Change in society

Society evolves. Russia, through the era of Peter the Great, is a rough example. Russia, before Peter came to power in 1682, had strict rules on how things should be. All men had to have long hair and beards. They shunned Western styles of dress. When Peter came into power, he changed everything. He made it so that men had to have short hair and no beards and embrace Western dress. Anyone who did not conform was taxed. Peter turned the whole system upside down. The changes were not entirely good, but, despite the backlash, he was never assassinated.

Meanwhile, Frederick William of Prussia focused mainly on military might. Amassing a large standing army but a large army means a large number of taxes. The nobility was not happy about this. He won the majority of them over to his side by promising that they could force the majority of the present population into serfdom.

Some of the changes in the world were not simply about the ruling class, such as in the art. Mannerism had been a style of art from the High Renaissance until the end of the 16th century. It had been popular and for good reason. The style had a sense of movement and drama that not many previous art styles captured. It also played with light a lot creating an otherworldly feel. This only added to its popularity, making it one of the dominant art styles. In the 17th century, Mannerism was replaced by another dominant style, Baroque art. This style has more of an eye for detail and a realistic look to it. It also focuses on emotion and drama more than other art styles at the time.