Be between 300-400 words each.

1. Discuss the profound economic and social changes that took place in Western and Eastern Europe after the “opening of the Atlantic” and the resulting “Commercial Revolution.”

2. Both France and Germany suffered greatly during the so-called Wars of Religion. Briefly summarize the main events that took place in both between the Peace of Augsburg [1555] and the Peace of Westphalia [1648], and explain why France emerged with a strong central government while Germany disintegrated in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War.