A Period of Transition

Three important developments that paved the way for the emergence of the modern world in Europe in the 14th century were:

1. Decline of Feudalism — This changed the social, economic and political life of the Europeans. The peace and freedom that prevailed after the decline of feudalism favoured the growth of new learning.
2. The Crusades — This provided an impetus to trade and commerce and increased the trade between eastern and western countries that further contributed to the wealth and prosperity.
3. The discovery of new sea routes — Many voyages were undertaken to discover new sea routes to fulfill the consumers' demand for Oriental goods thereby increasing the commercial contacts with Eastern countries for maximizing profits. The invention of mariner's compass, the astrolabe and the quadrant also helped in undertaking voyages to discover new sea routes.

Three developments that led to the emergence of the Modern Age in India are:

1. The decline of the Mughal Empire and the emergence of a number of regional kingdoms.
2. The defeat of the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat by the Afghans and the inability of Marathas to replace the Mughals and establish an all-India empire.
3. The conquest of India by the British and turning India into a colony of the British.

The term 'Renaissance' means rebirth or revival. It is used for the movement that began in Italy in the 14th century and later on spread to other countries of Europe. This movement aimed at reviving the classical heritage of Europe from which it had been separated for almost eight centuries.

The impact of Renaissance on painting — The artists of the Renaissance period freed themselves from medieval rules and traditions regarding religious themes and colours. They made realistic paintings and glorified human form in their paintings. They painted directly on plastered walls, called the fescoes. They also developed the technique of oil painting. The most famous of the Renaissance artists were Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

The impact of Renaissance on sculpture — The sculptors of the Renaissance age were greatly influenced by humanism. That is why they made a detailed study of human anatomy and carved the grace and beauty of the human body in their sculptures. The important sculptors of the period were Donatello, who made the bronze statue of 'David' and Michelangelo, who made a statue called 'Pieta' showing Mother Mary in a seated posture carrying the body of Jesus.

The spirit of enquiry lead to the development of science and technology. The Renaissance spirit encouraged scientific observation and experimentation. The scientific experiments led to many new inventions and discoveries. Some of these discoveries challenged the existing Church beliefs. For example, Copernicus proved that the earth revolves around the Sun challenging the old Christian belief that the Earth was the centre of the universe. Some important scientists of that period were John Kepler, Galileo, Isaac Newton, John Guttenberg and William Harvey.

The important reasons for undertaking sea voyages by Europeans were:

1. The Renaissance spirit led to the revival of the interest in geography and explorations. Many explorers set out to find new sea routes.
2. Increased demand for asian goods in European countries like spices, textiles, indigo etc.
3. The interest shown by Europeans to learn from the advanced Asian civilisations.
4. The closure of traditional route to the East by the capture of Constantinople by the Turks.
5. The invention of mariner's compass, the astrolabe and the quadrant.

The Reformation is the name given to a group of religious movements of the sixteenth century launched by the Christians against the various drawbacks of the Church and the objectionable practices of the clergymen. The main target of these movements was the Pope, the highest authority in the Church hierarchy.

Three Church practices that caused dissatisfaction among the people were:

1. Giving tithe, i.e., one-tenth of their income to the Church.
2. Peter's Pence, a tax to build St. Peter's Church.
3. Buying pardon certificates called Indulgences, for the sins committed in this life and after their death.

Industrial Revolution refers to all the changes that took place in the field of industry during the second half of the 18^th century and the first half of the 19^th century bringing about a transition from hand work to machine work and from domestic system to factory system of production.

Three reasons that led to the beginning of Industrial Revolution in England are:

1. After the Renaissance and the Reformation, the Englishmen began to enjoy the freedom of thought and expression. British scientists made a large number of inventions that helped in finding new methods of production in different fields.
2. England got raw materials for her factories cheaply from her large number of colonies. These colonies also served as a market for their products.
3. England had plentiful deposits of iron and coal. The iron was used in making machines and coal provided cheap fuel.

Two positive effects of the Industrial Revolution are:

1. The domestic system of production was replaced by the factory system which enabled production in huge quantity for increasing population.
2. It led to the establishment of many towns and cities. People migrated from rural areas to urban areas for employment, education, cultural benefits and enjoyment.

Two negative effects of the Industrial Revolution are:

1. It led to ruthless exploitation of workers in factories. They were forced to work 12-15 hours. Women and children in large numbers were employed in factories as their labour was cheaper than men. Sometimes, all the workers were dismissed unjustly and arbitrarily.
2. It gave rise to capitalism. A few individuals in society became capitalists, accumulated huge wealth, power and prestige. On the other hand, it created a class of workers living in poverty depending entirely on their capitalist employers for bread.

Imperialism refers to the system by which a powerful nation established its control over another country, either by political pressure, infiltration and annexation or by outright wars.

Two positive effects of Imperialism on the colonies of the imperialist nations were:

1. The imperialistic nations built roads, canals and railways in the colonies of Asia and Africa.
2. They introduced improved medical care and better methods of sanitation in the colonies.

Two negative effects of Imperialism on the colonies of the imperialist nations were:

1. By breaking up the age-old patterns of agrarian economy in the colonies and by forcing them to grow commercial crops, they destroyed the self-sufficiency of their rural society.
2. They ruined the traditional handicrafts and cottage industry of the colonies and rendered many people jobless.

(a) Francesco Petrarch (b) Giovanni Boccaccio

(a) Leonardo da Vinci (b) Michelangelo

(a) Donatello (b) Michelangelo

(a) Copernicus (b) William Harvey

(a) Telescope (b) Printing Press