Certain powerful and influential feudal monarchs forged the European nation-states of today by fusing many complex forces under their personal control.

Tudors  Henry VII  Henry VIII  Elizabeth I  the Parliament Valois  Charles VII  Louis XI  François I  Henry II  the Estates General Habsburgs  Maximilian I  Charles V  the Diet  Isabella of Castile  Ferdinand of Aragon  Phillip II  the Cortes

 Western European feudal monarchies begin in the 9 th century as highly decentralized states, and the king in most instances was actual ruler of only a portion of the realm.  The expansion of the royal domain at the expense of lesser nobles resulted from the marriages of the king and his family as well as success in wars.  The objective of the monarch was to enlarge the royal domain to the limits of his horizon and his wealth to provide for his family and not to create a nation.  In spite of this very feudal mindset, nations were created nonetheless.  Once they perceived this result, national monarchs began to centralize their authority and gain control over the nobles, the Church, and the towns.  This new unity planted the seeds of a national consciousness, and the benefits of centralized government became apparent.

 Kings enhanced their revenue to strengthen their armies by creating new taxes like the gabelle (salt tax) and taille (land tax) in France.  They developed the role of royal councils, staffed with middle-class lawyers, to outmaneuver the aristocratic assemblies.  In Spain and France, the kings negotiated with the papacy to allow them to appoint their own bishops, effectively taking control over the national church.  Kings in Spain and France made effective and important marriages that enhanced the royal domains.  The daughter of the king of Spain married into the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire  France acquired Brittany  England allied with Scotland through marriage

 With their armies, the kings conquered new territories, Burgundy for France and Granada for Spain, or subdue rebellions, Ireland for England.  Charles VII ( ) created the first permanent standing army in France.  The monarchs used violence and the threat of violence against people who were seen as threats  In England the king had the Star Chamber  In Spain, the Inquisition  The English kings also used justices of the peace to run local governments.