Early modern Europe is the term used by historians to refer to a period in the history of Europe (especially Western Europe and Central Europe) which spanned the centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century. The early modern period is often considered to have begun with such events as the invention of moveable type printing in the 1450s; the Fall of Constantinople in 1453; the end of the Wars of the Roses in 1485; the Voyages of Christopher Columbus and the completion of the Reconquista in 1492 or the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Its end point is often linked with the outset of the French Revolution in 1789, or with the more nebulous origins of industrialism in late 18th century Britain. As with most periodizations of history, however, the precise dates chosen vary.
Some of the more notable events of the early modern period included the Reformation and the religious conflicts it provoked (including the French Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years' War), the European colonization of the Americas and the peak of the European witch-hunt phenomenon.
Read more about Early Modern Europe: Characteristics, Periodization, Difference Between 'early Modern' and The Renaissance, Religion in Early Modern Europe, Political Powers
Famous quotes containing the words early, modern and/or europe:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“The whole imposing edifice of modern medicine is like the celebrated tower of Pisa—slightly off balance.”
—Prince Charles (b. 1948)
“Never before since Jamestown and Plymouth Rock has our American civilization been in such danger as now.... [The Nazis] have made it clear that not only do they intend to dominate all life and thought in their own country, but also to enslave the whole of Europe, and then to use the resources of Europe to dominate the rest of the world.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)