17thB-History

Seventeenth Century History- Dana Blohm The seventeenth century is known as the [|Age of Revolution]. This revolution included many changes in society, art, science, and philosophy. Many historians refer to the this century as the era of the Renaissance, or time of rebirth and revival. Famous scientists and artisans appeared during this time, like [|Galileo Galilei] (1564-1642)and [|Johannes Kepler] (1571-1630) who produced the first astronomical theories based on accurate telescopic observations. Artisans such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo developed the way we see and interpret art and transformed the meaning of art as a whole. In addition, Descartes developed modern philosophy, while Thomas Hobbes and John Locke mastered political science and their theories for the best government. Florence is said to be the center of this new movement, characterized by a daily flood of people including artists, painters, sculptors, and weavers, each bringing new life to this previously dead region. The southern Renassiance (centered in Italy) was religious based, with many artwork centered around God and the relgious glorification of the time period. The northern Renassiance was more concerned with everyday life of humans, appreciating the little things in life. This period of revival brought many new artistic movements including Baroque, Grotesque, Romanticism, and finally, Realism.

In the seventeenth century, strong centralized European states entered into worldwide international competition for wealth and power, accelerating the pace of colonization in America and Asia. The Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, all struggled to maintain and extend colonies and trading-posts in distant corners of the world. All these powerful European countries were in a "Race of Colonization", competing to colonize "savage" nations in the world.They also fought one another in Europe, where warfare grew increasingly complex and expensive, especially the Thirty Years' War. To gain an edge against other powers in war, European governments invested in research in military technology, and the seventeenth century was consequently an age of military revolution. The Thirty Years' War invovled almost all of Europe, mostly fought in Germany, but it destroyed many regions of Europe. It was mostly fought between Protestants and Calvanists against the Catholics. This also greatly affected art, and the subjects of which artists chose to paint. The effects after the war included great famine, disease, and bankrupcty, especially in Germany and Italy. The Treaty that ended the war was the Peace of Westphalia.

After religious conflicts with the Thirty Years' War, Spain fell as a great European power and Germany suffered greatly from damages. After the war, France emerged as Europe's strongest nation, led by Louis XIV. Not long after, Europe's economic center moved from the to Meditterean to the Atlantic coast. This provide beneficial especially for England and France, and paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. 

Works Cited:

1. Sommerville, J.P. "Seventeenth Century Europe." //USC University// 4 May 2007: n. pag. Web. 23 Nov 2009. 2. Liu, Alan. "Renaissance and 17th Century." //English Literature// 6 Sept 2003: n. pag. Web. 23 Nov 2009.  3. Johnson,. "17th Century Timeline." //Time Line Index// 9 Aug 2005: n. pag. Web. 23 Nov 2009.