The Rise of Monarchial Nation States: 1500 - 1700
Europe: 1500 - 1700
 |
The Development of Monarchial States: |
The tools of diplomacy, such as having embassies, were first seen in the city - states of Renaissance Italy. During the Early Modern period, in Northern and Western Europe, the unified idea of nation - states began to develop. These monarchial nation states (monarchial because the state was governed by a king), began to replace the feudal kingship idea of the Middle Ages. Prior to the 1500's the King was not an absolute ruler, but rather ruled with the consent of his nobles. During this epoch however, the notion that King's rule is by Divine Rights, the monarch now became absolute.
The best example of this is the French Monarchy. Under Louis XIV (The Sun King), France created a centralized monarchy with the king having absolute power.
While in England, the Stuart House, which reigned for most of the 1600's, were interested in adopting French Absolutism, but were stopped by the ever increasingly powerful, English Parliament. England eventually became a Constitutional Monarchy.
|
Important Characteristics of Nation - States: |
Growing Bureaucratization: More and more was the need to have a centralized state.
Existence of a Permanent Mercenary Army: Due to the wars, people wanted armies.
Growing need to tax: In order to pay for the armies and for the wars, monarchy needed taxes.
|
Italy: |
Italy did not become a unified nation until the 19th century. During this period ambitious rulers of France and Spain wanted to invade Italy, and make it a part of their growing Kingdoms. The Treaty of Lodi signed in 1455 had provided some sort of balance of power among the Italian city-states. This treaty insured that outside invaders would stay out of Italian affairs. But in1490, Ludovico il More, became Despot of Milan. He was hostile towards Naples, and then invited the French into Italy. Charles VIII, King of France, sent his army around the mountains. Charles rode into Florence. In Florence this preacher named Savonarola had just succeeded in an uprising and kicked out the Medicis and set up a puritanical nation. Then as Ludovico saw that his invitation was proving disastrous, he joined an anti-France alliance which kicked out the French and restored the Medicis in Florence. Once the Medicis came back, they took Savonarola and burned him at the stake. Throughout the 1500's Italy became the battlefields where Spain and France fought in order to achieve dominance. During this period of Instability, Niccoló Machiavelli wrote The Prince. Machiavelli was one of the first to call out for Italian unification.
| Spain: |
16th Century Spanish Empire
Prior to the 1400's there were both Christian and Islamic kingdoms throughout Spain. In 1469, Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile, and led the groundwork for Spanish unification. In 1492, the Spanish army conquered the last Islamic stronghold of Grenada, thus the Spanish State was complete. That same year the Inquisition began and the Spaniards expelled the Jewish population out of Spain. This inquisition was later also successfully used against the Protestants. Throughout a series of political marriages, Ferdinand and Isabella's grandson, Charles V, controlled a vast empire throughout Europe. He was both King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. In 1556, when he was tired of it all he gave his brother, Ferdinand - who he did not like - the troublesome Hapsburg lands of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary, as well as title of Holy Roman Emperor. He gave his son Phillip the most valuable parts of his Empire: Spain, and its holdings in the New World, Southern Italy, and the Netherlands.
Phillip fought in the Mediterranean for supremecy against the Ottoman Empire, he got a success in the battle of Lepanto in 1571. In the Netherlands he tried to put down a revolt. This revolt was over religious and nationalistic ideas when Phillip tried to impose strict adherence to Catholicism in a land where Calvinism was gaining support even among the Aristocracy. In 1588, he launched the Spanish Armada in an attempt to invade England. This because Queen Elizabeth I was aiding the rebels in the Netherlands. The Armada was defeated by the English Navy, this to some respects marks the end of Spanish Supremecy throughout the 16th century. In 1609, Spain was forced to grant independence to the Northern parts of the Netherlands. During the 16 and 17 centuries was a cultural golden age for Spain. Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, and El Greco was one of the most influential painters of the Era.
The Holy Roman Empire:
HRE, along with Italy, did not establish a centralized government. As I said before the Holy Roman Empire, wasn't Holy, wasn't Roman, and it wasn't an Empire. It consisted of almost 300 semi-sovereign parts, over which an emperor, who was elected by a group of seven German princes, ruled with little authority. Charles V was elected emperor in 1519, and he attempted to put in Imperial control over the state. Yet thanks to the Lutheran Reformation, this never came to be. The Peace of Augsburg of 1555 signified the end of the religious wars during the reign of Charles V. The treaty did not however grant legal recognition to the Calvinists. The 30 Years' War (1618-1648) was a struggle that combined political and religious debates. The war began in Bohemia where Ferdinand of Styria was crowned King of Bohemia, he was Catholic. The majority of Bohemians were Protestants. Protestant nobles of Bohemia ganged up on Ferdinand's Catholic advisors, and threw them out a window. The next year Ferdinand was elected Emperor. After a couple of hours, Ferdinand learned that the rebels in Bohemia had deposed him and elected Frederick of Palatinate, a Protestant. Then there were fighting between the groups, the king of Denmark came into the show, and this was a huge mess. In the Edict of Restitution of 1629 outlawed Calvinism in the Empire, and required Lutherans to turn over all of the property seized since 1552. This led the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, to enter the war. He claimed that he enter to protect Protestant rights, but Adolphus was also interested in some lands that he had his eye on. Now this gets better: The French government (Catholic) financially supported the Swedish Army (Protestant), because France's chief minister, the Cardinal Richelieu, wanted to diminish Hapsburg power. Now this becomes political. The final phase of the war consisted of the French and Swedes fighing against the Hapsburgs and their Spanish allies. By the end of the war in 1648, the Empire had 8 million people less than what they had when the war began in 1618. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) marked the end of the war. The HRE maintained numerous political divisions, and the treaty ensured that the Emperor would remain to have a miniscule role in the affairs of the Empire. The treaty also affirmed the Peace of Augsburg, and now also recognized Calvinism. 30 years of war did not change a whole lot.
