The Role Of Politics In Early Modern Europe

The early modern period of history was a time of extensive formation of nation/states and while there are many contributing factors towards this, the factor that played the biggest role was the politics of the time. Politics in early modern Europe could take many forms, similar to politics today, it could take the form of debates or even wars. Ranging from the politics that occurred during the Protestant Reformation to the events that occurred during and after the discovery of the new world, politics played a key role in the formation of many of the states that we know of today. Beginning with the politics that surrounded the Protestant Reformation, a topic which could warrant its own essay, it all began with Martin Luther hanging his 95 theses regarding his critics of the Catholic Church, on the doors of the Wittenberg Church. In his early years as a member of the church, Luther was supportive of the institution. However, as
The result was a major loss of military power and wealth for the Spanish by forces known as sea dogs who would raid coastal territories and ships. As these loses continued and the Spanish lost power, their hold on the seventeen provinces weakened enough for seven of the territories to break away from Spanish rule and form the state that we know today as the Netherlands. Another major factor in politics that led to the formation of a large amount of the nations in Europe and abroad was the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. After the discovery of valuable resources in the Americas, monarchs and ambitious individuals were eager to set sail in order to increase the wealth of their nation or to make their