Historical Analysis of Selected Wars and Impacts.
The current state of affairs in Europe and the United States of America, ranging from physical boundaries to political ideologies, can be explained in large part as the result of a number of armed conflicts that date back centuries. The physical boundaries, religious orientations, and political philosophies that characterize many of these modern countries are the products of fierce disagreements and armed conflicts which resulted in firmer national boundaries and firmer religious and ideological convictions. Great Britain and Americas Protestant orientations can be traced back centuries as well as Frances Catholic orientation. In much the same way, the British monarchy and Americas more radical notions of Democracy can be viewed as evolutionary features of previous armed conflicts. This paper will discuss some of the significant historical conflicts that shaped modern national boundaries, political structures and ideologies, and even religious preferences. More specifically, this paper will examine the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War, and the English Civil Wars in order to demonstrate how historical events impact modern realities.
One Hundred Years War England and French Nationalism and Geographical and Cultural Boundaries
The Hundred Years War, really the amalgamation of many separate conflicts and wars, took place in Europe from roughly 1337 until 1447. These conflicts were motivated by and implicated three main issues. First, there were territorial considerations in which the embryonic French and English nations were constantly contesting. While it is true, from a technical point of view, that the English nation was confined to an island the reality was that the English had much broader territorial ambitions with conflicted with certain French ambitions. Second, and contributing significantly to the territorial disputes, was the fact that these conflicts were also motivated to a substantial degree by a naked power struggle to secure the kingship of France with the death of the previous king. This fight for the ascension to the throne, which took place between two competing families, was important because one family claimed the right to rule England and France whereas the other family claimed to rule only France as an independent nation. The implications were extraordinarily important because the two nations could have been absorbed into one nation had the House of Plantagenet prevailed while two more clearly defined nations would result if the House of Valois prevailed. It is therefore not too much to suggest that, to some extant, these conflicts determined the physical and cultural boundaries for what would eventually become two very distinct nations. This is because the House of Valois proved victorious, they pushed the other royal house with ties to both England and France out of Anjou and Normandy, and this set the stage for the future development of the English and French nations. Finally, these conflicts reinforced early notions of nationalism in which both the English and the French would develop in their own unique ways in order to foster a particular type of national identity. In sum, the conflicts which characterized the Hundred Years War would eventually lay the groundwork for the future geographical, cultural, and political development of Europe as a whole.
There were also other impacts, both at the time of the conflicts and persisting even to this day, in terms of the merging of national pride, national ambition, and the use of national militaries in order to protect and expand an individual nations resources and territories. The richer and aristocratic classes, for example, relied on the peasants of their feudal systems, in order to create armies to carry out the armed conflicts and the wars.
These armies were larger than previous armies and they represented a national elite relying on armies composed of the lower social classes in order to pursue and satisfy elite interests. This was a negative for the peasants because, of course, they were placed in harms way and could very well die. On the other hand, this also provided a social opportunity for peasants that had previously been unavailable. Peasants previously locked in a vicious cycle of feudalism, for example, could now sometimes move up the army ranks and slightly improve their social status. These conflicts therefore functioned, to a small extant, to fracture the monolithic feudal structure and to offer poor peasants some possibility of a new career and perhaps a slightly better future. Todays professional armies, and the social class differences between officers and enlisted men, can actually be traced to these conflicts which constituted the Hundred Years War.
In sum, although these conflicts have most frequently been attributed to the quest for royal succession between the Valois and Plantagenet families, the impacts were far more profound and widespread than royal succession alone. These conflicts, in a very real way, served to begin the process of a firmer type of territorial demarcation between national groups, they functioned to give rise to stronger notions of nationalism and affected national identities, they led to the rise of professional armies and the incorporation of peasants into these armies, and they set the groundwork for future struggles and wars. It is important to acknowledge that these conflicts did not end territorial struggles, for these struggles continue even today in certain respects, bit to note the extraordinary influence that these conflicts had on the evolution of modern geography and national identities.
Thirty Years War Broader National Conflicts and Role of Religion
The Thirty Years War, which took place as a series of armed conflicts from 1618-1648, was similar in certain respects to the Hundred Years War and also different in certain respects. Some of the similarities included conflicts motivated by territorial ambitions, political ambitions, and national identities seeking to establish their dominance. On the other hand, there were some significant differences. First, although the conflicts took place in Europe, there were many more nations involved in the conflicts. Rather than a series of conflicts that would ultimately establish the more precise natures of the English and French nations, these conflicts would affect many more nations in Europe. Second, the majority of these conflicts took place in Germany. While the conflicts constituting the Hundred Years War were relatively concentrated from a geographical point of view, the conflicts making up the Thirty Years War were more diverse spiritually, philosophically, and geographically. Finally, and a fact noted many times in the histories, religion played a more important role in the Thirty Years War than it had played in the Hundred Years War. National identities, for example, were increasingly defined with reference to religious interpretations of the bible and the two dominant religious orientations were generally defined as Protestant religious orientations and Catholic religious orientations. The similarities, territorial ambitions and national identities asserting themselves aggressively, were in many ways connected to the developments which transpired during the Hundred Years War and in its aftermath. The contrasts, however, characterize how Europe was continuing to evolve territorially, politically, and even spiritually and competing nations continued to compete for dominance.
The main parties were therefore both nations and to a lesser extant religious institutions. The actual fighting initially occurred mostly in areas comprising modern-day Germany. What is interesting, however, is that these conflicts transcended to a certain extant conflicts between individual nations and involved the Holy Roman Empire seeking to put down religious and nationalist revolts which began most fiercely in Bohemia.
The Hapsburgs ruled most of the Holy Roman Empire and embraced Catholicism the outbreak of a series of Protestant protests and revolts were perceived as a threat to the legitimacy of Catholicism as a spiritual mandate and also to underlying legitimacy of both the Hapsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire. Again, what developed from these localized revolts was a larger European phenomenon in which nations and national identities began to assert themselves more forcefully and as individual groups of people rather than appendages of the Holy Roman Empire. Implicit in these conflicts was a struggle for political and spiritual independence and this would give rise once again to territorial disputes and divergences in national identities. France, Germany, Spain, and other European countries were involved and alliances were made in ways that had not occurred in the same way as during the Hundred Years War. These alliances were made on perceived national interests and provided the groundwork for future and even modern rivalries and alliances.
There was also an impact in term of the further development of professional armies. National governments were forced to finance their armies and even mercenaries were hired. Soldiering was becoming even more of a profession and arms and soldiers needed to be purchased. These conflicts also foreshadowed fairly recent wars in Europe, as they caused widespread devastation and led to the bankrupt of national treasuries and regions. It is fair to argue that these conflicts foreshadowed both World War One and World War Two. The distinguishing characteristics, however, were the religious motivations and how these religious motivations affected national identities and national competitions.
English Civil War Parliament, Monarchy, and Democratic Impacts
The English Civil War comprised three separate civil conflicts, from 1641-1651, and would affect not only the internal structure of England but it would also significantlly affect the ultimate political and philosophical development of America in the future. Unlike the aforementioned conflicts, this was an internal conflict in which the very fabric and legitimacy of Englands governing system was questioned, debated, and challenged. Generally speaking, although there were different members of the monarchy and parliament involved, these civil conflicts pitted the institution of the monarchy and royalty against those individuals comprising the parliament and its advocates. The conflict was motivated by a distrust of the monarchy, a desire by the parliamentarians to rule the country more directly, and it led to the execution of Charles the First and the banishment of his son and other royalists. A significant impact was the establishment of a commonwealth in which political power was more widely dispersed. To be sure, the parliamentarians were still members of the elite class, but the shift was important because it signaled a change from highly concentrated royal power to a slightly more dispersed type of power that would ultimately prevail in England and abroad in the form of different types of democratic governments. In a practical sense, the greatest impact was that a ruler needed the consent of the people in order to be a legitimate ruler. In England, the ruler would eventually be subject to parliament. In America, this precedent would be particularly relevant as America would fight against King Georges harsh rulership. America would craft a political philosophy even more radical than that envisioned during the English Civil war more specifically, America would equate rulership with the people and create a constitution which enshrined these principles much more comprehensively than ever happened in England. More than anything else, in short, the English Civil war was a manifestation of the belief that all people should rule themselves rather than being ruled by a tiny elite.
In the final analysis, modern geography, political phiolosophies, and national identities are shaped in important ways by past events. Both modern day Europe and America were deeply influenced by the events and the conflicts that made up the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War, and the English Civil War. The lessons and the implications are clear. What countries do today matters, whether at home or abroad, and the future is dependent to a certain extant on the wisdom or the folly of decisions being made today.
One Hundred Years War England and French Nationalism and Geographical and Cultural Boundaries
The Hundred Years War, really the amalgamation of many separate conflicts and wars, took place in Europe from roughly 1337 until 1447. These conflicts were motivated by and implicated three main issues. First, there were territorial considerations in which the embryonic French and English nations were constantly contesting. While it is true, from a technical point of view, that the English nation was confined to an island the reality was that the English had much broader territorial ambitions with conflicted with certain French ambitions. Second, and contributing significantly to the territorial disputes, was the fact that these conflicts were also motivated to a substantial degree by a naked power struggle to secure the kingship of France with the death of the previous king. This fight for the ascension to the throne, which took place between two competing families, was important because one family claimed the right to rule England and France whereas the other family claimed to rule only France as an independent nation. The implications were extraordinarily important because the two nations could have been absorbed into one nation had the House of Plantagenet prevailed while two more clearly defined nations would result if the House of Valois prevailed. It is therefore not too much to suggest that, to some extant, these conflicts determined the physical and cultural boundaries for what would eventually become two very distinct nations. This is because the House of Valois proved victorious, they pushed the other royal house with ties to both England and France out of Anjou and Normandy, and this set the stage for the future development of the English and French nations. Finally, these conflicts reinforced early notions of nationalism in which both the English and the French would develop in their own unique ways in order to foster a particular type of national identity. In sum, the conflicts which characterized the Hundred Years War would eventually lay the groundwork for the future geographical, cultural, and political development of Europe as a whole.
There were also other impacts, both at the time of the conflicts and persisting even to this day, in terms of the merging of national pride, national ambition, and the use of national militaries in order to protect and expand an individual nations resources and territories. The richer and aristocratic classes, for example, relied on the peasants of their feudal systems, in order to create armies to carry out the armed conflicts and the wars.
These armies were larger than previous armies and they represented a national elite relying on armies composed of the lower social classes in order to pursue and satisfy elite interests. This was a negative for the peasants because, of course, they were placed in harms way and could very well die. On the other hand, this also provided a social opportunity for peasants that had previously been unavailable. Peasants previously locked in a vicious cycle of feudalism, for example, could now sometimes move up the army ranks and slightly improve their social status. These conflicts therefore functioned, to a small extant, to fracture the monolithic feudal structure and to offer poor peasants some possibility of a new career and perhaps a slightly better future. Todays professional armies, and the social class differences between officers and enlisted men, can actually be traced to these conflicts which constituted the Hundred Years War.
In sum, although these conflicts have most frequently been attributed to the quest for royal succession between the Valois and Plantagenet families, the impacts were far more profound and widespread than royal succession alone. These conflicts, in a very real way, served to begin the process of a firmer type of territorial demarcation between national groups, they functioned to give rise to stronger notions of nationalism and affected national identities, they led to the rise of professional armies and the incorporation of peasants into these armies, and they set the groundwork for future struggles and wars. It is important to acknowledge that these conflicts did not end territorial struggles, for these struggles continue even today in certain respects, bit to note the extraordinary influence that these conflicts had on the evolution of modern geography and national identities.
Thirty Years War Broader National Conflicts and Role of Religion
The Thirty Years War, which took place as a series of armed conflicts from 1618-1648, was similar in certain respects to the Hundred Years War and also different in certain respects. Some of the similarities included conflicts motivated by territorial ambitions, political ambitions, and national identities seeking to establish their dominance. On the other hand, there were some significant differences. First, although the conflicts took place in Europe, there were many more nations involved in the conflicts. Rather than a series of conflicts that would ultimately establish the more precise natures of the English and French nations, these conflicts would affect many more nations in Europe. Second, the majority of these conflicts took place in Germany. While the conflicts constituting the Hundred Years War were relatively concentrated from a geographical point of view, the conflicts making up the Thirty Years War were more diverse spiritually, philosophically, and geographically. Finally, and a fact noted many times in the histories, religion played a more important role in the Thirty Years War than it had played in the Hundred Years War. National identities, for example, were increasingly defined with reference to religious interpretations of the bible and the two dominant religious orientations were generally defined as Protestant religious orientations and Catholic religious orientations. The similarities, territorial ambitions and national identities asserting themselves aggressively, were in many ways connected to the developments which transpired during the Hundred Years War and in its aftermath. The contrasts, however, characterize how Europe was continuing to evolve territorially, politically, and even spiritually and competing nations continued to compete for dominance.
The main parties were therefore both nations and to a lesser extant religious institutions. The actual fighting initially occurred mostly in areas comprising modern-day Germany. What is interesting, however, is that these conflicts transcended to a certain extant conflicts between individual nations and involved the Holy Roman Empire seeking to put down religious and nationalist revolts which began most fiercely in Bohemia.
The Hapsburgs ruled most of the Holy Roman Empire and embraced Catholicism the outbreak of a series of Protestant protests and revolts were perceived as a threat to the legitimacy of Catholicism as a spiritual mandate and also to underlying legitimacy of both the Hapsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire. Again, what developed from these localized revolts was a larger European phenomenon in which nations and national identities began to assert themselves more forcefully and as individual groups of people rather than appendages of the Holy Roman Empire. Implicit in these conflicts was a struggle for political and spiritual independence and this would give rise once again to territorial disputes and divergences in national identities. France, Germany, Spain, and other European countries were involved and alliances were made in ways that had not occurred in the same way as during the Hundred Years War. These alliances were made on perceived national interests and provided the groundwork for future and even modern rivalries and alliances.
There was also an impact in term of the further development of professional armies. National governments were forced to finance their armies and even mercenaries were hired. Soldiering was becoming even more of a profession and arms and soldiers needed to be purchased. These conflicts also foreshadowed fairly recent wars in Europe, as they caused widespread devastation and led to the bankrupt of national treasuries and regions. It is fair to argue that these conflicts foreshadowed both World War One and World War Two. The distinguishing characteristics, however, were the religious motivations and how these religious motivations affected national identities and national competitions.
English Civil War Parliament, Monarchy, and Democratic Impacts
The English Civil War comprised three separate civil conflicts, from 1641-1651, and would affect not only the internal structure of England but it would also significantlly affect the ultimate political and philosophical development of America in the future. Unlike the aforementioned conflicts, this was an internal conflict in which the very fabric and legitimacy of Englands governing system was questioned, debated, and challenged. Generally speaking, although there were different members of the monarchy and parliament involved, these civil conflicts pitted the institution of the monarchy and royalty against those individuals comprising the parliament and its advocates. The conflict was motivated by a distrust of the monarchy, a desire by the parliamentarians to rule the country more directly, and it led to the execution of Charles the First and the banishment of his son and other royalists. A significant impact was the establishment of a commonwealth in which political power was more widely dispersed. To be sure, the parliamentarians were still members of the elite class, but the shift was important because it signaled a change from highly concentrated royal power to a slightly more dispersed type of power that would ultimately prevail in England and abroad in the form of different types of democratic governments. In a practical sense, the greatest impact was that a ruler needed the consent of the people in order to be a legitimate ruler. In England, the ruler would eventually be subject to parliament. In America, this precedent would be particularly relevant as America would fight against King Georges harsh rulership. America would craft a political philosophy even more radical than that envisioned during the English Civil war more specifically, America would equate rulership with the people and create a constitution which enshrined these principles much more comprehensively than ever happened in England. More than anything else, in short, the English Civil war was a manifestation of the belief that all people should rule themselves rather than being ruled by a tiny elite.
In the final analysis, modern geography, political phiolosophies, and national identities are shaped in important ways by past events. Both modern day Europe and America were deeply influenced by the events and the conflicts that made up the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War, and the English Civil War. The lessons and the implications are clear. What countries do today matters, whether at home or abroad, and the future is dependent to a certain extant on the wisdom or the folly of decisions being made today.
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