Prior to the 16th century, feudalism dominated European Europe. Noble lords ruled over the serfs or tenants who worked the lands of their large estates. The nobles, in turn, paid tribute and swore oaths of loyalty to the monarchs who granted them their manors or fiefs. Loyalties tended to be individual rather than national. Furthermore, some people dreamed of the united Europe, in which the Church and secular rulers would work together to peacefully preserve, teach, and spread the Christian faith. The Holy Roman Empire came close to fulfilling this dream, which was shattered by the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and the Treaty of Westphalia. These developments encouraged the rise of the nation-state and of dominant monarchs who centralized their governments, established national bureaucracies, made laws that applied on a national level, consolidated military power, regularized taxes and the economy, and took over powers previously held by nobles. Soon, many people began to identify themselves as loyal citizens of their particular nation-states, including England, France, Prussia, and Sweden.