Europe has undergone major transformation that has placed them atop the global culture. The amount of transition Europe has endured has been substantial. Within this time, there have been advancements politically, economically, and religiously that have held ground into today's society. Although there are a countless number of significant movements and moments throughout European history, I believe there are five specific events that identify as the most important. Each event is unique in that it greatly altered the European way of life, leads into the next event, and can still be counted on as relevant in today's society.
The Middle Ages began to see signs of their collapse around 1300 when their prosperity and success came to a sudden standstill. A once blooming territory was quickly diminished as a result of both the Great Famine and the Black Death. Although there is a dispute on the exact number, collectively these two events make up one of the deadliest tragedies in human history. Along with the anxiety surrounding these disasters, there was an undeniable amount of social conflict. The unity within the Catholic Church was ultimately shattered by the Great Schism, which was a division in the church leadership due to multiple popes. The official end of the Middle Ages is accompanied with the defeat of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Ottoman Empire proved to be extremely successful in former Constantinople, serving as a central location to both the eastern and western worlds for nearly 500 years. Although many look at the collapse as the Middle Ages as the unofficial start of the Renaissance due to the lack of scientific advancements and few truly great leaders born, it goes widely unnoticed that the Renaissance had its roots within the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages weren't just a dark period squeezed between the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. The intricate cathedrals, agricultural innovations, and the rise of the Crusades and the Islamic world all were massive developments among the Middle Age era. Because of this, I believe the collapse of the Middle Ages were one of the five most important eras in European history.
Along with the criticism of the church that came with the Great Schism during the collapse of the Middle Ages, a similar grievance was associated with Europeans and the church in the early-sixteenth-century. This moment in time was referred to as the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation is considered to have begun with Martin Luther's 95 Theses, a writing in which he questioned the church and their selling of indulgences. Although the 95 Theses was initially intended for debate, it spread throughout Europe and ultimately changed the Western Civilization as a whole. The Reformation was an attempt to refine the church, and that belief in the Bible was the sole source of spiritual authority. The Reformation gave the common person a sense of hope and belief, which is why Martin Luther garnered the following he had. He was a spokesperson for the many people who questioned the church in a logical matter. He never set out to totally break away from the church, in fact, he was simply saying, "this is not what the bible says". Eventually, his followers did break away from the church. A script that was initially intended for debate escalated into massive political changes and religious wars. These religious conflicts led way for the Thirty Years War, which killed 20% of Germany's population. The separation between Catholics and Lutherans in Germany lasted from the 16th century until Napolean's take over in the early 19th century, where he induced a feeling of nationalism among citizens.
Although there were earlier occurrences of nationalism in Western Civilization history, the belief of having a common ground within a country came to fruition once again. The concept proved to be inspirational, and was a political philosophy that advanced literacy rates, conscription armies, compulsory education, established the mass press, and grew large bureaucracies. The rise of nationalism essentially developed a complex industrial and urban society in countries. The requirement of having to speak a common language resulted in better communication. Nationalism was prevalent in Europe for most of the 19th century, and it was a relatively peaceful time in Europe, but with the good must come bad. Europeans began to heavily put faith in their nation's culture, economics, and military strength. This created overconfidence in the citizens of European nations along with a "we are better than you" attitude. Entering the 1900's, nationalism was to blame for the growing competition between Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Tensions grew high as each nation strived to become the strongest and richest. The complications between these European nations ultimately led to the beginning of World War I.
There wasn't one specific cause of World War I, there were multiple facets that contributed, and many believe it was inevitable anyways. World War I was so significant because it involved all of Earth's economic powers fighting on two sides. The four-year war was the cause of around 17 million deaths, making it one of the deadliest wars in history. The advancement and introduction of technology created new fighting tactics, which in turn increased the number of casualties as well. Trench warfare, tanks, and poisonous gas were all new developments that produced the most strategic war the world had seen yet. With so many men at war, this forced women into the workforce to put food on the table, which resulted in a massive step forward for the female population, and ultimately receiving the right to vote in 1920. By the end, World War I terminated the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. This forever changed the boundaries in Europe. World War I created a complete collapse of both the economic and political systems in parts of Europe. This gave rise to fascism in Europe, namely Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party. Soon after, Germany invaded Poland, while Britain and France announced war on Germany, and World War II had commenced.
Many believe that World War II was just a continuation of World War I, and that is not a farfetched statement. The second world war once again included all of the world's greatest powers, with each nation giving every penny they had towards their military resources in hopes of defeating the opposing alliance. World War II was the deadliest tragedy in history, killing 72.4 million people. This number includes the Holocaust, a genocide where German leader Adolf Hitler killed 5.4 million Jews. Hitler blamed all of Germany's problems on the Jews, and according to the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, Jews were depicted as the mice of society. World War II once again was littered with new technological advances in the fields of aircraft, strategic bombing, and naval warfare. The war officially ended in 1945 after the United States used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The Allied Powers were victorious.
The transformations that European history underwent were rapid and life-altering. The political, economic, and militaristic ways seemed to change every decade. To pinpoint only five significant changes throughout European history was a daunting task, as there are numerous occurrences I feel are important. These five moments in history are significant because they are still felt today, and whether they are considered good or bad, we would not be where we are today had they not happened.