Diplomatic History of Europe 1500 - 2000 | Europe in 1500 - Ancient & New Monarchies (Lecture 2)

Lecture 2: With this lecture, we set the historical stage of early modern Europe in 1500. Europeans were on the move, encountering a wider world. These encounters took the form of trade and diplomacy, clashes with the brilliant and expanding Ottoman Empire in the south and east, and voyages of exploration to the distant Americas. In the political realm, change came in the form of “New Monarchies” establishing more efficient centralized kingdoms in France, Spain, and England and challenging older authority, especially in the form of the venerable, centuries-old Holy Roman Empire, with its claims to universal rule. We also chart the changing fortunes of important states in the east: Hungary, Poland-Lithuania, and far-off Muscovy. We outline the embryonic state of diplomacy evolving between these competing states, blending older traditions with innovations.

Essential Reading:
M. S. Anderson, The Rise of Modern Diplomacy, pp. 1–40.

Supplementary Reading:
Jonathan Wright, The Ambassadors: From Ancient Greece to Renaissance Europe, The Men Who Introduced the World to Itself.