Final answer:
European governments evolved through three main stages: Feudal, Absolute Monarchy, and Constitutional Monarchy, reflecting a transition from dispersed power in the hands of local lords to centralized divine-right monarchies, and finally to a balance of monarchical and constitutional power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Stages of European Government
The three basic stages European government went through are Feudal, Absolute Monarchy, and Constitutional Monarchy. During the feudal era, political power was decentralized and land was held in exchange for service, usually military. This gave way to absolute monarchies, where kings and queens held all power and often claimed divine right. Eventually, constitutional monarchies emerged, distributing power between the monarchy and a constitutionally established government that often included a legislative body representing the populace.
In the evolution of European government forms, starting from small tribes and kingdoms engaging in territorial or religious conflicts, kingdoms expanded, and the concept of a monarch's divine right grew stronger. However, these forms of monarchy eventually softened into constitutional forms, whereby monarchs shared power with elected bodies and adhered to constitutional laws, reflecting the transformation toward modern democracies. This trajectory was influenced by historical movements and societal changes, including the weakening of feudalism, the rise of the merchant class, and the advent of the printing press, which bolstered the spread of ideas and literacy.