Society+&+Economy+1300-1750

In time period between 1347 and 1350 was The Black Death, also known as The Black Plague, which killed aournd 60 percent of Europe's entire population. The Plague was a virus that came from the fleas that infested the rats. At the time, the Europeans didn't have the technology to find a cure, so it became widespread. It killed an estimated 100 million people, so many that the bodies were literally stacked on the sides of roads. Symptoms of the disease are open sores which ooze and bleed. Their skin would in a sense fall off of them. People were bled in attempt to rid them of the disease, but in result, this just made it spread faster. Here's a picture of some of the symptoms:
 * The Black Death**

The invention of the printing press with movable type was created in the mid 1400's by Johann Gutenberg after a more productive way to make paper was found created. The main thing the printing press was made for was to make copies of religious books, although it did make books more available and cheaper, which greatly increased the literacy rate. Vasco da Gama was the first man to set foot on Indias shore. He left from Portugal and ended up returning with spices that were worth well more than the cost of his voyage.
 * Invention of the Printing Press**
 * Discovery of the Americas**
 * Vasco da Gama**

In the late 16th Century, German feudal (both secular and religious) lords raised their demands on the peasant tenants, in hpoes to get more money, but the peasants refused to give up their laws and traditions. The peasants also believed that Luther and Lutherans were their allies.
 * German Peasants Revolt**

Between 1400-1700 courts sentenced 70,000-100,000 people do death for "harmful magic." Some things they were accused of were attending "sabbats" which they flew in order to get to, having sexual orgies with the devil who appeared to them as a he-goat, cannibalism and other acts (usually sexual) that perverted the Christian belief. The witches were usually singel or widowed women over the age of 40.
 * Great Witch Panics**
 * Settlement in Virginia**

His conquest lead to the settlement of the Spanish all over Mexico and Peru. He was originally sailing to find India, but he found the Americas instead. He even presumed that he was on Japanese islands or Chinese soil until his 3rd visit to the Caribbean and the Americas.He took advantage of the native people and treated them extremely poorly in many situations. He tried to force them to give up their cultures and reform to Roman Catholicism. His conquest lead to the discovery of silver and gold which helped Spain become a dominant country in sixteenth-century Europe. The wealth gained from the Americas was the main support of the Spanish excellence in both religious and political wars.
 * Christopher Columbus**

**30 Years War** Theh 30 Years war was the most destructive war out fo all the wars fought over religion. The Calvanists were against the Lutherans and teh Protestants were against the Catholics. The War was split into four periods: the Bohemian Period, The Danish Period, The Swedish Period, and The French Period. This was devestated the German economy.

**Colbert** Jean-Baptiste Colbert was King Louis' wisest minister. He created polocies that allowed for a very stong army which strengthened the economy.

**Enlightened Philosophers** The Philosophers believed that human beings could understand the way nature worked, and minipulate it to improve their lives. This created huge controvesies and flipped the way of thinking around for everyone. **Ferdinand Magellan** Magellan is well known for circumnavigating the earth, but he never actually accomplished it. He was killed in the Philippines before he got back to Europe. However, he did explore the coasts of South America and proved that Columbus had actually found a whole new race. **Spanish Silver Mines** Spanish explorers soon found mines in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia. The mines soon became the most profitable metallic source. By mid-sixteeth century, Spain relied on the silver mines for their great wealth. The Spanish crown got one-fifth of all the mining revenues. They created a monopoly over sale and trade of mercury. **Dutch Economic Prosperity** The Dutch became very prosperous as a nation. They had high numbers of urban consolidation, they transformed agriculture, and they established a more extensive over-seas empire. Their agricultural advances allowed them to have cheap grain, more profitable beef and dairy, and larger amounts of fish and textiles. They even began trading with East Asia for spices and other profitable items. **Mississippi Bubble in France** John Law stated a bank that dealt out paper money. Eventually people went from wanting have paper money to have the gold with the same value. Law soon realized that there was not enough gold for everyone and in turn fled the country. The government was then blamed for supporting the law. **English Dominance in India** Both England and France traded with India through private companies. India was never a huge hit with revenue but entrepreneurs all saw great possibly in this. **Spinning Jenny** The spinning jenny is just a machine for creating thread. After the invention of the flying shuttle, the production of thread couldn't keep up with the production of fabrics. The spinning jenny 120 spindles at a time by the end of the century. In the beginning of the century, they could operate 16 spindles.