European History

European history is marked by renaissance, revolutions, and religion-fueled conflicts. Our study of European history will begin with the Renaissance in the 14th century and continue up to the end of the 20th century. Let's find out how European nations and their relationships with each other transformed throughout this period.

Fig. 1 - 16th Century Map of Europe

Timeline of European history

Below are some key events in European history that have shaped the region, and the rest of the world, today.

The European history period

European history did not begin with the Renaissance. There are thousands of years worth of history predating this event, including ancient civilizations such as the Romans, Greeks and Franks. So, why does our study begin with the Renaissance?

Simply put, it was an age-defining event. Totaling nearly three hundred years between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, its political, cultural, social, and economic influence on European history is the foundation for most modern European nations.

Important events in European history: the European Renaissance

We've mentioned the Renaissance so many times already, but what was it?

The Renaissance was a widespread cultural movement that most historians agree started in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century. Florence became the epicenter for the Italian Renaissance with its thriving mercantile center and merchant class that helped drive the economy.

Italian humanists encouraged a rebirth of classic literature and ushered in different approaches to ancient texts. The invention of the printing press in Europe around 1439 helped disperse humanist teachings that directly challenged religious authority.

The revival movement slowly spread throughout Europe and produced art, culture, architecture, and religious changes. The great thinkers, writers, and artists of the Renaissance believed in reviving and spreading classical philosophy, art, and literature from the ancient world.

Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance (Renaissance outside of Italy) started in roughly the middle of the 15th century when artists such as Jan van Eyck began borrowing art techniques from the Italian Renaissance - this soon spread. Unlike Italy, the Northern Renaissance did not boast a wealthy merchant class that commissioned paintings.

European History: European Wars

While there was cultural transformation, there was also war caused by social, economic, and demographic crises.

Fig. 3 - Battle of White Mountain, Thirty Years War

European History: Age of Exploration

Europe's Age of Exploration started in the fifteenth century under Portuguese leader Henry the Navigator. Going further than any prior European exploration, the Portuguese sailed around the coast of Africa. Economic and religious motives drove many European nations to explore and set up colonies.

Why Did Europeans Explore and Settle Overseas Territories?

European nations sought luxury goods, territorial acquisition, and the spread of religion throughout the fifteenth century. Before European exploration, the only viable trade route was the Silk Road. Mediterranean trade routes were available but controlled by Italian merchants. Therefore, an all-water course was needed to gain direct access to luxury goods.

The rise of the economic theory of mercantilism throughout Europe influenced nations to spread out and acquire colonies. Established colonies then provided robust national trade systems between the mother country and colony.

Overseas Empires

Exchange of Ideas and the Expansion of the Slave Trade

Throughout Europe's Age of Exploration (15th-17th century), contact between the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) and the New World (the Americas) provided completely new goods and opportunities for wealth for European nations. This process of trading was called the Columbian Exchange.

With the flourishing new system of trade routes, the slave trade quickly expanded. By 1444, enslaved Africans were being bought and shipped by the Portuguese from West and North Africa around the Mediterranean Sea and other regions. As Portugal established colonies in the Americas during the Age of Exploration, sugar plantations became a core part of their economy. Portugal again turned to west Africa to provide a cheap source of labor to these plantations and colonies. This source of labor caught the attention of other European nations, and soon the demand for enslaved Africans drastically increased.

New colonial empires ushered in an economy based on the plantation system - profitable for Europe but detrimental to those enslaved.

History of Europe and religion

The Protestant and Catholic reformations began in Europe in the 16th century and critically altered the public's attitude towards wealth, culture, theology, and religious organizations.

Fig. 6 - Martin Luther Nailing His

95 Theses

Protestant Reformation

In 1517, a German priest named Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg detailing issues he had with the Catholic Church and propositions for debate - mostly around indulgences. For most, this is the symbolic beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

This period saw a split from the Roman Catholic Church and the development of Protestantism which denounced the authority of the Pope, and developed ideas based on Christian Humanism. This meant it focused on religious teachings of individual faith and freedom, the importance of happiness, fulfilment, and dignity, instead of devoutness to the institution of the church.

So, what issues did Martin Luther and his followers have with the Catholic Church?

• Many of the Church's practices began to erode the moral foundations of Catholic teachings, putting the authority of the Church into question.
• For example, the Catholic Church used the practice of indulgences- payments made to the Church to ensure one's salvation.
• Martin Luther saw this practice as corrupt, and that only one's own divinity and happiness could ensure one's salvation.

Several modern Christian religions were created from the Reformation, such as Lutheranism, Baptism, Methodism, and Presbyterianism.

Fig. 7 - Comparison of Protestant and Catholic Views

Catholic and Counter-Reformation

In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church began a counter-reformation in 1545. Pope Paul III attempted to fix some of the problems with the Catholic Church, but the changes came too slow, and members continued to leave. As a result, new religious orders like the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) came to reform the Catholic Church. The Jesuits, along with the Council of Trent, succeeded in reviving the Church but cemented the deepening divide amongst Christianity.

Fig. 8 -

Council of Trent

Conflicts Amongst Religious Groups

The Reformation resulted in a deep divide within Christianity that led to numerous religious conflicts. Wars of religion spread across France and Spain that overlapped the state's political and economic motives. The French Wars of Religion resulted in a feudal rebellion that placed the nobility in direct confrontation with the king. The French War lasted for forty years and led to the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which gave Protestants certain rights.

Fig. 9 - Massacre of Sens, French Wars of Religion

Revolution and its central role in European History

From the Glorious Revolution in 1688 to the Revolutions of 1848, European governments changed dramatically in just over 150 years. Monarchs had long-held absolute rule over Europe. Now they would be subject to laws or have their roles abolished altogether. This period also saw the rise of the middle class, who didn't fit into the roles of peasant or nobility.

The Glorious Revolution

In 1660, the English Parliament restored the monarchy by inviting Charles II to the throne. The English Civil War had removed the monarch from the English throne with the execution of King Charles I. His son, Charles II, lived in exile until a convention of Parliament placed him on the throne. When James II followed Charles II in 1685, he came into conflict with Parliament and attempted to dissolve it to consolidate his power.

The existing Parliament sent a letter of support to the king's son-in-law, William of Orange, who was already planning to invade England from the Netherlands. After many of his armies turned against him, James II fled to France for his safety. Parliament declared that James II had abandoned his country and instated William and his wife Mary as rulers when they agreed to a Bill of Rights protecting free speech and election in Parliament.

Fig. 10 - William of Orange Lands in Britain

The French Revolution

The French Revolution was a strong contrast to the Glorious Revolution. Instead of a bloodless transition to a constrained monarchy, the king and queen were beheaded by guillotine. The revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799, fueled at first by a poor economy and lack of representation under the monarchy, before turning to paranoia with the Reign of Terror. Eventually, Napoleon seized control of the country in 1799 and ended the revolutionary era.

A common theme of this revolutionary period was law. It was thought that people should no longer be governed solely by religion or the will of a single individual but by reason and ideas developed through debate.

Thinkers of this time period developed radical new ideas on human relations, government, science, math, etc. They developed laws for humans and discovered laws of nature. Their thinking inspired political revolutions of the time in America and Europe.

Industrial Revolution

From the middle of the eighteenth to the middle of the nineteenth century, it wasn't only political life that was changing.

In addition to the spread of new ideas and philosophies and the creation of new nations, new technologies drove dramatic changes in economies and societies. The Industrial Revolution was characterized by the increasing mechanization of production and resulting social changes.

Industrialization had its roots in agricultural improvements, preindustrial societies and economics, and the growth of technology.

• The Agricultural Revolution: The Industrial Revolution first has its roots in the agricultural improvements of the early 1700s. Crop rotation and the invention of the seed drill result in increased productivity and, thus, more revenue and more food for a growing population. These demographic changes created a labor force for factories and a market for manufactured goods.

• Preindustrial Societies: As agricultural products became more available, it strained the preindustrial economy and society. Cottage industry practices could not keep up with the gross production of wool, cotton, and flax, creating a need for the development of machinery to produce more textiles more efficiently.

• Growth of Technology: By the mid-1700s, ingenuity and technology began to match agricultural output. The invention of the spinning jenny, water frame, interchangeable parts, the cotton gin, and the organization of factories created an environment for rapid industrial growth.

The Industrial Revolution begins in earnest in Great Britain. The economic and political climate of the nation and its connected wealth of natural resources gave the island nation a distinct advantage over others to quickly adapt to these industrial changes occurred. Though it began in Britain, the Industrial Revolution soon spread worldwide.

• France: Delayed by the French Revolution, subsequent wars, and sparse urban centers conducive to a large factory labor force, the industrial revolution took root as the attention and capital of the French elite recovered from these factors.

• Germany: The unification of Germany in 1871 brought the industrial revolution to the now powerful nation. The political fragmentation before this time made connectivity of labor, natural resources, and transportation of goods much more difficult.

• Russia: The delay in the industrialization of Russia was primarily due to the vast size of the country itself and the creation of a transportation network to get the raw materials to the urban cities of the nation.

Fig. 12 - English Industrial Workers

The Revolutions of 1848

1848 saw a wave of revolution sweep across Europe - revolutions occurred in:

• France
• Germany
• Poland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Austrian Empire

Peasants were angry over a lack of political say, personal freedoms, and failing economies overseen by indifferent monarchs. Despite the strength of the revolutionary tide in Europe, the revolutions largely failed by 1849.

European History: Political Developments in Europe

From around the start of the 19th century to 1815, a series of conflicts known as the Napoleonic Wars saw France take over much of Europe. Several coalitions were formed to oppose France's expansion, but it would not be until the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 that Napoleon was finally stopped. Areas that had been under French control got a taste of life without a monarchy. Although kings were returned to power, new political ideas rose in their lands.

Realpolitik

A new political idea arose in the late nineteenth century: Realpolitik. Realpolitik emphasized that morals and ideology were unimportant; all that mattered was practical success. By this philosophy, states did not have to worry about whether actions aligned with their values, but only if political goals were accomplished.

Fig. 13 - Otto Von Bismarck

New Political Theories

The second half of the nineteenth century was a breeding ground for new political ideas. More people than ever were engaged or sought to be involved with the political process. Thinkers focused on exploring personal freedoms, meeting the basic needs of the ordinary people, or emphasizing a shared heritage and culture.

Popular Political and Social Theories of the Late Nineteenth Century

• Anarchism
• Nationalism
• Communism
• Socialism
• Social Darwinism
• Feminism

European History: 20th-century global conflict in Europe

By the turn of the twentieth century, the pieces were in place for a century of conflict. Otto Von Bismarck's Realpolitik had succeeded in unifying a German empire. Metternich's preoccupation with stability would prove to be of some foresight as instability in the Balkans threatened the whole of Europe. Since the Napoleonic Wars, various alliances had been drawn up, and horrifying new weapons of war developed.

World War I

In 1914, Serbian Nationalists assassinated Arch Franz Ferdinand of Austria. This set off a chain of events that caused the web of alliances in Europe to become activated and converge into two sides of the First World War - the Central and Allied Powers.

From 1914 to 1918, around 16 million people died due to brutal new weapons such as poison gas and tanks and the rat and lice-infested conditions of trench warfare.

Combat ended with an armistice in 1918, before the Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war. Although some called it "the war to end all wars," the blame, reparations, and lack of international diplomatic power Germany was forced to accept under the Treaty of Versailles would lead to the next conflict.

Fig. 14 - French Soldiers WWI

World War II

Fig. 15 - British Navy WWII

The Cold War

At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, the United States, the USSR, and Britain divided up the post-war world. Europe had paid a high cost for WWII, and actors who had dominated the continent, such as Germany, France, and Britain, found themselves caught in the struggle between two superpowers.

The United States to the West and the USSR to the East now vied for influence over the continent. The two sides were divided up yet again into two alliances: NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and the Warsaw Pact.

Fig. 16 - Potsdam Conference

European History: Globalism in Europe

After WWII, the world was more integrated than ever as the two international economic systems of Capitalism and Communism defined international relations. European leaders quickly realized that political, economic, and military integration as one block was necessary.

Fig. 17 - Flag of Europe

European Union

The first moves toward union began in the 1950s with trade agreements between individual countries. In the 1960s, economic and political cooperation increased as the European Economic Community (EEC) was formed. The European Union would be the ultimate expression of this movement toward integration.

The EU was created in 1992 as a bloc with a single currency. Throughout the 1990s, former Soviet Bloc countries joined the EU and modernized their economies. Struggles came with this, however, as resentment toward integration between economically stronger and weaker nations increased nationalist criticism of European integration.