While studying for our first test, I looked over the notes and realized how much information we have gone over. I have 18 pages front and back of notes. When we first started the class we started with the Protestant Reformation in 1517. The last day before the test we discussed social and political issues of the 1860s and 1870s. During this time we have learned a lot of in-depth information about European history and how it has changed.
Before the class, I did not know that much about European History unless it pertained to US History. Looking over French history, I am really surprised that the American Revolution went so well. Comparing it to the multiple French Revolutions, it was far more successful. After the French Revolution, the people of France could not agree on anything, and it led to tyranny. On the contrast, when the American Revolution occurred, the people did not agree on solution, but there was compromise. This I believe prevented rebellions or tyranny.
I believe that Britain had a more stable government than France because it had a constitutional monarchy as opposed to an absolute one. I believe that the French monarchy was too short sighted to see that they were going to lose power one way or another. The British monarchy realized that the people wanted power and were going to revolt to get it if needed. The French Monarchy was too stubborn to take the example of their hated enemy, the British, to see how well it worked for them. I believe the French monarchy thought they were better than the British monarchy and that they would never lose control.
I think that discussing the different reasons of war for multiple countries during the class was interesting. At the beginning of the semester, people fought wars or had rebellions to have the right to practice religion in they way they saw fit. By the time of the first test, wars had mainly been fought for political power, or they were fought for land.
People’s attitudes also changed during this time. At the beginning of the semester, common people’s worries were about whether they should be Catholic or Protestant. This changed many times. Once it changed to having concerns over taxes. This leads to wanting political power, which leads to end of serfdom. Along with the agricultural and industrial revolutions, it became mainly concerned for their family and being able to feed them.
The time periods we have covered in such a short amount of time--only a month--are big enough that there are probably hundreds of reasons for the shifts in attitudes regarding war and revolution. As you said, in the 1500s where we began in lecture, the focus was on a religious revolution. By the time we reached the early 1800s with Napoleon and the French Revolution, political power was more the concern. As I mentioned, there are surely many reasons for this, but one thing I would suggest is the emergence of a decline in the Catholic church and the beginning rise of science. Around Luther’s time, Catholicism reigned supreme and pretty much everyone answered to it. With notions such as the individual study of the bible and individual one-one-one prayer with God, it seems inevitable that the people would demand new ways of thinking about religion. With the rise of science, which, granted, was still slow-go even once the industrial revolution was underway, people began to adopt the concept of laws of nature and society that held up and were definite. I think this played a part in leading toward the questioning of what the individual’s place is in a state and who should govern that state and why.
ReplyDeleteAn interested perspective on the long-term connections between events. As you point out, in many ways the story of western civilization is the story of secularization as people move away from religion and embrace more secular concerns and beliefs.
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