L'Europe, puissance émergente du Moyen-Âge (English)

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Emperor. This despotism, even though it was also present in Europe, had drastic consequences and led to the degradation of these great nations. Since Europe was so divided we would believe that this agglomeration of small countries would be in a disadvantage in front of the huge other civilizations of the world. But on the contrary, the fact that each country had it’s independence allowed the spread of knowledge and avoided to be “paralyzed by an idiot king”.

Not that the church did not set up some autodafé’s, but they did not have the power to intervene in every European countries, especially with the emergence of protestantism in several European countries, such as England in 1531. This limitation of Religion allowed science to grow stronger in Europe. With this separation with the Church, Europe to put “reason against the superstitions associated with religious faith or metaphysics.” (p.78, Civilization, Niall Ferguson)In a way, if one country obtained a new tool or was able to develop itself, it often would have a positive influence in all of Europe.

Government pressure on the population such as the revocation of the edict of Nantes, might have encouraged migration from one country to another, but this means that knowledge was kept and spread in the whole Continent. It created a whole “network”. (p.67, Civilization, Niall Ferguson)

Even though Europe might not have owned to most fertile grounds and prosper lands, it still “had the good luck to live at a geographic location where they were likely to receive advances (such as agriculture, wheels, writing, and metallurgy)” (Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond, p. 22). But on the contrary of China and Japan, Europe embraced exploration and especially the new world. The discoveries and resources that were brought by these trips, created an armada of new tools, especially for war.

In conclusion, Europe became a superior Power to the other great Powers due to the fact that “Europe’s greatest advantage was that it had fever disadvantages than the other civilizations.” (p.30, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Paul Kennedy)

As simple as it might sound, this illustrates the fact that luck and random factors. Europe did the best with what it had. The Ottoman Empire, in a way, helped Europe by putting pressure on it, which avoided Europe to be united under one Emperor, like the Habsbourg could have been if they did not have to face so many enemies at the same time. Europe’s governments diversity led to it’s development.

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