Browse Items (202 total)

Though not entirely political in nature, "On the Nature of Man" established a concept of medicine that remained in prominence for much of European history until the Scientific Revolution, humoralism (discussed week four of HIST 139). The text…

An ambitious project to compile a mass of information into several encyclopedias, Diderot’s Encyclopedia—though of the Enlightenment era and not Classical Antiquity—can be used to identify how ideas have endured throughout history. Specifically, the…

While Charles V may have been the Holy Roman Emperor in the 1500s, the German princes were nearly completely autonomous with regards to rule over their own holdings. This political structure left the peasants and serfs essentially no opportunity to…

During much of the period known as the Middle Ages, it has often been believed that Europeans focused inwards, foregoing a knowledge of the outside world in the harsh years of plague and religious intolerance. This misconception, however, greatly…

According to stories the first discovery of “Jesuit’s bark,” or cinchona bark, occurred in the 17th century. As the story goes a large storm passed through a village in Peru, knocking a number of the branches into a pool of standing water. It…

This painting of a Dutch East Indiaman illustrates the prominence of the Dutch Republic in maritime trade throughout the 17th century. Dutch trade interests encompassed a large part of the globe during this time. In the European sphere, the Dutch…

This is a print from the original painting by Joseph Wright depicting a philosopher lecturing on the orrery, or mechanical model of the solar system, and intellectuals used them “as pedagogical devices used exclusively for demonstration” (Barker 31).…

Saint Wilibrord’s Basilica was built in Hulst, Netherlands sometime around 1200, before gradually being renovated and improved upon over the years (Wikipedia). The Basilica was originally Roman Catholic, with architecture in the Romanesque fashion.…

Without a doubt the most famous Tsar in Russian history, Peter I, or Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725) epitomized the transition of Russia into a ‘Europeanized’ power during the early 18th century. He was determined that Russia should gain international…

In A Vindication of the Rights of the Women, written by Mary Wollstonecraft in 1792, Wollstonecraft responded to the thoughts of some education theorists who didn’t think women should receive proper education. She argued that by giving women proper…

Shortly after the publication of Martin Luther’s complaints against the Catholic Church in the early 16th century, Protestant religions rapidly spread across the European continent through printed documents as well as traveling preachers…

Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, was an important milestone in the development of capitalism in early modern Europe. His publication advocated for free trade, open markets, and competition,…