(DBQs) Unit 1
1. The Italian and Northern Renaissance (c. 1300–c. 1600)
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance influenced the development of European culture. In your response, consider the contributions of humanism, art, literature, and social changes.
Documents:
2. The Age of Exploration and Expansion (c. 1450–c. 1600)
Prompt:
Assess the impact of European exploration and expansion on global trade and cultural exchanges in the 15th and 16th centuries. In your response, discuss the motivations behind exploration and the resulting economic, cultural, and social effects on both Europe and the regions it encountered.
Documents:
3. The Protestant and Catholic Reformations (c. 1500–c. 1648)
Prompt:
To what extent did the Protestant and Catholic Reformations transform European religious and political landscapes? In your response, consider the role of key figures, the spread of religious ideas, and the responses of European monarchs and the Catholic Church.
Documents:
4. Religious Wars and State-Building (c. 1520–c. 1648)
Prompt:
Analyze the relationship between religious conflict and the development of early modern states in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. In your response, address how religious wars impacted the political structure and power of European monarchs.
Documents:
5. Age of Reformation (c. 1450–c. 1648)
Prompt:
Evaluate the causes and consequences of the Reformation in Europe between 1450 and 1648. In your response, consider the theological, political, and social factors that influenced both the Catholic and Protestant movements.
Documents:
6. Religious and Political Developments in Early Modern Europe (c. 1450–c. 1648)
Prompt:
To what extent did religious developments during the Reformation contribute to the rise of early modern state power? In your response, discuss how religious conflict, reforms, and the changing relationship between church and state influenced political authority and governance.
Documents:
These prompts allow students to explore the causes, effects, and key figures of each of the major historical events, while integrating primary sources to support their arguments
1. The Italian and Northern Renaissance (c. 1300–c. 1600)
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance influenced the development of European culture. In your response, consider the contributions of humanism, art, literature, and social changes.
Documents:
- Excerpt from Petrarch's letters on the classical past.
- Raphael’s “School of Athens.”
- Excerpt from Erasmus’ The Praise of Folly.
- Portrait of a wealthy merchant from the Northern Renaissance.
- A passage from Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier.
- Excerpt from the writings of Albrecht Dürer.
2. The Age of Exploration and Expansion (c. 1450–c. 1600)
Prompt:
Assess the impact of European exploration and expansion on global trade and cultural exchanges in the 15th and 16th centuries. In your response, discuss the motivations behind exploration and the resulting economic, cultural, and social effects on both Europe and the regions it encountered.
Documents:
- Excerpt from Vasco da Gama’s letter describing his journey to India.
- Christopher Columbus’s letter to Queen Isabella regarding his discovery.
- A map showing the early European trade routes.
- Excerpt from a Spanish encomienda report on the New World.
- Excerpt from a Portuguese official describing their trading relationships with Africa.
- Account of an African slave’s experience of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
3. The Protestant and Catholic Reformations (c. 1500–c. 1648)
Prompt:
To what extent did the Protestant and Catholic Reformations transform European religious and political landscapes? In your response, consider the role of key figures, the spread of religious ideas, and the responses of European monarchs and the Catholic Church.
Documents:
- Excerpt from Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.
- The Papal Bull of Excommunication of Martin Luther (1521).
- Excerpt from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.
- The Council of Trent’s decrees on church doctrine and practices.
- Excerpt from the Peace of Augsburg (1555).
- A letter from a Catholic monarch to a Protestant reformer.
4. Religious Wars and State-Building (c. 1520–c. 1648)
Prompt:
Analyze the relationship between religious conflict and the development of early modern states in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. In your response, address how religious wars impacted the political structure and power of European monarchs.
Documents:
- Excerpt from the Edict of Nantes (1598).
- A letter from King Philip II of Spain to Pope Gregory XIII about the Netherlands.
- Excerpt from the Treaty of Westphalia (1648).
- Description of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
- Excerpt from a letter by Queen Elizabeth I regarding the Spanish Armada.
- Account of the Huguenot Wars in France.
5. Age of Reformation (c. 1450–c. 1648)
Prompt:
Evaluate the causes and consequences of the Reformation in Europe between 1450 and 1648. In your response, consider the theological, political, and social factors that influenced both the Catholic and Protestant movements.
Documents:
- Excerpt from Martin Luther’s letter to the Archbishop of Mainz.
- Excerpt from an Italian Catholic pamphlet criticizing Luther’s teachings.
- Excerpt from the Augsburg Confession (1530).
- Excerpt from the papal response to the Protestant Reformation.
- Description of the Peasants' War (1524–1525) in Germany.
- The English Act of Supremacy (1534).
6. Religious and Political Developments in Early Modern Europe (c. 1450–c. 1648)
Prompt:
To what extent did religious developments during the Reformation contribute to the rise of early modern state power? In your response, discuss how religious conflict, reforms, and the changing relationship between church and state influenced political authority and governance.
Documents:
- Excerpt from Henry VIII’s Defence of the Seven Sacraments.
- The letter of Queen Elizabeth I to the Pope, defending the English Church.
- Excerpt from the Thirty Years' War Peace Settlement (1648).
- Excerpt from the Letter of Marburg (1529), discussing the Lutheran-Zwinglian disagreements.
- Account of the rise of monarchies in Protestant and Catholic territories.
- Excerpt from the writings of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, highlighting the role of Jesuits.
These prompts allow students to explore the causes, effects, and key figures of each of the major historical events, while integrating primary sources to support their arguments