Baroque Period (1600-1750)
General Background
The years between 1600 and 1750 were full of contradiction, change, and conflict in Europe. The future would be shaped by the far reaching consequences of war. These conflicts pitted mainly the northern countries (Belgium, Germany, England, Sweden) against the Catholic kingdoms of the south (France, Spain, Austria), and further accentuated the pre-existing cultural differences between Northern and Southern Europe. However, tremendous scientific, philosophical, and artistic accomplishments that constitute the practical foundation of modern civilization flourished side by side with continual warfare, political instability, and religious fervor, bordering on fanaticism. Some of the most significant events of this period are:
•The Scientific Revolution: A scientific method of inquiry and the separation of science and philosophy from religious dogma were established. Science and mathematics influencenearly every aspect of life.
•The Protestant Reformation: Protestantism was formed and influenced political, economic, social, and cultural structures. Protestants rejectedthe use of visual art and emotionally charged music in the church.
•The Catholic Counter-Reformation: In response to the Reformation, an outpouring of exuberant sculpture, architecture, painting, and music to promulgate and support the power and doctrine of the Papacy in Rome and the Catholic Church was created. The Jesuit order led the Counter-Reformation campaign.
•The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648): The Holy Roman Empire, headed spiritually by the Pope and temporarily by the Emperor, was dissolved, essentially establishing modern Europe as a community of sovereign states.
•Colonization: Large areas of the Americas ...
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...Galileo, Kepler and many other giants of science, and laid the groundwork for classical mechanics—the laws of gravitation and motion—in his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687). René Descartes 1596-1650), Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), and Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677) advocated the separation of philosophy and science from religious dogma; Francis Bacon (1561-1626), John Locke (1632-1704), and David Hume (1711-1776) in England established the foundation of the scientific system of observation, experimentation, and testing of hypotheses. Montesquieu (1689-1755) proposed the theory of the separation of powers, while Voltaire—pen name of Francoise-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) and great admirer of Newton—through his satirical writings and plays criticized Church dogma and championed civil liberties, including freedom of religion.
During the sixteenth century and even into the seventeenth century, scientific discoveries and new empirical ways of thinking began to emerge. This period of history is commonly referred to as the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution challenged past authorities by challenging church teachings, philosophy, and traditionally held views of humanity’s place in the cosmos.
The Thirty Years war (1618-1648) was a devastating one to be fought on the German soil before World War II. The Reformation that was started a century before had shattered the unity of Catholic Christendom. The Protestant church was divided into Lutheranism and Calvinism due to Reformation. The governing class of German states stood for Lutheranism. Martin Luther was the founder of Lutheranism. His teachings freed them from the interference of foreign Pope Sweden and Denmark –that were the countries that followed Lutheranism. John Calvin was the founder of Calvinism. The countries which followed Calvinism are Germany, Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and Austria. These two groups became a threat to Catholicism which led to Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits were most influential in Spain and Austria. The Thirty Years war took place in the name of God. But it’s only aim is to dominate, capture and suppress the opponent. There are also some other factors which led to the Thirty Years war. In 1618, the Habsburg dynasty was the major power in Europe. It ruled most part of Central Europe including Kings in Portugal and Spain. The elder most in the hierarchy of power is king and the youngest is in the House of Austria. Spain and France had political rivalry for past three centuries. The royal dynasty Bourbon belonged to France. The antagonism between Habsburg and Bourbon remained the most important
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the scientific revolution brought about a slow change in societies’ thinking regarding math, earth science, physics, and astronomy. Early on, new ideas about our universe were not widely accepted, especially from the church. This soon changed due to the hard work and perseverance of several scientists and philosophers who unbeknownst to them brought about an era known as the Enlightenment.
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
Revolutions have always been a catalyst of change throughout history. They may lead to the creation of nations, or a rapid change in society’s ideals. Due to a shift away from such strong religious ties during the early modern period, more distinctly from 1543 through 1632, scientific advancements of varying degree were able to occur. From the founding of chemistry to various discoveries in physics and mathematics, the Scientific revolution most definitely laid the backbones for various inventions and discoveries further along the timeline of history. Overall, the Scientific Revolution was a rapid stage of development in the field of science, and it led to many new views in reference to nature and humanity.
During the age of religious wars from 1517 to 1648, Europe struggled regularly between Catholicism and Protestantism. Though conflicts occurred separately and centered upon regions such as France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Bohemia, the wars eventually spread across most of the entire continent. As the forces continued to clash, however, struggles between Catholicism and Protestantism such as the French wars of religion and the Thirty Years’ War died down and new generations of leaders stepped up to the throne. Despite originally taking place as a fiercely passionate religious conflict, the natural continuity of Europe brought that zealous attitude to an end; by 1648, people sought harmony, and the two religions coexisted together.
The Baroque period of European musical history falls between the late Renaissance and early Classical periods, roughly between 1600-1750. The era of Baroque music was an age of spectacular process of knowledge, this was the age of the scientific discoveries of Galileo and Newton; a new era of intellect, art and music, which shaped modern day Europe. Music from the Baroque period is the earliest European music which is still recognized by many today. Most of the musical instruments which were introduced during the Baroque period are still around and in use today. In this particular period of time, music was commonly an orchestral desire as not many solo artists, like today, were around. Baroque music was such
Isaac Newton was one the major influences in the scientific revolution in which he dominated. Philosophes, a French work for Philosophers,
At the start of the sixteenth century, the Reformation had put an ungracious end to the dependent unification that had prevailed under the Roman Catholic Church. In response to the growing sense of corruption in the church, the reformation began. Many people began opposing views of how Christian practices were expressed, which led to the formation and spread of Protestantism. While the Pope is head of the Catholic Church, Protestantism is a general term that refers to Christianity that is not subject to papal authority. (1.)
The Scientific Revolution took place in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It was not a "revolution" in the classic sense as it did not involve rapid political changes nor large numbers of people, but it was revolutionary in the sense that it completely changed people's way of thinking and their outlook on the world we live in. It was definitely one of the most important events in history as it marked the birth of modern science. With the Scientific Revolution, man became more curious about nature. He wanted to learn more about natural phenomena and the mechanisms of nature, and he also adopted a new method for the study of nature.
"The growth of commerce and industry led to the technological advances, which in turn stimulated, and were stimulated by science.” (p. 403) The European scientific revolution was fueled by the blending of “liberal” and “servile” arts, in other words, science and technology. Because of the European expansion taking place throughout the world, new commerce and industries were advancing, creating the need for new technology and science. The theories and inventions that Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton provided were the fist major advances during the scientific revolution, and perhaps were the most profound.
The Thirty Years War was a series of conflicts, not-knowingly involving most European countries from 1618 to 1648. The war, which was fought mainly in Germany, was started when Bohemian Protestants furiously attacked the Holy Roman Emperor in terms to impose a restriction on their religious and civil liberties. By understanding the Thirty Years War, you will notice the notable religious, political and social changes. The changes paved the religious and political maps of Europe. Not only did this war affect the religious and political demographic, it caused populations to perish and lose large amounts of their goods. What was known as a religious battle, turned out to be a political feud in competition of which state has the greater power affecting men, women, soldiers and civilians. “[The bohemians] had no idea that their violent deed would set off a chain reaction of armed conflict that would last thirty years and later be called Europe’s “first world war” of the modern era.” When the war ended, the lands were defiled and over 5 million people were killed.
The revolution brought about many radical changes and ideas that helped to strengthen it and the scientists that helped to bring it about became significant persons in history. "The emergence of a scientific community is one of the distinguishing marks of the Scientific Revolution."2 It was this form of community that gave a foundation for open thinking and observing throughout the sixteenth century and through twenty-first century. It was the first revolution that had more of a dedication to the ongoing process of science than of a goal to achieve scientific knowledge.3
The changes produced during the Scientific Revolution were not rapid but developed slowly and in an experimental way. Although its effects were highly influential, the forerunners Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes only had a few hundred followers. Each pioneered unique ideas that challenged the current views of human beingsí relationship with nature. With the backing of empirical observation and mathematical proof, these ideas slowly gained acceptance. As a result, the operation of society, along with prior grounds for faith were reconsidered. Their ideas promoted change and reform for humansí well-being on earth.
Over the course of the years, society has been reformed by new ideas of science. We learn more and more about global warming, outer space, and technology. However, this pattern of gaining knowledge did not pick up significantly until the Scientific Revolution. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Scientific Revolution started, which concerned the fields of astronomy, mechanics, and medicine. These new scientists used math and observations strongly contradicting religious thought at the time, which was dependent on the Aristotelian-Ptolemy theory. However, astronomers like Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton accepted the heliocentric theory. Astronomical findings of the Scientific Revolution disproved the fact that humans were the center of everything, ultimately causing people to question theology’s role in science and sparking the idea that people were capable of reasoning for themselves.