Early Modern Europe, spanning roughly the mid-15th to the late 18th century, served as a pivotal transition between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution. This transformative era commenced with significant events such as Gutenberg's invention of the movable type printing press (c. 1450) and Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas (1492), concluding around the French Revolution (1789).
The period was defined by the Protestant Reformation, which fundamentally challenged the Catholic Church, leading to widespread religious conflicts like the Thirty Years' War, and saw the rise of powerful nation-states and nascent capitalist economies. It also witnessed extensive European colonization of the Americas, widespread witch hunts, and a dramatic increase in global exchange, marking an early phase of globalization. Crucially, the early modern period fostered unprecedented advancements in science and technology, the emergence of secular civic politics, and the decline of feudalism, encompassing the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment.