Emergence of Western Europe in the Medieval Period

Emergence of Western Europe in the Medieval Period

Introduction

Western Europe in the early modern age was witnessed to be global economic, political and technological dominance. Western powers surpass the rival civilization towards the end of the early modern age. Major rivals towards civilization were the Islamic civilization and the South and East Asian civilization. Reformation and Enlightenment are two main periods on which the early modern age of Europe can be divided. The Europeans Wars came to an end with the tremendous economic and impressive growth. The economic growth in the early middle age enabled the middle class to rise as merchants and governmental officials. Literacy level increased in the middle class with the widespread of time and wealth (Mann et.al, 2006). Despite all these facts, governmental powers were still in the hands of nobility and clergy. Thus, a prominent struggle between the middle and upper class was found which eventually ended when the capitalists became the dominant class dooming the nobility and clergy in the modern age. During the Middle age, life was very hard in Europe. There were only few people who could easily read and write. Religion was the only hope for people to stabilize and ensure their survival. Many people changed their religion with the hope of getting a better life in heaven. By the end of 15th century, many obvious changes took place, and the new age of Renaissance took place in the European History (Spadem, 2009).

The middle ages of Europe went through numerous declines and falls involving the collapse of Roman Empire and more interaction with other societies around the Mediterranean Sea. The themes of postclassical world history were reflected in the Western Europe development. The Spirit of new religious beliefs was also the reason behind Western Europe civilization. The new religious beliefs let many Christians convert their polytheistic faiths. In the international community, medieval Western Europe became an emerging participant among many societies especially in Europe, Asia and some of parts of Africa (Snell, 2012). The new network formed through medieval Western Europe participation helped them in learning new technologies. The Asian tools and technology helped the Western Europe spur medical agriculture. The food production increased with the new crops in the African countries. The trade activities in the Mediterranean brought the Western Europe in contacts with many Arabs. This contact with Arabs brought many technological gains for the Western Europe e.g. establishment of paper factory. The culture of Western Europe also got powerfully shaped with the widespread relation with the world. The different learning was extended till the 11th and 12th Century leading toward new learning in major subjects like math, philosophy and science. The world as a whole helped the Western Europe during the medieval period to emerge than it contributed.

Strength and Weakness of the middle Age

Culturally and commercially the Western Europe remained backward to Islam and Byzantine Empire. Two perspectives can be used to determine the Western Europe emergence and ...