Economic Systems Evolved From Feudalism to Mercantilism. Some Politicians Still Embrace It

Out of feudalism, which was dominant in Europe from the 800s through at least the 1500s, grew a number of economic systems, most notably mercantilism, which was "designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promoted imperialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. It sought policies with the objectives of reducing …

Historian Timothy Snyder, ‘On Tyranny’: Two Years After His Book Was Published, The Threat Is Greater

In response to ominous events in Ukraine, Russia, Britain, Eastern Europe and the United States, Yale University Historian Timothy Snyder published On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the 20th Century, in early 2017. He is now speaking out that the world is in even greater risk of losing its democracies and embracing authoritarian if not tyrannical …

Enlightened Monarchs Listened to Reason, Expanded Opportunity, But Still Ruled As Absolutists

John Green of Crash Course European History previously lectured here and here about "about the Enlightenment, and the philosophers and thinkers whose ideas would shape governance for hundred of years." They challenged the idea that kings and nobles were qualified to be elites simply because of the families into which they were born into. In …

1600s-1700s in Russia: Czar Peter the Great Opens Window to the West; Rise of Prussia

John Green of Crash Course European History posted: "In eastern Europe, in the 17th century a couple of "great powers" were coming into their own. The vast empire of Russia was modernizing under Peter the Great, and the relatively tiny state of Prussia was evolving as well. Russia (and Tsar Peter) reformed many aspects of …

After Much Bloodshed, England Introduced Constitutional Monarchy, Restrained By Parliament and Rule of Law

The English Civil War  (1642–1651) was essentially the beginning of the end of the Age of Absolutism, or absolute rule by divine right of kings. After the head of Louis XVI of France was chopped off during the French Revolution in 1793, European monarchs generally were persuaded that limitations on their power was a good thing. …

Queen Elizabeth I Kept A Fractious England Together By Marshaling Absolute Power and Defeating the Spanish Empire

Elizabeth I (1533-1603), queen of England from 1558 to 1603, was one strong woman, who by force of will and strength kept England together. She was probably the most shining and successful example of a benevolent monarch from the Age of Absolutism. She was certainly better than her father King Henry VIII (1491-1547), who one historian compared …

Magna Carta Set Precedent for Human Rights, and Helped Spark the American Revolution

"Why is this old piece of parchment considered to be such a powerful symbol of our rights and freedoms? Narrated by Monty Python’s Terry Jones, this animation takes you back to medieval times, when England was under the reign of Bad King John. It asks why Magna Carta was originally created and what it meant …

Age of Absolute Monarchs Ruling By Divine Right Or Despotism Has Ended…Or Has It?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYPAFqQgbqE Absolute Monarchy: Crash Course European History The 1500s through the 1700s were known as the Age of Absolute Monarchs, ruling by divine right or appointment by God. If they so chose, they could defy the nobility or wealthy property owners and order opponents imprisoned or executed. They were not restricted by the rule of …

French Revolution Was So Much More Brutal Than American Revolution. Why?

The French Revolution of 1789 still raises questions -- it is most remembered for a notorious reign of terror, chopping off the heads of at least 17,000, and possibly as many as 35,000 people without giving them a fair trial. So much blood flowing that the streets around the guillotine turned red. One of the …