12th Standard History — Modern World: The Age of Reason Online Test

About Modern World: The Age of Reason

Medium ~60 min study

Modern World: The Age of Reason is the tenth unit of the Tamil Nadu State Board Class 12 History book. It shows how three great events of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Renaissance, the geographical discoveries and the Reformation, marked the passage from the Middle Ages to the modern age.

The lesson begins in Florence with the Medici, Dante, Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, moves to the scientists who challenged the Church, follows the Portuguese and Spanish sailors to India and America, and ends with Luther, Calvin, the Jesuits and the new monarchies of western Europe.

This page gathers all twenty one mark questions of the book exercise with answers checked against the lesson, plus additional questions on persons, dates, treaties and movements, each with a short explanation.

What you'll learn

• Explain the meaning, causes and spread of the Renaissance from Italy to western Europe.
• Name the leading Renaissance writers, artists and scientists and their works.
• Describe the factors behind the geographical discoveries and the voyages of the Portuguese and Spanish sailors.
• State the causes and results of the Commercial Revolution.
• Trace the Protestant Reformation under Luther, Zwingli and Calvin and the Catholic response.
• Explain how Spain, England and France emerged as nation-states.

Before you start

• The medieval Church, feudalism and the Crusades from earlier history lessons.
• The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
• A world map showing Europe, Africa, the Americas and the sea route to India.

Modern World: The Age of Reason explained

What this lesson covers

Renaissance

Renaissance means rebirth: a revival of the classical learning of Greece and Rome, with humanism, scepticism, individualism and secularism. Crusades, trading cities, universities, Byzantine scholars, paper and Gutenberg's printing press prepared the way. Italy, and Florence under the Medici, was its birthplace. Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and Machiavelli led in literature; Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael in art; Copernicus, Galileo and Harvey in science; Shakespeare, Marlowe and Francis Bacon in Elizabethan England.

Discovery of new sea routes

The Turkish hold on land routes, demand for spices, the caravel, the mariner's compass and better maps drove exploration. Henry the Navigator, Diaz (1488), Columbus (1492), Vasco da Gama (1497), Cabral (1500) and Magellan (1519) opened new routes. The Papal Bull (1493) and the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided new lands between Spain and Portugal.

Commercial Revolution

Banking, regulated and joint-stock companies, mercantilism and the rise of the middle class followed; its darkest result was the transatlantic slave trade.

Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Sale of indulgence, nepotism and simony provoked Erasmus, Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Zwingli and Calvin. Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy (1534) created the Anglican Church. The Catholic Church answered with the Society of Jesus, the Council of Trent and the Inquisition.

New monarchies

The decline of feudalism and of the Church's power let Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain, Henry VII in England and Louis XI in France build strong nation-states.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Crediting Magellan with discovering Brazil. Pedro Cabral discovered Brazil in 1500.
• Thinking Italians traced their descent to the Vikings or Greeks. They believed they descended from the ancient Romans.
• Calling Madonna and Child a work of Leonardo. It is Raphael's; Leonardo painted Virgin of the Rocks, Last Supper and Mona Lisa.
• Linking Decameron with Roger Bacon. It was written by Giovanni Boccaccio of Florence.
• Saying Luther led the Peasants' Rebellion. Thomas Muntzer inspired it; Luther sided with the feudal lords.
• Confusing Henry IV of Germany, excommunicated by Gregory VII, with Henry VII or Henry VIII of England.

Test yourself on these with the practice test, then check the worked reasoning in the solved MCQs.

Frequently asked questions

What does Renaissance mean?

Renaissance is a word of Latin origin meaning rebirth or revival. It signifies the sudden revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome, but it grew into new achievements in art, literature, science, philosophy, education, religion and politics, built on humanism, scepticism, individualism and secularism.

Why did Italy become the birthplace of the Renaissance?

Italians believed they descended from the ancient Romans and had a more secular culture. They rediscovered Latin and Greek books, their cities lay at the centre of the Mediterranean and grew rich from trade with the East, and families such as the Medici of Florence and the Sforza of Milan, along with several Popes, patronised artists.

What was the Papal Bull of 1493?

Worried about Portuguese voyages, the Spanish rulers asked Pope Alexander VI for a solution. His proclamation drew a north-south line about 320 miles west of the Cape Verde islands and gave Spain any new lands west of it. In 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas moved the line to 1,185 miles.

What was the negative outcome of the Commercial Revolution?

Its most negative result was the revival of slavery. Mining and plantation farming in Spanish, Portuguese and English colonies needed unskilled labour. Native Americans could not be enslaved, so Africans were imported; the transatlantic slave trade sent more than 11 million Africans to the Americas.

How did Martin Luther begin the Protestant revolt?

Disgusted with the corruption he saw in Rome, Luther wrote ninety-five complaints, the 95 Theses, and nailed them on the church door at Wittenberg. He taught that the Bible alone was supreme, accepted only baptism and Holy Communion, and translated the Bible into German. The Diet of Worms burnt his books.

What did the Council of Trent do?

Called under Pope Paul III, it met three times in eighteen years (1545-1563). It upheld faith in the Bible, the seven sacraments, the celibacy of priests and the supremacy of the Pope, removed abuses such as the sale of indulgence, nepotism and absent Bishops, and made the Catholic religion better organised.

Why is Joan of Arc remembered?

In the Hundred Years' War she fought courageously for Charles VII of France and won the battle at Orleans, earning the title Maid of Orleans. Captured by the English, she was condemned as a witch and burnt at the stake. The Catholic Church made her a saint in 1920.