15th+and+16th+Century+History

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=Overview= In the 15th and 16th centuries, the world was changing dramatically. Wars redefined borders and the rulers of land, so mapmakers were hard at work drawing and redrawing their maps. Leaders of that time period were inspiring the common people. Religious wars, civil wars, and wars for land and power ravaged Europe and some parts of Asia. Many scientists and inventors were discovering new things and creating new devices, despite efforts by some religious leaders to stop them. Artists were revolutionizing the world of art by practicing new techniques like perspective. In this time period, explorers began exploring the Pacific Ocean and China began trading with Africa. As with many other time periods, the 15th and 16th centuries were ravaged by war, marked by technological advancements, redefined by great artists, and revolutionized by extraordinary leaders.

Geopolitical Map
Geopolitical Map of the 15th and 16th Centuries 1400-1599

What is a geopolitical map? A geopolitical map is a map that shows geography and politics, such as country's name and capitals. The maps in the 1500's, showed a lot of small countries in Europe. A map of the 15th century showed trade routes between Chinese and the Europeans. Europe would trade for with silk and gunpowder. There were only Native American tribes in North and South America. Most of the people living in North America seem to have died by diseases they caught from European people they had been trading with. Wars played a large role in the configuration of maps during the 13th and 14th centuries.

The world was covered in conflict over territory during the 15th and 16th centuries. The area which is now current Japan and China was ruled over by warlords and was constantly ravaged by war. The Middle East was controlled by the Timurid Empire. The Timurid were Persians in the Mediterranean area. Also America had just been discovered by Christopher Columbus. Central America’s Mayan empire starts to disintegrate and is broken into provinces. The most powerful is the K’iche’, in the Guatemalan Highlands. On what is now the Guinea Coast two empires grow, the Owo and the Benin. They grew from trade with the Islamic people, by the trans-Saharan trade routes, and Portuguese. The Balkan Peninsula was controlled by the Byzantine Empire, 330 – 1453, and the Ottoman Empire, 1344 – 1922. The Balkan Peninsula is the territory from Italy to Bulgaria. The entire face of the earth was covered in strife, war, and the expansion of countries. A Suji Kabuto Japanese Helmet. An Example of Calligraphy from the Turkish side of the Balkan Peninsula A piece of Portuguese art traded to the Owo or Benin Empires back to top

Leaders
Leaders of the 1400s and 1500s 

In the 14th and 15th centuries, there were many important and influential leaders in the world. Joan of Arc, or in French, Joanne d'Arc, was one of them. She had no experience with war, but believing that God was telling her to do so; she led the French armies into battle against England at the young age of 13. She won many important victories during the Hundred Years' War, and was responsible for the coronation of King Charles the VII. Because she claimed to have been guided by the saints, and said to have heard God's voice, many grew suspicious and accused her of witchcraft and insanity. Joan of Arc was just 19 when her enemies captured her and burned her at the stake. Even though she died, she became an inspiration to others. Her strong will and victories helped the French to unite in the end. One of the more famous leaders during the 14th and 15th centuries is Christopher Columbus. He was an Italian navigator whose explorations to the New World lead to a revolution of general awareness of soon-to-be America. He went to Queen Elizabeth for ships, supplies and sailors. After he got his supplies, he headed out, but miscalculated the distance from Iberia to the Indies. He thought it would be shorter and more direct than the typical trade route around Africa. He wanted to find a better and faster trade route, but instead, in 1492, he ended up finding an entirely new continent. Other important characters that lived in the same time period as Joan of Arc and Christopher Columbus were King Henry VIII of England and Queen Elizabeth I. King Henry's reign on the crown of England had a great impact on the lives of his people. He suppressed the Protestant Revolt in the Roman Catholic Church. He also had struggles with Rome. All in all, his struggles lead him to separate the Anglican Church from Roman authority. Later in his ruling, he established an English monarch as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth the 1st was a smart, strong, and powerful woman. Although she never married, she was very important to England, and was admired throughout the country. As the European and Middle Eastern Leaders ruled and dominated their parts of the world, leaders from other parts of the world were taking power as well. Princess-Abbess Elisabeth II von Murach of Obermünster in Regensburg, and Countess-Abbess Bertrade von Schneuditz of Gernrode and Frose were two very prominent leaders in their time. And even though women weren't seen as mans equal, it didn't stop Irish War General Marie O’Ciaragain from being a fierce leader. She led her men into battle against the English and was well known for her strength and ferocity in battle, as well as her brave and savage spirit. One specific leader of their times was Nguyen Thi Anh. She was one of the many powerful leaders to have lived in Vietnam, and took power of her husband's throne when he passed away because her son was not yet at a legal age to claim the throne. Later, she was remarried and she and her new husband ruled the kingdom together. In 1453, her son was given the power of the throne when he was still only 12 years old. Even though her son really had the crown and control, she continued to rule until her husband was killed. She lived from 1422-1459. Those are some of the many influential figures in that time period of the world's history. All in all, they helped form our history, science and the thoughts of the present. Christopher Columbus Joan of Arc back to top

Wars
Wars of the 15th and 16th Centuries 1400-1599

There were lots of wars. For example, the Hundred's years War was a gruesome and bloody war, as seen below: Another war, the 'War of the Roses' was fought from 1455 to 1485.

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Technology
In the 15th and 16th Century there were a lot of advances in the fields of technology. Some of the more brilliant individuals were Hipparchus, Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Waldseemüller, Johann Gutenberg, Peter Heinlein, William Lee, and Galileo. These great men had a great impact of the thoughts of their time, and created the world we live in today. Leonardo da Vinci was an inventive scientist that thought of a lot of the technology we have today. That included parachutes, guns, and flying machines. He created the idea of the parachute in 1480. He also thought of the idea that the brain was the main organ of thought and sensation. He also believed the backbone moved sensations up to the brain. Leonardo da Vinci was an influential scientist of the 15th and 16th century. Hipparchus created the astrolabe. The astrolabe is used to tell what the sky looks like at a specific time. The astrolabe is like a computer that solves problems relating to the positioning of the sun and stars. This instrument helped modern astronomy develop. Galileo created the thermoscope. This instrument measured temperature by heating up air. Even though it was never accurate, it was still used until thermometers came out. Both of these atmospheric and astronomy technologies help our world be the way it is today. Johann Gutenberg was a German who created and perfected the printing press. He created a revolutionary machine that easily printed items. The idea that a press was good for compacting items was not new, the technology just had to be adapted, and that is what Johann Gutenberg did. This discovery is considered by some to be the most amazing discovery in the15th and 16th Century. Martin Waldseemüller was a German cartographer, who first called the Americas, America. He made around 1000 maps with the word Americas used to describe the land discovered by explorers. This term would later be adopted as the official name of the lands discovered. William Lee invented the knitting machine. This machine is still very important. It revolutionized knitting. In 1502, the pocket supposed watch was created. It was invented in Germany by Peter Heinlein. His creation of the pocket watch was the first recognization of the invention, though some still debate that he was not the first one to make it. As you can see, a lot of technological advances came from German. In the 15th and 16th century a lot of advances were in the aspect of technology. These specific advances by Hipparchus, Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Waldseemüller, Johann Gutenberg, Peter Heinlein, William Lee, and Galileo created and influenced the history, society, and the modern world we know today.







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Artisans
Art in the 15th and 16th Centuries

In the 15th and 16th centuries, art had a great impact on the world as we know it. There was Masaccio, who was given credit with creating the type of art that seems to be three-dimensional. Without him, how would we make diagrams or play games on the computer? There was also Donatello, who was one of the earliest artists who worked with perspective. All the interesting views that you see in everyday life would be very difficult to put onto the page without perspective. However, Brunelleschi was the one who first began to use mathematics in his art and without him, Masaccio and Donatello would never have created their art. Everyone has probably heard of Leonardo da Vinci and he was known as the great, “Renaissance Man.” He was recognized with that name because he was excellent at both art and science. Also, he always took his time; therefore, he never rushed to get his jobs done. On the other hand, Michelangelo Buonarroti was a very talented painter, architect, poet, and sculptor. Some of his most famous jobs were painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and sculpting the world’s most admirable statue of David and Pieta. Raphael is another famous artist, who is said to have created the cartoons on the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel. These are just a few of the more notable artists of these centuries and how they influenced much of what we see today. All of the artists connect with science on some level. Such as, the styles in which they painted and how they influenced painting for other artists. Did they use smelted metal or possibly a mixture of oils? Some of the more famous artists, such as, Masaccio and Leonardo da Vinci, directly tied science into their art, like the way to portray objects in 3D. They also, simply used their skills as an artist to make vivid scientific diagrams. As you can see, art in the 15th and 16th centuries influenced quite a lot of the art you see today and it also helps science in many ways.

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Significant Events
During the 15th and 16th centuries (1400-1599), a lot of important events happened, however, there were three events that stuck out the most. The first event happened in 1410. This is when imperial adviser Zheng sent a fleet of Chinese boats to Africa. In Africa, the Chinese traded goods and received exotic animals and exotic goods. In 1492, the king and queen of Spain expelled Jews from the country. They thought that it would speed up the country’s pacification. They allowed the Jews to choose to switch to Christianity, but they still were not treated fairly. These were given to the emperor. In 1509. This is when slavery began in America. The Spanish settlers enslaved Caribbean native tribes to work on thier sugar plantations. The work was hard and most of the slaves died from overwork or disease. And finally, the first Europeans explored the Pacific Ocean in 1513. One significant event in the 16th century was when Leonardo da Vinci dies of natural causes. May 2,1519. It took time to see how he died and they figured that nothing was wrong besides normal things in his body. This is important because new land was being found and explored, so new creatures were being discovered. All of these and many more important events impacted the world during this time period.

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=Resources:=

Apogee of Central Asian Power; Islam Grows: 1250 - 1500. World Almanac 2006. New York: World Almanac Books, 2006. English. The War of the Roses. 13 Oct. 2008 . History Research Guide. French Wars of Religion. 13 Oct. 2008 . Interwars. Wars and Battles of the 15th Century (1400 to 1499 AD). 10 Oct. 2008 . Interwars. Wars and Battles of the 16th Century (1500 to 1599 AD). 10 Oct. 2008 . Medieval 2: Total War Heaven. The Swiss-Burgundian Wars (1475-1477). 13 Oct. 2008 . 15th century. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 13 Oct. 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century >. 16th century. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 13 Oct. 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century >. World History at KMLA. Wars of the 16th Century. 10 Oct. 2008 . Alexander Hellemans and Byran Bunch The Renaissance and Scientific Revolution The Time Table of Science New York, New York 10020, 1230 Avenue of the Americas Touchstone 1991 Bamber Gascoigne History World October 13th, 2008 http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=kck Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans 1400-1409 volume 1 The Timetables of Technology Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 Simon and Schuster 1993 James Voorhies Europe and the Age of Exploration 10/11/2008 http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/hd/expl/hd_expl.htm Neil Kagan and Jerry H. Bentley 1400-1430 volume 1 Concise History of the World National Geographic Society 1145 17th street N.W. Washington D.C. 20036-4688 U.S.A. newswise Advances in treatment of intractable pain 10/11/2008 http://newswise.com/articles/view/510608/ Robert Bruen Early Modern English and the Scientific Revolution 10/11/2008 http://www.lucasianchair.org/papers/EME.html Wikipedia Martin Waldseemuller October 13th, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Waldseem%C3%BCller “Famous Artists of Italy.” Think Quest. 14 October 2008 < http://library.thinkquest.org/2838/artgal.htm> “Renaissance.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 14 October 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance> “Renowned 15th Century Artists.” Digital Consciousness Renowned Artist Galleries. 14 October 2008 < http://digitalconsciousness.com/renowned/15c.phtml> “Renowned 16th Century Artists.” Digital Consciousness Renowned Artist Galleries. 14 October 2008 < [|http://digitalconsciousness.com]> “16th Century Italian Renaissance Art.” Art History 338. 14 October 2008 < [|http://www.efn.org/~acd/ItalRen16.html]> infoplease http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001218.html wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century nationmaster http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/16th-century Posted Oct 15, 2008 4:37 pm Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102)">