Modern Europe in European history

From the end of 15, Europe entered a modern period marked by great geographical discovery, religious reform and the rise of nation-states. Modern times include three centuries from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, from 1500 to 1800, or from 1492 when the New World was discovered to 1789 when the French Revolution took place.

This period is characterized by the rising importance of science, rapid technological progress, the sudden emergence of secular civil politics, and the capitalist economy of the nation-state began to sprout from various political bodies in northern Italy such as Genoa. Modern times have also witnessed the development and leading position of mercantilist economic theory. Naturally, modern times also represented the decline and final disappearance of feudal society, serfdom and Roman Catholic church authority in most parts of Europe. This period also included the Protestant Reformation, the disastrous Thirty Years' War, European colonization of America and witch hunting in Europe. Renaissance is a cultural movement that deeply influenced the academic life in modern Europe. It originated in Italy and spread to northern Europe and western Europe during the two and a half centuries of cultural intermission, which affected the study of literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, history, religion and other aspects.

Francesco Petraca, an Italian known as the first humanist in his bones, wrote in 1330: "I am alive, but I would rather be reincarnated in another era." He has a soft spot for Greek and Roman classical culture. In the 15 and 16 centuries, people felt that traditional culture was disappearing, and ancient culture was a treasure house of ideas and viewpoints needed for revival. Matteo Pemeri wrote in 1430: "Now every thoughtful soul should really thank God for allowing himself to be born in a new era." Renaissance came into being: a new era in which knowledge played an important role.

The Renaissance was inspired by more and more research on Latin and Greek documents, and worshipped the Greek and Roman times as the golden age. This prompted many artists and writers to follow the example of Rome and Greece to create their own works, but there were also many innovations in this period, especially in the works of artistic generalists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Many Roman and Latin materials existed before the Middle Ages. Monks have copied old texts and collected them over and over again in the past 1000 years, but for other purposes. After the fall of Constantinople, more materials flowed into Italy from the Islamic world. Italy inherited these Greek and Roman scripts and the knowledge gained through conquest, and even tried to further improve them. Humanists have always regarded themselves as advanced thinkers and regarded the restoration of the great past as a renaissance-the rebirth of civilization itself.

This period also established many important political precedents. Niccolò Machiavelli's political work "The Prince" influenced the later autocratic politics and realistic politics. Equally important, many rulers funded and used Renaissance works of art as symbols of their rights.

Generally speaking, the Renaissance can be regarded as an attempt by intellectuals to study and improve the secular society by reviving old ideas and adopting new ways of thinking-in modern times, language, thoughts and feelings are too "Gothic". During this period, the corruption of the Catholic church was strongly rebounded by the Protestant reform. The latter has gained a lot of support, especially among the rulers who seek the road to a strong country and get rid of the influence of the Catholic Church. After Martin Luther, many characters appeared. For example, john calvin's Calvinism is very influential in many countries. King Henry VIII of England made England independent from the Catholic Church and founded the Anglican Church (contrary to popular belief, this is only half right, and his daughter Elizabeth I completed the formation of the Anglican Church). These religious differences led to a new round of war, which was initiated and promoted by religion and those ambitious, increasingly powerful and centralized monarchy countries in Western Europe.

Protestantism reform also led to a wave of reform within the Catholic church, which was historically called anti-religious reform, with the aim of reducing corruption and enhancing and strengthening confidence in Catholic teachings. An important organization that emerged in this movement was the Jesuits, which helped eastern European countries stay in Catholicism. However, the Catholic Church was weakened by the Reformation, and a part of Europe was no longer under its control. Monarchs in other Catholic countries began to control their own Catholic organizations.

Central European countries such as Poland, Lithuania and Hungary are more tolerant than Western Europe. Although Catholicism still dominates, they continue to allow a large number of religious minorities to maintain their beliefs. Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians and Jews are divided in Central Europe. Another important development in this period is the rise of pan-European thought. Eméric Crucé (1623) put forward the idea of the European Parliament, aiming at ending the war in Europe. The attempt to establish a lasting peace failed, although in 15 18, all European countries (except Russia and the Ottoman Empire, not counting European countries) agreed to maintain peace in the London Treaty of 15 18. Several wars broke out a few years later. The Reformation also made it impossible for Europe to achieve peace for centuries.

Another result is European hegemony. The concept of civilization comes from ancient Greece and Rome: discipline, education and city life are the necessary conditions of civilization; Civilization is the standard to judge whether Europeans and non-Europeans are better or worse. Europe thinks it is superior to other continents. At that time, there was a movement initiated by Montaigne and others that people outside Europe were better, more natural and simpler people. Postal service systems have been established all over Europe, which enables European humanist intellectuals to put aside religious differences and form a network with each other. But the Roman Catholic Church confiscated many important scientific works; This has led to the academic backwardness of Protestant countries, because the seizure of books is only effective in a certain field. Francis Bacon and other enthusiastic scientists tried to establish the unity of Europe by emphasizing the unity of nature. /kloc-At the end of the middle of the 0/5th century, a powerful secular nation-state established by a centralized new monarch appeared in France, Britain and Spain. On the other hand, the parliamentary power of the Lithuanian Federation of Poland is growing day by day, and it has seized the legislative power from the Polish king. The new state power has also been challenged by Congress in other countries, especially England. A new country composed of regional rulers, cities, farmers, countries and knights began to appear. Frequent wars have not stopped emerging countries from exploring and conquering vast areas of the world, especially Asia (Siberia) and the newly discovered America. /kloc-Portugal took the lead in geographical discovery in the 0/5th century, followed by Spain in the 0/6th century. They were the first countries to establish colonies in America and trade posts on the coasts of Asia and Africa, but they were later caught up by France, Britain and the Netherlands. 1552 Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered two Tatar khanates-Kazan and astrakhan, and Ermak? Ivic's expedition in 1580 brought Siberia into Russia.

Colonial expansion continued in the following centuries (there were also some setbacks, such as the successful independence of British North America around the Napoleonic Wars and the subsequent countries such as Mexico and Brazil). Spain controls a part of North America and most of Central and South America, the Caribbean and the Philippines; Britain has acquired all of Australia and New Zealand, most of India, and many parts of Africa and North America. France acquired parts of Canada and India (almost all of them fell into British hands in the Paris Treaty of 1763), zhina in India, many parts of Africa and Caribbean islands; The Netherlands acquired east indies (Indonesia in the 2nd/Kloc-0th century) and some islands in the Caribbean; Portugal has acquired several lands in Brazil, Africa and Asia; Later powers such as Germany, Belgium, Italy and Russia also gained more colonies.

These expansions are of great benefit to the economy of the suzerain country. Because the empire was unstable, trade was once rampant. By the end of 16, BofA accounted for one-fifth of Spain's total national budget. The cost of war between European countries was mainly paid by colonial funds. At that time, the slave trade and plantations in the West Indies, which were the most profitable in the British colonies, only accounted for 5% of the total economic output of the British Empire (but the output was higher) during the industrial revolution in the late18th century. In early modern Europe, the capitalist system (through mercantilism) replaced the feudal system. At least in Western Europe, the capitalist system became the basic form of economic organization. The expanding colonies promoted the commercial revolution. During this period, the rise of modern science and its application in technological progress attracted attention and reached its climax in the industrial revolution. Iberia (Spain and Portugal), led by Christopher Columbus, made an expedition to the west in 1492, looking for a shortcut to east indies, and soon faced the challenge of the British and French in developing North America. New trade forms and development prospects have created new government, legal forms and economic needs.

The Reformation had a far-reaching impact on Europe as a whole. Not only do countries draw a clear line between religions, but some countries are also divided by religious disputes and receive enthusiastic support from foreign enemies. France fell into this abyss in the sixteenth century, and a series of conflicts called the French religious war took place, which ended in the victory of Bourbon dynasty. Britain avoided this situation for a period of time, and under the rule of Elizabeth I, a moderate Anglican Church was established. At that time, most of modern Germany was composed of many small sovereign countries within the framework of the theoretical holy Roman Empire, and sectarian differences made the vassal regime more serious. At this time, the Polish-Lithuanian Federation was concerned because of its religious freedom and its general immunity from religious disputes in Europe.

The Thirty Years' War lasted from 16 18 to 1648, mainly in today's Germany, and most European powers were involved. It began with the conflict between Protestant and Catholic princes in the Holy Roman Empire, and then gradually evolved into a full-scale war that swept across most of Europe. The reason was not necessarily related to religion. Mercenaries are widely used in the war, and its main influence is that large areas are plundered by troops looking for food and grass. Large-scale famine and epidemic of infectious diseases weakened the population of German vassal States, while the situation in low-lying countries and Italy was slightly better, and many regional powers were on the verge of bankruptcy. A quarter to a third of the German population died of war and related diseases and famines. The war lasted for 30 years, but the contradictions that caused the war were not solved for a long time.

After the Peace Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the war and allowed countries to decide their own religious beliefs, dictatorship became a common phenomenon in the European continent, but some places in Europe experimented with the constitutional system before the British Civil War, especially the glorious revolution. Military conflicts in Europe have not stopped, but the destructive impact on European life has declined. In developed northwest Europe, the Enlightenment gave philosophical support to new ideas, and printing made the literacy rate rise continuously, which produced new secular power in thought. The Polish-Lithuanian Federation is once again an exception because of its unique quasi-democratic "golden freedom".

Eastern Europe is the battlefield of Sweden, Poland, Lithuania and Ottoman Turkey. During this period, these three countries gradually declined and were finally replaced by new enlightened autocratic monarchies-Russia, Prussia and Austria. /kloc-with the arrival of the 0/9th century, they became new powers, and three countries carved up Poland, and Sweden and Turkey ceded large areas of land to Russia and Austria respectively. A large number of Polish Jews immigrated to Western Europe and established Jewish communities in the exiled land in the Middle Ages.