modern Europe
Post-war Western civilization
Modern Europe refers to the European continent from roughly the 15th or 16th century onward, beginning with the Renaissance, Age of Exploration, and Protestant Reformation.
The term distinguishes this era from medieval Europe, emphasizing the rise of nation-states, secularism, industrialization, and democratic governance.
In casual use, modern Europe often means contemporary Europe—the EU era, post-Cold War integration, and current political arrangements.
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- colonial empiresStates dominating foreign territories
- nation statesSelf-governing territorial entities
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- printing pressMechanical text reproduction device
democracy · capitalism · urbanization · communism · globalization · fascism · Marshall Plan · iron curtain · Berlin Wall · Treaty of Versailles · nationalism · Enlightenment · socialism · mercantilism · classical music · coffee houses · grand tour · migration
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution
modern Europefeudal Europe
Lord-and-serf society
classical antiquity · ancient Greece · Renaissance Europe · Dark Ages · medieval kingdoms
modern Europeancient China
East Asian historical civilization
ancient Egypt · sub-Saharan Africa · indigenous cultures · tribal societies
modern, Europe, modernity, modernism, modernist, modernize, modernization, modernized, modernizing