Part Nine IX › Division VI VI › Section 961 961

Western Europe from c. 1500 to c. 1789

Subject Outline

AThe effects of religious and cultural change: the emergence of the nation-state system, the predominance and decline of Habsburg power centred in Spain (c. 1500-1648)
- 1The later Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe
  - aThe influence of Italian statecraft and political theory: Machiavelli and the principle of raison d'etat
  - bCultural and intellectual life in the later Renaissance
- 2The Scientific Revolution: the emergence of modern science and technology in the 16th and 17th centuries
- 3The emergence of a religiously divided Europe in the 16th century
  - aThe Protestant Reformation and its political and social consequences
  - bThe Catholic Reformation and Counter-Reformation
- 4International diplomacy and warfare (1494-1648)
  - aThe Italian Wars (1494-1516) and the concept of balance of power: French and Austro-Spanish expansionism in Italy
  - bFrench and Austrian struggles for supremacy in Europe (1515-59): French anti-Habsburg alliances with England, German Lutheran princes, and the Turks
  - cConflicts between Catholic and Protestant powers after c. 1555: religious wars in France and the Low Countries, conflict with the Ottoman Empire
  - dThe Thirty Years' War (1618-48) and the Peace of Westphalia: the end of religious struggles and resecularization of international affairs
- 5National and dynastic states (c. 1500-1648)
  - aItaly in the 16th and 17th centuries: political, economic, social, and cultural developments
    - iThe French invasion (1494) and conquests of Naples (1495) and Milan (1499), the influence of Savonarola, the anti-French League of Venice and the Spanish defeat of France (1525)
    - iiItaly under Spanish domination: Catholic religious reforms; Spanish Habsburg rule in Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and Milan
    - iiiRelations between Spain and the independent states of Italy: Savoy, Genoa, Tuscany, Venice, and the Papal States
  - bSpain from 1516 to 1665
    - iEstablishment of the Habsburg dynasty (1516) by Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), Spanish hegemony in Europe and the Americas, domestic and foreign policies of Philip II (1556-98), the Armada (1588), cultural developments in Spain's Golden Age
    - iiPolitical and economic decline during the reigns of Philip III (1598-1621) and Philip IV (1621-65): expulsion of the Moriscos (1609), Olivares' administration, loss of Portugal ( 1640)
  - cPortugal from c. 1500 to 1640: domination of East Indian trade, union with Spain (1580), independence under House of Braganqa ( 1640)
  - dThe British Isles (c. 1485-1649)
    - iHenry VII (1485-1509): dynastic unity in England after the Wars of the Roses; political, judicial, social, and economic developments
    - iiHenry VIII ( 1509-47): foreign and domestic policies; the divorce question, the English Reformation, and the establishment of the Church of England; Edward VI (1547-53) and Mary I (1553-58)
    - iiiElizabeth I (1558-1603): social and cultural developments; domestic policies; dynastic challenge of Mary, Queen of Scots; struggle with Spain
    - ivJames I (1603-25) of England (James VI of Scotland) and establishment of the Stuart dynasty: developments in religious doctrine, foreign relations, economic policy, and the arts; conflicts between crown and Parliament
    - vCharles I (1625-49) and the English Civil War (1642-51): economic and political disputes between crown and Parliament; royal personal rule (1629-40); persecution of Puritans; the Long Parliament, Oliver Cromwell, and the Civil War; execution of Charles I (1649)
    - viScotland in the 16th and 17th centuries: reigns of James IV and James V; Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-67), and the Scottish Reformation; John Knox and Calvinism; James VI (1567-1625) of Scotland (James I of England, 1603-25) and personal union of the two crowns
    - viiIreland in the 16th and 17th centuries: subjugation of Ireland by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the Irish revolt of 1641, Cromwell's invasion and anti-Catholic policies during the Commonwealth
  - eFrance from 1483 to 1643
    - iDevelopment of a standing army and a professional bureaucracy in the reigns of Charles VIII (1483-98), Louis XII (1498-1515), Francis I (1515-47), and Henry II (1547-59)
    - iiThe Protestant Reformation and the French Wars of Religion (1562-98): the reigns of Catherine de Medicis (1560-74) and Henry III (1574-89), religious compromise and restoration of strong monarchy under Henry IV of Bourbon (1589-1610)
    - iiiThe reign of Louis XIII (1610-43) and Cardinal de Richelieu: suppression of the Huguenots and the nobles, French success in the Thirty Years' War
  - fGermany and the Holy Roman Empire from c. 1500 to 1648: the Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and Thirty Years' War
    - iMaximilian I (1493-1519), Martin Luther, and the origins of Lutheranism; Charles V and the Diet and Edict of Worms (1521); the Peasants' Revolt (1524-25); diets of Speyer (1526 and 1529) and Augsburg (1530); the Schmalkaldic League and ensuing wars; abdication of Charles V (1555) and Peace of Augsburg
    - iiFerdinand I (1556-64) and Maximilian II (1564-76), internal disunity under their successors, the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), political and religious settlements of the Peace of Westphalia (1648)
  - gThe Swiss Confederation from 1474 to 1648
    - iSwiss victory over Charles the Bold in the Burgundian War (1474-77), military prestige of the confederation, victory over Maximilian I (1499), the Italian campaigns (1499-1516)
    - iiThe Swiss Reformation: Zwingli and Calvin, the Counter-Reformation and emergence of Catholic and Protestant cantons, neutrality in the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), European recognition by the Peace of Westphalia (1648)
  - hThe Low Countries from 1494 to 1648
    - iHabsburg unification of the Low Countries (1494); further consolidation under the future emperor Charles V (1506-55); economic, cultural, and religious developments; revolt of the provinces (1567-79)
    - iiEstablishment of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (the Dutch Republic) in 1579: leadership of the House of Orange, continued war against Spanish Habsburg power
    - iiiCommercial supremacy of the Dutch Republic, intermittent wars with Spain (1621-48)
    - ivCultural, social, religious, and economic developments in the Dutch Republic
  - iScandinavia from 1523 to 1648: separation of Sweden from Denmark-Norway (1523) and Dano-Swedish conflicts; Christian III of Denmark (1534-59), Gustav I Vasa (1523-60), and Gustavus II Adolphus (1611-32) of Sweden; participation in Thirty Years' War (1618-48)
BEuropean overseas expansion and commercial development from c. 1400 to 1763
- 1The beginning of European imperialism: rapid expansion of European trade with and control over the non-European world after c. 1450
  - aAdvances in geographical knowledge and technological improvements; e.g., ship design, navigational instruments, cartography
  - bVoyages of discovery and exploration: establishment of colonial empires
    - iDiscovery, exploration, and early settlement of the Americas
    - iiDiscovery, exploration, and early settlement of the coastal regions of Africa, Australia, India, and the East Indies
- 2The decline of the feudal system and growth of commercial activity
  - aThe changing relationship between tenant and landlord, agricultural developments, evolving role of the guilds, decline of Hanseatic League, demographic movements
  - bThe decline in Mediterranean trade and growth of Antwerp and Amsterdam as international trade centres, the growth of a landed merchant class
- 3Technological advances and pre-industrial Revolution manufacturing systems: development of "putting-out" system and decline of guild power
- 4The impact of colonial expansion on Europe
  - aEconomic effects
    - iDevelopment of new business organizations to direct colonial exploitation: joint-stock and chartered companies
    - iiThe "price revolution": the relationship between the influx of precious metals from the Americas to Europe and the price rise in the 16th century
    - iiiGrowth of mercantilism: theories and policies of economic nationalism developed by European powers, the concept of the balance of trade
    - ivIncrease in volume of world trade: the growth of the luxury trade (silks, spices, precious metals), the agricultural trade (tobacco, sugar, and coffee), the raw materials trade
    - vDevelopment and importance of the slave trade
  - bPolitical effects: the relationship between Spain's status as an international power and its colonial possessions in the 16th century, colonial rivalries among European powers in the 17 th and 18th centuries
CFrance and Great Britain as the dominant powers in Europe, the emergence of Prussia and Austria as European powers
- 1International wars and diplomacy (c. 1649-c. 1790)
  - aThe Age of Louis XIV (1661-1715): French successes in the War of Devolution (1667-68) and the Dutch War (1672-79), defeat in the War of the League of Augsburg (1689-97) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14)
  - bDevelopment of the alliance system: the balance of power
    - iThe Quadruple Alliance: the emergence of Prussia and Austria as European powers, the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48)
    - iiThe Seven Years' War (1756-63) and France's defeat and loss of colonial territory in the Americas
    - iiiFrench recovery and Franco-Spanish cooperation (1778-81) against Britain in the U.S. War of Independence, Russian-Prussian partition of Poland (1772)
- 2The European states (c. 1648-c. 1790)
  - aGreat Britain from 1649 to c. 1790
    - iOliver Cromwell, the Commonwealth, and the Protectorate (1649-60); the Stuart Restoration (1660) under Charles II (1660-85) and James II (1685--88); the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and end of crown rule without Parliament
    - iiLimited monarchy under William III (1689-1702) and Mary II (1689-94) and Anne (1702-14); growth of Whig and Tory political parties (1689-1714); the Hanoverian succession and emergence of the cabinet system under George I and George II; Whig supremacy and political stability to 1760; ministries of Walpole, Pelham, and Pitt
    - iiiEarly years of George III's reign (1760-1820) to c. 1790: eclipse of Whig power and political instability (1760-70), failure of colonial policies and U.S. War of Independence, beginning of parliamentary and reform movements
    - ivEconomic, cultural, and social developments: agricultural innovations, population growth, origins of the Industrial Revolution and factory system, influence of Methodism
    - vFormal union of England and Scotland ( 1707), Edinburgh's status as an intellectual centre, Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland and growth of Irish patriotism among the Anglo-Irish, Wales in the 18th century
  - bFrance from c. 1650 to c. 1790
    - iThe Fronde, Louis XIV's minority (1643-61), and Mazarin's control of government to 1661
    - iiThe Age of Louis XIV (1661-1715): development of the central government, the Versailles court, military policies, mercantilist policies of Colbert
    - iiiLouis's religious and political policies: revocation (1685) of the Edict of Nantes and the Huguenot emigration, political influence of Jansenism, royal absolutism
    - ivFrench cultural development in the 17th century
    - vThe ancien regime (1715-89): the close relationship between society and the state, the new urban class, the decline of the monarchy under Louis XV (1715-74) and Louis XVI (1774-92), power of the parlements, agricultural and industrial growth, domestic and colonial trade
    - viThe reform movement: the influences of nationalism and individualism; attacks on political, social, and economic policies of the ancien regime; conflict between the nobility and bourgeoisie; the financial crisis and attempts at reform by Necker and Turgot; the States General and the beginning of the Revolution (1789)
  - cThe lands ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs (1648-1790)
    - iAustrian consolidation and expansion under Leopold I (1658-1705), Joseph I ( 1705-- 11), and Charles VI (1711-40): conquest of Hungary and penetration of the Balkans in the Austro-Turkish wars ( 1683--99 and 1716-18), War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) and acquisition of the Spanish Netherlands (1713)
    - iiThe Pragmatic Sanction and the accession of Maria Theresa (1740); War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) and loss of Silesia to Prussia (1741); military, administrative, and educational reforms of Maria Theresa; acquisition of Polish Galicia (1772); failure of Joseph II's (1765-90) foreign policies and his enlightened domestic reforms (1780-90)
  - dGermany and the rise of Prussia (c. 1640-c. 1790)
    - iFrederick William, the Great Elector (1640-88): strengthening of Hohenzollem power in Brandenburg and Prussia, end of Polish suzerainty over Prussia, War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), Austro-Prussian rivalry in the 18th century, Frederick I (1701- 13) and Frederick William I (1713-40) of Prussia
    - iiFrederick II the Great (1740-86): War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), Seven Years' War (1756-63), partitions of Poland (1772-95), development of Idealism (Kant), enlightened reform and benevolent despotism
    - iiiThe influence of Pietism, the German cultural revival in the second half of the 18th century
  - eSpain and Portugal
    - iSpain from 1665 to c. 1790: continued decline under Charles II (1665-1700); War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) and establishment of the Bourbon dynasty; pro-French foreign policy under Philip V, Ferdinand VI, and Charles III; administrative and economic reforms of Charles III
    - iiPortugal from 1640 to c. 1777: increasing economic and diplomatic ties to England under John IV (1640-56), Afonso VI (1656-83), Pedro II (1683-1706), and John V (1706-50); economic, religious, and administrative reforms under Pombal and Joseph I (1750-77)
  - fItaly in the 18th century
    - iGovernment reforms and the rule of Joseph II (1765-90) in Lombardy, reigns of Francis of Lorraine (1738-65) and Peter Leopold (1765-90) in Tuscany
    - iiThe viceroyalty of Naples and the kingdom of Sicily: economic and social unrest, rule of Charles VI in Sicily, transfer of Naples and Sicily to Charles III in 1734, the Bourbon regime
  - gThe United Provinces of the Netherlands from 1648 to 1789; economic and political stagnation; the first (1650-72) and second (1702-47) stadholderless periods; the patriotic movement; social, religious, and cultural development
  - hScandinavia from c. 1648 to c. 1792
    - iSwedish wars of conquest against Poland and Denmark-Norway under Charles X Gustav (1654-60) and Charles XI (1672-97), war with Russia under Charles XII (1697-1718) and displacement of Sweden by Russia as the chief Baltic power after the Great Northern War (1700-21)
    - iiSocial and economic conditions in the Scandinavian countries
    - iiiDenmark-Norway losses in the First Northern War with Sweden (1655-60); economic stagnation (1720-66), "Enlightened" reforms under Christian VII (1766-1808), Struensee, and Bernstorff; revival of settlement in Greenland (1714)
    - ivGrowth of parliamentary government in Sweden: Frederick I (1720-51) and Adolf Frederick (1751-71), the "Hats" and "Nightcaps" political parties, absolutism reestablished by Gustav III (1771-92)
  - iThe Swiss Confederation (c. 1650-1790): Villmergen wars (1656-1712), the influence of the Enlightenment
- 3The age of the Enlightenment
  - aOrigins in the 17th century: scientific achievements, developments in political and religious philosophies, developments in the arts