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Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws set by Britain that established that all imports to the rest of Europe had to go through British ships. This gave Britain a massive trade advantage compared to the rest of Europe. This is an example of change, as it shows the development of Britain in trade, with colonies in North America and Asia. It also shows how trade grew externally in Europe rather than it focusing on national gains from colonies. -
Anglo-Dutch Wars
The Anglo-Dutch wars were a series of wars between the Netherlands and England over trade. This was during the time of overseas colonialism and ended up giving England an economic benefit over the Dutch. However, this represents continuity in Europe over time. Conflict among European nations was frequent, particularly over economic issues. This usually meant territorial expansion, but there were conflicts over trade routes previous to the Anglo-Dutch Wars. -
Agricultural Revolution
The Agricultural Revolution was the development of different types of agricultural techniques and technology that allowed for different crop rotation and animal breeding techniques. This was an extreme example of change in Europe. The crop output of Europe, in places such as England, the economy grew very quickly, contributing to the eventual Industrial Revolution. It led to a higher crop yield for a section of land and a higher variety of crops in general. -
Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic Slave Trade was the name of the transportation of enslaved people from Africa to the colonies in the Americas. This signified a large social and economic change. These people were forced to participate in plantation agriculture, which completely transformed the social and economic landscape of both the Americas and Europe. There was also a large social change through the reaction of a racial hierarchy. -
War of Spanish Succession
War of Spanish Succession was a dispute over control over the Spanish throne after the death of Charles II. This war ended up increasing the power of Britain and weakening the Dutch. This showed a level of continuity in Europe due to the overall struggle for an advantage of power in Europe. The struggle for succession to power was also very common in Europe. -
Act of Union
The Act of Union united the nations of England and Scotland into Great Britain. This led to economic advantages for the two as well as a sense of unity. This would likely represent continuity, since the creation of separate sovereign nations that remained separate was not as common in Europe, and land often changed hands between leaders at that time. -
War of Austrian Succession
The War of Austrian succession was due to disputes over who would succeed to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time, Frederick of Prussia went to war with Austria and retained the territory of Silesia. This ended up creating alliances between Marie Theresa and France and Russia. This demonstrates continuity since it's one of the many European wars over territorial growth and power over a nation. -
Diplomatic Revolution
Prussia and Great Britain entered an alliance, and so did Austria and France shortly after, along with Sweden and Russia. This was a great change in European society and politics. Not only had alliances not necessarily been a been part of European relations in a lot of European history, but so was the idea of diplomacy. The alliances themselves were unprecedented, as these nations had relatively bad relations in the past. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War in Europe and ended British rivalries with France for extra territories in India and North America. This represents a level of change over time for Europe, as the French left various areas. Britain became a much greater power in Europe through their colonies and plantations in the Americas, and had much greater economic growth. They also had a greater level of access to Asia than other countries in Europe, particularly in India. -
First Partition of Poland
The first partition of Poland led to several partitions of Poland that eventually led to the complete divide of the region. It was divided into three total parts by Frederick the Great and divided among Russia, Prussia, and Austria. This would be an example of continuity based on the territorial division and division of territory within Europe. Losing territory and switching territories among nations was continuous in many aspects of European history.
