Russia 7 класс History (General History and History of Russia)

1. General history: the early modern era (end of 15th – 17th c.)

Introduction to the modern era · Age of Discovery · Changes in European society · Reformation and Counter-Reformation · States of Europe · English Revolution · Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth · International relations · Culture of the early modern era · Asia and Africa

• The Age of Exploration (c. 1400–1600) – Between about 1400 and 1600, sailors from Portugal and Spain, and later other European countries, opened new sea routes across the world's oceans. They wanted spices and gold without paying many middlemen, they wanted to spread Christianity, and they wanted fame. New ships (the caravel), the compass, the astrolabe and better maps made long trips possible. Dias reached the southern tip of Africa (1488), Columbus reached the Americas (1492), da Gama reached India (1498) and Magellan's fleet sailed round the world (1519–22). Earlier, Zheng He of China had led huge fleets to Africa (1405–33). The voyages linked the whole world for the first time. They brought trade, new foods and wealth to Europe, but also conquest, deadly disease and the Atlantic slave trade.
• The Reformation and Catholic Reform: Causes and Effects – In the 1500s the single Western Christian church split. People were angry about the sale of indulgences and corruption, printing spread new ideas fast, and rulers wanted more power. Luther (1517), Calvin and the English crown created Protestant churches. The Catholic Church answered with its own reform (Council of Trent, Jesuits). Wars followed, then treaties that let rulers choose their state's religion.
• States of Europe, 1500–1800: Who Held the Power? – Between 1500 and 1800 European states grew stronger and the question was who holds the power. Spain became rich from American silver, but its king held on to power and spent it on wars. The Netherlands rose against Spain and became a trading republic. France made the king all-powerful (absolutism). England moved power from the king to Parliament. In the 1700s Prussia and the Habsburg lands had enlightened absolutism: reforms from above while the ruler kept control.
• International Relations in History: Wars, Alliances and Peace – International relations is the story of how states deal with each other. The Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648) ended with the Peace of Westphalia, which made each state the ruler of its own land. In the 1700s great powers fought colonial wars and divided weak neighbours. Before 1914 two alliance camps turned one quarrel into a world war. In the 1930s giving in to aggression (appeasement) failed. After 1945 two blocs, new institutions such as the UN, and the end of empires shaped the world, and new powers and global problems define it today.

2. History of Russia: 16th century

Era of Ivan IV · Foreign policy in the 16th century · Society and peoples · Oprichnina · Russia at the end of the 16th century · Culture of the 16th century

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3. History of Russia: the Time of Troubles

Time of Troubles

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4. History of Russia: the first Romanovs

Economy of the 17th century · Society and power · Church schism and uprisings · Foreign policy of the 17th century · Exploration of new lands · Culture of the 17th century

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5. Our region

Local history 16th–17th c.

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