A sharp break with medieval values and institutions, a new awareness of the individual, an awakened interest in the material world and nature, and a recovery of the cultural heritage of ancient Greece and Romeâ??these were once understood to be the major achievements of the Renaissance. Today, every particular of this formula is under suspicion if not altogether repudiated. Nevertheless, the term Renaissance remains a widely recognized label for the multifaceted period between the heyday of medieval universalism, as embodied in the Papacy and Holy Roman Empire, and the convulsions and sweeping transformations of the 17th century. It was a period of vigorous economic expansion. This expansion in turn played a major role in the many other transformationsâ??social, political, and culturalâ??of the early modern age.

The bonds of commerce within Europe tightened, and the â??wheels of commerceâ?? spun ever faster. The great geographic discoveries then in process were integrating Europe into a world economic system. New commodities, many of them imported from recently discovered lands, enriched material life. Not only trade but also the production of goods increased

Alongside these changes, and in some instances spurring them, the period since 1914 in Europe has been marked by major economic and political upheavals. The most cataclysmic were the two world wars that brought the old Europe of the balance of power to the brink of destruction. For much of the period after 1945, Europe remained divided between East and West, and it was only in the West that unity began to be practicable. At length, however, political changes in central and eastern Europe gradually revived old hopes of a possible â??Paneuropaâ??.

Europe during this 125-year span was both united and deeply divided. A number of basic cultural trends, including new literary styles and the spread of science, ran through the entire continent. European states were increasingly locked in diplomatic interaction, culminating in continent-wide alliance systems after 1871. At the same time, this was a century of growing nationalism, in which individual states jealously protected their identities and indeed established more rigorous border controls than ever before.

Developments in 19th-century Europe are bounded by two great events. The French Revolution broke out in 1789, and its effects reverberated through

Some topics in this essay:
Industrial Revolution, Roman Empire, World War, French Revolution, Europeâ Alongside, Greece Romeâthese, History Renaissance, West West, Europe Developments, Europe Asia, european society, radio television, 19th century, 17th century, french revolution,