A Rebirth of Thinking

The Rise of Nation-States
Absolute monarchs emerged from the fragmented feudal system to reign supreme over their subjects.  When control of a country or area comes from one individual, it is called centralization.  A centralized government tends to be more stable.  Law and order come from one place, decisions rest on one person or one group of people.  The feudal system was decentralized because there were many small nobles in constant conflict with one one another over land and power.  The absolutists did away with this fragmented system and seized absolute control of every aspect of life in their respective country or nation-state. Some prominent absolute monarchs include Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, Frederick the Great of Germany, Louis XIV of France (pictured), Peter the Great of Russia, and Catherine the Great of Russia.  

Conflicts of varying degrees occurred between the authorities of the day.  The rise of absolutists took power away from the Roman Catholic Church.  During the Middle Ages, the Pope had been the strongest authority in Europe. Under absolutism, monarchs challenged the Pope in political power, territory, and wealth.  Subsequently, conflict arose between the Church and the monarchs.  Also, the absolutists came into conflict with one another.  When one monarch gained enough territory and wealth to threaten another, war would erupt.  Therefore, alliances were made and broken frequently in the political game called the Balance of Power.  A good example of this was when Philip II of Spain sent the Spanish Armada to invade Elizabeth's England.  The Armada failed miserably, Elizabeth gained power and Philip lost everything.

 Religion also played a role. After the Protestant Reformation succeeded, Absolutists used differences in religion as an excuse to invade other nation-states.  For example, Louis XIV, the Sun King, engaged many nations simply because they were Protestant, and France was Catholic.  He gained huge amounts of territory and wealth because of it.  

The Age of Exploration
Conflicts between European nation-states also occurred over the newly discovered lands of the New World.  Exploration had resulted in huge amounts of untapped resources.  The Explorers claimed land for their nation and brought back fabulous riches for their kings and queens. The Absolute Monarchs used the New World and the open-seas as a new arena for conflict.  Most notably was the clash between Portugal and Spain. 

After an extended period of warfare, both nations agreed to divide the world in half at the Treaty of Tordesillas.  A line of demarcation was established that gave Spain one half of the world and Portugal the other.  This period of constant conflict on the global level had a lasting impact on the world.  Colonization of  Latin America, Africa, and Asia followed the period of  exploration which, in turn, resulted in slavery, nationalistic revolutions, and world wars.