Question

What forces and factors contributed to the rise of Nation-States in Europe?

Answer 1

The forces and factors that contributed to the rise of Nation­ States in Europe are as follows:

1. Political Factors (Need for a strong Control Authority): Fighting was the chief occupation of the feudal lords. People were fed up with anarchy and disorder. They were prepared to lend moral and material support to those kings who could reduce the power of the nobles. The Tudor Monarch, Henry VII (1485-1509) destroyed the power of the feudal lords in England. Cardinal Richelieu, the leading statesman of France, strengthened the authority of the French Crown. He reduced the power of the nobles. At this time, Spain and Portugal also had very powerful monarchs.
2. Economic Factors: The merchants and traders resented all such barriers as prevented them from moving from one part of the country to another. This new class gave presents and also advanced loans to the kings that added to their military strength. The kings could now raise their independent armies to crush the plots and rebellions of their nobles.
3. Intellectual Factors (Renaissance): Science and literature also forged ahead during this period. England, Italy, France, and Spain produced writers, inspired by nationalist ideas. Machiavelli, for instance, wanted to unite Italy under a strong central government. In his book ‘The Prince’, He pleaded for a strong monarchy for Italians at that time.
4. Religious Factors (Reformation): In view of the Protestant revolt, many princes of Germany and other European kings, sided with Reformation. They now declared themselves as heads of the Church as well as of the Government. The kings had already crushed the feudal lords. Now, another great rival of the Crown i.e the Church also submitted to the king’s authority. That completed the edifice of a Nation-State. In England, it was King Henry VIII (1509-1547) who championed the cause of Protestantism. He got the English Parliament to pass the Act of Supremacy to nullify the Pope’s power over the churches in England. This made the king, the supreme Head of the Church of England.