results:
Abolition of the monarchy, establishment of a republic.
Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Legal and societal reforms (e.g., the Napoleonic Code).
Impacts:
Spread of revolutionary ideas throughout Europe.
Nationalism and the concept of citizens' rights took root.
Eventually led to wars and reshaping of European boundaries.
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6. What were the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution?
Key Dates: Late 18th to early 19th century
Causes:
Agricultural advancements (e.g., crop rotation, selective breeding) increased food
production.
Population growth created a large labor force.
Technological innovations like James Watt’s steam engine (1769) boosted industries.
Britain's natural resources (coal, iron) and colonial trade network facilitated growth.
Effects:
Urbanization and the rise of factory towns.
Growth in industries like textiles, mining, and transport (e.g., railroads).
Widening social class divisions, with the rise of the working class and capitalist class.
Spread of industrialization to Europe, North America, and beyond.
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7. What were the main reasons behind World War I and the major changes after World War
I?
Key Dates: 1914-1918
Causes:
Militarism: Arms race, especially between Britain and Germany.
Alliances: Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain) vs. Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-
Hungary, Italy).
Imperialism: Competition for colonies in Africa and Asia.
Nationalism: Ethnic tensions in the Balkans (assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
1914).
Changes after WWI:
Collapse of empires (Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, German).
Treaty of Versailles (1919) imposed harsh penalties on Germany.
Creation of the League of Nations.
Redrawing of borders and the rise of new nations (e.g., Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia).
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8. What were the main reasons behind World War II and the major changes after World War
II?
Key Dates: 1939-1945
Causes:
Failures of the Treaty of Versailles.
Economic depression in the 1930s.
Rise of totalitarian regimes: Hitler’s Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s Italy, and militarist Japan.
Expansionism (Germany invading Poland, 1939; Japan in Asia).
Changes after WWII:
United Nations established (1945) to prevent future conflicts.
Emergence of the USA and USSR as superpowers, starting the Cold War.
Decolonization across Asia and Africa.
Division of Germany and the beginning of European reconstruction through the Marshall
Plan.
