Transcript The Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages
Chapter 19 Lesson 5
Catastrophes and Conflicts
• Famine
• The Black Death/Bubonic Plague swept Asia
and Europe
• Disputes in the Church reduced its authority
• The English and the French battled over
territory in the Hundred Years’ War
• Christians in the Iberian Peninsula fought to
drive out the Muslims and the Jews
Famine
• Medieval Europe enjoyed great prosperity until
the 1200s
• Then, disaster struck…
– Cold winters and rainy summers created miserable
conditions
– Crops rotted and livestock died from diseases
– Soon, the crops could not support Europe’s growing
population
• 1315-1322: major famine in northern Europe
– People starved to death and died from epidemics of
disease
The Plague Comes to Europe
• Plague: disease that spreads quickly and kills
many people
• Spread from Asia to Europe
– Probably began in Central Asia and spread to
India, the Middle East, and Europe through trade
– Broke out in China in 1300s
• Between 40-60 million died in China—half the
population
• Black Death=Bubonic Plague
– Caused by a type of bacteria that was spread by
fleas from animals to animals, specifically the rats
• Rat-infested caravans and ships carried the
disease from one region to the next
• 1347-1351: Deaths in Europe ranged from 1938 million people—1/3 to ½ of the population
died
The Effects of the Plague
• People didn’t know why the plague occurred
– Some thought God was punishing them for their
sins
– Some blamed the Jews
• Result: Some Germans kicked Jews out of some of the
cities
• Huge effect on economy
– Trade declined
– Wages rose b/c of high demand for workers
– Fewer people=less food needed=food prices
dropped
– Landlords had to pay people more to get them to
work their lands
– Some peasants began to pay rent instead of
providing services
• Serfs gained more rights
• Weakened feudalism
Ring around the rosy
We all fall down
A pocketful of posies
"Ashes, Ashes"
Conflicts in the Church
• 1378-1417: Great Schism deeply divided the
Catholic Church
– 1054: Great Schism between Catholic Church and
Byzantine Church
• 2-3 church leaders claimed to be the rightful pope
– Caused great confusion/doubt in Europe
– 1417: New pope was accepted and elected=Great
Schism and the confusion died down
• Powerful kings questioned the pope’s powers
• People criticized growing wealth and power of
clergy
– John Wycliff: insisted that the Bible was the source
of Christian truth--not the church; he was a
Christian martyr and was burned at the stake
The Hundred Years’ War
• For centuries, England and France had fought
over the control of areas of western French lands
– The French wanted to unite all French lands
– King Edward III of England declared himself the king of
France and invaded the country
• Result: a war that lasted 100 years
• Causes:
– Land
– Economic rivalry
– Growing sense of national pride
English Victories
• In the beginning: England was victorious
– Had superior weapons such as the longbow and
an early form of a cannon
Joan of Arc
• 1412-1431
• Born in a village in France
• Daughter of a tenant
farmer
• As a teenager, felt guided
by the voices of three
saints
• Traveled to ask Charles,
the crown prince, to let
her fight
• Faced examination by
church authorities about
her faith and the voices
she heard
Joan of Arc
• Joan took a French army to the
battle at Orleans
• Defeated the English and freed
the city
• French victory there unified
France and led to the
coronation of Charles as king
• Joan later captured by the
English
• Accused of being a witch
• Burned at the stake
• Later declared a French
national hero and a Catholic
saint
• Her courage gave rise to a
French rally to win the war
Hundred Years’ War Effects on the English
• England’s nobles were
bitter about the loss of
French lands
• Late 1400s: fought each
other over who should be
king
– Civil war known as the Wars
of the Roses
– Henry Tudor won and
became known as King Henry
VII of England
Muslims Forced Out
• Muslims ruled much of the Iberian peninsula during the MA
• Spain and Portugal
• Muslims Developed rich cultures with schools, palaces, and
mosques
• Christians, drove out many of the Muslims
• Known as the Reconquista (ray-kohn-KEES-tuh), or reconquest
• 1250: 3 Christian kingdoms and 1 Muslim kingdom
– Christian kingdoms: Aragon, Portugal, and Castile
– Muslim Kingdom: Granada
• 1469: Prince Ferdinand (Aragon) and Princess Isabella (Castile)
married and created one catholic kingdom: Spain
• 1492: Spain conquered Granada
• Muslims were ordered to convert or leave
• Most left and went to North Africa
Jews Forced Out
• Many Iberian Jews lived peacefully under Muslim rule
• When Christians took over, many Jews were mistreated
– Many Jews converted to avoid persecution
• Ferdinand and Isabella believed some of converted
Jews were secretly practicing Judaism
• To force obedience to the Catholic Church, they
created the Spanish Inquisition
– Tried and tortured thousands accused of being disloyal to
the Catholic Church in Spain
• 1492: Ferdinand and Isabella ordered Jews to convert
or leave
– Most left to avoid charges of heresy