Editing Early modern Europe (section)

==Major states==
===Holy Roman Empire===
Since 1512, the [[Holy Roman Empire]] was also known as the ''Holy Roman Empire of the [[Germans|German nation]]''. The Habsburg [[House of Austria]] held the position of [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s since the mid-1400s and for the entire Early modern period. Despite the lack of a centralized political structure in a period in which national monarchies were emerging, the Habsburg Emperors of the Early modern period came close to form a [[universal monarchy]] in Western Europe.

The Habsburgs expanded their control within and outside the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the dynastic policy pursued by [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor]]. Maximilian I married [[Mary of Burgundy]], thus bringing the [[Burgundian Netherlands]] into the Habsburg inheritance. Their son, [[Philip the Handsome]], married [[Joanna the Mad]] of Spain (daughter of [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] and [[Isabella of Castile]]). [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] (son of Philip and Joanna) inherited the [[Habsburg Netherlands]] in 1506, [[Habsburg Spain]] and its territories in 1516, and [[Archduchy of Austria|Habsburg Austria]] in 1519.

The main opponents of the Habsburg Empire were the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of France]]. The Habsburgs clashed [[French-Habsburg rivalry|with France]] in a series of Italian wars. The [[Battle of Pavia]] (1525) initiated the Habsburg primacy in Italy and the replacement of France as the main European power. Nevertheless, religious wars forced Charles V to abdicate in 1556 and divide the Habsburg possessions between Spain and Austria. The next Holy Roman [[Emperor Ferdinand I]] completed the [[Council of Trent]] and maintained Germany at peace until the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648). The Habsburgs controlled the elective monarchies of Hungary and Bohemia as well, and eventually turned these states into hereditary domains.

=== Spain ===
{{Further|History of Spain|Early Modern period|Crown of Castile|Crown of Aragon|Age of Discovery}}

In 1492 the [[Catholic Monarchs]] of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] funded [[Christopher Columbus]]'s plan to sail west to reach the [[Indies]] by crossing the Atlantic. He landed on a continent uncharted by Europeans and seen as a [[new world]], the Americas. To prevent conflict between Portugal and Castile (the crown under which Columbus made the voyage), the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] was signed dividing the world into two regions of exploration, where each had exclusive rights to claim newly discovered lands.<ref>Edward Gaylord Bourne, ''The History and Determination of the Line of Demarcation Established by Pope Alexander VI Between the Spanish and Portuguese Fields of Discovery and Colonization'' (1892) online in Gutenberg.org.</ref>

The structure of the Spanish Empire was established under the [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish Habsburgs]] (1516–1700) and under the [[House of Bourbon|Spanish Bourbon]] monarchs, the empire was brought under greater crown control and increased its revenues from the Indies.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heEdZziizrUC&pg=PA35|title=The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long-Distance Trade in the Early Modern World, 1350–1750|last=Tracy|first=James D.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-521-45735-4|page=35}}</ref><ref>Lynch, John. ''Bourbon Spain, 1700–1808''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers 1989, p. 21.</ref> The crown's authority in The Indies was enlarged by the papal grant of [[Patronato Real|powers of patronage]], giving it power in the religious sphere.<ref>Schwaller, John F., "Patronato Real" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'' vol. 4, pp. 323–24.</ref><ref>Mecham, J. Lloyd, ''Church and State in Latin America: A History of Politico-Ecclesiastical Relations'', revised edition. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1966, pp. 4–6.</ref><ref>[[Clarence Haring|Haring, Clarence]], ''The Spanish Empire in America''. New York: Oxford University Press 1947, pp. 181–82.</ref>

Under [[Philip II of Spain]], Spain, rather than the Habsburg empire, was identified as a more powerful nation than France and England globally. Furthermore, despite attacks from other European states, Spain retained its position of dominance with apparent ease. Spain controlled the Netherlands until the [[Dutch revolt]], and important states in southern Italy. The Spanish claims to Naples and Sicily dated back to the 15th century, but had been marred by rival claims until the mid-16th century and the rule of Philip II. There would be no Italian revolts against Spanish rule until 1647. The death of the Ottoman emperor [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] in 1566 and the naval victory over the [[Ottoman Empire]] at the [[Battle of Lepanto]] in 1571 cemented the status of Spain as a superpower in Europe and the world. The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies of the Spanish Monarch in the Americas, Asia ([[Spanish Philippines]]), Europe and some territories in Africa and Oceania.

=== France ===
{{Further|History of France|Early modern France|Kingdom of France|Ancien Régime}}
The [[Ancien Régime]] (French for "old regime") was the political and social system of the [[Kingdom of France]] from about 1450 until the [[French Revolution]] that started in  1789.<ref>{{citation|title=Ancien Regime|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/ancient-history-middle-ages-and-feudalism/ancien-regime|encyclopedia=Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World|publisher=The Gale Group Inc.|access-date=26 February 2017|language=en|date=2004|via=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref> The Ancien Régime was ruled by the [[House of Valois|late Valois]] and [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] dynasties.  Much of the medieval political centralization of France had been lost in the [[Hundred Years' War]], and the Valois Dynasty's attempts at re-establishing control over the scattered political centres of the country were hindered by the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars of Religion]]). Much of the reigns of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], [[Louis XIII]] and the early years of [[Louis XIV]] were focused on administrative centralisation. Despite, however, the notion of "[[absolute monarchy]]" (typified by the king's right to issue ''[[lettres de cachet]]'') and the efforts by the kings to create a centralized state, Ancien Régime France remained a country of systemic irregularities: administrative (including taxation), legal, judicial, and ecclesiastic divisions and prerogatives frequently overlapped, while the French nobility struggled to maintain their own rights in the matters of local government and justice, and powerful internal conflicts (like the [[The Fronde|Fronde]]) protested against this centralization.<ref>See William Doyle, ed. ''The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime'' (2012) 656 pp. [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Handbook-Ancien-Handbooks-History/dp/0199291209/ excerpt and text search].</ref>

The need for centralization in this period was directly linked to the question of royal finances and the ability to wage war. The internal conflicts and dynastic crises of the 16th and 17th centuries (the wars between Catholics and Protestants and the [[Habsburg]]'s internal family conflict) and the territorial expansion of France in the 17th century demanded great sums which needed to be raised through taxes, such as the land tax (''{{lang|fr|[[taille]]}}'') and the tax on salt (''{{lang|fr|[[gabelle]]}}'') and by contributions of men and service from the nobility. The key to this centralization was the replacing of personal [[patronage]] systems organized around the king and other nobles by institutional systems around the state.<ref>{{harvnb|Major|1994|pp=xx–xxi}}</ref> The creation of [[intendant]]s—representatives of royal power in the provinces—did much to undermine local control by regional nobles. The same was true of the greater reliance shown by the royal court on the "noblesse de robe" as judges and royal counselors. The creation of regional [[parlement]]s had initially the same goal of facilitating the introduction of royal power into newly assimilated territories, but as the parlements gained in self-assurance, they began to be sources of disunity.<ref>Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610–1774'' (1999), political survey [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0631211969 excerpt and text search].</ref>

===England===
{{Further|Early modern Britain|Kingdom of England|Kingdom of Scotland|Commonwealth of England|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
[[File:Elizabeth succession allegory.jpg|thumb|right|'''Elizabeth ushers in Peace and Plenty.'''  Detail from ''The Family of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]: An Allegory of the Tudor Succession'', c. 1572, attributed to [[Lucas de Heere]].]]

This period refers to England 1558–1603. The [[Elizabethan Era]] is the period associated with the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] (1558–1603) and was a [[golden age]] in English cultural history. It was the height of the [[English Renaissance]], and saw the flowering of [[English literature]] and [[English poetry|poetry]]. This was also the time during which [[Elizabethan theatre]] grew.  [[William Shakespeare]], among others, composed highly innovative and powerful plays. It was an age of expansion and exploration abroad. At home the [[Protestant Reformation]] was established and successfully defended against the Catholic powers of Spain and France.<ref>D. M. Palliser, ''The Age of Elizabeth: England Under the Later Tudors, 1547–1603'' (1983)</ref>

The ''[[Jacobean era]]'' was the reign  [[James I of England]] (1603–1625). Overseas exploration and establishment of trading factories sped up, with the first permanent settlements in North America at [[Jamestown, Virginia]] in 1607, in [[Colony of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] in 1610, and at [[Plymouth Colony]] in Massachusetts in 1620. One king now ruled England and Scotland; the latter was fully absorbed by the [[Acts of Union 1707]].<ref>Barry Coward, and Peter Gaunt. ''The Stuart Age: England, 1603–1714'' (5th ed. 2017), [https://books.google.com/books?id=GjElDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 excerpt]</ref>

The tumultuous [[Caroline era]] was the reign of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] (1625–1645), followed by his beheading by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s regime  in 1649 . The Caroline era was dominated by the growing religious, political, and social conflict between the King and his supporters, termed the Royalist party, and the [[Puritan]] opposition that evolved in response to particular aspects of Charles' rule. The colonization of North America continued apace, with new colonies in [[Maryland]] (1634), [[Connecticut]] (1635), and [[Rhode Island]] (1636).<ref>Godfrey Davies, ''The Early Stuarts, 1603–1660'' (Oxford UP, 1959).</ref>

===Poland===
{{Further|History of Poland|History of Poland in the early modern period (1569–1795)|Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|Crown of Poland|Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Golden Liberties}}
In early modern Europe, the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] was the largest country with a large population and was very powerful. It was the largest semi-democratically governed polity of its time. It had low taxes but managed to field thousands of [[Winged Hussars]] who composed of nobility who followed [[Sarmatism]]. The [[Polish military]] routinely beat other respectable opponents such as the Ottomans, the Swedes and the Russians.

=== Papacy ===
The papacy continued to exercise significant diplomatic influence during the Early modern period. The Popes were frequently assembling Holy Leagues to assert Catholic supremacy in Europe. During the Renaissance, [[Julius II]] and [[Paul III]] were largely involved in the [[Italian Wars]] and worked to preserve their primacy among the Italian princes. During the Counter-Reformation, the Papacy supported Catholic powers and factions all over Europe. [[Pope Pius V]] assembled the Catholic coalition that won the [[Battle of Lepanto]] against the Turks. [[Pope Sixtus V]] sided with the Catholics during the [[French wars of religion]]. Worldwide religious missions, such as the [[Jesuit China mission]], were established by [[Pope Gregory XIII]]. Gregory XIII is also responsible for the establishment of the [[Gregorian calendar]]. Following the [[Peace of Westphalia]] and the birth of [[nation-states]], Papal claims to universal authority came effectively to an end.