Q 1 - What do we mean by Early Modern Europe?

Or 

What were the major Cultural Changes in Early Modern Europe? 

Answer – Introduction

At the beginning of European history, after the end of the Middle Ages, the transition to modernity begins, which saw various changes and developments. The events that occurred in European history between approximately the 15th century and the 18th century are called Early Modern Europe. This was a period in which political, cultural, religious and economic changes took place, including the Renaissance, Reformation, science and many important areas such as technology were covered.

Meaning of early modern Europe - Early Modern Europe refers to the beginning of 
the movement towards modernity that occurred after the end of the European Middle 
Ages, which reflects the modernity of Europe.

• When we talk about early modern Europe, we are usually talking about the period  from the 15th century to the 18th century, which indicates the period that followed the Middle Ages. This time is also called "Renaissance", during this period important changes took place in Europe in areas like political, cultural, economic and religious.
• The emergence and development of early modern Europe includes the  Renaissance, Reformation, development in science and technology, changes in  literature, human thinking, art and religious fields, which eliminated the  superstition and illiteracy prevailing in Europe in the Middle Ages. and moved  forward towards the modern era. 

Main characteristics of early modern Europe : 

Intellectual Development – The modern era in Europe began with “intellectual development”. Before the beginning of the modern period, the Middle Ages was  a time of 'ignorance and darkness'. During this period, importance was given to  logic and intellect instead of faith.

Development in science-technology and philosophy – During this period,  Copernicus argued in “On the Revolution of the Heavenly Sphere” that the Sun is at the center of the universe and all the planets revolve around it. Also Galileo and Vinci worked on the concept of gravity. That is, during this period, there was development in science and during this period, there was development of philosophy. During this period, there were prominent philosophers like Machiavelli who expressed his philosophical views in the composition “The Prince”. 

The social and economic changes – clergy, nobility and peasantry – of the medieval period are described. Whereas in the sixteenth century the nobility had dominated the social elite, owning much of the land and property, by the eighteenth century they had been joined by wealthy merchants as social elites. During this era, society changed mainly due to the introduction of urban lifestyle and improvement in business systems and a new economic system started. The number and size of cities increased and the area of trade also expanded. 

Cultural change in early modern Europe : 

Philosophical and intellectual development – During this period, due to cultural change, man's ability to think and understand developed, due to which he started giving importance to intellectuality instead of faith by using logic and intellect. This involved the philosophical attitude of the individual which started the conflict between “individual quest” and “collective freedom”. 

Humanism and Individualism – The most important change in this era was that of humanism, in which taking interest in human life, understanding human problems and working to improve and make his life better, in which thinking was done keeping human beings at the center and not God. If painting was involved then the person was made aware of its importance in which painters and litterateurs of that period were mainly included. 

Changes in art, education and literature - During this period, there was progress in art, which was the influence of religion in the art of medieval period, whereas in the era of early modern Europe, artists added their personal thoughts, beauty and events related to life in art instead of religion. And important changes took place in painting, architecture, sculpture and music. In education, universities started being established in different areas of Europe. And in the field of literature, there was development in languages, languages like Italian, German, French, Spanish, English etc. developed mainly and books started being published for the rich and the poor. 

Invention of paper and printing press – Europeans invented the printing press in the middle of the 15th century and they started being used in important European countries like Italy, Germany, Spain and France. In this way the invention of technology like paper and printing press ended the monopoly of special people.

Voyages and exploratory inquiries for world orientation (engagement) – Large-scale Sea voyages took place around the world during the early modern period. These journeys were not to colonize others, but to build strong cultural ties with others. These voyages and explorations not only created a global perspective but also led to technological changes and great progress in making ocean maps.

Evaluation of cultural change in early modern Europe :

The stages of development followed through the introduction of modern thought in Europe that came into existence as a result of the end of the Middle Ages.

In its cultural change, necessary development took place in the fields of philosophical and intellectual, art, education and literature, in which the ideas of thinkers started being worked upon and in the field of art, artists started using their personal ideas leaving aside religious influence and using their own ideas. Started using imagination in his art

Due to a system like printing, the monopoly of any human being came to an end because now everyone could write down their thoughts and get them printed. And could propagate them. Travels were started with the aim of cultural relations, due to which new foreign relations started to be established and the benefit of the travel was found in making nautical maps.

Conclusion 

During the Early Modern period in Europe, an important transition was made to address the problems prevalent in the Middle Ages through reforms in a variety of areas. Due to the development that took place at that time in areas like art-literature, science technology, education promotion, individual religious freedom, Europe has become a developed region in the world. In the era of modern Europe, cultural changes have taken place with the development of humans. Also includes development made by humans.

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