European Crisis Dbq

It has been widely debated on the subject of whether or not Europe as a whole faced a general crisis in the seventeenth century. When looking at the word crisis, there are two angles from which it can be viewed. A crisis can be defined as a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. Others would define a crisis as being a crucial or decisive point of a situation. A turning point. During this period in European history, Europe faced major declines in various parts of their society throughout multiple regions. The population declined, agriculture saw no fluctuation, and with absolutism reigning France, taxation and revolts grew at a steadily increasing rate. Many would view this as a sign of crisis, except for when you factor in Golden Age
Whether or not they did in fact suffer through a crisis or if they were in a period that was in route to a time of more lasting prosperity.

There is not an argument so much as to whether or not areas in Europe reached a point of crisis, it's more of whether or not Europe as whole faced a crisis. It is understandable as to why historians believe that Europe as one was hit with a crisis. During this time, almost every aspect of their society was in disarray. The Wars of Religion in Europe caused the population to hit a lull because of the century of varies wars that took countless lives. Those who didn't die from war, died from the hunger they faced from poverty or from being killed in revolts or disease. Agriculture faced a decline in yield ratio and the prices of agriculture drop, no doubt a sign of the struggles in
This doesn't go to say that the Dutch Republic faced no difficulties during this time, they were just able to better resolve conflict. For example, Holland was a heavily population country making it dependent on the crop production and food distribution. They took initiative and organized and strengthened the import of grains and took advantage of the thriving fishing and cattle industry. This demonstrates Hollands ability to work together as a country for the prosperity of the people, unlike France and other countries, who were ruled by selfish and merciless leaders. When considering the Dutch republic, you must consider how the countries thrived. They were saved by trade and industry. What about before the seventeenth century though? They faced decades of rebellion and revolt caused by religious struggles the same way other large European countries. So what, then, made them an exception to his period of crisis? "Within a process of general stabilization there was a shifting of gravity which brought which brought new countries new profits (Schöffer, 99)." I agree with historian Ivo Schöffer in saying that them flourishing as a country wasn't so much accredited to them building themselves to be an independent nation as much as there being a shift of power. The decline of the other countries allowed for