The Enlightenment and Its Impact on Europe - Essay Example

? History and political science The Enlightenment and its impact on Europe If we talk about the Enlightenment, we can’t but mention that there is no other epoch that is characterized by so rapid and significant cultural development. This period presented us with a great number of artists and thinkers, whose theories were the results of new outlook. In the previous epochs a man was viewed as a weak, dependent and uncertain creature, whose destiny was mainly predefined by gods or other people. Enlightenment presented us with an independent human being with free will and the reason he is provided with by nature. Some ideas of the philosophers of the Enlightenment are used today. Their philosophy differs much from the medieval one. For example, for Aristotle people are animals, which are immoral by nature. The opinion of the philosophers of the Enlightenment is quite the opposite. According to Jean Jacques Rousseau, people are on the contrary good by nature, but then our reality changes them. John Locke supports this idea stating that people have a reason by nature. Philosophy of the Enlightenment presents humans as creatures with free will and masters of their own life. “New” people were intelligent and had the ability to think and develop independently. The philosophic views of John Locke were supported by Voltaire. He was an active opponent of the church and religion as it imposed multiple ungrounded restrictions on people. The period of the Enlightenment is very important for the European history as it is characterized by break of the religious prejudices and the revival of human soul. Numerous masterpieces in various fields of art were created during this period. The Enlightenment changed the history of Europe having reduced the influence of church by affecting people’s minds. The French Revolution and how it affected Europe Notwithstanding that the French revolution was not successful, it impacted European history greatly. First, it was the end of feudalism, bourgeois class received the main privileges and all the rules in the society were regulated by the Code Napoleon. The influence of ancient traditions came to the end, new era of nationalism started. Napoleon created the notion of “total welfare”, which became the slogan of the further life of France and the whole Europe. “"In eighteenth-century France throne and altar were commonly spoken of as in close alliance; their simultaneous collapse ... would one day provide the final proof of their interdependence” (McManners). Napoleon created the terms “nationalism”, “nation of welfare”, which influenced the actions of many leaders. Some scholars state that Napoleon is a founder of dictatorship, however, they just do not pay attention to the significance of the French Revolution, while it played a very important role in the development of the modern democracy. It is essential to mention that the Revolution changed the position of women greatly. In pre-Revolutionary France women were considered to be “failed men” with no rights and influence. “Women’s testimony is in general light and subject to variation; this is why it is taken less seriously than that of men" as opposed to men, upon whom "Nature seems to have conferred… the right to govern." In general, "men are more capable than women of ably governing particular matters" ("Women"). The revolution and the example of Napoleon’s beloved Josephine made women re-think their position and provide them with the opportunities to penetrate political sphere. The Industrial Revolution and its impact on Europe The Industrial Revolution is the transition from manual labor to machine labor, from agrarian economy to industrial manufacturing. As a result agrarian society was transformed into industrial society. The Industrial Revolution is characterized by the rapid development of manufacturing on the basis of large-scale machine industry as well as the establishment of capitalism as a main economic system in the world. The industrial Revolution is associated not only with the mass application of machines, but with the change of the whole system of society. It was accompanied by the rapid increase of labor productivity, fast urbanization, the beginning of rapid economic growth, improvement of people’s standard of living. Besides its impact on the technical and economic sides, the Industrial Revolution turned the proletariat and bourgeoisie into the main classes of capitalistic society. The pace of bourgeoisie formation, and the way it affected the social life and the destruction of feudal relations were different in different European states. In the process of capitalism development and the strengthening of competition, the distribution of forces inside bourgeoisie class underwent many changes. Industrial bourgeoisie demanded significant changes in the state structure of the European countries. Colonialism and how it affected Europe The main goal of colonialism was to exploit other countries and their citizens by turning the countries into the colonies. This brought a great economic advantage to the colonists. As a result many people became slaves and had to leave their motherland. The impact the slavery had on African countries is clear: people have to leave their countries and work for free in the European states that made these states thriving. African countries on the contrary faced great economic losses. This is the main reason why these countries are developing now. Speaking about Europe, the impact colonial politics had on the states and citizens can be defined as very significant. “The economic growth propelled by colonialism gave rise to a large middle class in Europe, which was vital to the rise of humanism and the birth of the modern world. Unfortunately, the human tragedies of colonialism are unspeakably vast. Many thousands of Africans, Native Americans, and other indigenous peoples throughout the world were killed (by violence or disease), enslaved, and/or oppressed in countless other ways (e.g. forced migration to barren land, outlawing of indigenous languages and traditions)” (European Colonialism). There are different effects, both instant and remote such as spread of diseases, setting unequal social relations, exploitation and enslavement, but at the same time the development of medicine, the formation of new social institutes, abolitionism, infrastructure improvement and general technological progress. Colonialism also contributed to the spread of languages and the cultural exchange. The World War 1 and how it influenced the life of Europe The main reason of the World War I was the struggle for colonies. The study of the history of the World War I provides us with the understanding of the diversity of society development process. The capitalism was developing unevenly in the nineteenth century. In the competitive struggle the distribution of forces changed all the time. The complicated economic processes as a rule were mixed with the political life. The World War I could not be avoided. The deprivation people suffered during the War made millions of people forget about their previous way of life. The War made workers, traders, craftspeople poor and exhausted as the lower class was the first to suffer. The soldiers who came back from the War also appeared in difficult situation. Declassed lays of society were formed in Europe. The collapse of empires also was a consequence of the War. It was accompanied by revolutions, which formed the system of new states in the Eastern Europe. The main effect of the war was the expansion of governmental influence and the establishment of bureaucratic regime in many countries. War also changed the role of women in the society and the family as many men did not come back from war. As a consequence women had to become breadmakers for their families. It was not very easy to get a job because of high level of unemployment. Many European countries suffered great financial losses and made big debts. Some of them finished to pay these debts already in 21st century. Works cited McManners, John. The French Revolution and the Church. New York: Harper and Row, 1969 "Women." The Encyclopedia of Diderot and d’Alembert. University of Michigan Library, n.d. European Colonialism. accessed May 6, 2013 http://www.essential-humanities.net/supplementary-history-articles/european-colonialism/#.UYfEOLUvWcE Read More