17th Century and Middle Ages: History & Context

Historical Context of the 17th Century

The 17th century was a period of economic and demographic crisis, marked by the Baroque era and the rise of rationalism.

Economic Situation

Several European countries, including Spain and Portugal, established colonial empires. While initially boosting economic development through trade, wars, plagues, and poor harvests led to a widespread economic crisis that impacted society and culture.

Political Situation

During this century, Europe experienced a continued centralization of political power, leading to the rise of absolute monarchy. Kings concentrated all power, supported by the aristocracy (socially) and the bourgeoisie (economically). This era is known as the Old Regime.

Social Status

The 17th century was characterized by numerous wars involving almost all European countries. Combined with several plague outbreaks, this resulted in significant mortality across Europe. Famine, caused by wars, plagues, and crop failures, further exacerbated the situation, leading to the death of up to 20% of the population.

Art and Culture: The Baroque

The artistic style of this period, known as Baroque, emphasized movement and intricate detail. Notable figures in literature included Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Lope de Vega. Velázquez dominated in painting, and Bach in music.

Science

Modern science emphasized the concept as the essence of things, translating reality into numerical mathematical expressions. Key scientific developments included:

• Descartes' analytic geometry and Cartesian coordinates.
• Huygens' improvements to the telescope and astronomical discoveries.
• Leibniz's development of calculus.

Philosophy

The 17th century saw the emergence of two major philosophical currents: rationalism and empiricism. Rationalists believed reason was the sole source of knowledge, while empiricists believed reason must always work with data from experience. Rationalism focused on ideas or concepts, leading to an idealist or subjectivist philosophy. The deductive method, building complexity from simplicity, was of great importance.

Historical Context: Middle Ages

The Middle Ages began in 476 AD and lasted until the end of the 15th century. It is divided into two periods:

• High Middle Ages: Up to the mid-11th century, marking the cultural and economic revival of Western Christian Europe.
• Late Middle Ages: From the mid-11th century to the end of the 15th century.

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, barbarian invasions occurred in the West. The decline of the Roman Empire saw the collapse of global trade, causing hardship in cities. Peasants lacked land and were forced to work for nobles or the Church under poor living conditions.

Society

Society was organized in a feudal system, divided into strata:

• Warrior Aristocracy: Nobility living in castles, owning land worked by peasants. Their function was to protect their subjects militarily.
• The Church: Also owned land.
• Peasants: Had no land and performed all manual labor.

Economy

Between the 10th and 13th centuries, Western Europe experienced a strong economic boom, driven by:

• New technologies.
• Improved agricultural production.
• Development of trade and crafts.
• Growth of cities.

Politics

Parliamentary assemblies emerged, and monarchs strengthened their power.

Culture and Art

In the early Middle Ages, written culture was primarily confined to monasteries. However, during the Late Middle Ages, a rich literature in Romance languages emerged.

Schools arose from the 11th century and universities from the 13th century. They used Latin, were organized in colleges, and were dominated by scholasticism.

In art, the Romanesque style triumphed, followed by the Gothic style in the Late Middle Ages.

Philosophy

During the High Middle Ages, Augustine of Hippo was a prominent philosopher. In the Late Middle Ages, scholasticism gained importance, with Thomas Aquinas as its greatest representative.