The Early Modern age witnessed the ascent of Western Europe to economic, global political, and technological dominance. The ascent was gradual and only toward the end of the Early Modern age did Western power surpass that of rival civilizations. The rivals of Europe were found in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. The Early Modern age can be divided into two periods; the first being the Reformation and the second being the Enlightenment.
Much of the economic and territorial expansion was both positive and negative. The negative included the scale of war between Western powers. The positive side included the Early Modern age experiencing a large middle class which boosted the spread of literacy and scholarship. With these dramatic changes, the political power in Early Modern Europe was very concentrated and favored for the upper class which was composed primarily of nobility and clergy. Much of the struggle was between the middle and upper class of each nation. The old order which included the nobility and clergy of the upper class was displaced in the modern age (1800-present) when industrial manufacturing allowed capitalists to dominate the economic class.
Countries in Western Europe began to emerge toward the end of the medieval period. Much of the monarchs finally managed to achieve firm centralized control over larger regions. The power of monarchs continued to grow during the Reformation while the power of nobles declined. There was a large transition from feudalism to absolutism. Monarchs ruled their lands under the feudal system and indirectly via hierarchies. Absolutist monarchs ruled the entire state directly. The transitional period between feudalism and absolutism which Enlightenment was strongly absolutist monarchs.
History of Early Modern Europe. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2016, from http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-history/early-modern-europe/
Bradley James Kehoe says
Enjoyed reading this blog. The reason for me taking the time to read it was because of the picture that you posted to start off the article. It really captured my eye, and made me curious. The first paragraph is powerful, it allows the reader to understand that it was a gradual ascent to the Western Power. The second paragraph defined the rise of the Western Power, and how it came to be. The third paragraph explains how they emerged. towards the end. The only thing i believe that is missing from this blog is some more facts. Each of the paragraphs is a brief snapshot of what happened, but does not go into much depth to really allow a reader to understand and learn about it. More or less just stating some simple facts. The facts a great facts, but would just like a little more as i was left a little curious.