Europe and the wars of religion, 1500-1700. Part I

How are nations built? In our time, few questions are more pressing-or more difficult. And what better way to look for answers than to see how Europe's nations were built? The nation-state was born in Europe's Wars of Religion when these questions were put to the true test: How, exactly, does a stable state come to evolve? What is the relationship between the political institution of the state and the cultural community of the nation? What ideologies create obedience and cooperation? What is the role of repression, resistance, law, taxation, and governance? Focusing specifically on two key centuries of European development-resulting in the formation of the modern state-this course is built around exactly these kinds of inquiries. During this era, when the still-inchoate modern state was first beginning to form, religious passions often became a catalyst for much greater conflicts and much broader transformations.