Europe continues its transition to the modern world with the fall of Constantinople, the discovery of the Americas and the opening up of the Indian ocean to European trade; at home the period sees the continuing ...

Renaissance ideas are continuing to spread round Europe, and have given birth to the period of religious strife known as the Reformation. In the political sphere, the first nation-states are beginning to emerge. The ...

This period in Europe has been characterized by many wars caused, in large part, by clashes in religion. Spain is the chief defender of the Catholic faith against the forces of Protestantism, but the expense of its many ...

The major episode of this period has been the Thirty Years War, in Germany. This is the last and most terrible of all the wars of religion in Europe. The Thirty Years War Within the Holy Roman Empire, religious conflict ...

The period of the Reformation has now given way to that of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. The France of Louis XIV is now the leading power in Europe. Louis XIV’s France France is now the leading power ...

This period sees the height of Enlightenment Europe. It also sees the rule of absolute monarchs in several countries, with royal power unchecked by powerful nobilities or strong parliaments. The archetype is Louis XIV ...