The Transformation from Medieval to Early Modern

The year is 1750 and European power has spread to every far corner of the world. The British and French occupy most of the Hudson Bay and North Atlantic territories, while the Spanish and Portuguese have established massive sugar plantations and mining companies throughout South America and the Caribbean. The Dutch Republic has also started growing it’s imperial, nationalistic, and economic boundaries to the new world as well. How did the Europeans push their way to global influence and dominance over the world? The answer lies in the early 14th century as Europe emerged from the darkness of the Middle Ages. European states began to prosper through the developing global economy, growing populations, breakdown in religious unity, and dramatic competition amongst regional states. Not only did Europe begin to expand its political sphere, but it also increased its knowledge through the re-introduction of Hellenistic and rationalistic ideologies of the once great Roman and Greek civilizations. These ideas propelled Europe into the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution which cause more separation from previous religious beliefs. All of these factors caused an enormous influence on European economies, religious beliefs, modern scientific and mathematical discoveries, and vicious competition between powerful national states.. Despite being their own individual aspects in European history, they all play a giant role into the formation of the early modern world. We must also keep in mind that all of these aspects of European development are occurring simultaneously throughout history The initial factor to European dominance was the establishment of powerful state building. The European states were the center stones for the rest of E...

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... in our time. This time period would lay the foundations to the modern industrial world in the near future. The importance of state building, a growing capital and economic view, the age of exploration, and the scientific revolution all play a vital role in the development of the world. One aspect could not work without the other and it is by these major historical events that the Middle Ages ended. There are major differences between the dark religiously based Medieval era and the more scientific-political-economically based early modern era. The early modern was the creator of powerful centralized states with strong capital and a connection into the global economy. The age of exploration and the newly re-introduce scientific questioning brought the world to a more advance stage. This time period is how our civilizations grew to the modern forms we see them today.