Barber - The Complete Idiots Guide to European History
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Climbing out of the Middle Ages (c1300-1600). The end of the world as we know it ; Civilization reborn ; Time for a change in the Church ; Time for an alternative to the Church ; The Catholic and Counter reformations -- Might makes right, right? (c1450-1750). God, gold, and glory ; Our religious is better than your religion ; Am I in charge? Absolutely! ; The Eastern absolutists -- Revolutions galore (c1500-1800). Revolt of the scientists ; Enlightening the public, not the people ; The agricultural revolution and an expanding Europe ; The French revolution -- You say you want more revolution? (c1776-1900). A little guy named Napoleon, a big wig named Metternich ; The industrial revolution ; Intriguing new ideologies ; Nineteenth-century growing pains ; What a tangled web -- Big wars and big bangs (Twentieth century). Turning the world upside down ; World war: second verse, worse than the first ; The Cold War era -- Modern Europe: as crazy as ever (c1989-present). Old continent, new millennium ; Out with the old USSR, in with the new Russia -- The EU, the Euro, and the unstable economy.;Geared towards AP History students or anyone interested in history, this updated guide provides easy-to-understand facts covering hundreds of years of European history in the areas of culture, economy, politics and social history.
Barber: author's other books
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Barber
Barber
John R. Barber
Collinson
Charles Downer Hazen
William Doyle
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Table of Contents
For Christy, Noah, and Emma.
ALPHA BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson
Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia
Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore, Auckland 1311, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New
Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson
Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia
Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore, Auckland 1311, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New
Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Introduction
History is much more than names and dates. History is a story of peoplereal people who really lived. Some of the people in the story are wonderful and others are downright despicable; some make bad decisions and some are brilliant; some change history accidentally and others set out with a great sense of purpose. The story is an interesting mix of cause and effect, of chain reactions and random events. Some events change the world all at once; other events create a ripple effect. Some events create a frenzy only to quickly be forgotten; other events seem to linger in peoples minds for all of history.
History in general, and the history of Europe especially, contains themes that turn up over and over againnot only in Europe but in America and the rest of the world, too. Especially important to the history of Europe are the themes of struggle and resolution, cause and effect, the desire for improvement, and most importantly the desire to control ones destiny and make ones own decisions, especially in light of the repeated attempts of absolutists to keep that control out of the peoples hands.
These themes shouldnt sound foreign to you or to me, because the characters in the story of history were just like you and me. They may have lived in a different era, on a different continent, in a different socio-economic category, or under a different style of government, but in the end people are more or less the same today as they were 600 years ago. Just like you and me, Europeans wanted food to eat, a place to call home, something to believe in, freedom to make their own choices, and security.
In my experience as a teacher and as a writer, Ive found that people generally arent interested in mountains of facts and lists and dates and statistics. People want to know the stories. Therefore, what you wont find in this book are pages of names and dates and lists to be committed to memory. All the facts in the world wont help you understand history. What you will find in this book is a big story composed of many smaller, interconnected stories. The history of modern Europe is really just the story of modern Europe.
How This Book Is Organized
Part 1, Climbing Out of the Middle Ages (c. 13001600), is where we begin our study of modern European history. If you really want to understand it, you have to begin in medieval Europe. The major events of the Middle Ages in Europe were not so pleasant and life was tough for nearly all medieval Europeans. They constantly dealt with war, disease, and the uncertainty of religious conflict. In many ways, at the low point of the Middle Ages Europeans probably felt like the end of the world was just around the corner.
After the terrible wars and diseases of the Middle Ages, things looked brighter. Europe reconnected with its historical roots, scholarship and art flourished, and humanity achieved glorious new heights in painting, sculpture, and architecture. The printed word became available everywhere, to everyone. The spread of both new and rediscovered ancient ideas encouraged people to think and express themselves. People began questioning traditions, especially those dealing with religion. Before long, independent thinkers broke away from established religion and approached it from new perspectives, much to the dismay of the established Church. Just like today, people throughout European history had a hard time accepting new ideas. Needless to say, religion will be a major issue for the rest of the story.
In Part 2, Might Makes Right, Right? (c. 14501750), youll see how the emphasis on learning made Europeans curious about the world around them. This curiosity led certain Europeans to bravely explore uncharted oceans and mysterious lands in search of fame and fortuneand, of course, to impose their superior European ideas on whomever they found. Overseas they found beautiful lands full of untold riches. However, they also found new peoples with different ideas than their own. The courageous and daring explorers who traveled the world for the first time made amazing and remarkable discoveries that forever changed the world, but the clash of cultures in the New World wasnt pretty.
Back in Europe, ideas about religion grew more and more diverse. Religious and political leaders grew uncomfortable with that diversity and used whatever means necessary to either bring the strays back into the fold or to get rid of them altogether. This lack of tolerance and understanding produced a great deal of violence. Many politicians believed that the way to keep the violence and disagreements in check was to establish total control. The monarchs who successfully did this defined their cultures and single-handedly directed the course of their nations history, but the people who lived under them burned for the chance to live without oppression and make their own decisions about government, religion, and more. This, too, will be a major theme in the story.
In Part 3, Revolutions Galore (c. 15001800), Europeans look for better ways of doing things but find themselves pushed up against the wall by rulers who wouldnt give them an opportunity to test their new political ideas. Revolutions have come in a wide variety of forms. Some have been military and political revolutions. Some have been intellectual and philosophical revolutions. Some have been religious revolutions and still others have been technological revolutions. Somehow, though, all successful revolutions share two common characteristics. First, revolutions are a reaction and, second, revolutions cause change.
Humans have always had a desire to improve themselves, the conditions in which they live, and the world around them. Europeans got tired of being told that the current way to do something is the best and only way, and the current body of knowledge is the absolute, unchangeable truth. Industrious Europeans set out to question the answers they had been given and to find new and better ways of doing things. The results were intellectual revolutions and a technological revolution of sorts. The intellectuals reached heights that equaled or surpassed everyone who had ever come before them. While the intellectual revolutions didnt have many immediate effects on the average European, the technological revolution in agriculture sure did. As a result of the ingenuity of a few Europeans, millions enjoyed a higher quality of life. Over and over in the story, people armed themselves and took what governments were not willing to give if they believed the governments were being unfair and unreasonable.
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