A brief retelling of §3 In search of ways to modernize. Universal history 8th grade Yudovskaya

From a Shared King to Self-Aware Nations At first, people in England, France, Italy, and Germany were united only by a common king. Over time they recognized a shared language and land and understood they formed a single nation. The English saw themselves as chosen by God; the French valued education and a mission to bring science and culture to the world; Italians considered themselves the center of culture from which others borrowed; Germans viewed their language as the most ancient and their people as pure-hearted, faithful, and brave. These national self-images crystallized in the 18th century as states moved away from the supremacy of the Roman Pope, asserting their own languages instead of Latin, their own laws, and independent governments. Papal power did not vanish entirely, yet Europe ultimately split into distinct national states.

The Unraveling of Medieval Estates European society comprised three estates: nobles with power and high offices; clergy of priests and monks; and a third estate split into bourgeois merchants and entrepreneurs, poor people seeking work, and the plebs—the poorest townsfolk such as the disabled, orphans, thieves, and deserters. As financial problems mounted, the state canceled noble tax privileges, and some nobles turned to factories and business to earn a living. The clergy remained unchanged. Meanwhile the bourgeoisie grew richer, bought land, and opened manufactories and factories, gradually becoming similar to nobles. The poor migrated from villages to cities as servants, and the rapidly growing plebs joined revolutions in large numbers to demand a better life.

Enlightened Absolutism: Rights, Schools, and Limits on the Church Enlightenment ideas held that everyone had a right to life and liberty, that all should be equal before the law regardless of poverty or wealth, that humanity must develop and perfect itself through education, and that the church should not govern people. Monarchs pursued these ideas by declaring freedom of religion and, in some countries, abolishing serfdom, banning physical punishment of peasants, and creating courts that judged people fairly. Primary schools and academies of sciences appeared, while secondary and higher education left church influence and became fully state-run, with curricula directed solely by the state. The church’s role diminished both through religious freedom and the loss of control over education. Change was uneven—Great Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland stayed as before, and in France and the Habsburg monarchy reforms met strong resistance and soon were repealed.