New time is a period in the history of mankind between the Middle Ages and the Newest time. The concept of "new history" appeared in European historical and philosophical thought during the Renaissance as an element of the three-term division of history proposed by humanists into ancient, middle and new history. The criterion for defining "new time", its "novelty" in comparison with the previous era was, from the point of view of humanists, the flourishing of secular science and culture during the Renaissance, that is, not socio-economic, but cultural and spiritual. However, this period is rather contradictory in its content. The High Renaissance, the Reformation and humanism coexisted with a massive surge of irrationalism, the development of demonology, a phenomenon that has received the name of the "witch hunt" in literature.
The concept of "new time" was perceived by historians and was established in scientific use, but its meaning in many respects remains conditional - not all peoples entered this period at the same time. One thing is certain: in this period of time, a new civilization is emerging, a new system of relations, a Eurocentric world, a "European miracle" and the expansion of European civilization to other regions of the world.
According to some sources, the beginning of the English Revolution in 1640 is considered the starting point. Among other events that are taken as the starting point of the modern era, they name the events associated with the Reformation (1517), the discovery of the New World by the Spaniards (1492), the fall of Constantinople (1453), or even the beginning of the French Revolution (1789).
It is even more difficult to determine the end date of the New Time. In Soviet historiography, the point of view that the period of modern history ended in 1917, when the socialist revolution took place in Russia, was undividedly dominated. According to the modern point of view, consideration of events related to the New Time should be completed by the First World War (1914 - 1918).
In modern times, there are 2 stages, the border of which is the Napoleonic Wars - from the Great French Revolution to the Congress of Vienna.
Changes in the New Time
The end of the Middle Ages was marked by an increase in the importance of centralized government. Vivid examples of this growth are the end of feudal strife - such as the War of the White and Scarlet Rose in England, the unification of the regions - Aragon and Castile in Spain. [Politics]
The most significant cultural and scientific changes in modern times are called the Great Geographical Discoveries. In a very short period (late XV - early XVI) European navigators circled Africa, paved the sea route to India, discovered a new continent - America and traveled around the world. A compass was invented, a caravel was built, with which the entire VGO era is associated. The collapse suffered not only the idea of \u200b\u200bthe Europeans about the Earth, but the place of the Earth itself was revised. Copernicus's book "On the Conversions of the Celestial Spheres" was published, where he abandoned the world order proposed by Ptolemy.
Technical changes. An important achievement of the modern era was typography.
Johannes Gutenberg is considered the inventor in 1440. Mining and metallurgy were developing. The cheese-blowing furnace was replaced by a plasterboard (ancestor of the blast furnace). Also, with the onset of the New Age, the manufactory type comes to replace handicraft production. Labor remained manual, but a division of labor appeared, which significantly increased its productivity. The workers worked for the owner of the manufactory.
Main events of modern times
Peace of Westphalia (1648)
English Revolution (1640-1689)
American War of Independence (1775 - 1783)
French Revolution (1789 - 1794)
Russian-Turkish war (1787-1792)
Russian-Swedish war (1788-1790)
Napoleonic Wars (1800 - 1815)
Greek Revolution (1821 - 1832)
Uprising of the Decembrists (1825)
Russian-Turkish war (1828-1829)
July Revolution (1830)
First Opium War (1840 - 1842)
Revolution (1848-1849)
Crimean War (1853 - 1856)
Second Opium War (1856 - 1860)
American Civil War (1861 - 1865)
1. What is early modern time? What is its chronological framework?
New time is the time after the Middle Ages, but different from the modern times in which we live. It lasted from the end of the 15th century to the end of the First World War.
2. What is the content and essence of modernization? How are the concepts of "traditional society", "industrial society", "modernization" related?
Modernization is the process of renewing a traditional society, entering the path of movement and industrial society and improving the latter.
3. What are the main consequences of the Great Geographical Discoveries for European and world history?
The consequences of the great geographical discoveries:
(a) the spread of European science and technology has begun;
(b) European scientists have enriched their knowledge with materials from newly discovered lands;
(c) coffee, cocoa, tea, vanilla, new spices were brought to Europe;
(d) Europeans brought horses, sheep and cattle, crops, grapes, olive trees, sugarcane to America (which became the source of prosperity for the West Indian colonies); in Africa they contributed to the cultivation of wheat, beans, sweet potatoes, in China - peanuts and corn;
(e) European expansion began;
(f) expansion was soon accompanied by the slave trade;
(g) many civilizations and peoples (primarily in America) were destroyed;
(h) there were constant wars for the possession of the colonies;
(i) the influx of gold and silver caused inflation in Europe, rising prices, which hit primarily the poor.
4. What is a price revolution? How important was it for modernization?
A price revolution is a rather significant inflation, an increase in prices for all goods in Western Europe starting from about the 1540s, most likely due to the import of a huge amount of precious metals and the New World (as a result, much more coins were minted, with however, the number of goods did not increase as sharply). Everyone who received fixed income (land rent, wages) lost from the price revolution. Therefore, the labor force has become more accessible to entrepreneurs. Those who profited from trade and production, that is, those who carried out modernization, won from it. Most of them invested the funds received in expanding their business, that is, in further modernization. In addition, their success made their business more attractive and more people, respectively, invested in the modernization. Therefore, we can conclude: the price revolution has become a disaster for a wide range of the population, but has become a boon for modernization.
5. Explain the meaning of the term "manufacturing capitalism". What are the differences between centralized factories and scattered ones?
Manufacturing is an enterprise with division of labor and manual production; accordingly, manufacturing capitalism is based on this form of production. The manufactures were of two types. The same artisans worked on the scattered one in their former workplaces, but cut off by the merchant-entrepreneur from the purchase of raw materials and the sale of products. The future was in centralized factories, where all workers worked in the same building. Then it was easier to organize a real division of labor.
6. What was the significance of the Renaissance in changing the spiritual sphere of the life of society? What principles and ideas can be considered the most important for the ideology of the Renaissance?
The revival finally and irrevocably changed the spiritual life of Western Europe. Suffice it to recall that it was the figures of the Renaissance who developed the term New Time, distinguishing it from the earlier period of the Middle Ages. The most important in the Renaissance were the return to the aesthetic ideals of antiquity and the principles of humanism, including the ideals of individualism and anthropocentrism.
7. What were the reasons and essence of the Reformation?
The essence of the reformation was to create a new, different from the Catholic Church with new rules, which tried to return to the ideals of the early Christians. The reasons for creating such a church are as follows:
(a) the hierarchs of the Catholic Church preached contempt for worldly goods, but they themselves lived in luxury;
(b) church positions were sold;
(c) any swindler could buy absolution (indulgence) for a certain amount;
(d) church rituals were expensive, especially for the poor;
(e) in spite of the gospel commandments about the equality of all Christians, the church was owned by serfs.
8. Describe the main directions of the Reformation. What are the similarities between the teachings of Luther and Calvin, and how do they differ from each other?
Both Lutheranism and Calvinism did not recognize the supremacy of the Pope, celibacy, ecclesiastical land tenure, and the luxurious decoration of churches. Both directions abolished monasteries and recognized only some of the sacraments of the church. Moreover, there are many differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism. J. Calvin believed that the Lord in advance, long before birth, determined which of the people after death was destined for hellish torments, for whom - heavenly bliss. God helps his chosen ones, sends good luck. Therefore, success in all matters, including trade and even usury, is a sign of the Creator's favor. M. Luther, on the other hand, denounced the usurers. The Lutheran Church fought for obedience to any authorities and obeyed them, the Calvinist Church retained autonomy and supported resistance to tyrants.
9. What is the historical significance of the Reformation?
The meaning of the Reformation:
(a) new church organizations have sprung up in many countries;
(b) the Catholic Church also underwent significant changes in its efforts to oppose the Reformation;
(c) enmity between Catholics and Protestants has caused or caused many wars, including civil wars;
(d) enmity between confessions resulted in significant bloodshed outside the battlefields (the most famous examples are the activities of the Inquisition and St. Bartholomew's Night);
(e) secularization has provided the means for the development of many states;
(f) the change in the status of the church led to a transformation in society;
(g) it was the Reformation that became the driving force behind the revolution in the Netherlands;
(h) controversy between denominations in journalism gave impetus to the development of printing.
10. What are the features of the European society of the 18th century? Why do historians talk about this time as a period of crisis of the "old order"?
In the 18th century, despite several centuries of modernization, the vast majority of the population continued to engage in agriculture, the position of a person was determined, first of all, by origin. The distinction between the estate has become even stricter than in the Middle Ages. These features were especially pronounced in France. It was for her that the concept of the "old order" was invented to emphasize the differences from the "new order" that the revolution created.
11. What processes that took place in the 18th century, allow us to talk about the continuation and expansion of modernization?
The continuation and expansion of modernization is indicated, first of all, by the beginning of the industrial revolution. She raised production to a new level and began to change society, which finally ceased to be agrarian. It was the industrial revolution that provided the transition to an industrial society, this transition is considered the essence of modernization in those centuries.
The enlighteners viewed the historical essay primarily as an exercise of free reason in criticizing power, political institutions, or prejudice. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe role of the historian has also changed. From now on, his task was to offer interpretations based on the free use of reason, to courageously sow anti-traditionalist, seditious, and sometimes reformist ideas, supported by the conviction that the present is only cognized in the historical continuum.
Guido Abbattista
Scientific revolution and historical knowledge of the 17th century.
Modern researchers describe the period of European history in the 16th – 17th centuries. as early modern times - the era of the formation of new forms of political, social, economic, cultural life, a time of profound changes in the system of world outlook, expansion of the limits of the known and the possible. According to R. Tarnas, “The West saw the birth of a new man, who re-realized himself and his freedom, inquisitive about everything that concerns the world, confident in his own judgments, skeptical about any orthodoxy, rebelling against authorities responsible for his beliefs and actions who was in love with classical antiquity, but even more devoted to his great future ... convinced of the ability of his mind to comprehend nature and subjugate it ”1.
In the XVI-XVII centuries. in European culture, the principles of cognition were formed, different from the traditions of medieval and Renaissance scholarship. The broad intellectual movement, thanks to which the system of ideas about the world and man was transformed, the foundations of natural disciplines, historical, political, social, philosophical systems were redefined, was called the scientific revolution.
The boundaries of this period are conditionally correlated with 1543, the date of publication of the work of Nicolaus Copernicus "On the Circulation of the Celestial Spheres", and with the time of the discoveries of Isaac Newton, who published in 1687 "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy". Thanks to the works of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and other scientists in the intellectual culture of the early modern period, a holistic natural-scientific picture of the universe was created. Gradually, it replaced the medieval ideas about the motion of planets around a stationary Earth, based on the physics of Aristotle and the astronomical theory of Ptolemy. The very principles of constructing inferences changed: symbols, similarities, allegorical and moral meanings gave way to experience, an empirical rational explanation of causes and effects.
In Europe, a new image of science was emerging - knowledge that belonged not to a separate "enlightened astrologer" or commentator of Aristotle, but to an independent community of scientists who were guided by a rigorous research method and openly demonstrated the results of their labors. Scientific cognition was understood as the experimental study of the natural world, the process of finding useful truth. A science that would be autonomous from religion, based on method, verifiable and a collective enterprise of scientists, required the creation of new institutions - societies, academies such as the Lynch Academy in Rome, the Royal Scientific Society of London, the Royal Academy of Sciences in France and dr.
Philosophers of the early modern era paid special attention to the very principles of building knowledge, substantiating new research methods in various fields - physics, mathematics, medicine, and social sciences. Yet history, as knowledge linked to morality and politics, was rarely included in the context of these disciplinary redefinitions. In the writings of an English philosopher, historian, scientist, statesman FRANCIS BACON (1561 - 1626), in particular in his “ New organon, or the Great restoration of sciences”(1620), an attempt was made to reevaluate the entire system of knowledge available to a person of that era, to give guidelines for the systematization of sciences and to propose a method for finding the truth. According to Bacon, the activity of philosophers and scientists of previous eras was built on a false foundation. The real aims of the study were to master the secrets of nature. If in ancient times Socrates correlated knowledge with virtue, then the English philosopher wrote about the power that the possession of knowledge gives to a person.
Scientific knowledge was supposed to bring a person practical benefit and power, the transformation of everyday life, as well as spiritual advancement towards a new Christian golden age. The empirical method of research elevated the importance of observation and experience, experiment with individual phenomena and objects, sensual and rational penetration into the natural essence of things.
In his writings, Bacon wrote about the unity of history and experimental natural science knowledge, considering them, like philosophy and science, as a single concept. In favor of this union, Bacon cited the following arguments: both the one and the other areas of activity correlated with a person's ability to remember. Memory dealt with the individual and the individual. Both civil and natural history studied individual events, describing their timeless properties. Thus, no fundamental distinctions were made between the study of natural phenomena and events of the past. The observations were followed by conclusions and reasoning. Knowledge extracted from private, documented facts, was, according to the philosopher, a true value for practice, in contrast to knowledge, in which examples only illustrated abstract postulates.
In England, Bacon's writings had a tremendous impact on the character and shape of the new science. Many scientists wanted to continue his work. But there were few researchers of the past who used analytical and experimental methods in historiography.
The works of the French mathematician and philosopher were very popular on the continent RENE DECARTE (1596–1650) "Discourses on Method" (1637) and "Principles of Philosophy" (1644). Descartes' works made a significant contribution to the formation of a rational mechanistic picture of the world. Descartes himself and his followers - the Cartesians (fr. Cartesien - the Latinized form of the surname of Descartes - Cartesius) were skeptical about the practice of writing history and the possibility of obtaining reliable knowledge about the past. Nevertheless, one of the main ideas of Descartes - about the separation of a reasonable cognizing subject-researcher and an object of study in front of him, open for reading - the great book of the world - subsequently played an important role in the formation of the method of cognition on which the sciences of the late 18th century were based XIX century, and professional historical knowledge. Such a speculative picture became possible, since by that time the idea of \u200b\u200btwo different truths - revelation and knowledge - was grounded in Galileo and given in the images of two books - Holy Scripture: the Book of Nature. According to this logic, science and faith are compatible, but their subject matter, meanings, languages, methods are autonomous.
Innovations in philosophy and natural sciences - physics, mathematics, astronomy, anatomy, mechanics - had a significant impact on the intellectual culture of the 17th century. Many principles of the study of nature began to be considered as universal for understanding society and its history. The natural sciences, with their pursuit of empirical, accurate knowledge, served as the prototype for other disciplines. In the XVII century. social philosophers have put forward a number of ideas about the so-called natural laws. These laws, like the laws of nature, could be known and used by people. Starting from the idea of \u200b\u200bthe material unity of nature and man, philosophers try to create a science of society, focusing on mathematics and physics - social physics. The starting point of such theories was the idea of \u200b\u200ba separate, isolated person, taken outside the historical context; society itself was interpreted as the sum of individuals who were endowed with properties arising from human nature. So, according to the Dutch philosopher and lawyer HUGO GROZIA (1583 - 1645), people initially strived for communication, as a result of which it became possible to unite them. In the reasoning of the English philosopher THOMAS GOBBS (1588 - 1679) argued the opposite assertion that people were characterized by mutual repulsion, which is why in the pre-state, "natural" state they waged a continuous "war of all against all." From the properties of the individual, the consequences of the laws of social mechanics were derived, which provided the key to explaining the state structure and its history. The creation of society was interpreted by the philosophers of the 17th century. as a result of a social contract, once concluded between people. The laws of the state were to "" be built on the basis of natural law following from human nature. Despite the prevalence of these theories in social and philosophical works, in the historical writings of the 17th century. such ideas came slowly. Only in the next century did these theories have a significant impact on knowledge of the past.
History has not yet completely separated from other areas of knowledge about man, society, the world and has not developed as an independent discipline. The study of the past was largely considered in the context of the scholarship of humanists - in connection with literature, rhetoric. In universities, the study of history was often applied in relation to the study of ancient languages.
In the wake of interest in ancient literature, attention to the classical past increased. Stories about the events of Greek and Roman history often figured as commentaries on the works of ancient writers. Moral lessons, typical truths, examples of political decisions were drawn from historical writings. At the same time, the XVII century. was marked by a peculiar fashion for the study of history. The latter was interpreted as a storehouse of wisdom and was understood, first of all, as political or political and legal. The first departments of civil history were opened in Oxford and Cambridge. In the XVII century. knowledge of the past has become an important factor in the political struggle. Thus, during the English Revolution, both the supporters of the king and those who supported the parliament looked in the documents of the past to justify the unlimited power of the monarch or the "ancient liberties" of England.
When classifying sciences, Bacon characterized the established directions of historical knowledge as "perfect" and "imperfect" history. The "perfect" history included political historiography - chronicles, biographies and stories about great personalities, their deeds of state with moral, didactic overtones. The sources were medieval chronicles, oral evidence, memoirs. Later, in line with this trend, the study of the medieval history of state and public institutions began. The authors of essays on political and political-legal history sometimes correlated their works with natural science and mathematical knowledge, focusing on the standard of experimental and exact sciences. However, they often showed great adherence to the models of humanistic historiography.
Bacon himself was the author of a work of this kind - “ The stories of Henry VII"(1621). Bacon conceived this work as the beginning of the history of England in the period between the end of the War of the Scarlet and White Roses and the unification of England and Scotland under the rule of a single monarch, James I. The author sought to exalt the Tudor dynasty in the person of its first representative, Henry VII, to consider the principles of the wise rule of the king. The historical narrative was built around the personality of the ruler. Bacon somewhat expanded the scope of history traditional for the Renaissance, including materials on the history of law.
In Britain in the middle and second half of the 17th century. a number of historical and political works, memoirs and treatises were compiled on the events of the recent past - revolution, civil war, restoration of the monarchy, such as "History of the rebellion" of Earl Clarendon, "History of my time" by G. Barnett, "Two treatises on government" and "On Religious Tolerance" by J. Locke and others. Subsequently, this line was continued in the historiography of the 18th century.
Such a "perfect" history existed in contexts (interest in the national past, the formation of nation states in Europe. But another direction of knowledge about the past correlated with the same processes. The "imperfect" history, according to Bacon, was written by the authors of the original and raw sketches, comments and lists , those who studied antiquities, surviving fragments of the past.The intellectual movement associated with the search, collecting, systematic description and classification of historical documents and monuments was named antiquarianism (Latin antiquus - ancient). "Imperfect history", according to Bacon and the antique dealers themselves, was of a preparatory nature. The authors of political history could use the results of the antiquarian's labor.
Antiquaries and connoisseurs of documents of the past, erudites themselves, did not consider themselves to be true historians, but saw themselves as collectors and keepers of antiquities, compilers. They understood antiquities as various evidence of the past, eras - Roman and medieval coins, mottos, coats of arms, inscriptions, things, documents, ruins, monuments, etc. In addition to these man-made remains of the past, the rarities and wonders of the natural world often fell into the sphere of attention of antiquaries.
The historian was primarily a writer, and history itself was a narrative based on written data, chronicles. Antiquaries, relying on the same narrative sources, made extensive use of non-textual evidence. This required them to develop new methods of criticizing sources (later laid in the foundation of new disciplines - archeology, numismatics, paleography, sphragistics, etc.).
The subject of study of antiquaries was not so much history as the past, homogeneous and undifferentiated. In their writings, the feeling of the distance that separated modernity from previous eras was weakly expressed. The attention of antique dealers was attracted by the features of the strange and difficult to explain, but they, as a rule, chose the answers to questions based on the logic of their contemporary culture. One of the popular genres of research for these authors was chorography - description of the country's lands by regions, a kind of registration of natural features and riches, as well as remarkable events of the past and curious antiquities.
In England, the foundations of antiquarianism were laid back in the 16th century. collectors and researchers of the past W. Camden, J. Leland, J. Stow, who founded the Elizabethan Society of Antiquaries in 1585 in London. Members of this society undertook the first experience of collective work in collecting antiquities and publishing historical monuments.
English antique history flourished in the last third of the 16th century. Interest in glorious, heroic distant eras in the history of the state and the church was expressed in the study of documents, civil records, in the descriptions of counties and cities of Britain, in the unprecedented work of finding and collecting various material evidence. According to the antiquarian J. Aubrey, researchers who set out to reconstruct the early periods of British history, like himself, “groped their way in the darkness,” and sometimes they succeeded “although they did not shine a bright light on them ... but turn total darkness into light fog "1. This "darkness" enveloped the periods of the British past, Roman rule on the island, Anglo-Saxon England, Norman conquest. Trying to delve into these issues, the authors, one way or another, came across mythological stories about the origin of the Britons from the Trojans, about Brutus as the ancestor of modern rulers, about King Arthur and ancient heroes sung in the book of Galfrid of Monmouth. Many researchers did not seek to challenge these objects of national pride in their works.
Unlike humanist historians who preferred to write about the deeds of famous people of the past, antiquaries focused on studying traces of collective history, from the past of a particular city or clan to the history of a country. Historians of the late XVI-XVII centuries. gradually recreated from fragments of sources Roman or Anglo-Saxon Britain. At the same time, works of classical authors and Italian antique dealers left an imprint on the face of the national past.
In the XVII century. large series of medieval sources began to be printed. Societies that sought and studied them were often established by the Catholic Church to study the Christian past and the history of the Roman Church. In many ways, such activities were thought of as a response to the reformation movements in Europe.
One of the most famous societies-publishers was the collective of the Moorists in France - monks of the congregation of Saint Moor from the Benedictine order (from 1627) in the abbey of Paris Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In 1648 they prepared a publication plan, which included manuscripts on the history of the Benedictine order, churches, documents containing information about the past of the French provinces.
The Moorists collected many medieval manuscripts. Each of them was published on the basis of a careful comparison of all the lists of the document, verification of different versions of the text. The erudite Moors also published manuals on dating and establishing the authenticity of manuscripts. In 1668 - 1701 they published the Lives of the Saints of the Benedictine Order in nine volumes, including sources up to the 12th century. The main work on the criticism of the texts was done by J. Mabilion.
At the same time, in 1643, the publication of medieval sources began in Antwerp. It was carried out by the Jesuits-Bollandists, named after their head J. Bolland. The series "Lives of the Saints" published by them contained medieval legends and traditions about the deeds of Christian saints. The Lives were arranged according to the days of the calendar year: stories about each saint were timed to coincide with his day. This work has several dozen volumes.
The publication of chronicles and documents was undertaken in Germany, Italy, England, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain. Thanks to the activities of erudite publishers, rules for critical analysis of manuscript texts were developed, which subsequently played an important role in the development of auxiliary historical disciplines (paleography, chronology, diplomacy) and historical knowledge in general.
It has its roots not so much in the ancient era as in the Middle Ages, when the prerequisites of the new European civilization were gradually ripening and the main features that determined its originality were formed. The transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age was not sudden, it was a rather lengthy process. In the course of the interaction of elements of the old and emerging societies, their synthesis took place. In terms of content, the New Age is much richer than Antiquity or the Middle Ages, because in one form or another it preserves the heritage of all previous eras.
The turning point in the historical fate of Europe was clearly outlined at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. This time was characterized by the development of the most important historical processes that completely changed the course of world history. The great geographic discoveries pushed the boundaries of the world known to Europeans to the global scale of the entire planet. A grandiose upsurge of a new, Renaissance culture took place. The Italian Renaissance and profound cultural changes in other countries were the first signs of a new era in Europe. The religious Reformation was also of great importance, the consequence of which, along with the Renaissance, was the formation of a new spiritual culture and worldview, fundamentally different from the Middle Ages views of the world. The establishment of the new faith was accompanied by fierce religious wars that stretched out for almost a century.
Thus, the new era began when, as a result of the active creative activity of the Europeans, their geographical, intellectual and spiritual horizons, as well as material capabilities, expanded dramatically. The formation of the world market and the worldwide expansion of European civilization, which took place in this historical period, created the preconditions for the subsequent globalization of the phenomena and processes taking place on the Earth. Since that time, the history of any country has been not only the history of its internal development, but also the history of its entry into the emerging global economic, political and cultural space.
In the last third of the XIX - early XX century. the prerequisites for the confrontation were formed, which resulted in the First World War, as well as in the spiritual origins of the culture of the newest time. Material from the site
The industrial revolution that took place in the 19th century. in the countries of European civilization, gave them an unprecedented economic, technical and military advantage, allowed them to establish their dominance over most of the globe. The formation of a single world market began. In the XIX century. revealed the characteristic features and main problems of the industrial society. Among them are the formation of constitutional government, the establishment of democracy, the growth of nationalism, the development of the socialist movement, etc. Much from the 19th century. left as a legacy to the twentieth century, which is characterized as the time of the masses, in the historical arena, for the first time, masses not previously organized in the party declared themselves.
Periodization problems
New time, in short, is a long period in the history of civilization and mankind, which has a certain time frame. It is located between the Middle Ages and modern times. As in the case of the periodization of the Middle Ages, in different countries the beginning of modern times is defined in different ways.
If we take the Soviet era, then the date of the English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century was taken as the beginning. European countries considered the opening of America by Columbus, the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, the Reformation, the French Revolution as the starting point of modern times.
Even more incomprehensible is the situation with the definition of the end of the new time period. For a long time it was considered the revolution in Russia in 1917. Later, the majority of historians decided to accept the First World War as the date of the end of modern times.
The concept of modern times, in short, appeared in the 15th century, during the Renaissance (Renaissance). Then the humanists proposed an approximate division of history into three periods: ancient, Middle Ages and modern times. Thus, they wanted to delimit and simplify the study of human civilization.
New time, in short, is still a rather conventional concept, since all countries entered it at different times. Disputes about the time frame of this historical period continue in modern historiography (the science that studies history) to this day.
The history of modern times is sometimes divided into two large periods:
1. XVII - XVIII centuries;
2.XX century
New time - meaning and influence
New time was a stage of great changes in all spheres of life: economic, social, political. It takes a shorter period when compared with the Middle Ages, and even more so with the ancient world, but in history this period is extremely important. The famous geographical discoveries, the book of Nicolaus Copernicus, changed the old ideas of people about the Earth, expanded human knowledge about the world.
The Reformation, which took place in all European countries, abolished the power of the popes over the consciousness of people, and led to the emergence of the Protestant movement. Renaissance humanists achieved the emergence of many universities and led to a complete revolution in human consciousness, explaining its place in the world around us.
In the era of modern times, in short, humanity realized that it actually lives in a small space. Geographical discoveries have brought countries and peoples closer together. In the Middle Ages, everything was different. The slow speed of movement, the inability to cross the ocean led to the fact that even about neighboring countries there was no reliable information.
Western Europe in modern times has carried out expansion, establishing its dominance over most countries in Asia and Africa. For the peoples of these countries, the new era has become a period of brutal colonization by the European invaders.
How did the small countries of Western Europe manage to subjugate vast territories in Africa and Asia in a short time? There were several reasons for this. European countries have pulled out far ahead in their development. In the East, the lives of the subjects, their lands and property belonged to the ruler. Most of all, it was not a person's personal qualities that were valued there, but the interests of the community. The basis of the economy was agriculture. In the West, everything was different. Above all were human rights, his personal qualities, striving for profit and prosperity. The cities that emerged in the Middle Ages led to the emergence of a variety of crafts and a breakthrough in the development of technology. In this respect, the European countries have gone far ahead of the eastern ones.
The emergence of an industrial society
The new era, in short, has led to a change in the political system in many countries. The rapid development of trade, especially during the period of famous geographical discoveries, the emergence of banking, the emergence of manufactories began to increasingly contradict the traditional economy and political system. The emerging new class, the bourgeoisie, is gradually beginning to play a significant role in the state.
In the 18th century, the strength of the bourgeoisie increased many times over. In many countries, the contradictions that reached their limit between the capitalist mode of production and the feudal system led to bourgeois revolutions. This happened in England and France. Capitalism is finally victorious in Europe. An industrial revolution begins, and the obsolete manufacture is replaced by the factory.
Most European countries in modern times are going through a difficult time of changing forms of power, a crisis of absolute monarchy. As a result of changes in the political system in the most progressive countries, parliamentary democracy is emerging. In the same period, the modern system of international relations began to take shape.
Change in thinking
New time, in short, is a period of a kind of second Renaissance. Reality showed how much an ordinary person can actually do and change. Gradually, a thought is formed in human consciousness - a person can actually do anything. The conviction arises that he can subjugate nature and change his future.
Philosophy is undergoing great development. It is literally being revived. Philosophy managed to retain its leading position among the sciences. Philosophers of modern times sincerely believed that society needs their ideas. A completely new philosophy is being formed, the problems of which remain important today.
Technique and production
New time is a period of rapid development of technology. One of the important inventions of that time, which played a huge role in the development of culture, is typography. The advent of the printing press has accelerated the speed of book creation many times over. Previously, books were rewritten by hand, or created with stamps, and this process took a huge amount of time. Everything was now much easier.
In the 18th century in England, where there was a large raw material base, the first spinning, weaving and sewing machines were created. The development of navigation, the growth of armies, the emergence of light industry leads to an increase in the role of mechanical engineering and the metallurgical industry. At the beginning of the 18th century, Europeans learned to smelt cheap cast iron and discovered the secret of steel. At the same time, the Martin brothers invented a furnace that made it possible to restore steel from cast iron. In their honor, it was named an open-hearth furnace. In the 19th century, the problem of transporting a large amount of raw materials and products was solved - a steam locomotive and a steamer were invented.
Culture in modern times
The flourishing of European culture takes place in the 17th - 18th centuries. Thanks to the works of Galileo and Copernicus, a new picture of the world is created - a heliocentric one. In science, it is not the authority of the scientist that comes first, but personal experience and experiments.
Great changes are taking place in art. New styles appear - baroque and classicism.
In the 18th century, as in its time, in the Renaissance, there is a great need for educators. A brilliant galaxy of minds appears in almost all fields of art and science. These are Voltaire, Lomonosov, Locke, Kant, Diderot, Rousseau. Their common unifying feature was a great faith in science and progress.