World History

Unit 4: The Emergence of Modern Nations

Chapter 15: European Exploration, Expansion, and Absolutism

Mon, Jan 6, 2014

32. Tue, Jan 7, 2014

This chapter marches us through a highly tumultuous era at a breakneck pace. Confusion is understandable; in fact, for this chapter it's almost guaranteed. The revolving-door alliances, the constant warfare, and the all-but-interchangeable despots is such a mess, one might almost be tempted to simply drop the curtain on the whole era and wash one's hands of it. But this enormously violent age has left an extreme mark on Europe and on the whole of the world, and so (going carefully) there's a lot here that needs to be examined.

First, the players. This was the era of the emergent nation-state. Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia all get major mentions in this chapter. While Britain is offstage for much of the discussion (see the next chapter for that story), the others reveal some common themes, though it is not altogether clear from the text why that might be. Almost criminally under-discussed is language: the major world languages were forming up strongly at the time. Prior to this era, two people both speaking French, but having grown up in different villages, might have a hard time understanding each other because of the huge variation in dialect and local vocabulary, but in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries this underwent a revolution, and the languages became much more unified. The printing press accounts for much of this, and language in turn accounts for much of the nation-state. But Catherine the Great's court spoke French; what else determined the nation-state?

Our old friend geography played its role, of course. Louis XIV was continually striving for France's "natural frontiers" and actually got there… for a year or two. Big blocks of contiguous land were coming under centralized rule. Some got into this business before others: we watch Prussia forming up in this chapter, but France began it as a pretty solid entity. Nor was it a perfect process — Austria-Hungary (as the very name implies) was always a bit confused and divided. The Holy Roman empire was rather more so. Poland, to the enduring sorrow of the Poles, ran through the unification process in reverse. But in general, smaller countries banded together to form larger ones or were absorbed by larger ones that already existed. And so on the map on page 388, recognizable boundaries are starting to emerge, and recognizable names. The skeleton of modern Europe is becoming visible.

So, alas, are the skeletons of Europe's wars. We have two main categories in here: religious wars and territorial wars. There was always some overlap, of course, but the cloak of religious fervor began to wear thin and eventually the conflicts became obvious as near-naked agression. France and Britain fight each other constantly throughout this chapter, as do the France and Prussia, and Prussia and Austria, and so forth. This is not altogether an accident. Many of these wars were started in vengeance for losses in the war just prior, or were started because the war had been a smashing success — so why not try it again? This cycle of conflict did not end here, either; France fighting Austria and Prussia would have an echo in the Napoleonic Wars, and in the Franco-Prussian War, and then in the World Wars. If you squint a little, you can see the roots of 1939 in the events of 1648.

This did not go unnoticed. In fact, it's essential to understand at least that Europe was wracked with strife so that we can see what grew out of that in reaction a little later.

Meanwhile, most of these countries were also expanding overseas as much as possible — not despite their nonstop conflicts but because of them. Colonies could be a huge advantage, and so had to be acquired by any possible means. Usually this meant more wars. Note the Seven Years' War: begun in North America (the book does not mention it here, but the first battle was actually started by none other than a young George Washington) in a colonial struggle, and spreading outward, with no clear victor… in Europe. In the colonies England emerged as the real victor, though as we shall see that had its cost.

Here, too, the bones of the present world are being laid down. Today, Spanish is spoken from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego, thanks to Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors who followed him — except for Brazil, thanks to the Treaty of Tordesillas and the pope. French is still spoken in Quebec (and after a fashion in Louisiana). English is common enough in Calcutta. And of course all of us are speaking English today because of actions taken in this era as well.

As with Europe itself, this left a trail of bodies in its wake as well…

• How might constant warfare have advanced the formation of the nation-state?
• Many powerful monarchs go by in these chapters. There is a school of thought, called the "great men" theory of history, that posits such individuals are the real shapers of the world; other historians instead point to larger patterns of history, economic and cultural forces that are beyond the control of any one person. This chapter seems rich with fodder for both theories; where do you stand?
• Some states, like France and Spain, seem to have gone colony-mad, while others like Austria appear to have been content to simply fight it out in Europe. What were the major factors in determining who went where — or who didn't go anywhere?
• How do you feel ordinary people (not the monarchs and their chief supporters, but person-on-the-street types) felt about all this?

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