The English Civil War broke out in 1642 when the longstanding rivalry between the monarchy and Parliament erupted into conflict. Tensions had been building for several generations and were exacerbated by the unwillingness of Charles I's father James I to compromise with Parliament. The tipping point occurred when Charles I tried to round up opposition members of Parliament for trial and imprisonment. Parliament took control of the army and the English Civil War began.

The idea of Enlightened Despotism is that an autocratic ruler will make the necessary enlightened reforms—fostering education, social equality, and the growth of the economy—because doing so is in the best interest of their states. Many Enlightenment thinkers, like Voltaire and Diderot, supported Enlightened Despots because they believed the common people were incapable of self-rule and that Enlightened Despotism was the only way to reliably implement reform.

The National Convention was the name of the legislative and executive body of government established when France was proclaimed a Republic in 1793. The Jacobins were supported by the common people of Paris and were led by the infamous Robespierre. The Girondists were supported by the rural peasantry. Jacobins seized control of the National Convention when various Girondist members were arrested and tried for treason.

Giovanni de Medici was a merchant banker in Florence who made his fortune by ignoring the Catholic Church’s prohibition of lending money for interest. The Medici family became immensely wealthy and was vitally important for encouraging the Italian Renaissance by providing the necessary funds to patronize notable artists. Giovanni’s son and grandson, Cosimo de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent, became famous rulers of Florence and patrons of the arts.

Francis I was one of a long line of French kings who consolidated power in the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods by reducing the influence of the nobility and by increasing the ability of the monarchy to make money. The taille was a tax on land and property that was levied throughout the French kingdom and made Francis, and his successors, the wealthiest monarchs in Europe.

Baroque art emerged in the Italian Renaissance during the sixteenth century. Baroque art was defined by its imperfect exaggerations designed to overstimulate the audience. It was widely embraced by those in power around Europe for the political purpose of intimidating the masses. It was a particularly favorite weapon of the Catholic Church and the rulers of the Italian city-states and France.

Calvin differed from Luther and the majority of the rest of the major Protestant reformers because he advocated for the inclusion of the church in the affairs of the state. Calvin believed that the church should be the primary factor in the makeup and decisions of a secular government. As Calvinism spread, this encouraged the rise of theocratic governments in England, Switzerland, and even the New World.

The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) is one of the most relatively destructive wars in European history. It began as a religious war, like many others in this time period, between Catholics and Protestants, but eventually expanded to include all the major nations of Western and Central Europe. France entered the war in 1635 to try and prevent the growth of Hapsburg dominance over the Germanic states and Central Europe; in this sense, France was quite successful.

Ivan the Terrible is notable for dramatically expanding the territory of the Russian state and for centralizing authority under the monarchy by persecuting the nobility. He died without leaving an heir, and widespread civil war and disaster erupted in what is known as the Time of Troubles. This era came to an end when the Romanov dynasty took power in 1614; it would rule for the next three centuries until it was overthrown during the Russian Revolution.

The Whigs and Tories emerged as the two major political parties in Parliament during the Stuart Restoration. The Stuart Restoration is the time period that followed the English Civil War and Cromwell’s dictatorship, when the Stuart monarchs were reestablished for two decades. The Whigs were mainly merchants and urban and supported Parliament; the Tories were mostly conservative Anglican nobles who favored the monarchy and wanted Anglicanism to be the state religion.