4th Edition
The European World 1500–1800 An Introduction to Early Modern History
The European World 1500–1800 provides a concise and authoritative textbook for the centuries between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. It presents early modern Europe not as a mere transition phase, but a dynamic period worth studying in its own right.
Written by an experienced team of specialists, and derived from a successful undergraduate course, it offers a student-friendly introduction to all major themes and processes of early modern history. This fully updated fourth edition is structured in six parts – Starting Points, Society and Economy, Religion, The Wider World, Culture, Politics – and includes two new chapters on the Environment and Food and Drink Cultures.
Specially designed to assist learning, The European World 1500–1800 features:
- expert surveys of key topics written by an international group of historians
- suggestions for seminar discussion and further reading
- extracts from primary sources and generous illustrations, including maps
- a glossary of key terms and concepts
- a full index of persons, places and subjects
- and a companion website, offering colour images, direct access to primary materials, and interactive features which highlight key events and locations discussed in the volume.
The European World 1500–1800 is essential reading for all students embarking on the discovery of the early modern period.
For support with the early modern historiographical debates see the partnering volume Interpreting Early Modern Europe edited by C. Scott Dixon and Beat Kümin.- https://www.routledge.com/Interpreting-Early-Modern-Europe/Dixon-Kumin/p/book/9781138799011.
Part I: Starting Points
1 Introduction
Beat Kümin
2 Europe in 1500
Humfrey Butters
Part II: Society and Economy
3 Environments
John Morgan
4 Gender and Family
Bernard Capp
5 Rural Society
Steve Hindle
6 Urban Society
Penny Roberts
7 Marginals and Deviants
Penny Roberts
8 Sickness and Health
Claudia Stein
9 The Early Modern Economy
Steve Hindle
Part III: Religion
10 Church and People at the Close of the Middle Ages
Beat Kümin and Peter Marshall
Prelude: The Long Reformation
11 The Long Reformation: Lutheran
Henry J. Cohn
12 The Long Reformation: Reformed
Penny Roberts
13 The Long Reformation: Catholic
Anne Gerritsen, Kevin Gould and Peter Marshall
14 Religious Culture in Early Modern Europe
Peter Marshall
15 Jews and Muslims
Henry J. Cohn
Part IV: The Wider World
16 Beyond Europe c. 1500
Anne Gerritsen and Anthony McFarlane
17 European Relations with the Ottoman World
James E. Baldwin
18 Expanding Horizons
Anne Gerritsen and Anthony McFarlane
19 Europe Overseas
Anthony McFarlane
20 The Global Exchange of Goods
Anne Gerritsen and Giorgio Riello
21 Europe and the World, c. 1800
Anne Gerritsen and Anthony McFarlane
Part V: Culture
22 The Renaissance
Humfrey Butters
23 Arts and Society
Luca Molà
24 From Pen to Print – a Revolution in Communications?
Angela McShane and Mark Knights
25 Food and Drink Cultures
Rebecca Earle and Beat Kümin
26 Popular Culture(s)
Bernard Capp
27 Witchcraft and Magic
Penny Roberts
28 The Scientific Revolution
Claudia Stein
29 Enlightenment
Colin Jones
Part VI: Politics
A) Surveys
30 The Theory and Practice of Politics and Government, 1500–1800
Humfrey Butters
31 Dynastic Politics, Religious Conflict and Reason of State c.1500–1650
Humfrey Butters and Henry J. Cohn
32 European Politics from the Peace of Westphalia to the French Revolution c.1650–1800
Colin Jones and Mark Knights
B) Themes
33 Courts and Centres
Stéphane van Damme and Janet Dickinson
34 Centre and Periphery
Steve Hindle and Beat Kümin
35 The Impact of War
Jonathan Davies
36 Riot and Rebellion
Bernard Capp
37 Revolution: England and France
Bernard Capp and Colin Jones
Epilogue
38 Europe in 1800
Humfrey Butters
Biography
Beat Kümin is Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Warwick, UK. His previous publications include Drinking Matters: Public Houses and Social Exchange in Early Modern Central Europe (2007) and Imperial Villages: Cultures of Political Freedom in the German Lands (2019). He has also - with C. Scott Dixon - co-edited the partnering volume Interpreting Early Modern Europe (2019), which supports students with surveys of key debates in early modern historiography.
'This is one of the only textbooks to portray the early modern period as a distinctive era in its own right and to fully explore its richness and diversity. The European World provides an authoritative survey of the period's characteristic developments, an overview of the latest scholarly perspectives and an original selection of easily accessible source fragments.'
Bart Lambert, University of York, UK
‘An informative, synthetic account of the major themes in early modern European history. The authors introduce readers to an array of "histories" (social, economic, religious, etc.) which they may not have encountered before and encourage further specialised reading . . . the illustrative examples are useful and pertinent.’
Stephen Bowd, University of Edinburgh‘This impressive textbook provides a firm basis for any further student research. Easy to read, it delivers in-depth considerations of the most important developments of the European early modern period.’
Renate Dürr, University of Tübingen‘Didactically, it is all brilliantly executed, especially compared to some German textbooks and it is easy to read, without being simplistic.’
Wolfgang Reinhard, Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung‘One of the best introductions to this period I have seen.'
Retha Warnicke, Arizona State University'A student-friendly text, well written by excellent scholars who make the reader want to turn the page. The European World, 1500-1800, contains analytical chapters on a variety of both traditional and recent historical topics while excelling in comparative descriptions of life throughout Europe, between different centuries, and between Europe and the wider world.'
Richard M. Golden, University of North TexasThis is a well-organized, thoughtful and thought-provoking survey of a seminal period in the history of Europe. It draws upon current scholarship to provide a useful overview the major themes of early modern European history. Its thematic approach is especially helpful in getting students to think about the past in new and fruitful ways.
Christine Kooi, Louisiana State University.
