Europe - SAT Subject Test in World History

The Leviathan was published in 1651 and was written by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In Leviathan, Hobbes argues that mankind is inherently selfish and inclined towards aggression and disorder. He purports that there exists a “state of nature” of mankind that is, primarily, the “war of all against all.” In order to prevent mankind from constantly warring with one another, Hobbes argues for an absolute monarch and a rigidly structured social order. Hobbes can be seen as the philosophical opposite of John Locke, who argued that mankind was inherently good and that absolute government corrupted those in power into serving solely their own interests. These two political philosophies have clashed ever since, particularly in Europe, and both remain deeply influential in contemporary political thought.

The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of various European heads of states in 1815 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The Congress was focused on two major issues: reordering Europe and protecting the "balance of power," and ensuring the continued legitimacy of the absolutist and constitutional monarchs of Europe.

The 1815 Congress of Vienna took place in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Its primary concern was establishing what has come to be called "The Concert of Europe." Essentially, this means balancing the territory of all the major European nations to discourage them from engaging in warfare with one another (restoring the balance of power). Its secondary concern was ensuring the continued rule of Europe's absolute and constitutional monarchs and preventing the transition towards Republicanism.

While its true that Thomas Jefferson did write in the Declaration of Independence that all men have a right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," he was taking his ideas from the earlier writings of John Locke. Locke argued against governmental absolutism and firmly believed in the rights of men to govern themselves. He argued that the only legitimate form of government came from the consent of the people and that all men have a right to life, liberty, and (private) property.

The French Revolution began in 1789. It is widely considered one of the most important events in European history, particularly in the history of European transition from absolutism to constituional monarchy to republicanism; however, like many revolutions, it ended up consuming itself and resulting in a dictatorship.

Pogroms were organized attacks on Jewish communities in Russia carried out by the state in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Protestant Reformation made rapid initial gains in both Poland and Hungary. In the century or so that followed the Protestant Reformation, the majority of both countries converted to Protestantism (either Lutheranism or Calvinism); however, both countries were overwhelmed by the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and most of the gains made by Protestants in the sixteenth century were undone in the seventeenth century.

During the Protestant Reformation, the Ottoman Empire invaded Hungary (then under control of the Hapsburg Holy Roman, and Catholic, Empire). The Ottomans conquered the territory and the Hungarian people lost faith in their Catholic rulers, and in Catholicism itself, to protect them. By 1600, the vast majority of the country had converted to Protestantism, although this would be undone by the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

The ruling family of Poland remained Catholic throughout the Protestant Reformation, but the nobles and landed aristocracy were quick to embrace Protestantism. Interestingly, the peasantry generally sided with the King and with not the nobles and remained fiercely Catholic.

The Hussite Church emerged from the teachings of Jan Hus. Hus preached reform in the century before the beginning of the more widely impactful Protestant Reformation, but his reforming movement may be seen as part of the wider European trend. The Hussites were centered in Bohemia, in the modern day Czech Republic.

The Thirty Years' War, fought from 1618 to 1648, was primarily fought as a war of religion between Protestants and Catholics. In Poland and Hungary, it contributed to the declining influence of Protestantism and the resurgence of Catholicism.

Throughout Europe, but especially in Germany, Poland, and Hungary the most important factor in determining the religious beliefs of a region or group of people was the religious beliefs of the prince or ruler of that region. If the prince embraced Lutheranism, then a large number of the people under his control would also do so.

During the sixteenth century, the Hungarian people were overrun by the Ottoman Empire and began to view their Catholic faith as offering inadequate protection. Subsequently, Protestantism gained rapid and almost total popularity, and by the beginning of the seventeenth century, it is estimated that over ninety percent of the population had converted away from Catholicism; however, in the seventeenth century, the Catholic Counter Reformation, led by Hungarian King Ferdinand II, fought back, and by the eighteenth century, the vast majority of Hungarians were Catholic again.

Calvinism was the most effective Protestant faith at penetrating Polish society, and it was the dominant religion in the country for several decades at the height of the Protestant Reformation; however, the Catholic Counter-Reformation was wildly successful, and Calvinism survived only in limited numbers.

The Battle of Mohacs was fought between the forces of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire in 1526. It ended in an overwhelming victory for the forces of the Ottoman Empire, which led the people of Hungary to abandon their Catholic faith, because they thought that it no longer offered the protection of God's grace. They took up Protestantism in large numbers and would hold the faith for a century or so until the Catholic Counter-Reformation returned Hungary to Catholicism.

In the two centuries before the Protestant Reformation began (in 1517), there were still numerous reform movements going on around Europe. One of the most influential and widely known is the Hussite movement initially inspired by Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague. They were both Czech-speaking people living in the region of Central-Eastern Europe called Bohemia. Their reform was centered around rectifying abuses within the church, and their discourse and correspondence is rife with references to the Pope as the "Antichrist." Not surprisingly, given the atmosphere of this time period, they were also both executed for heresy in the early fifteenth century. It is believed that their writings and martyrdom laid the foundations for the swift rise of Protestantism in Bohemia and Poland.

The Lutheran movement was spread initially through the German-speaking princely states of central Europe and was primarily a German-speaking movement throughout. The German-speaking people of Hungary were influenced by the writings of Luther and his German compatriots more than anyone else, and the religion of Lutheranism took off far more swiftly with them. The Lutheran Confession was adopted in Hungary in 1545. The Magyar people of Hungary (people who speak Hungarian) favored the Reformed Church of Switzerland, of Zwinglianism, and they adopted the Helvetic Confession in 1567. A Confession, to help clarify, is an expression of faith or a definition of what the group believes.

By the beginning of the seventeenth-century Protestantism had taken a tenuous hold of the populations of Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary. The Catholic Counter Reformation started winning back the hearts and minds of the people—primarily by motivating the nobles to withhold funds from Protestant missionaries and by coercing those who still resisted. The Jesuit organization was extremely active in this work. The Jesuits were formed right before the Counter-Reformation began and were extremely active throughout the next few hundred years in "purifying" the church while attempting to eradicate the gains of the Protestant Reformation. They were particularly successful in Eastern Europe, where the majority of each country was reverted back to Catholicism.

In 1588, England came perhaps the closest it has ever come to being conquered by another European power. The mighty Spanish Armada sailed for England with the hope of establishing control of the Channel Sea and landing troops in Southern England. This represented a great threat to Queen Elizabeth, who had fewer ships and fewer troops than the Spanish; however, fortunate weather and brilliant tactics by the naval defenders ensured that the complete destruction of the Spanish Armada occurred before it could wreak havoc in England.