European History Packet 1500-1750
Renaissance, Reformation, Absolutism, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment
This 90+ page European History Packet contains materials covering the period from roughly 1500-1750. It covers the Renaissance & Reformation and goes into detail about the political rulers of this time. It also traces some of the major intellectual changes that are going on during this period. This packet touches on all these topics – the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Absolutism, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment.
What’s fascinating about this period is how much all these topics overlap and intertwine. For example, Charles V is trying to rule his vast empire at the same time Martin Luther is stirring up trouble with his 95 theses. Henry VIII divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn about the same time Copernicus was working on his theories about the Earth & Sun. Or, John Locke was developing his theories about government about the same time Peter the Great was in power in Russia. I tried to help the kids make those connections as we went over all this material by providing various timeline pages.
Topics in this Packet:
Renaissance
- Renaissance Italy and the Medici Family
- Medici – Popes
- The Patrons (many of them were Medici) and the Artists that they supported
- Renaissance & the Holy Roman Empire – You will be talking with the students about Charles V again and again throughout your studies because he was the Holy Roman Emperor when Martin Luther wrote his 95 Thesis… and his empire was divided with part going to his brother and the other part going to his son (Philip II – husband of “Bloody” Mary of England. Philip II is also the one who sent the Spanish Armada to attack England during Elizabeth’s reign)
Reformation
- Martin Luther
English Reformation
- Henry VIII & his wives
- Formation of the Church of England
- Mary (& Philip II)
- Elizabeth (Sir Francis Drake, Spanish Armada)
- Shakespeare
- English vs. German Reformation
Click here to save this on Pinterest
The European History Packet also covers…
Age of Absolutism
- Charles V (and Martin Luther) – plus some lectures like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d3THYyRQy4
- Ottoman Empire – Suleiman the Magnificent
- Philip II – Spanish Armada
- Sir Francis Drake
- Louis XIV and Versailles – One of the ones we watched was the BBC The Real Versailles – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf8Da04Fgwk
- English Civil War
- Thirty Years War
- Partition of Poland
the major Absolute Monarchs of this period:
- Peter the Great
- Maria Theresa
- Frederick the Great
- Catherine the Great
Scientific Revolution
- Copernicus,
- Brahe,
- Kepler,
- Galileo,
- Newton,
- Vesalius,
- Harvey,
- Leeuwenhoek,
- Hooke
Enlightenment
- Hobbes,
- Locke,
- Montesquieu,
- Voltaire,
- Rousseau
How long will it take us to cover this material? Our family spent two semesters (one school year) on this material because we read a lot from our history book, watched various documentaries and videos. Your family could go through this material at a faster pace if you don’t go into quite as much depth as we did on some sections!
What other books or materials do I need for this unit? We used a couple of different history textbooks for our unit. You can use any history sources… from library books to more traditional history textbooks. This packet not correspond to a specific history text. That said, I recommend Suzanne Strauss Art’s book, The Story of the Renaissance, (affiliate link) which we used as our spine for the Renaissance and Reformation. We really enjoyed reading this book aloud. We used a world history textbook from my teaching days to cover many of the other topics (especially the material from the Age of Absolutism such as the Thirty Years War and the Partition of Poland).
What ages do you recommend for this material? My kids were 9/10, 12 and 14 when we did these units. Some parts were challenging for my youngest. I would recommend this unit for middle school or high school.
Can I buy just the Renaissance (or whatever) portion? No, sorry this material is sold as a set.
How do I purchase this packet? When you click on the Buy Now button below, it will take you to Paypal. You can use a credit card rather than PayPal by clicking on the grey button (just below the blue button). Upon receipt of payment you will immediately get a link to download this pdf in your browser. You will also receive an email from SendOwl Downloads which will give you a link to download. (Check the email linked to your PayPal account.) Of course, if you have any issues just email me at — liesl at homeschoolden dot com. You can also reach me by using the contact form. ~Liesl
This packet is 90+ pages. At the beginning of each section, I have a cover page that gives you an overview of what we did and how we used the materials provided.
This packet is $6.99
Again, here is a Quick Preview of the European History Packet so you can see what is included.
$6.99
European History Packet – Use this button if you would like to buy any of the other packets below.
Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link!
You might be interested in these related packets:
Middle Ages – Feudalism Packet (Click here to find out more: Middle Ages-Feudalism Unit)
$6.99 Middle Ages – Feudalism Packet
Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link!
Click here for more details: Age of Exploration or here for the Age of Exploration Quick Preview
$4.50 Age of Exploration Packet
Slavery and the Civil War Packet: You can find out more about our Slavery notebook pages here.
The Slavery and Civil War Unit covers the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the New World, Territorial Growth, and the Civil War.
$6.99 Slavery and the Civil War
Slavery and the Civil War Packet (75+ pages)
Causes of the American Revolution Packet (and American Revolution play)
You can find more about that unit here: Causes of the American Revolution Packet
$6.99 Causes of the American Revolution Packet
Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link.
If you have any questions or problems, feel free to email me! ~ Liesl
View our Privacy Policy here.
See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! Don’t forget to Subscribe to our Homeschool Den Newsletter. You might also want to check out some of our resources pages above (such as our Science, Language Arts, or History Units Resource Pages) which have links to dozens of posts. You might want to join our free Homeschool Den Chat Facebook group. Don’t forget to check out Our Store as well. 
Again, if you are interested in joining our Homeschool Den Newsletter, feel free to subscribe here:
Happy Homeschooling!
~Liesl
