Key+Figures

//Hi guys....Its Meena and Gabby :) we will be informing you on Key people from 1300 to 1750 in one short paragraph each. We put the page numbers next to each person just in case you need to find them in the book. Happy studying ;p :) ♥// **Niccolo Machiavelli (pgs 333-334) **: Machiavelli was a humanist during the Renaissance. He was inspired by the way the Roman rulers and citizens defended and cared for their country. He also believed in Republican ideals, and he did not want to see these ideals disappear from Italy. Machiavelli wrote a book called //The Prince// in 1513, where he discussed the most important traits of a ruler. He believed that a ruler should be able to instill fear in his people, so that the people would be more orderly; like the Romans.

**Christopher Columbus (pgs 342-345):** Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who discovered the Americas. Columbus unknowingly (he thought he was in the East Indies) landed in the Bahamas in 1492. Columbus was greeted by hospitable Natives that he called "Indians." He eventually took over the Indian's land, infecting them with European diseases and forcing them to become accustomed to European beliefs. He also found that the America's were rich in natural resources, and he used this information to make himself and England gain wealth. Columbus also paved the way for other explorers such as Magellan and Vespucci.

**Martin Luther:** **(pgs 356-361):** Martin Luther was the creator of Lutheranism. Martin Luther believed that perfection under God was not, and could not be possible. He believed that the righteousness that God demands was simply given by a persons belief in Jesus Christ. Luther also believed that if a person truly believed in God and Jesus, that he had to prove it. He thought that you should not try to change your fate, because that is something that God already has planned for you. He was also against indulgences, which were a way for certain people to "pay" their way into heaven. Eventually, Luther came up with the 95 theses, which he posted on the door of the Castle Church, and which were an attack on indulgences [|95 theses] (here i posted a link to Luther's actual 95 theses) 

**John Calvin (pgs 368-370):** John Calvin was a French law-man who founded Calvinism. Calvinism is a type of Protestantism that would later replace Lutheranism in Europe. This religion inspired political resistance in France, the Netherlands, and Scotland. Calvinists believed that it was a persons responsibility to to "reorder society according to God's plan." This meant that Calvinists stressed the importance of conforming to God's word...in every way possible 

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #d52323; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Louis XIV (pgs 428-436):** Louis XIV was one of the best monarchs France had ever seen, mostly because he wanted to brag about how great his country was. He succeeded in making the monarchy the most powerful and influential political institution in France. He manipulated politics in such a way that he could keep constant power over France, but the Nobility and the wealthy were also kept happy. Louis built a grand palace which he called Versailles.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"> Louis XVI (Pgs 594-613): Louis XVI was a successor to Louis XV of France during the French revolution. After the death of Louis XIV, the monarchy in France lost most of its power and the Aristocracy and parlement started to take over. Louis XIV was not known to be an intelligent man. He was unable to regain control over the French monarchy, and eventually, the parlements had most control over France. In an attempt to escape the revolting country, Louis fled to the eastern border of France, where he was found and brought back to Paris. Louis was eventually executed for "conspiring against the liberty of the people and the security of the state."

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #6663dc; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Peter the Great (pgs 443-447):** Peter the Great came into Russian powerwhen he was just 10 years old. Peter strived to make Russia a great and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">powerful nation. He took over Russian nobility, made the spot of the Tsar secure, and increased Russian military power.



<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #36f4cc; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Henry VIII (pgs 335-337):**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">June 28, 1491-Jan. 28, 1547 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">King Henry VIII is most famous for his six wives. He married Catherine of Aragon whom he divorced, Anne Boleyn who was executed, Jane Seymour who died, Anne of Cleaves who he divorced, Kathryn Howard was executed, and then finally Katherine Parr was widowed. In 1521 King Henry VIII received the title "Defender of the Faith" from the Catholic Pope Leo X for his opposition to Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation. By 1534 King Henry VIII broke with the Church in Rome and passed the Act of Supremacy making King Henry VIII the head of the newly established Church of England. He created a great chain of coastal fortresses to defend England against any possible invasions with 60 naval ships during his reign.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ea0e1f; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Queen Elizabeth I (pgs 402-406):** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Sept. 7, 1533-March 24, 1603 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Elizabeth’s mother was beheaded when she was 2 years old for treason. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">When she was 25 she became the Queen of England. During her 45 year <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">reign she helped England become one of the greatest military powers <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">of her time. Something very different about her was that she was an <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">unmarried queen, many people thought of her as married to her country. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">She also had her cousin (Mary Queen of Scots) executed for treason after <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">being 20 years of being in England. In 1588 when they were waiting for <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">the Spanish Armada she said, “I know I have but the body of a weak <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England.”

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Oliver Cromwell (pg 424):**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">April 25, 1599-Sept. 3, 1658 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"> Oliver was extremely religious, but not in a good way. He allowed the Jews to settle in England for the first time in almost 400 years. When he came to Ireland he committed genocide against the Irish Catholics. He took land from Catholics and made them move west of the Shannon to the less fertile land telling them "To Hell or to Connaught." He was a very cruel man and when he got done with them Catholic people only owned 10% of the land in Ireland when 80% of the people there were in fact Catholic.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #22c622; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Maximilien Robespierre (pgs 617-620):** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">May 6, 1758-July 28, 1794 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">He became involved in the Jacobin club, a faction of the new National Assembly established after the Tennis Court Oath. When the Assembly dissolved in 1791, he was named Public Prosecutor of Paris. Robespierre was elected to head the newly-formed Committee for Public Safety, and when that happened he used his new power to get rid of all who might have any opposition to him. Tens of thousands were killed by the new and “humane” guillotine. Then counter-revolutionaries turned against the Committee. Robespierre and 14 followers were executed, without trial, for what they had done on July 28, 1794.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #36f4cc; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">**Napoleon Bonaparte (pgs 622-627 & 665-675):** <span class="post-body" style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Aug. 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">In 1799, he staged a coup d'état when there was trouble before the Revolution of France <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">and made himself First Consul, then 1804 he was proclaimed Emperor by French Senate. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Bonaparte was put under house arrest in August 1794 for dealing with Robespierre. In <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">October 1795 he helped defeat a Royalist insurrection, which made him become famous quickly, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">by 1812 Napoleon had wiped out the last traces of the Holy Roman Empire and had taken over most <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">of Europe. When he tried to invade Russia he lost due to a shortage of supplies and some bad <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">winter weather. After that he was exiled to the island of Elba, but a year later broke away <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">with a 1,000 men and reclaimed the leadership of France. Finally, Napoleon was defeated at the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Battle of Waterloo and exiled to the Island of St. Helena where he died.

<span class="st" style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Nov. 21, 1694 - May 30, 1778 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Voltaire was a French writer and public activist who played an important role in defining the Enlightenment. He was also wrote many plays, stories, and poems. Many of what he wrote recognized fellow philosophers like Descartes. He also made a clear distinction between philosophy and science. He helped make modern philosophy what it is today.
 * <span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 99.9%;">Voltaire (pgs 558-559): **

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">April 26, 1564?-April 25, 1616 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">There is not as much information about Shakespeare as someone would expect. His interest in politics did, however, show through his plays. He viewed government through the individual ruler rather than in terms of ideal systems or social goals.By modern standards he was a political conservative accepting the social ranking and power structure of his day and demonstrating unquestioned patriotism. His tragedies were considered his unique achievement, striking universal human themes (many rooted in contemporary religious traditions.)
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">William Shakespeare (pg 385): **



**<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Catherine the Great (pgs 586-589): ** <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">April 21, 1729 - Nov. 6, 1796. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">Catherine became and empress. She was told that she might not like being one because Peter was planning on divorcing her. She didn’t listen to them, and it was one of the best choices she ever made. Peter made the country hate him including the government, military, and the church leaders. They began plotting to remove him from the throne. With the help of Gregory Orlov (said to be her lover), Catherine gathered the troops of St. Petersburg to her support and declared herself Catherine II, the sovereign ruler of Russia, had Peter arrested and required him to sign an act of abdication. When he asked permission to leave the country, she refused it, wanting to keep him prisoner forever. Her plan didn’t go too well though because he soon died.

=Major Philosophes:=

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"> **johannes Kepler** German astronomer and natural philosopher who was known for his ability in formulating and verifying the three laws of planetary motion, which are now known as Keplers's Laws. He studed theology and classics at the University of Tubingen. While he was there he studied the Copernican theory, which he accepted. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"> **Galilei Galileo** was an Italian physicist and astronomer, was well known for some very important contributions to astronomy and physics. He was also known for his battle against the authorities for freedom of inquiry. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">** Francis Bacon ** was a famous English essayist, lawyer, philosopher and statesman who had a major influence on the philosophy of science. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;">** Rene Descartes ** has been as the first modern philosopher. He is famous for having made an important connection between geometry and algebra, which allowed for the solving of geometrical problems by way of algebraic equations. he also supported the though that matter might exist. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"> **Blaise Pascal** is a famous mathematician because of Pascal's Triangle. He also made very important contributions to chemistry and other sciences. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> **Mary Wollstonecraft** was a famous radical feminist. She helped to lay the foundations for thoughts of equal opportunity for everyone. She also wrote __Frankenstein__. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 98.9%;"> **Adam Smith** was one of the world's most famous economists and it said to be the father of modern economics. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">** Nicolaus Copernicus ** was a Polish astronomer who invented the Ptolemaic system. Copernicus discovered that the sun was actually the center of the universe, and that we and the other planets revolved around it. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace;">** Tycho Brahe ** invented scientific instruments that could be used for a better and more thorough examination of the planets. He also paved the way for important discoveries made by Johannes Kepler. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace;">** Thomas Hobbes ** believed that all people were selfish. He believed that a person was constantly scared of death and destruction, and the only way to escape this feeling was to live by the golden rule. Many Christain writers critisized him for not believing in the existance of a God. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace;"> **John Locke** believed that there should be no absolute government, but that fathers should rule over their families. He also believed that people should enjoy the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. He believed that every human being was a creature of goodwill and passion, rather than of selfishness. He also believed that religion should be ones own buisness, and that religion should not be involved with politics. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace;"> **Montesquieu** was a lawyer, and a member of parlement. He believed that no single set of laws could apply to all people at all times. He believed that the type of government in a country should depend on its size, population, social and religious customs, traditions, and climate. He believed in a government with different branches: the Executive, legislative, and judicial. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace;"> **Jean-Jacques Rousseau** hated the world and the society in which he lived in. He thought that the enlightenment had corrupted human nature. He also believed that people were evil, and this was mostly because of the uneven distribution of property. Rousseau believed that women should not have the same rights as a man, and that they should be left in the house to care and love the children. He also believed that society should not depend on one person, but the whole community. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'lucida console',monaco,monospace;"> **Isaac Newton** discovered the laws of gravitation. He discovered that the planets moved the way that they did through a mutual attraction, or gravity.