the Crusades
What city was threatened by the Seljuk Turks, prompting the Byzantines to ask Pope Urban II for help?
Constantinople (renamed Istanbul under the Ottoman Empire)
What is the term for someone given land by someone higher on the social hierarchy, in exchange for loyalty and military assistance?
A Vassal
BONUS: which empire later had Vassal States, which owed similar pledges of loyalty, taxes, and military assistance to the empire in exchange for some level of autonomy?
Where did Europeans get the Greek and Roman texts they were 'rediscovering?'
Islamic Scholars in the Caliphates and Ottoman Empire who had preserved them.
Which two Indigenous American empires did the Conquistadors fight to conquer territory?
Who started the Columbian Exchange?
Christopher Columbus
BONUS: What year did he set sail on his first voyage?
At what gathering did Pope Urban II call for the first Crusade?
BONUS: What year was this gathering?
the Council of Clermont
BONUS: 1095
What is a serf?
A peasant legally bound to the land they worked and lived on
What does the word Renaissance mean?
Rebirth
What factor determined where a person fell on the social hierarchy in the Spanish colonies of the New World?
Name an example each of the three primary motivations for European exploration at this time.
Responses vary.
God: finding new populations to convert to Christianity. Gold: finding new resources, new markets to trade with, new territory to control, Mercantilism. Glory: competition with other countries to be the most powerful and wealthiest, Mercantilism, individual fame for explorers
What had happened 50 years before that caused tensions between Eastern and Western Europe?
the Great Schism of 1054
Explain the difference between Feudalism and Manorialism.
Feudalism was a political system based on contracts of mutual obligation between classes on a social hierarchy.
Manorialism was an economic system in which self-sufficient communities were built around a lord's manor house.
Who is the quintessential Renaissance Man?
BONUS: What invention helped spread the ideas of the Renaissance outside of Italy?
Leonardo Da Vinci
BONUS: the printing press
Which two Conquistadors led the expeditions that conquered the Aztecs and the Inca?
BONUS: Who were the emperors of these civilizations, both killed by Conquistador forces?
Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro
BONUS: Moctezuma of the Aztecs and Atahualpa of the Inca
How did the Columbian Exchange cause the deaths of millions of Indigenous Americans?
Responses vary.
The Columbian Exchange brought disease from the Old World to the New World, especially those Indigenous Americans had no resistance to. As such, they died in mass quantities from diseases that didn't have the same effect on Europeans.
Explain how the Crusades caused the Columbian Exchange.
Responses vary.
The capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans and tensions after the Crusades led to Europe being cut off from trade with Asia over land, so they had to find new sea routes. This caused Columbus to go on his voyages and discover the New World.
Responses vary.
After the fall of Rome, Western Europe fractured into countries that were constantly fighting for territory and power. In response, communities became self-sufficient so they didn't need to trade or interact with the outside. Everything they needed was near the manor, including work, housing, and food.
What are the four characteristics of Renaissance thinking?
Name four of the strategies used or advantages possessed by the Spanish in their efforts to conquer the Aztec Empire.
Responses vary.
Strategies: Cutting off food and water supply during the Siege of Tenochtitlan, kidnapping and later killing Moctezuma, allying with rival Aztec groups to take on the Triple Alliance. Advantages: disease resistance, steel and swords, guns and gunpowder.
Name five things brought to the Old World from the New World.
Answers include: Gold, Silver, Tobacco, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Cassava or Manioc, Quinine, Corn, Cacao, Beans, Squash, Vanilla.
Which three countries' leaders led the Fourth Crusade?
the Holy Roman Empire (the one who drowned), France, and England (Richard the Lionheart)
What do we call the parcel of land given to a knight by a lord?
Explain how the fall of Constantinople led to the Renaissance.
The fall of Constantinople caused the last Byzantine citizens to flee to Western Europe, bringing with them Greek and Roman texts they had from trading with Muslim empires.
The fall of Constantinople cut off much of Europe from trading with Asia over land through the city, but Italian city-states like Florence still had trade with the Ottomans. This monopoly made merchants wealthy, which allowed them to patronize the arts, scientists, and architects, and brought about the Renaissance.
What is the name of the system by which the Spanish enslaved the native population-- originally intended to protect, serve, and Christianize?
the Encomienda system
Name five things brought to the New World from the Old World.
Answers include: Disease (Smallpox, Typhus, Flu, Measles, Diphtheria, Pertussis), Sugarcane, Wheat, Cattle, Pigs, Horses, Sheep, enslaved peoples, Rice, Coffee, Honeybees, Grapes