07-07-2017, 02:47 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-07-2017, 05:34 PM by Cynic Hero '86.)
Also Regarding Trump mentioning Poland as a cradle of western culture, that was a statement simply to say thanks to polish support to NATO and a snub toward Merkel due to her refusal to reform the EU and curb Muslim immigration. Those particular lines were also to throw a bone to the neocons, not because trump actually believes that. Only neocons would be foolish enough to actually believe that Poland was a main progenitor of western values. Western Culture originated with the Frankish Empire and the defeat of the Muslim invasion of western Europe by Charles Martel in 732 ad. After the victory over the Muslims the franks gradually embraced a policy of supporting the church in Rome against the church's local enemies and as support in the church's disputes with the byzantine emperor in Constantinople. Later when Charlemagne conquered most of what became europe the papacy legitimized his right to rule by proclaiming that it represented the rebirth of the western roman empire, this was in 800 ad. When the Frankish empire collapsed during the 840s, the treaty of Verdun acknowledged France, Germany and Lotharingia (the low countries and italy) as independent nations in 843 Ad . That was the birth of western civilization. Poland however was not incorporated into the west until at least the 11th century
Poland also missed several crucial developments in the evolution of western culture and politics. Most notably the age of absolutism that lasted from roughly 1650 to 1850. In this era nations would implement policies that usually centralized the state to be directly subordinate to the monarch. The power of the local aristocracy in most countries was severely curtailed and the armed forces in those countries would be professionalized and made answerable directly to the monarch. The curbed aristocracy would be converted into the officer corps of these armies. Such reforms were pioneered in France under Louis XIV and later implemented in Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, even to a limited extent in the ottoman empire as well. Poland missed this era and because of that first lost territory to its neighbors and then eventually was conquered entirely and partitioned by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. In sum the idea of poland as a cradle to western values is highly dubious.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightened_absolutism
Poland also missed several crucial developments in the evolution of western culture and politics. Most notably the age of absolutism that lasted from roughly 1650 to 1850. In this era nations would implement policies that usually centralized the state to be directly subordinate to the monarch. The power of the local aristocracy in most countries was severely curtailed and the armed forces in those countries would be professionalized and made answerable directly to the monarch. The curbed aristocracy would be converted into the officer corps of these armies. Such reforms were pioneered in France under Louis XIV and later implemented in Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, even to a limited extent in the ottoman empire as well. Poland missed this era and because of that first lost territory to its neighbors and then eventually was conquered entirely and partitioned by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. In sum the idea of poland as a cradle to western values is highly dubious.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightened_absolutism
