Early Modern Europe：An Oxford History

ThisbookoffersanewkindofintroductiontoEuropebetween1500and1800.'Earlymodern'isthetermusedbyhistoriansfortheperiodbetweentheendoftheMiddleAgesandthestartofthenineteenthcentury.Itisadescriptionbornofhindsight.Europewastravellingtowardssomethingwerecognize,called'modernity':thejourneywasbegun,butnotfinished.ThecontributorstoEarlyModernEuropesetouttoconveythefeelofthechangesinlife,beyondtherawhistoricaldata.Theirchaptersareextensivelyillustratedwithcarefullychosenimageswhichcomplementthetext.Thebookconsiderstheevolvingeconomyandsociety-thebasicfactsoflifeforthemajorityofEurope'speople.Itshowshowthereligiousandintellectualunityofwesternculturefragmentedanddissolvedundertheimpactofnewideas.Itexaminespolitics,notjustastheriseandfallofempires,butfortheemergenceofmodernattitudesandtechniquesingoverning.