Europeans
went from feudalism to the Renaissance mainly because of the Black Death. The
Black Death was the reason for a great drop in the Europe’s population. This
allowed survivors to demand higher pay. Peasants were able to substitute cash
rents for the legal obligations of serfdom. However, as the price of labor went
up so did the price of goods. This limited the income of nobles who lost the
ability to bargain with peasants and had more trouble supporting knights and
fighting men. Landowners and merchants tried to limit wages by  landowners changing croplands to lands for
raising sheep because that needed less labor. People then began looking for
jobs in town, but guilds limited opportunities. This caused peasants to revolt.
At the same time, artisans fought for more power, but were unsuccessful. The
king raised taxes to protect the middle class and their trade from bandits and
exonerate nobles. These factors set into motion by the Black Death caused the
growth of kings’ power and centralized states and the end of feudalism. The
Renaissance started in Italy because of interest in Rome’s culture. Italy had
once been the center of ancient Roman civilization. During the middle ages,
Italy’s Northern city-states had been prosperous and became centers of trade
and manufacturing. Italy had trading ports along its coastlines which allowed
it to trade with the Muslim world. This exposed them to knowledge from ancient
Greece and Rome that the Muslim world had kept safe while it had been lost in
Europe. A class of rich and important merchants in city-states arose in the
city-states. They aided the beginning of the Renaissance by being patrons of
the arts.

Absolutism
arose because of the Reformation led by Martin Luther. The reformation caused
Catholic Church’s moral and political authority to weaken. This gave monarchs
an opportunity to gain power. As power of monarchs and states increased, so did
the power of modern nation-states. This caused more countries and their leaders
to be power hungry, and therefore, there was more war, exploration, and
expansion. After political disorder, people liked the idea of more organized
governments and absolute monarchies fit this. Renaissance ideas favored
bettering society, so absolutist monarchs who said they would improve society
were more likely to face less resistance.

 There were two major causes of the
transition from Absolutism to the brink of revolution throughout Europe.
They were: weakened trust in monarchies and a lack of representation of
the people. These led to conflict between subjects and their rulers which
ended in wars and revolution. In France, Absolutist Monarchs fell because
Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and began persecuting protestants
and Huguenots. The countries economy began to decline as Louis continued
to try to gain land and procure power. The threat of the countries
imminent bankruptcy put the country on the verge of revolution. After
this, Louis XVI came to power and there was a large famine causing the
death rates of peasants to rise. Louis XVI heavily taxed peasants and
introduced no reforms. This led to the French Revolution. England was put
on the verge of revolution primarily because of the Charles I. Charles I
ignored parliament causing ever increasing tension between parliament and
the crown. There was conflicted with parliament over foreign policy,
taxes, and money as well as divine right and absolute monarchies. Charles
I death especially led to revolution and the end of Absolutism because it
was the first time a ruling monarch had been tried and executed by his own
people. This startled Europe and frightened monarchs because it meant that
monarchs could be overthrown and sent the message that no one should rule
absolutely and everyone will be above the lord. It meant that in England
no ruler could claim absolute power and ignore rule of law.