how useful is early modern to describe period 1500-1789
How useful is the term ‘early modern’ to describe the period c.1500-c.1789?
In tackling this question it should first be asserted that these dates are commonly known to be the end of the Middles Ages (1500) and the beginning of the French Revolution (1789.) To determine whether this period characterises the term ‘early modern’, it must be more substantial than a set of dates, factors of a imperial, cultural, religious, political and economic nature must be investigated. This will discern if Europe underwent a period of “modernisation.” Moreover they must be assessed in a broader context to conclude how much change happened different to the Middle Ages and how much they shaped the future.
Firstly it should be examined to what extent an ‘early modern’ Europe as a whole continent was affecting the world on a global scale. At this time that ‘early modern’ Europe was ambitious, Kamen indicates that explorers had ‘immeasurably extended the horizons of Europeans’1, a statement supported with evidence from the ambitious trader and adventurer Vasco Da Gama whose objective upon arriving in Malabar was seeking ‘Christians and spices’2, this bold statement of intent gives an insight to an “early modern” European ambition to make themselves financially stronger by extracting resources. A view supported by Kamen as he states that ‘pepper and ginger, became the chief source of wealth of the Portuguese crown.’3 The flipside of this ‘early modern’ ambition can be highlighted by Saint Francis Xavier whose work as a missionary, in areas such as Goa, left such a mark of Portuguese Catholic influence, that even today it remains a Catholic state in which he is the revered patron saint, indicating the beginning of a new initiative by Europe not only to extract resources but also instil their religious influence effectively across the globe. However explorers did make important discoveries before this “early modern” period, American philosopher John Fiske tackles Kamen by
In tackling this question it should first be asserted that these dates are commonly known to be the end of the Middles Ages (1500) and the beginning of the French Revolution (1789.) To determine whether this period characterises the term ‘early modern’, it must be more substantial than a set of dates, factors of a imperial, cultural, religious, political and economic nature must be investigated. This will discern if Europe underwent a period of “modernisation.” Moreover they must be assessed in a broader context to conclude how much change happened different to the Middle Ages and how much they shaped the future.
Firstly it should be examined to what extent an ‘early modern’ Europe as a whole continent was affecting the world on a global scale. At this time that ‘early modern’ Europe was ambitious, Kamen indicates that explorers had ‘immeasurably extended the horizons of Europeans’1, a statement supported with evidence from the ambitious trader and adventurer Vasco Da Gama whose objective upon arriving in Malabar was seeking ‘Christians and spices’2, this bold statement of intent gives an insight to an “early modern” European ambition to make themselves financially stronger by extracting resources. A view supported by Kamen as he states that ‘pepper and ginger, became the chief source of wealth of the Portuguese crown.’3 The flipside of this ‘early modern’ ambition can be highlighted by Saint Francis Xavier whose work as a missionary, in areas such as Goa, left such a mark of Portuguese Catholic influence, that even today it remains a Catholic state in which he is the revered patron saint, indicating the beginning of a new initiative by Europe not only to extract resources but also instil their religious influence effectively across the globe. However explorers did make important discoveries before this “early modern” period, American philosopher John Fiske tackles Kamen by
Bibliography: -Henry Kamen, ‘Early Modern European Society’, Routledge, 2000 -John Fiske, Unpublished Orations ‘Columbus Memorial’, The Bibliophile Society, 1909 - Guido Ruggiero, A Companion to the Worlds Renaissance, Wiley-Blackwell 2006, p 40 -Jacob Burckhardt, The civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860), 2010, Dover Publications Inc. -Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays, 1993, Penguin, -Stephen J -Philip, Benedict Early Modern Europe: From crisis to Stability, University of Delaware Press, 2006 -George Rude, The French Revolution (phoenix giants), Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1994, -William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, OUP Oxford, 2003, -Euan Cameron, Early Modern Europe: An Oxford History, OUP Oxford, 2001,