AP Euro Chapter 1 Section 1 Notes
AP Euro Chapter 1 Section 1 Notes
AP Euro Chapter 1 Section 1 Notes
Introduction to Chapter
a. Europe largest political, military, economic, technological, and scientific
apparatus.
b. Top at beginning of twentieth century.
c. Internal conflicts and spreading of modernity recent decline
d. Modernization acquiring or adapting some of the technical skills and
powers first held by Europe. Idea of Nation came from Europe.
e. Modern times begin in Europe around 1500. The thousand years before
are the Middle Ages. Thousand years before that Greco Roman
civilization. Ancient = times before European Middle Ages.
Section One: Ancient Times: Greece, Rome, and Christianity
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Introduction to Section
a. Egypt began with written records in 4000-3000 BC
b. Before 2000 BC Europe and the Neolithic New Stone Age
i. Tools, cloth, build, domesticate animals, plant seeds, and harvest
crops.
c. Middle East 2000 years more advanced
Indo-Europeans
a. 2000 BC European Bronze Age and 1000 BC Iron Age
b. Spoke Indian and Iranian languages.
i. Melted into Indo-European language and were precursors to Greek
and Roman civilization
1. Basis of all Euro languages, except Basque
The Greek World
a. First to emerge into history.
b. Greece 1300 BC 1150 more tribes and wars
c. 800 BC Homer writes the Illiad and the Odyssey
d. Troy 1200 BC
Greek Accomplishments
a. Thought and writing.
i. Conscious of human mind; ideas of beauty; politics
b. Tiny city states
i. Independent and at war with each other and few miles apart
1. Ex. Athens, Corinth, Sparta
ii. Many were democratic
1. All male citizens could congregate in the market place to
elect and discuss.
2. Fail modern sense of democracy because slaves, resident
no citizens ie Metics and women excluded from politics
c. Politics turbulent. Democracy alternated with aristocracy, oligarchy,
despotism, and tyranny.
i. Birth of systematic political science. Republic of Plato. Politics of
Aristotle.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
d. Somewhere along the line, Christian ideals reached the upper class; and
few became converts.
e. Second century Christian bishops at work in the Roman Empire.
f. Third Century Roman government persecution began because of decline
in the empire
g. Fourth Century 312. Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity.
h. Fifth Century Entire Roman world was formally Christian.
i. No other religion was officially tolerated
ii. Deepest thinkers were Christians who combined Christian beliefs
with thousand year old Greco Roman thought and Philosophy.
Christian Beliefs and Their Importance to History as an Academic Subject
a. New sense of human life. Christians explored the soul and they taught
that all were equal and had equal dignity and worth.
b. Greeks taught beautiful good and ugly bad; Christians resolutely saw
beauty in everything.
c. God was love; suffering itself was in a way divine because God suffered
on the cross.
d. New dignity was found for suffering that the world could not cure.
e. Worked to end suffering as well.
f. Protests Against:
i. War; slaves; gladiators
g. Taught value of humility
h. Men and Women Equal
Intellectual advancements by Christianity
a. Marked revolution
i. Dispelled the swarm of greater and lesser gods and goddesses
ii. Dispelled blood sacrifices; immolation; frantic resort to magic;
fortune telling etc.
b. One God; One salvation; One Providence; and all Human beings took
origins from one source.
c. Intolerance from Christianity stems from the sense of human unity which
rubbed those well to do the wrong way
Persecution
a. Denounced for Political Ideas
b. Roman Empire as a world state and points of contention
i. No other state but it; no living being except emperor was
sovereign; no one anyway on earth was his equal.
ii. No clear distinction between gods and humans.
iii. Emperor held to be god
iv. Divus Caesar; Semper Augustus
1. Cult of Caesar was establishedregarded as necessary to
maintain state
2. Christians refused to accept.
3. Would not worship Caesar; caused Roman persecution.
c. Render to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods.
St. Augustine