The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies which spans the two centuries between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution. The early modern period is characterized by the rise to importance of science and increasingly rapid technological progress, secularized civic politics and the nation state. Capitalist economies began their rise, beginning in northern Italian republics such as Genoa. The early modern period also saw the rise and dominance of the economic theory of mercantilism. As such, the early modern period represents the decline and eventual disappearance, in much of the European sphere, of Christian theocracy, feudalism and serfdom. The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Industrial Revolution was a major shift of technological, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions that occurred in the late 18th century and early 19th century in some Western countries. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... The wheel was invented circa 4000 BC, and has become one of the worlds most famous, and most useful technologies. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... A nation-state is a specific form of state, which exists to provide a sovereign territory for a particular nation, and which derives its legitimacy from that function. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Genoa (Genova [] in Italian - Zena [] in Genoese) is a city and a seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. ... Mercantile redirects here. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      For the metal band, refer to Theocracy (band). ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... Costumes of slaves or serfs, from the sixth to the twelfth centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel from original documents in European libraries. ...

The period includes the Reformation, the disastrous Thirty Years' War, the European colonization of the Americas and the peak of the European witch-hunt craze. The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Territories in the Americas colonized or claimed by a European great power in 1750. ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ...

When was the early modern period?

The beginning of the early modern period is not clear-cut, but is generally accepted to be in the late 15th century or early 16th century. Significant dates in this transitional phase from medieval to early modern Europe can be noted: (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

• 1447: The invention of the first European movable type printing process by Johannes Gutenberg, a device that fundamentally changed the circulation of information. Movable type, which allowed individual characters to be arranged to form words and which is an invention separate from the printing press, had also been invented in, but not known outside of, China.
• 1453: The conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans signalled the end of the Byzantine empire; the Battle of Castillon concluded the Hundred Years War.
• 1485, England: The last Plantagenet king, Richard III, was killed at Bosworth and the medieval civil wars of aristocratic factions gave way to early modern Tudor monarchy, in the person of Henry VII.
• 1492, Spain: The first documented European voyage to the Americas by the Italian-Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus; the end of the Reconquista, with the final expulsion of the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula; the Spanish government expels the Jews.
• 1494, France, Italy: French king Charles VIII invaded Italy, drastically altering the status quo and beginning a series of wars which would punctuate the Italian Renaissance.
• 1513: First formulation of modern politics with the publication of Machiavelli's The Prince.
• 1517: The Reformation begins with Martin Luther nailing his ninety-five theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.
• 1545: The Council of Trent marks the end of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.

The end date of the early modern period is usually associated with the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in about 1750. Another significant date is 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution, which drastically transformed the state of European politics and ushered in the Napoleonic Era and modern Europe. This article is about the inventor of printing in Europe; for other uses, see Guttenberg (disambiguation) and Gutenberg. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †,[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 7,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] 10,000 civilian dead[5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul ( Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 12+ million km² Establishment 1299 Dissolution October 29... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Combatants England France Brittany Commanders John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury† Jean Bureau Strength 4,000-6,000 8,000 - 13,000 Casualties 4,000 mainly wounded or captured 100 dead or wounded The Battle of Castillon was the last battle fought between the French, the Bretons and the English... This article is in need of attention. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Angevin is the name applied to two distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire). ... Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death. ... Combatants King Richard III of England, Yorkist Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, Lancastrian Commanders Richard III of England† Nominally, Richmond in practice, the Earl of Oxford Strength 6,000 (king had 15,500 but Lord Stanley with 4,000 and his brother, Sir William Stanley with 2,500 betrayed; Henry... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor (Welsh: ) was a series of five monarchs who ruled England and Ireland from 1485 until 1603. ... Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... Not to be confused with 1492: Conquest of Paradise. ... World map showing the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere historically considered to consist of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator and maritime explorer credited as the discoverer of the Americas. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see moor. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... Charles VIII the Affable (French: Charles VIII lAffable) (June 30, 1470 – April 7, 1498) was King of France from 1483 to his death. ... The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... Detail of the portrait of Machiavelli, ca 1500, in the robes of a Florentine public official Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469—June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher during the Renaissance. ... Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... The 95 Theses. ... Statue of Martin Luther in the main square Wittenberg, officially [Die] Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, at 12° 59 E, 51° 51 N, on the Elbe river. ... The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic... The Industrial Revolution was a major shift of technological, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions that occurred in the late 18th century and early 19th century in some Western countries. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent. ... The Napoleonic Era is a period in the History of France and Europe. ...

Difference between 'early modern' and the Renaissance

The expression "early modern" is sometimes, and incorrectly, used as a substitute for the term Renaissance. However, "Renaissance" is properly used in relation to a diverse series of cultural developments; which occurred over several hundred years in many different parts of Europe — especially central and northern Italy — and span the transition from late Medieval civilization and the opening of the early modern period. The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...

Artistically, the early modern is not a common designation as the Renaissance is clearly distinct from what came later. Only in the study of literature is the early modern period a standard period. Music is generally divided between Renaissance and Baroque. Similarly philosophy is divided between Renaissance philosophy and the Enlightenment. In other fields there is far more continuity through the period such as warfare and science. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750[1] (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Renaissance philosophy is the period of the history of philosophy in Europe that falls roughly during the between the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment. ... ... Gunpowder warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive. ... Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by a global community of researchers making use of a body of techniques known as scientific methods, emphasizing the observation, experimentation and scientific explanation of real world phenomena. ...

The term early modern is most often applied to Europe, and its overseas empire. However, in Japan, the Edo period from 1590 to 1868 is also sometimes referred to as the early modern period. The Edo period ), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. ...

Political Powers

• Habsburg Spain
• Habsburg Monarchy
• Dutch republic
• Early Modern Britain
• Early Modern France
• Early Modern Italy
• Early Modern Romania
• Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

During the reign of Emperor Charles V (Carlos I of Spain), who ascended the thrones of the kingdoms of Spain after the death of his grandfather Ferdinand, Habsburg Spain controlled territory ranging from Philippines to the Netherlands, and was, for a time, Europes greatest power. ... The Habsburg Monarchy, often called Austrian Monarchy or simply Austria, are the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine, between 1526 and 1867/1918. ... Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius United Netherlands redirects here. ... Early Modern Britain is a term used to define the period in the history of Great Britain roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. ... Early Modern France is the portion of French history that falls in the early modern period from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance to the eve of the French Revolution). ... This is the history of Italy during foreign domination and the unification. ... It has been suggested that Byzantium after Byzantium be merged into this article or section. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

See also

• Renaissance
• Early Modern English
• Early Modern warfare
• Periodization
• Tokugawa period - the period of Japanese history often called "early modern".

The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... Shakespeares writings are universally associated with Early Modern English Early Modern English refers to the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 1400s) to 1650. ... Early modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive. ... Periodization is the attempt to categorize or divide time into discrete named blocks. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Edo period (江戸時代) is a...

External links

• Discussion of the medieval/modern transition from the introduction to the pioneering Cambridge Modern History (1903)
• Society for Renaissance Studies