The Beginnings of the Renaissance in Italy - Essay Example

QUESTION# 2 The Beginnings of the Renaissance in Italy The Renaissance movement in Italy founded by Petrarch. Petrarch was a renowned Latin stylist, poet and a firm advocate for the restoration of the classics. He and his followers were the pioneers of the artistic and intellectual movement is Italy which advocated for the past and critiqued the present. They views were for the resurrection of the past which lost ground at the time Italy lost its greatness and the Rome empire fragmented. This movement is known as the Renaissance, which means “rebirth”. Renaissance was a cultural-orientated and comprised of Latin vernacular literatures and innovative flowering. In the 14th-century, learning was characterized by education reforms which were accredited to Petrarch. For instance, learning was based on classical sources, linear perspective and other practices such as developing a natural touch to painting. Renaissance Classicism (Pg#365) “The Renaissance,” presented substantial changes in artistic and education in Italy. It led to the transformation of the culture of northern Italy. The changes can be traced back from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. Some changes in culture and artistic aspects also influence the rest of Europe a great deal. The term “re-birth” has often been used literally to mean that the cultural accomplishment of antiquity which had been celebrated before was no longer appreciated, and therefore, it needed to be “re-born”. However, there has been a significant difference between the ancient texts written during the first one thousand years following the fragmentation of Rome and texts written during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Major works such as Virgil, Ovid, and Cicero were majorly studied before new works were discovered such as those written by Livy, Tacitus, and Lucretius. The new discoveries complemented and expanded the ancient Greek literature. There was increased contact of the western Europeans with the Islam from the Arabic translation of original Greek via Latin translations. Through such contact, Europeans acquired a lot of Greek’s philosophical and scientific works. However, only a limited number of Europeans were able to read classical Greek. This number increased as many Greek-speaking people fled to Italy following pressure from the Mongols and the Ottoman Turks. Consequently, they spread their knowledge. This new culture become highly commercialized ad materialistic with artifacts of the ancient Rome being used as pawns in the unlimited power games. During renaissance, the papacy was not left behind in the competition for political and esthetic ideals in Rome. Renaissance Humanism (Pg#367) Humanism was a new intellectual and political agenda during the renaissance which endeavored to replace the scholastic prominence on logic and theology. Theology and logic had continued to occupy a central point in the educational curriculum as manifested in the medieval universities like Oxford and Paris. The curriculum was characterized by studies such as ethics, history, rhetoric and ancient literature. As such, humanism aimed at creating an understanding of the human experience with regards to the ancient classic while at the same time remain devoted to fulfilment of the potential of the present-day human. However, the scholastic education only centered on the scripture with its ultimate goal being human salvation. On the other hand, Petrarch felt that the university curriculum should contain more on achievement of ethical conduct and virtue rather than paying too much attention on abstract speculations. He held that the real Christian thinker should strive to develop literary eloquence in order to encourage others to be better in the pursuit of truth and beauty which was founded in classics of Latin literature. Humanists favored ancient literatures as opposed to recent texts. Poetry written in Latin and Greek was highly preferred for serious scholarships while those written in Italian was regarded as less serious and only suitable for the uneducated people. Women were largely excluded from humanism as they were already exclude from the Italian political life. How Italy first became the center of the Renaissance? (Pg#367) Italy’s social and political structures supported renaissance. Northern Italy was a hub for increased awareness of new education reforms and embracing ancient classic culture. The Italian intellectuals promoted their education by producing ethical and political treaties and literatures which targeted to attract the attention of the wealthy patrons. This lead to an emergence of private tutors and Italian schools as the best-educated laymen in Europe. Late-medieval Italy also became the centre of renaissance due to its vexed political situation. They were seeking to revive their classical heritage in order to create an independent cultural identity. This would prevent overshadowing from France, which was considered to possess political and intellectual supremacy. A new Renaissance ideal was born from Machiavelli’s political theories which argued that the prevention of political chaos and preservation of the normalcy of the state warranted the ruler to exercise absolute power (Pg#394). While Erasmus wrote in chose to write in a vastly cultivated classical Latin style which could only be understood by the learned readers, abelais focused on chose to addressing the French audience as he glorifying every human appetite as natural and healthy. (Pg#405). QUESTION #4 Scientific Revolution (Pg#520) Scientific revolution is a decisive mark that marks the break between the middle Ages and the modern world. The developments of the scientific revolution can be said to have started in earlier development. For example the medieval artists and intellectuals observed and illustrated the natural world with great precision. Aspects such as observation, experiment and invention was not a new phenomenon in the sixteenth century. Items such as magnetic compass and gun powder were in existence in Europe in medieval ages. Printing existed in the 14th century and this enabled intellectual life to permeate and disseminate ideas more easily. The most powerful tools of were firearms, printing and the compass as they enhanced power as well as influencing human affairs. Renaissance humanism helped to prepare the grounds for scientific revolution. Study of classical antiquity would be very helpful towards the achievement of scientific revolution; this was achieved through translation and summarizing. The work of Archimedes was rediscovered by humanists and it appeared useful in the late 16th and 17th century thinkers. Other works that were rediscovered and became useful is the works of Islamic scholar that was made to be understood by Europeans as printer Johannes Regiomontanus summarized those works. The Copernican Revolution (Pg#405) There were contradictions among the medieval cosmologists during the scientific revolution between the ancient texts and the evidence from their own observation. One of such contradiction was their view of a centered universe that was influenced by Aristotle. This contradicted earlier proposal of Aristarchus of Samos who claimed that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun. Christian belief is one of the aspects that greatly influenced their persuasiveness. One of such instance is the view on Aristotelian physics, according to which objects could move only if acted on by an external force, which Christian believed that the motion was caused by God. The system of Ptolemaic proved unable to solve serious difficulties with the calendar. This precipitated Nicolaus Copernicus’s who was a conservative thinker as he did not consider his work to be a break with either the church or with the authority of ancient texts. It was not as fruitful as his ideas also contradicted astronomical thought. Most of the contradictions that arose from the thought of Copernicus can be attributed to the fact that he was not a physicist. Galileo Work (Pg#525) Galileo withdrew his claims about the movement of heavenly bodies when challenged by the church. On the contrary physicists persisted on their research and this led to the development of a modern particle accelerators like the one located in the lab at Grenoble, France. Few people claimed that science has replaced religion in the modern world. The established curriculum at Padua was Ptolemaic astronomy and Aristotelian cosmology which prohibited Galileo to teach in this area. The quest for Galileo didn’t stop and when his career was coming to an end he provided powerful evidence to support Copernican model and a new foundation of new physics was laid. If the works of Copernican and Galileo were to be compared, Galileo’s work was widely read and translated despite both having an element of complicated mathematics. What is more appealing to Galileo is the fact that he managed to relate between religion and science, challenging the most of the powerful churchmen of his days. Another invention that made that made Galileo very famous is the telescope. This was after he heard about a lens grinder in Holland that acted as a spyglass and could magnify very distant objects. Galileo was very excited and he quickly devised his own telescope which he first experiment it on earth. He said it the design of God that had been lost for centuries. New Science Itself became Justification for Women Inclusion in Scientific research (Pg#536) The new science could become a justification for the inclusion of women in scientific matters. This is evident during the time when François Poullain de la Barre the Cartesian philosopher used anatomy to declare that “the mind has no sex.” This was prompted due to the fact that both men and women had the same physical senses , brains and nerve system hence they should be given the same role as men in the society. Some women taught at Europeans universities in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries like Elena Cornaro Piscopia who received her doctorate of philosophy in Padua in 1678. Italy can be said to be exceptional in allowing women to get formal recognition for their education and research in established institutions. Elsewhere, elite women could educate themselves by associating with learned men. Though there was struggle for women to be included in scientific research they fought their way and prove that they were up to the task in regard to scientific research. BONUS QUESTION Slavery is a situation whereby people are owned by a master and treated as a property where they are not privileged with the basic human rights. Slaves are deprived from making independent choices. The Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic Slave trade took place between the 15th and19th centuries and involved linking slaves from Africa to the New World. Slaves were required for the European large plantation as a form of free labour. Wealthy African merchants and traditional rulers traded slaves for the Europeans products such as firearms. The trade ended in the 19the century. Foundations of the Slave Trade Foundation of slaves can be traced to the Bantu migrations which led to spread of agriculture to most parts of Africa. Slaves were sourced from captives captured in times of war, outcasts and subjects who would be solved by their elders for weapons. Slaves were owned by their masters and therefore, they had no voice of their own. African Slave Trade: slaves were purchased by Africans in order to increase the size of the household. Islamic Slave Trade: this trade involved capturing slaves and selling them off through the Sahara desert to be used in plantation farming. This trade set off the pace for triangular slave trade as it established proper channels in the intertie of Africa. Triangular trade This trade took place between Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. The trade was cyclical in nature. Slaves will be sold to the Caribbean to be used in sugar-cane plantation. The proceeds from sale of slaves would be used to buy sugar to be shipped to Europe. Each cycle took a year to complete. Middle passage Middle passages were used to transport as many slaves in a single hulls in order to increase profitability. They were divided into small holds where slaves were packed and then chained in. the conditions of transport were so horrible that some of the slaves died on transit. End of the Slave Trade The end of slave trade was initiated by abolition of the trade by Denmark in 1803. Great Britain followed in 1807, United States in 1808, France in 1814, Netherlands in 1817, Spain in 1845 and lastly, Cuba in 1867. Read More