The emergence of modern Europe
The economic backgound is discussed in a variety of studies. Carlo M. Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy, 1000–1700, 2nd ed. (1980; originally published in Italian, 1974), offers a treatment of the economy focusing not so much on history as on social structures. Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System, 3 vol. (1974–89), covers the period from the 16th to the mid-19th century, emphasizing spatial division of the early capitalistic world among core areas, semiperipheries, and peripheries. Another broad, rich, and learned reconstruction of the world of early capitalism is offered in Fernand Braudel, Civilization and Capitalism, 15th–18th Century, 3 vol. (1982–84; originally published in French, 1979).
Comprehensive works include Rondo Cameron, A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic Times to the Present (1989); Harry A. Miskimin, The Economy of Later Renaissance Europe, 1460–1600 (1977), stressing concepts of law as a critical factor in economic development; E.E. Rich and C.H. Wilson (eds.), The Economy of Expanding Europe in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1967); Jan De Vries, Economy of Europe in an Age of Crisis, 1600–1750 (1976), exploring the 17th-century unraveling of the 16th-century world, and European Urbanization, 1500–1800 (1984), a broader survey; Witold Kula, An Economic Theory of the Feudal System: Towards a Model of the Polish Economy, 1500–1800, new ed. (1976, reissued 1987; originally published in Polish, 1962), an analysis of a particular 16th-century economy; and Piero Camporesi, Bread of Dreams: Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Europe (1989; originally published in Italian, 1980), an exploration of malnutrition with an impressive picture of some unpalatable food and the symbolism of its consumption.
Important demographic studies are Josiah Cox Russell, The Control of Late Ancient and Medieval Population (1985), a historical study of European communities; and E.A. Wrigley and R.S. Schofield, The Population History of England, 1541–1871: A Reconstruction (1981), utilizing new techniques of reconstruction and backward projection of census data.
Studies of protoindustrialization include Peter Kriedte et al., Industrialization Before Industrialization: Rural Industry in the Genesis of Capitalism (1981; originally published in German, 1977), in a German context; John U. Nef, Industry and Government in France and England, 1540–1640 (1940, reprinted 1968), still informative and focusing on the interaction of power; and Paul Sweezy et al., The Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism (1976), a collection of Marxist debates as to what capitalism really was and when it began.
Matters concerning finance are studied in Earl J. Hamilton, American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain, 1501–1650 (1934, reprinted 1977), a classic that launched a continuing debate. Political and cultural influences are the subject of Perry Anderson, Lineages of the Absolutist State (1974), a Marxist view of the role of the state in the birth of modern capitalism; Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (1987), a lengthy and entertaining exploration; Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971), on the impact of the culture of Reformation; and R.H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926, reissued 1984), a classic study of Calvinism and the capitalistic ethos.
A broader approach to early modern society is offered summarily in Peter Burke, The Historical Anthropology of Early Modern Italy: Essays on Perception and Communication (1987), focusing on detail rather than central movements of early modern culture; Roger Chartier (ed.), Passions of the Renaissance (1989; originally published in French, 1986), a volume of essays dealing with the period from the Renaissance to Enlightenment, from the series A History of Private Life; Brian Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Venice, 1550–1670 (1983), an often poignant examination of ethnic relations; and Carlo Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller (1980; originally published in Italian, 1976), an excellent social history based on the story of an eccentric miller and his cosmological views.
Politics and diplomacy are dealt with in many general histories of the period. Narrative and analytical accounts, with detailed bibliographies, are offered in J.R. Hale, Renaissance Europe, 1480–1520 (1971, reprinted 1985); G.R. Elton, Reformation Europe, 1517–1559 (1963); J.H. Elliott, Europe Divided, 1559–1598 (1968, reprinted 1985); and Geoffrey Parker, Europe in Crisis, 1598–1648 (1979), all four in the Fontana History of Europe series. G.R. Potter (ed.), The Renaissance, 1493–1520 (1957); G.R. Elton (ed.), The Reformation, 1520–1559, 2nd ed. (1990); R.B. Wernham (ed.), The Counter-Reformation and Price Revolution, 1559–1610 (1968); and J.P. Cooper (ed.), The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 1609–48/59 (1970), the first four volumes in The New Cambridge Modern History series, offer a sequence of chapters by various authors, thematically organized. H.G. Koenigsberger, George L. Mosse, and G.Q. Bowler, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, 2nd ed. (1989), treats the earlier part of the period. The last 50 years of the period, dominated by the genesis and course of continental war, are best approached through Geoffrey Parker (ed.), The Thirty Years’ War, rev. ed. (1987). David Herlihy N. Geoffrey Parker
The age of absolutism, 1648–1789
Gordon East, An Historical Geography of Europe, 5th ed. (1966), provides an informative introduction to geographic features influencing the history of the period. H.D. Schmidt, “The Establishment of ‘Europe’ as a Political Expression,” The Historical Journal, 9(2):172–178 (1966), discusses the question of definition. Main themes are covered in the essays of G.N. Clark, The Seventeenth Century, 2nd ed. (1947, reprinted 1981); and the appropriate volumes of The New Cambridge Modern History series (1957– ). General surveys include E.N. Williams, The Ancien Régime in Europe: Government and Society in the Major States, 1648–1789 (1970); D.H. Pennington, Seventeenth-Century Europe (1970); Geoffrey Treasure, The Making of Modern Europe, 1648–1780 (1985); M.S. Anderson, Europe in the Eighteenth Century, 1713–1783, 3rd ed. (1987); and William Doyle, The Old European Order, 1660–1800 (1978, reprinted 1984). Specific social and demographic questions are explored in Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Times of Feast, Times of Famine: A History of Climate Since the Year 1000 (1971, reissued 1988; originally published in French, 1967); Michael W. Flinn, The European Demographic System, 1500–1820 (1981); Lucien Paul Victor Febvre, A New Kind of History: From the Writings of Febvre, trans. from French, ed. by Peter Burke (1973); Robert Mandrou, Introduction to Modern France, 1500–1640: An Essay in Historical Psychology (1975; originally published in French, 1961); Philippe Ariès, Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life (1962, reissued 1979; originally published in French, 1960); John McManners, Death and the Enlightenment: Changing Attitudes to Death Among Christians and Unbelievers in Eighteenth-Century France (1981); James C. Riley, The Eighteenth-Century Campaign to Avoid Disease (1987); and Keith Thomas, Man and the Natural World: A History of the Modern Sensibility (1983; also published as Man and the Natural World: Changing Attitudes in England, 1500–1800, 1983). Olwen H. Hufton, The Poor of Eighteenth-Century France, 1750–1789 (1974), a study of poverty with much about women; Michael R. Weisser, Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Europe (1979); and E.J. Hobsbawm, Bandits, rev. ed. (1981), provide important insights into early modern social history.