The Enlightenment was a historical period in 18th century Europe that focused on thought. The people of the Enlightenment believed that reason could be used in addition to science to acquire knowledge. They used their reason to solve many different problems. According to them, their whole purpose was reason. Some people, however, would disagree. Church members would have claimed that the people of the Enlightenment thought too little of reason because the Enlightenment thinkers did not believe that reason could be used alongside religion. Previously, thinkers, such as Thomas Aquinas, who proved the existence of God, had no problem with using reason to explain things about the Biblical God. Because these people of the Enlightenment took nothing for granted until they could prove how or why something worked, thinkers of this era commonly sought to disprove old traditions. Rethinking old ideas, the men of the Enlightenment focused on the human capacity to think and reason.

Prior to the scientific revolution of the 17th century, Aristotle’s teachings that the universe centered around the Earth was believed by Europeans, especially churchmen. The system had some flaws, which included the occasional retrograde movement of Mars. Copernicus (1473-1543), however, thought he could disprove the old ideas because they were too full of errors. He promoted the belief that the sun was the center of the universe. Copernicus’ new idea of heliocentrism trumped the former belief of geocentrism because it had fewer flaws. Then Kepler (1571-1630) discovered that planets do not have perfectly circular orbits by analyzing other astronomer’s data and performing his own astronomical observations. This new idea removed most, if not all, of the flaws from Copernicus’ heliocentrism. Observing craters and mountains on the moon, Galileo (1564-1642) proved that celestial objects, as it turns out, are not perfect spheres. During his moments when he watched the sky with a telescope, Galileo also saw moons orbiting Jupiter, disproving the theory that the Earth would lose the moon if it was in motion. Several decades later, Issac Newton (1642-1726) was struck by an apple that fell from a tree. He postulated a theory of gravity which stated that every object attracts every other object in the universe. Previously people believed that Earth was affected by different laws of physics than outer space. Newton’s new idea applied to the entire universe. When Aristotle’s outdated teachings were discarded primarily by the work of these four ingenious men, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and finally Newton, the flimsy old ideas were replaced by proven ones.

The decline of Spain, the once great country, began with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. After that, many factors aided in the decline of the Spanish, including, the fact that the kings had always been spendthrifts and their empire had grown too vast to protect it all, and were constantly at war with their neighbors. Because Spain had been engaged in tons of expensive warfare, it had thus drained its economy. Disease in the form of The Plague wiped out much of the populace in waves, in the early, mid, and late 1600s. The Spanish colonies in the new world began to run dry of gold at this point. Spain’s economy was no longer filled with New World gold. Additionally, the government gave favors to monopolies which favored the government in a vicious cycle. Then, to top it all off, Spain exiled thousands of productive workers by sending away the Moriscos. These people, or their ancestors, had at one point been Islamic, but had converted to Christianity. The rulers of Spain had decided that they were only pretending to be Christian, and thus unjustly banished them. Spain had always enforced religious uniformity, killing any non-Catholics that could be found. By the end of the 1600’s, Spain, the former great power, was in full decline.

Cardinal Richelieu (1589-1642) was the prime minister for King Louis XIII of France during the mid 17th Century. Cardinal Richelieu’s main goal was to centralize power in France. He achieved this by removing much of the nobility’s power. He demanded that all castles, excepting those required for the defense of France, be destroyed, preventing nobles from aiding rebellions. Under him, the sale of court offices skyrocketed, which greatly enriched the king. But to pay all of these new officials, taxes needed to rise. To solve this problem, much of the nobility’s revoked power was transferred to local officials, called Intendants, who depended upon the king’s mercy to continue to receive income. These people collected taxes throughout France, answering to the king and his prime minister. Richelieu’s second major goal was to humble the Hapsburg dynasty. To do this, the Cardinal allied with Protestants, putting his country above his religion. Funding several Protestant causes, including Sweden’s involvement during the 30 Years War, Richelieu fought against the Hapsburgs off the battlefield. Cardinal Richelieu’s two main goals paved the way for Louis XIV to be the most absolute king of the time. France’s prime minister essentially ruled France during the mid 1600s.

Faustus is the 1st non-religious book to discuss the Devil. It first appeared in the 1580s. Was it truthful? Yes, partially, Faust was a real man who did live in Germany in the 15th Century with town records to verify his existence. While some town records praise him as a respectable astrologer and medical doctor, other documents denounce him as a necromancer and sodomite in league with the Devil. These accounts gave birth to the literary Faust which has been popular ever since. The idea of making a deal with the Devil fascinates people because it is beyond the ordinary, it could not happen to them, so their imagination picks up this idea and runs.
Most people are generally moral. They live by rules to guide their behavior such as societal laws and religious beliefs like the Ten Commandments. However, this does not mean that they do not think about temptation. This comes around to Lucifer, the ultimate tempter, his name meaning bringer of light in Latin, but what light is there to bring? Before the fall of the angels, this referred to the light of God, but now it means the fires of Hell. People love to imagine the Devil and making a deal with him and how scary that would be, like the thrill of riding a hair-raising roller coaster. Through these kinds of books and characters, they could live a life disobeying the rules and with special powers and there are no punishments because they are merely reading a book and this is just imagination. By doing this, they can keep their moral guidelines.
Stories about making a deal with the Devil are interesting to people because they allow them to use their imagination. People love to live vicariously, especially through reading stories. What better story is there than one with the Devil himself?

Michel de Montaigne was born on February 28, 1533 on his parents’ estate, 30 miles East of Bordeaux. His most famous work, Essais, influenced Literature and established the essay as a form of writing. He lived at the end of the Renaissance and at the beginning of the Reformation. His first language was actually Latin because his father wanted him to be well educated. He began to learn French at the age of six. He was a lawyer, a tax expert, and a member of the Parliament of Bordeaux. He wrote several books before retiring from public life in 1570. His library now became his refuge as he wrote his most famous book. Because much of the content of Essais is disordered ramblings of Montaigne’s mind, his words are difficult to interpret and therefore if I had a choice, I would not continue reading his book.
Michel does make some good points, but most are somewhat muddled due to his interminable sentences. He often begins the statement with a good point but ends the same statement three hours later after a long and pointless story or explanation. “It may be true that to suffer a man’s heart to be totally subdued by compassion maybe imputed to facility, effeminacy, and over-tenderness; whence it comes to pass that the weaker natures, as of women, children, and the common sort of people, are the most subject to it but after having resisted and disdained the power of groans and tears, to yield to the sole reverence of the sacred image of valor, this can be no other than the effect of a strong and inflexible soul enamored of and honoring masculine and obstinate Courage.” In this quote from Essais, Montaigne simply does not make sense! Often he quotes Latin without translating, or even noting where the quotes were from. How can the reader possibly understand him, especially when he often uses these quotes as punch lines?
Michel de Montaigne, author of Essais, influenced western literature by putting his thoughts on paper in a certain form. This form became known as the essay. Even though he is a famous author, I would not continue to read his works because many of his ideas end up rambling and are difficult to interpret.

Charles I, the king of England, was an absolutist. Absolutism is the belief that the king should have all the power. Parliament, which represented the people of England, did not agree. Charles, who was selfish, money hungry, and divisive, rejected Parliament and the law, even going so far as to dissolve Parliament, which ultimately led to the English Civil War.
The English people worried that Charles was secretly Catholic. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was appointed by Charles, seemed to be, as was Charles’ wife and children. He certainly did not appear willing to help the Protestant cause on the mainland. When Charles I finally gave in to Parliament’s wishes to help these other Protestants, Parliament would not approve the taxes to fund a military endeavor. He then implemented a system of forced loans to pay for his army. The English Civil War began in 1642 after Charles I seized power from Parliament. When the king ran out of money, he was forced to call Parliament back. Soon, Parliament made Charles sign a treaty preventing him banning Parliament again. They were at each others throats soon after. The Calviliers were the supporters of the king. They were few in number, lightly armored, and rode horses. On the other side were the Roundheads, supporters of Parliament. These soldiers were the majority and wore more armor that the Calviliers. Roundheads were called by that name because of their domed helmets. In the end, Charles was caught and executed, ending the war in 1651.
Because of his attempts to seize power, Charles I was beaten in battle and killed, showing that the people had power over the king. Through victory of the English Civil War, Parliament established its permanent position in English government. But this is not the end of the struggle for power between Parliament and the rulers.

Moore’s Law states that every two years the number of transistors on a computer chip will double and the price will decrease. This means that computers will have a doubled intelligence every two years. With the increase in technology, robots keep taking more jobs. Manual jobs were the first to be replaced, but the robot takeover is progressing to smarter jobs such as surgery, and creative jobs like composing music. If I ran my own business, then robots could not replace me because I am in charge and will make all of the decisions. If my job could be replaced by bots, then I would be able to manage the machines because I still own the company. Some jobs, however, cannot possibly be replaced by robots, including people to people interaction and animal and child care. Also, people continue to invent, think abstractly, and solve unique problems, whereas robots cannot do these things, at least not to the extent that humans can. If I were to be my own boss then I could call all of the shots. I could use robots in my business, which could easily lead to success. That is why I will be minding my own business in 2030.

Phillip II was the king of Spain and the Netherlands, a devout Catholic, and the son of Charles V. His taxes and heavy handed anti-protestant policies lead to the Dutch Revolt in 1568.

The taxing problem could be traced to the reign of Charles V, who taxed the Netherlands to fund his many expensive wars with his neighbors. The Netherlands were a prime target for taxation because they were rich territories because of their entrepreneurial exploits. Success of the merchants dating back to the guilds of the Middle Ages allowed the Dutch to develop some degree of autonomous government. When Phillip II inherited this country, he demanded complete control of everything, including taxes, and was resented for this as well as for being Spanish. His father’s policies had been better tolerated because he had at least grown up in the Netherlands and spoke Flemish as a first language.

Previously, different religious were tolerated and everybody got along; but because he was Catholic, Phillip II wanted to stomp out all Protestantism, considered heresy by the Catholic Faith. Hated for its cruelty, subjectiveness, and erraticness, the Spanish Inquisition was partially brought to the Netherlands by Phillip II. His half sister, Margaret of Parma, was appointed Governor in those lands. The Duke of Alba was also sent to prevent uprisings and suppress the people. He raised taxes to 10%, killed all dissenters including the nobility, and spread unrest. Margaret soon resigned. Then, an exiled noble, William the Silent, the Prince of Orange, returned to conquer the northern Dutch provinces with his army of Protestants. The Dutch Revolution exploded.

Because of Phillip II’s robbery through taxation of the wealth of the Dutch people and his intolerance of religious difference, the Dutch Revolt was inevitable. Eventually, this led to the participation of other nations and independence for the Northern Netherlands.

What is the “Demonstration Effect?”

By Alexander Olbricht

10/2/16

The Dutch Revolt began in 1568 under Phillip II of Spain. After England became involved and the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Spain lost much of its power and influence, especially in its outlying territories, such as the Netherlands. With the freedom of the Northern Low Countries due to the efforts of William the Silent, these Dutch formed their own country, the Dutch Republic. This new nation set the standards for religious toleration, quality of life, and economic prosperity based on the free market. The Dutch Republic had no excess of rules and regulations, so culture thrived and the arts bloomed. Europe sat back on its haunches and waited to find out what would happen. They asked each other and themselves, “Would this work for us?” This whole process of observing the Dutch phenomenon of decreasing centralization and increasing peace under free market was called the “demonstration effect.”

Foxe’s Martyrs was written in 1563 soon after the reign of Queen Mary I, who earned herself the moniker of “Bloody Mary” for her merciless persecution and slaughter of tens of thousands of Protestants. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, himself an egotistical pig, tyrant, and ambitious to the ends of the earth. This was also the time of change and also the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Protestant to the core and Head of the Church of England. The book was received with enthusiasm because its author, John Foxe, filled it with the rhetoric of the last breath of tortured and dying Protestants. Foxe, an educated man and English historian, was also a devout Protestant. His goal in writing Foxe’s Martyrs was to contrast the horrible and cruel Catholic Church with the heavenly martyrdom of the Protestant believers. Intended for the upper crust, the book set the standard for the English language of that time and the following 200 years, and is still compelling today.

Foxe’s Martyrs was a book which contained two volumes in roughly 2000 pages. Foxe told stories of the martyrdom of Protestants from the roots of Protestantism, way before Martin Luther, up to his present day. One volume was “measured and recorded as roughly a foot long, two palm spans wide, was too deep to life with only one hand,” and weighed approximately ten pounds. Many editions were published since the original. However, critics questioned the reliability of Foxe’s early stories because any witnesses were dead, and had been so for a very long time. Primary documentation was also almost impossible, although Foxe attempted to truthfully document accounts where possible. The author rebutted his critics, responding by more extensive and continuing research to the best of his ability on the questions raised. Later accounts of martyrs were peppered with eyewitness stories and backed up by many primary source documents. In this way, Foxe inflated the narration and descriptions in his favor, downplaying any fault of the martyrs. He used metaphors, principally calling the Catholic Church satanic and Protestantism “The True Faith,” likening it to God in Heaven. He exaggerated the metaphor of Protestant England and the “lighted candle” and Latimer’s and Ridley’s story of burning at the stake for their involvement in the Lady Jane Grey affair. He quoted Latimer on the pyre as saying, “Be of good comfort, and play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” Foxe also used of Thomas Cranmer’s execution, championing the fact that Thomas purposely burned “his unworthy right hand…so that all men might see his hand burned before his body was touched,” because his heart had remained true to Protestantism while his hand had written recantations. By these methods and his bold use of rhetoric (which happens to be the undue use of exaggeration or display), Foxe’s tome emphasized England’s nationality under Protestantism. This book was expensive to print, and the average person couldn’t afford it for this reason. But because it emphasized England’s nationality, Queen Elizabeth I issued an edict to chain it to the pulpits in all the churches and preach from it every day. Therefore, it became a national treasure, establishing English language use.

Rhetoric is still used extensively today in many areas of speech and written English—for example politics and advertising—to sway the public especially using emotions over reason and logic. This use of language has become an integral part of all English speaking cultures today. Through Foxe’s masterful use of language, he transformed people’s perception of religion. Because of the book’s popularity largely due to Queen Elizabeth I, Foxe turned something useful only in the law courts into everyday language. Foxe’s Martyrs remains the most widely read book besides the Bible.