The Atlantic Slave Trade was a major social and cultural development in Europe and the new World from the 16^th to 19^th centuries.

Most slaves were captured in West Africa and then transported to the new world. Many Africans were brought to the new world in this way that they actually represented the largest immigrant population to the new world until late in the 18^th century. The Portuguese were the first to capture slaves in Africa and force them into hard labor in the New World. The Portuguese colonies in South America needed many laborers to produce the commodity crops they were known for: sugar, coffee, cotton, and tobacco were common crops grown with slave labor. The Atlantic Slave Trade is divided into two eras, the First and Second Atlantic systems. The First Atlantic System involved enslaved Africans being transported by Portuguese traders, mostly to the Portuguese colonies. This started in 1502 and continued until 1580. The second Atlantic System includes the rest of the slave trade from 1580 to the 19^th century. Slave traders included Portuguese, Kusch, French, and English captains at this time. Most slaves were transported to the Caribbean Islands at this time, where each country had several territories. The Atlantic Slave Trade abused the lives of approximately 10,000,000 slaves while it was in operation. Over half the slaves were captured and traded in the 18^th century, with England as the largest shipper of slaves. England eventually abolished the slave trade, long before the American colonies, but not before much damage had been done. The Atlantic Slave Trade transported slaves by the Triangular Trade Route, making profits at each stop. Goods were brought from Europe to Africa, then slaves would be transported to the new world, and finally a shipment of crops would return to Europe. Sir John Hawkins, Francis Drake’s mentor, was among the first to pioneer this route. While much of the blame for the slave trade rests on the European captains and new world famers, the Africans themselves are also at fault. Many Africans would sell the captives of local wars into slavery to the Europeans. Since they were not part of the war it was considered acceptable to do away with the captives. However, there were plenty of Kings who refused to participate in the slave trade, feeling that it was not right. So they fought it and won.

Slaves were much better treated in Africa than they were in America at this time, though it progressively changed through the years.

Today I will be summarizing the life of George Whitefield.

Whitefield was born in Lancaster, England in 1714. His parents were rather poor innkeepers, and George did not have the means by which to attend college. As a result he paid for his college by being a servitor at Oxford. It was at Oxford he later found the Methodist Church. Whitefield was initiated into the legalistic style of Christianity during his time at Oxford, but the lack of exercise felt very unnatural to him. After crying out to God in a prayer one day, he finally had a conversation experience, which was a live debate on the Methodist practice of Christianity. After this Whitefield visited the American colonies as a parish priest. While there he saw an orphanage in great need and decided that working for the orphanage, along with preaching, would be his life’s work. He returned to England to raise funds and continued preaching. Whitefield visited the colonies a total of seven times, and eventually died and was buried there. He was not assigned to a single church, but rather worked as a traveling priest. Some people thought his voice could be heard for five miles, allowing him to preach to thousands of people at once without amplification. Whitfield was loved by most, but he still had some haters that occasionally started riots.

Whitfield died in 1770 and is remembered for being the greatest man of the Great Awakening.

Today I will be reviewing the life of Tycho Brahe.

Brahe was a Danish nobleman and scientist. He was the imperial mathematician of Emperor Rudolf II until his death, at which time Kepler replaced him. He studied astronomy, medicine, and alchemy. Brahe was born in Sweden in 1546 to a noble family. He attended a Latin school before going to a university at the age of 12. He studied law before going into astronomy. Brahe was the last major astronomer to make observations without the aid of a telescope. He combined the Ptolemaic and Copernican systems to create his own Tychonic system. Brahe also understood that comets were outside of our atmosphere, contradicting previous beliefs. Brahe worked for the Danish King, but had a disagreement in 1597. Tycho left for Prague to work as the imperial astronomer for the Holy Roman Empire. He met and was assisted by Kepler until Tycho died in 1601.

Tycho Brahe’s work in astronomy has been influential in science to this day.

The story begins when Walter Raleigh founded the first English colony in North America. While Roanoke was no great success, many other colonies would begin developing along the Atlantic coast of North America. The first settlement in North America was the colony of Jamestown, in modern day Virginia. The London Company was a joint stock company established by King James I. Just like the British West India Company colonized the Caribbean, the London Company colonized the coastal United States. The first colony of the London Company was Jamestown. Late in 1606, the London Company commissioned a fleet of three ships to establish a colony. The Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, sailed to the American mainland to find a suitable location. These settlers first landed near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, but traveled inland on the James River. The settlement site for Jamestown was decided on May 24, 1607. Though there were years of hardship ahead, this would be the first English colony to survive in North America. The site remains preserved with some of the original buildings to this day. Jamestown, and many of the American settlements, was populated mostly by fortune-seekers. These men did not help in the survival of the colony, and as a result of their laziness, two thirds of the colonists died in the first year. In 1608, new colonists arrived from Germany and Poland to join the English. Captain John Smith took over the colony as its third president, and helped the colonists work together. He insisted that “if anyone would not work, neither would he eat”. John Smith had to return to England to recover from a wound he incurred in 1609. 1609-1613 was nicknamed the “Starving Time” because of the lack of food and no new supplies from England. Finally though, in 1614, the colony was able to turn its first profit. The colony had been started as an investment, and investors in England were tiring of sinking money into the settlement. John Rolfe, a surviving settler, had planted a crop of tobacco in 1610 and harvested it in 1614. Rolfe became a wealthy man, and also married the Indian princess Pocahontas.

By 1624 Jamestown finally could stand on its feet and was a stable city in what would become the state of Virginia.

This week I will be summarizing the life of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland 1542 when she was 6 days old. Mary was pushed into a marriage with the king of France at an early age. She grew up in France, but after her husband, the king of France, died, she returned to Scotland. When she got there, the Scottish people were beginning the Scottish Reformation. This was inconvenient to Mary because she was Catholic, so she tried to force her Catholic religion on her people. The people rebelled and Mary was soon forced to flee. As she tried to escape she was captured by her own cousin, Elizabeth, and was held prisoner until her death in 1567. Since Mary was being held prisoner, no one but her cousin Elizabeth could rule. She was Queen from 1558 till 1603 when she died. She ruled from England but still had control over Scotland.

Mary’s defeat ushered in a new era for Protestantism in Scotland.

This week I will be reviewing the Reformation of France.

The story begins when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenburg, in 1517. Little did he know this would start a whole movement. The Protestant Reformation started in Germany, but included nearly every major nation in Europe. Luther’s original grievance against the Catholic church was the practice of selling indulgences. Over time, the church was also called to reform in many other areas as well, some more radical than others. The printing press also played an important role in the rapid spread of information during this time. That is when the five Sola came into play. The five Sola are Latin phrases that are used to sum up the beliefs of the Protestant reformers. While they were not actually used as law by the Reformers they have since been made into a single list. Sola means “alone” in English. The five Sola are: Sola scriputra-”Scripture Made Whole”,Sola fide-”Faith Alone”, Sola gratia-”Grace Alone”, Sola Christus-”Through Crist Alone”, and Sola Deo Gloria-”To God Alone Be The Glory”. As mentioned before, the Catholic Church was none too pleased with the new Protestant movement. To bring a stop to the Reformation, the Catholic church called the council of Trent and organized a counter reformation movement. The Council of Trent convened three separate times between 1545 and 1563. The Counter-Reformation included four parts: 1. Ecclesiastical or structural reconfiguration 2. Religious orders 3. Spiritual movements 4. political dimensions. The counsel of Trent restricted any compromise with the protestants or the ideas of the Reformers.

The Reformation could not be stopped, and it changed the future of Europe as it developed.

Today I will be reviewing one of the great artists that I learned about this week, Michelangelo. We will be talking about his life, his greatest works, and what kind of legacy he left behind.

Michelangelo was born in Florence in the year 1475. He was the son of a banker family and even learned the business himself. Sadly, the business failed and his father had to work as a government official. Six years after Michelangelo was born, his mother fell ill and died in 1481. This was a huge tragedy for Michel and his family, and Michel had to live with his nanny and her husband. The husband was a stonecutter, and this was where Michelangelo fell in love with marble. At a ripe young age of 13, Michelangelo went to the school of Florence to study grammar. When he was in Florence, he admired the art and architecture there. During his time in Florence, Michelangelo saw the building of the Sistine Chapel and was apprenticed to be an artist there. One year later his father requested that his mentor pay him as an artist. His mentor agreed and he was even hired by the king of Rome. Under the king’s supervision he made many great works like his statue of David, John the Baptist, Cupid, Pieta, and, the Manchester Madonna. One of the most famous of his paintings was the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It took approximately four years, and tells the story of the Twelve Apostles, Creation, The Fall of Man, and the Genealogy of Christ. This great painting is 500 square meters and is very impressive to look at, even in pictures.

Michelangelo was a very famous painter, architect, and sculptor that still influences art today!

Today I will be reviewing Ferdinand and Isabella’s rule of Spain.

Ferdinand and Isabella were King and Queen of different parts of Spain. What is interesting about this is that they ruled to together as husband and wife, but they ruled different parts of the kingdom. This was new to the world in those days. Also during their rule they they checked on each section of the kingdom to keep tabs on everyone. Since they saw everything that happened in their kingdom, Ferdinand and Isabella saw that Jews and Muslims had been disrupting different regions of Spain. To combat this, they issued a decree in 1492 that all Jews and Muslims had to leave Spain. As the Jews and Muslims moved out, Catholicism became the only accepted religion in Spain. As a result, everyone was Catholic because Ferdinand and Isabella became Catholic Monarchs. Another notable thing about Ferdinand and Isabella was that they funded Cristopher Columbus’s journey to find a new world (America), which was successful in the end. This made Spain very wealthy and popular because of Cristopher Columbus’s journey. Later in their reign, Ferdinand and Isabella were getting older and they wanted to keep Spain peaceful after they died. They arranged their five daughter’s marriages to achieve this. They made ties with England, Portugal, Wales, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Hapsburg Dynasty.

Ferdinand and Isabella were one of the strongest rulers in Spain and were remembered as Catholic Monarchs.

Today I will be walking you through the fascinating history of Venice.

Venice is a city in Italy comprised of 118 small islands. Venice is a beautiful city in which the cities and towns are connected by water. Because of this the people travel by boat. These boats are called Gondolas. They have flat bottoms that can sit up to 8 people if it is large enough. The people that drive these boats are called Gondoliers, they are like a taxi driver.

Venice is also known for its art and architecture. Venetian Gothic architecture is one of the main attractions in Venice. It is known for its vast arches and high ceilings. The art in Venice is also very famous, like the Assumption of the Virgin, The Last Supper, Paradise, and The Great Canal. This was not the only type of art that was popular in Venice, but music was as well. Music was always playing in the streets.

Another unique thing about Venice is the Carnival festival that the people have held since the 12^th century. What is so uncommon about Carnival is that the people who go there wore antique masques, and there is even a contest about which mask is the most beautiful.

To this day Venice is a popular tourist location and has a very rich history.

Today we will be looking at the life of Joan of Arc.

In the time that Joan was born, the hundred years war had been raging on for quite a while. She was born in 1412 to a family of farmers. Even as she grew up, her parents saw her working hard. At only twelve years old she claimed to have visions of three Saints: St. Michal, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. At first the messages she received were only about her personal life, but eventually the Saints told her to help France take back the throne. She thought about this endeavor for four years before she put her plan into action. At age sixteen she attempted to get an audience with the king, but at first he refused. She did not lose heart though and after the third try she offered herself as a leader. The king agreed, but only if she got tested in her faith. Joan agreed and passed her test. Joan now was the head of the king’s army. She also made some new rules like going to church and not swearing. All their opponents thought the French army was led by a Saint. Joan led a siege against an English held church and won. This small victory led to many many more. The king honored Joan and there was feasting and parties. Joan was credited with saying “the will of God has been done”. Later she was sadly kid-napped and burned at the stake. She was revered in all of France and made a Saint.

Joan is a great model of perseverance and nobility.