Adavanced Placement European History
Unit II: Conflict and Order: The Rise of the Nation-State
Syllabus
Chapter 15: The Age of Religious Wars and Overseas Expansion
Vocabulary
• Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis
• St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
• politiques
• Huguenots
• Edict of Nantes
• astrolabe
• Union of Utrecht
• Escorial
• Spanish Armada
• bourse
• Protestant Union
• Peace of Westphalia
• magnetic compass
• Golden Century of Spain
• General History of the Indies
• price revolution
• viceroyalties
• quinto
• witch
• baroque
Essay Topics
A. The period from 1450 to 1650 witnessed a profound extension of European society beyond the borders of the Continent. What were the factors that facilitated this expansion? What was the motivation, both for the individual European explorers and the states that supported them?
B. The Reformation and wars of religion that wracked Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries began a process of conflict and negotiation that ultimately resulted in the institutionalization of religious toleration in some European societies. Find and describe specific episodes in the text that point toward a developing notion of religious tolerance.
C. In the last third of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, European diplomacy revolved around the situation in the Low Countries. Why? What was the impact of the revolt of the Netherlands on the Low Countries, Spain, and England? How did the Dutch revolt affect European politics in general?
D. The Thirty Years' War marked a major turning point in European history. What were the political, social, economic, and religious consequences of the conflict?
E. The status of women changed dramatically as a result of the Reformation. In what ways were women affected? How can we explain these changes?
F. The European witch-hunt is one of the most bizarre phenomena of Western history. How do historians explain the witch-hunt? How did this phenomenon reflect European civilization in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
G. The year 1992 marked the quincentenary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas, an event that has caused much debate about the impact of Columbus. What are the facts about the role of Columbus in the European incursion into the Americas? How do historians interpret his role? Was Columbus a typical European explorer? In what ways do his own words, presented in “Listening to the Past,” help us to understand Columbus?
H. What was the purpose of Columbus's letter describing his first voyage to the Americas, presented in “Listening to the Past”? How does the letter's content serve its purpose?
Chapter 16: Absolutism and Constitutionalism in Western Europe (ca 1589-1715)
Vocabulary
• sovereignty
• absolutism
• totalitarianism
• raison d'état
• Fronde
• mercantilism
• French classicism
• Peace of Utrecht
• Don Quixote
• constitutionalism
• Puritans
• republican government
• cabinet system
• Second Treatise of Civil Government
• States General
• stadholder
• Dutch East India Company
Essay Topics
A Explain what is meant by the term mercantilism and provide historical examples of mercantilist policies based on this chapter.
B. In the seventeenth century, the Spanish monarchy crumbled. Why?
C. Despite the evolution of a strong, centralized, monarchical system of government, France still experienced periods of civil unrest and war. Describe these periods. How can we explain the discrete occurrences? Is there an overarching reason for why France continued to experience civil unrest?
D. The seventeenth century is often called “the Golden Age of the Netherlands.” What was the basis of Dutch success in this century? What caused the decline of the Netherlands?
E. Seventeenth century France has been called the model of royal absolutism. How did the French crown create an absolutist state out of the anarchy of the civilreligious wars of the last half of the sixteenth century? How absolutist was the French monarchy?
F. In the seventeenth century England displayed little political stability, yet by the end of the century England had laid the foundations for constitutional monarchy. What were the political, social, economic, and religious factors and events that led ultimately to the Glorious Revolution?
Chapter 17: Absolutism in Eastern Europe to 1740
Vocabulary
• serfdom
• absolutism
• elector of Brandenburg
• Junkers
• Eastern Orthodoxy
• boyar nobility
• autocracy
• baroque
• Mongol Yoke
• hereditary subjugation
• Bohemian Estates
• sultan
• Pragmatic Sanction
• Cossacks
• service nobility
• millet system
Essay Topics
A. While the monarchs of central and eastern Europe tried to imitate Louis XIV's absolutism, they were forced to modify the French model. How and why did this modification take place? How successful was this modification?
B. Trace the development of absolutism in Austria and Prussia. What factors influenced the development of each state? What were the similarities and differences in the development of absolutism in these two states? Which state created stronger and more efficient absolutism, and why?
C. Absolutism in eastern Europe was built in large part on the social and economic structures that had emerged by the seventeenth century. What were these structures, and how did their evolution affect the development of absolutism in eastern Europe?
D. Waræwhether civil, international, or bothæor the threat of war is critical to the emergence and development of absolutism.” Assess the validity of this quotation in relationship to the history of absolutism in Austria, Prussia, and Russia.
E. “Peter the Great's reforms were driven primarily by military exigencies, not by any special attachment to the culture of western Europe.” Make an argument for this statement based on evidence provided in the text.
Suggested Reading Schedule
Introduction
Discovering The Western World: A Look at the Evidence, ed. Wisner, Ruff, Wheeler
“Chapter Four:A Statistical View of Rural Life, 1600 - 1800”, pp. 95 - 115
Chapter 15: The Age of Religious Wars and Overseas Expansion
September 30, pps. 489 - 502
October 5, 502 - 12
October 7, 512 - 524
Chapter 16: Absolutism and Constitutionalism in Western Europe (ca 1589-1715)
October 12, 531 - 48
October 14, 548 - 559
Chapter 17: Absolutism in Eastern Europe to 1740
October 19, 565 - 76
October 21, 577 - 89
Due Dates:
October 7, Chapter 15 Essay
October 14, Chapter 16 Essay
October 21, Chapter 17 Essay
October 25, Unit II Test
Quizzes given and taken as needed.
