Characteristics of Western Civilization - Coursework Example

Western Civilization Definitions/Identifications Battle of Nordlingen: This, in fact, constituted two separate battles. The first occurred in Nordlingen, September 6-7, 1634, in what is also now known as Bavaria. The Protestants, represented by Sweden and Saxony, were decisively defeated by the Holy Roman Empire and its Spanish allies. Although this battle started as a religious-oriented conflict, Catholics against Protestants, it later evolved more particularly into a conflict between France and the Hapsburgs. Battle one represented a defeat for Swedish attempts to control what is now modern day Germany while Spain and the Holy Roman Empire attempted to consolidate their gains; however, in the second Battle of Nordlingen, more accurately at nearby Alerheim, on August 3, 1645, the French drove the Holy Roman Empire out which led to the Treaty of Ulm in 1647. In short, these battles signified the survival and growing assertiveness of France, pushed the Holy Roman Empire away from what is now modern day Germany, and began to more clearly define the future European powers. The Pragmatic Sanction: The formal declaration of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, in essence, involved a conflict regarding the laws of succession among competitors for the Holy Roman Empire and the Hapsburg dynasty. Emperor Leopold the First precipitated the succession conflict by amending the succession laws to benefit his family’s claim to the Austrian branch of the thrown, the associated lands, and the power. Charles the Sixth, however, later drafted the Pragmatic Sanction, a legal tool sanctioned by the Church, in order to steer succession towards his family. In the short run, this led to much conflict and duplicity as major powers agreed then changed their minds. As certain powers rejected this modification, Joseph the First became the first non-Hapsburg chosen to become Holy Roman Emperor, though the husband of Charles the Sixth’s daughter would assume that post in 1745. The significance is the splintering of loyalties and the use of law to gain ascension as well as the slipping of the Hapsburgs. Vauban: Also known as the Marquis de Vauban, he served as a French Marshall and was important for his work as, perhaps, the most important military engineer of his time. He was instrumental in securing French borders against enemy attacks, serving as a personal advisor to Louis the Fourteenth, and his specialties involved the construction of defensive fortifications and penetrating or attacking enemy positions. His significance, in terms of western civilization, is eventually twofold: (1) he helped develop military strategy and (2) as a consequence of this military strategy, firmer national borders became established as nation-states evolved. The Royal Society: Also known as the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, founded in 1660, this intellectual and philosophical organization was founded just a few months following the restoration to the British Monarchy of Charles the Second. The avowed purpose, discovering the precise truth of various scientific questions, represented a sharp break from traditional philosophies that relied upon divine explanations or precedent established by older philosophers. This type of organization, which they hoped would spread this type of more scientifically-oriented method of inquiry throughout the Empire, would pave the road for many scientific and technological advances. Edict of Fontainebleau: This Edict was issued by King Louis the Fourteenth of France in 1685 and functioned to revoke the previously issued Edict of Nantes of 1598. In effect, the Edict of Fontainebleau attempted to purify France religiously and spiritually. The Edict demanded the destruction of Huguenot churches, closed Protestant schools, and operated to persuade non-Catholics in France to convert to Catholicism or leave. Many did leave with France thereafter displaying no religious tolerance via the legal institutionalization of a majority religion, and hundreds of thousands of these Protestants emigrated all over the world. France isolated itself, but also paved the road for Protestants to settle widely around the globe. Prince Eugene: Though born in France, Prince Eugene was alienated because of family issues and because King Louis the Fourteenth would not grant him the military commission that he so desired. As France had made enemies of the Protestants via the aforementioned Edict of Fontainebleau, so too did France make an extraordinarily powerful enemy by treating Prince Eugene with so little respect and contempt for his family. He left France, joined the Austrian Hapsburgs whom did grant him a military commission, and helped defeat France in a great many battles, including during the War of Spanish Succession and the Battle of Turin. Though rejected by France, he proved himself a worthy military leader, eventually becoming the governor of the Austrian Netherlands and the vicar of Austrian land claims in Italy. He is yet another example of French arrogance and how they created a multitude of enemies even among their own citizenry. Mercantilism: This is an economic theory, or trade movement, which began to become formally articulated and discussed in Britain in the 1620s. Most generally, this economic theory sought to explain the prosperity of nations in objective economic terms. Mercantilism posited that a nation’s economic health depended on encouraging exports, on protecting its domestic imports through protectionist tariffs, and through maintaining a positive balance of trade. New markets were constantly being sought, which helped pave the road for conflicts based on economic grounds as well as religious grounds. Also of significance was the growing intervention of the government in economic matters and the embryonic capitalist system taking shape. Denis Diderot: His contributions to western civilization came mostly in the form of intellectual work and philosophy, most manifest in terms of the Enlightenment. He adopted a sort of relativist approach to different issues, rather than relying upon absolutes or divine providence, and tried to distinguish between superficial appearances and underlying realities. He served as the editor of the Encyclopedie and advocated such things as the tolerance of different religious beliefs, freedom of thought, the increasing value of science and technology versus divine truths, and a more democratic philosophy that included commoners. He was seen as a threat by the French elite, but continued to publicize his ideas until his death. As the Royal Society refocused intellectual inquiry in Britain and its Empire, Diderot spread the concepts of relativism and scientific inquiry in France and on the continent. Assembly of Notables: This was an assembly of elites that consulted with the King of France. They were, however, selected by the King and not elected in any meaningful way. In 1787 and 1788, they revolted against certain reforms and taxes that were being instituted because France was in dire straits financially. More specifically, because of a debt crisis occasioned by French support during the American Revolution, a land tax was proposed to add liquidity to the French financial coffers. Estates General: The Estates General was also part and parcel of the aforementioned financial crisis; interestingly, what started out as a financial crisis and tax debate evolved into a deeper question regarding political representation. In France, there was the King, the clergy, the noble class, and the commoners. The Estates General used its sheer numbers to convert the topic from taxes to political representation, at times ignored the other groups, and eventually came to form the National Assembly. Their independence, taken the way it was, paved the rest of the road for the French Revolution. Short Essay One: Westernization of Imperial Russia The strong westernization drive on the part of the Russian Empire from the sixteenth century onward resulted primarily from territorial expansion that brought it into contact with Europe more directly, growing demands from an increasingly diverse and geographically separated population, and the need to compete in an historical era characterized by imperial conflicts motivated by markets and security. As a preliminary matter, by the seventeenth century what had once been the Grand Duchy of Moscow had evolved into the Russian Empire. In the Russian east, Siberia had become a part of the Russian Empire; in the southwest, what is now known as the Ukraine had been incorporated into the Russian Empire; and, in effect, the Russians had created an empire which stretched from the Polish border all the way to the Pacific Ocean. An empire previously rather isolated, both politically and culturally, was suddenly a neighbor to Europe and an imperial player given its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Thus, as an initial matter, territorial expansion brought Russia into contact and conflict with our nations. In addition to the need to modernize in order to compete economically and militarily, there were domestic demands. Public administration was stretched rather thinly as the territories expanded and traditional means of social organization, such as collectivized farming for the peasants and an autocratic authority represented by the Tsars, weakened and stifled economic development and political legitimacy in many areas of the empire. Increasingly, demands were made to loosen up the serfdom institution, to decentralize political authority, and to modernize social relations as well. Whereas the territorial expansion exposed Russians to new ideas, new possibilities, and potential enemies, growing domestic demands exacerbated the pressure to westernize. These reforms, as articulated and implemented by the Tsars, were symbolically significant though mostly insincere. Serfdom was abolished in 1861, the Stolypin Reforms (1906-1914) granted minor concessions to the peasants in terms of land ownership, access to credit, and minor political representation. The most telling event was the drafting of the Constitution of 1906 because it preserved the Tsar’s supreme status over the law, the church, and the Duma. In effect, the Tsar relinquished nothing. Significantly, however, the ideas had been spread throughout the Russian Empire, the Tsar could not defeat the swelling opposition to his rule, and the key was the symbolic westernization that had taken place. This is not to say that westernization was entirely benign--to be sure private land ownership was established, trade was pursued—but that the intellectual aspects of the westernization drive ultimately brought about a major rationale for the Russian Revolution of 1917. Indeed, the communist revolution was supposed to have occurred in a more advanced capitalist economy, so the fact that it occurred first in Russia demonstrates the power of the westernization ideas in Russia. Westernization wasn’t fully realized on the ground, but it was realized in intellectual circles. Short Essay Two: European Absolutism Generally speaking, European absolutism refers to the power of a monarch. Although this absolutism manifested itself differently in different nations, there are some common political, economic, and cultural features. First, from a political point of view, the King was all-powerful. This meant that the monarch was essentially unrestrained in the administration of his territories. Even such potentially influential groups as the clergy, nobles of varying levels of power, and nominal legislative branches were subservient. In economic terms this meant the right to levy taxes in order to afford luxuries, to finance trade, and to raise standing armies. Culturally, absolute rulers went to great efforts to cloak their absolute rule in the robes of divine providence, traditional mythology, or some other fantastic sounding justification. In short, this absolutism permeated political, economic and cultural life. Interestingly enough, European absolutism did not always manifest itself in the same way; to be sure, the competing classes and institutions in different countries were able to influence the particular type of absolutism that would allow an absolute ruler to maintain his throne. In France, for instance, King Louis the Fourteenth was considered a model absolute monarch. In addition, the Catholic church, through the shrewd efforts at centralization by Cardinal Richelieu, allied with the monarch to advance its own goals. Despite this, France did not display all of the aforementioned characteristics of absolutism at this time. It is recognized that certain French provinces enacted and implemented some of their own laws, that some members of the noble class operated almost as independent governors, and that French cultural values often operated independently of the monarchy. These things noted, the Edict of Fontainebleau demonstrated quite clearly how absolutism could operate in tandem with another powerful institution, in this case the Catholic church, in order to reestablish its dominant position and to purge the nation of threats to its legitimacy. In short, European absolutism manifested itself in different ways, but its characteristic political, economic and cultural aspects held sway. Works Cited Chambers / Hanawalt / Rabb / Woloch / Grew / Tiersten. The Western Experience: Volume 2 – Since the Sixteenth Century Read More