A Survey of Modern European History: From Joan of Arc to Tony Blair From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection Second Edition Published: July 21, 2006 The current version of this book can be found at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/European_History Contents PREFACE - A BACKGROUND OF EUROPEAN HISTORY....................................................................8 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................8 FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE ............................................................................................................................8 BARBARIANS UNITE ...........................................................................................................................................9 ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ART .....................................................................................................................11 PAPAL POWER IN THE MIDDLE AGES...............................................................................................................11 SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE AGES ........................................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 01 - THE CRISES OF THE MIDDLE AGES..........................................................................14 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................14 NEW BREEDS OF ART .......................................................................................................................................14 THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR ............................................................................................................................15 THE RISE OF TOWNS AND COMMERCE ............................................................................................................16 GROWTH OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES ............................................................................................................16 THE BLACK DEATH ..........................................................................................................................................16 CHALLENGES TO SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY AT THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES ..............................................18 CHAPTER 02 - RENAISSANCE EUROPE..................................................................................................20 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................20 ORIGINS.............................................................................................................................................................20 SOCIAL ORDER AND CULTURAL CHANGE .......................................................................................................20 THE BIRTH OF HUMANISM ...............................................................................................................................21 ARTS..................................................................................................................................................................22 THE PRINCE .......................................................................................................................................................23 NORTHERN RENAISSANCE VS. SOUTHERN RENAISSANCE ..............................................................................23 2 THE NEW MONARCHIES ...................................................................................................................................23 THE RISE OF COURT LIFE .................................................................................................................................24 CHAPTER 03 - EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY...............................................................................26 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................26 CAUSES OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION ...........................................................................................................26 PORTUGUESE ROLES IN EARLY EXPLORATION ...............................................................................................27 EARLY SPANISH EXPLORERS............................................................................................................................27 RESULTS OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION .........................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 04 - CHALLENGES TO SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY ...........................................................29 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................29 CAUSES OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION .................................................................................................30 KEY PERSONS OF THE REFORMATION..............................................................................................................30 CHART OF KEY RELIGIONS...............................................................................................................................33 THE COUNTER-REFORMATION.........................................................................................................................34 THE SPANISH RECONQUISTA OF 1492..............................................................................................................35 RELIGIOUS QUALMS IN ENGLAND ...................................................................................................................35 CHAPTER 05 - RELIGIOUS WARS IN EUROPE.....................................................................................36 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................36 SPANISH CONFLICT WITH THE DUTCH .............................................................................................................37 THE SPANISH ARMADA ....................................................................................................................................37 THE DECLINE OF SPAIN ....................................................................................................................................38 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR................................................................................................................................38 CHAPTER 06 - ABSOLUTISM IN EUROPE ..............................................................................................41 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................41 SOCIAL STRATIFICATION OF THE 1600S AND 1700S .......................................................................................41 3 LOUIS XIV, MODEL OF ABSOLUTISM..............................................................................................................41 THE WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION.................................................................................................................42 THE BALANCE OF POWER IN FOREIGN POLICY ...............................................................................................42 THE ECONOMICS OF MERCANTILISM...............................................................................................................42 THE RISE OF PRUSSIA 1701 - 1740 ..................................................................................................................43 STUART ENGLAND 1603-1714 .........................................................................................................................43 THE GLORIOUS DUTCH REPUBLIC ...................................................................................................................45 PETER ROMANOV THE GREAT OF RUSSIA 1689-1723.....................................................................................45 BAROQUE ART ..................................................................................................................................................45 CHAPTER 07 - SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION AND ENLIGHTENMENT ...........................................47 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................47 "PARENTS" TO THE AGE OF SCIENCE...............................................................................................................47 THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION..........................................................................................................................47 ROCOCO ART ....................................................................................................................................................49 THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT.........................................................................................................................49 ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM ...............................................................................................................................50 WAR OF AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION