ABSTRACT
The modern world was slow to take shape out of the disintegration of medieval society which followed the calamities of the fourteenth century, the century of plague, peasant revolts and papal schism. But in one dramatic period of transformation, from the end of the fifteenth century to the middle of the sixteenth, some of the main features of the new order began to emerge. Overseas discoveries and settlements enlarged the scope of commerce and finance and contributed to what was to prove a permanent shift in the volume of business from the Mediterranean to western Europe. Price inflation, which was occurring in response to a steady rise in population and consequent pressure on resources even before bullion imports made much impact on the money supply, was radically altering the economic base. New opportunities for enrichment and less inhibited attitudes towards money affected the traditional structure of society. As cities grew, urban values became more influential. Money made in finance, commerce and office went to buying land; existing landowners, reduced in circumstances or ousted by newcomers, became, in an altogether more fluid society, a force for disorder. Their aspirations could not be satisfied completely by the burgeoning of courts and agencies of government. With the increasing centralization of authority and the assumption of new responsibilities and rights in finance and justice, sovereigns tested their powers and enlarged their patronage. They went out to fight as lightly as ever but with more men and more deadly weapons. Ominously for the future, the ‘Italian wars’, which began with Charles VIII’s invasion of Italy, became a broader conflict. Princes could make war and peace upon their own initiative: it was to be as true of Frederick the Great in 1740 as it was of Charles VIII in 1494. The consequences might be far-reaching, even beyond the countries involved. It was likely to be the most important decision the ruler would make. But outside this traditional sphere, to what extent was the ruler free to act?
