Your Early Modern historic vacation covers the period where you really start to see things falling into place. Countries are starting to take shape and identity to how we know them today – though the United States is still not yet a country by the end of this period! But we’re close! It just goes to show how incredibly young we are as a nation compared to so many others.
This period is marked by Reformation, Enlightenment and Colonization in the regions I travel to. For the major Western powers, things are barreling towards a zenith – something you know isn’t bound to last long, and sure enough soon into the Modern period it all starts crashing down.
Want to jump to posts to start planning your Early Modern historic vacation and skip the history lesson? Then Skip to the Trip!
Religious reformation was a huge factor in this period, from Henry VIII’s momentous divorce in England to French Catholics fighting with Hugenots (Protestants). Similar Religious conflicts were erupting across Ireland, as Protestants cemented control over the majority Catholic population. We’re taught the pilgrims left England in search of Religious freedom and landed in America (though there was a bit more to it than that!).
This is also the period when nations of Europe really began to ramp up exploration and you see figures like Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Ferdinand Magellan and others sailing around the world planting flags and claiming lands (that were already inhabited). Various parts of what is today the United States had different flags fly over it as a result of colonization, including Spanish, French, English and Dutch.
England’s upheaval led to a series of Civil Wars from 1642 – 1651 and led to the beheading of the monarch (Charles I) and the establishment of Britain as a “republic”. Eventually there was a Restoration of the monarchy with the eldest son of the executed King returned to the throne. The monarchy was back, but it was significantly altered as leaders of the day looked to create a better system. Part of that “better system” in England included the Parliament taking steps to make sure a Catholic was not allowed to rule.
The age of “Enlightenment” wasn’t reserved to England alone, and similar political changes were taking place in France. It also wasn’t reserved only for politics, as scientific advancements were also prolific at this time. Scientific experimentation, documentation, recitation all explode during this period. Key scientific figures like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Lavoisier all make significant breakthroughs with telescopes, microscopes, thermometers and other key pieces of equipment now more available to the masses. As a chemist myself, it is always impressive to see what these people were able to figure out on their own that we take for granted today. I never had a professor ask me to prove that oxygen existed!
The final piece of this period is the culmination of all this study, rumination and sharing of ideas: Revolution! But for that, you’ll have to move to the final period of this site…the Modern period.
Sources:
