Historical Events Of The Renaissance

For many historians, the Renaissance marked the starting point of the modern era. With the emergence of new ideas, beliefs, and practices, the Renaissance undoubtedly paved way for the beginning of new political reforms and progression among European nations. Indeed, many historical events since the early modern period influenced political thought- not only causing transformations in the structure of politics and government in Western Civilization, but also creating new justifications for how and why political power should be distributed.

From medieval times to the seventeenth century, absolute monarchies and the theory of divine right of kings became the dominant political ideology of this time. Thus, most political thinkers argued that the ruler derived power from God and had a religious obligation to rule in agreement with God’s laws. In addition, some absolutists also believed that the ruler was superior to all others, and that citizens had no right to disobey or question the king’s authority because of his divine right (19). Clearly, this form of political thought and government left the majority of citizens with very little, if any, political and personal autonomy. However, after the growing influence of Renaissance thought, some political thinkers strayed from religious obedience, and acquired a secular voice. Yet, even despite this, many of these new political thinkers still supported and defended absolute monarchies during this time. For example, Thomas Hobbes, a British philosopher and political theorist, argued that absolutism was the most logical form of government, and that only the unlimited power of a sovereign could contain human passions that disrupt the social order and threaten civilized life (21). In addition ...

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...e French Revolution, these dictators sought to protect their ideals in order to strengthen and create stability for their political beliefs and their nation- however, in an attempt to do this, they created an even more unstable environment.

From absolute monarchies in the early modern period to totalitarian regimes in the twentieth century, Western Civilization has undergone major transformations in political thought and action. Indeed, political thought has been influenced by many historical events throughout time, which in turn influenced the structure of previous and current forms of government. With the emergence of different historical events, new ideas and beliefs resulted in regards to how power should be distributed, and how power could be legitimized by certain factors, such as religion, nationalism and the protection of a state’s superiority and strength.