Practice Exam Essay and Thesis Statements for Other Essays

 Analyze the ways in which European monarchs used both the arts and the sciences to
enhance state power in the period circa 1500–1800

Arts and sciences were both very important aspects of culture in the time period of 1500-1800, as they are today.  The type of art that a monarch of the 1500s-1800s liked and promoted could affect how well liked they were by the people they ruled over.  The sciences became much more advanced during this time period.  Guns and artillery became available.  Rulers who had these tools had a military advantage over  rulers who did not.  Technology such as the printing press and navigational tools helped countries to gain power as well.  Both the arts and sciences played key roles in enhancing state power, however, the advances in science helped monarchs to strengthen their countries more, because the advances in science helped them to gain military power, spread their ideas through books or pamphlets,  and explore new areas that had vast amounts of resources.  

Whether or not a state had gunpowder, guns, and artillery was a key factor to the amount of power they had.  Throughout all of human history,  people and rulers who have had greater fighting technology have been more powerful.  A state that had guns, gunpowder, and artillery had a great advantage over one that did not.  Canons could be used to knock out large sections of soldiers during a battle at one time.  Guns could also be used to kill someone almost instantly from a distance.  They were not always accurate, but for the most part they got the job done.  In a battle, guns and artillery could help to kill some of the opposing army before any close-combat started.  Countries such as England, France, and Spain were more powerful because they had these military advancements.  

The printing press was a major influence on power.  Rulers could spread their ideas through pamphlets or books, which could attract more people to come to their country and build up their support from other countries.  For example the Protestants spread their ideas throughout Europe using pamphlets, after the printing press had been invented.  This allowed them to reach many people and convert them to their religion.  Printing presses could also be used to print documents and news, which could then be spread to the people of that country.  This gave the people more knowledge, and "knowledge is power."

Advances in navigational tools helped countries to gain power as well.   Galileo improved the compass and telescope, which allowed explorers to be more accurate in where they were going.  Ship building also improved.  Countries that had the ability to travel to far away places and explore the new lands had more power.   They gained more territory, giving them more resources, and allowing them to expand their empires.  Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella funded Columbus's trip.  He ended up finding the New World, giving Spain claim to a lot of territory there.  This helped build Spain's power.  England also explored and started colonies in the New World, which would become the United States of America, one of the most powerful countries in the world today.  During that time the colonies provided many resources to England, allowing them to produce more goods and make more money, which, in turn, gave them more power.  

In conclusion,  the rulers who took advantage of the advances in technology gained more power for their country than the ones who did not.  Tools such as gunpowder, guns, artillery gave countries more military power, while the printing press helped rulers to spread their ideas to people over Europe, helping to increase immigration into their countries.  Improved navigational tools also allowed rulers to send explorers all over the world to gain territory for their country.  Countries who used all of these factors, were the most powerful of them all.  Using the advances in the sciences was a great advantage to a country and it helped increase a countries power. 




Thesis Statements for other essays: 


  2. Analyze the various Protestant views of the relationship between church and state in
the period circa 1500–1700.


Many Protestant's believed that church and state should not be mixed; a belief that as we can see today's society is very true, because the mix of church and state can create animosity between people in politics, causing disagreement, which in turn causes important issues to take long amounts of time to be decided on.

 3. Analyze the various effects of the expansion of the Atlantic trade on the economy of
Western Europe in the period circa 1450–1700.

The expansion of the Atlantic trade greatly improved the economy of Western Europe in the period of 1450-1700 because resources from the newly found territories helped countries to create more exports, increasing the wealth of the country.

 4. Compare and contrast the economic factors responsible for the decline of Spain with
the economic factors responsible for the decline of the Dutch Republic by the end of
the seventeenth century.

 5. Analyze various ways in which the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) represented a
turning point in European history.