The Rise of the Nation State

1. ‘The growth of the nation-state, first in Western Europe and then elsewhere, has long been viewed as the key political development of this era [i.e. the sixteenth century].’ (Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks) Discuss with reference to at least two of the following: England, France, Spain.

This essay examines how the growth of the nation-state was a key political development during this period. It was a hugely important process and a stepping stone towards the systems we have in place today. Although many of the aspects of state-building which will be addressed in this essay were already taking place before the sixteenth century, it is during this era that they truly develop and nation-states become extremely important in the political world of the time. One of the reasons that the nation-state experiences growth during this era is because of the military revolution also taking place at the time. The way wars took place changed, there was more emphasis on hand-held weapons than nobles or cavalrymen and there was a need for larger permanent armies. As a result, states needed more money and larger bureaucracies to fund these exploits. This essentially kicked off the growth of the nation-state. States began to exercise a lot more power, issuing more laws and generally claiming more powers. The power of the clergy and nobility was also challenged. Some may argue that the ‘nation’ wasn’t as important at that time; however, if this was the case the people wouldn’t have allowed this state-building to happen without causing huge problems. They appeared to be happy to be brought into a ‘nation’ and this is why the growth of the nation-state can clearly be seen as a key political development at this time. It would eventually spread across Europe but during this period it was visible in England, France and Spain in particular, with the dynasties in those countries developing the growth of a state. This essay will discuss this development in some of these nations during the

Bibliography: * Gunn, Steven ‘War, Religion and the State’ in Euan Cameron (ed.), Early Modern Europe, An Oxford History (New York, 2001) * Kümin, Beat (ed.), The European World 1500-1800: An Introduction to Early Modern History ( USA, 2009) * Merriman, John, A History of Modern Europe: Volume One, From the Renaissance to the Age of Napoleon (London, 1996) * Pettegree, Andrew, Europe in the Sixteenth Century (Oxford, 2002) * Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E., Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 (New York, 2006) -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 (New York, 2006) p.91. [ 2 ]. Andrew Pettegree, Europe in the Sixteenth Century (Oxford, 2002) p.35. [ 3 ]. Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 (New York, 2006) p.92. [ 4 ]. Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 (New York, 2006) p.99. [ 5 ]. John Merriman, A History of Modern Europe: Volume One, From the Renaissance to the Age of Napoleon (London, 1996) p.193. [ 6 ]. Steven Gunn ‘War, Religion and the State’ in Euan Cameron (ed.), Early Modern Europe, An Oxford History (New York, 2001) p. 106.