A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Europe

by Peter H. Wilson (Editor)

Overview

A COMPANION TO EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE

“This is an impressive volume, with leading experts providing a wide-ranging coverage that should satisfy most requirements for effective and thoughtful introductory surveys… All specialists on this period will find much of value in this excellent volume.”
History, The Journal of the Historical Association

This Companion contains 31 essays by leading international scholars to provide an overview of the key debates on eighteenth-century Europe. It considers not just major western European states, but also the often neglected countries of eastern and northern Europe.

Placing Europe within an international context, contributors investigate key areas of society, economics, culture, and political development. The book concludes with the French and other European revolutions that brought the century to a close, both chronologically and as regards the Ancien Régime.

A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Europe examines both established and emerging areas of interest in the field, making it an essential guide for students and scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118908433
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/06/2014
Series:	Blackwell Companions to European History
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	616
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Peter H. Wilson is Grant Professor of History at the University of Hull. His books include Europe’s Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War (2009), From Reich to Revolution: German History 1558-1806 (2004), and Absolutism in Central Europe (2000).

Read an Excerpt

Click to read or download

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     viii
Notes on Contributors     xi
Acknowledgments     xv
Maps     xvi
Introduction   Peter H. Wilson     1
Part I People, Production, and Consumption     9
Eighteenth-Century History and the European Environment   Dennis Wheeler     11
Gender   Deborah Simonton     27
Rural Economy and Society   Markus Cerman     47
Manufacturing, Markets, and Consumption   Beverly Lemire     66
Towns and their Inhabitants   Marc Schalenberg     82
The Eighteenth-Century Nobility: Challenge and Renewal   Hamish Scott     94
Poverty   Peter H. Wilson     109
Cultures     123
The Public Sphere   Michael Schaich     125
Enlightened Thought, its Critics and Competitors   Thomas Munck     141
Medicine, Medical Practice, and Public Health   Mary Lindemann     158
Religion   Joachim Whaley     176
Popular Culture and Sociability   Beat Kumin     192
The Arts   Mark Berry     208
State and Society     225
Russia   Lindsey Hughes     227
Poland-Lithuania   Jerzy Lukowski     244
The Empire, Austria, and Prussia   Peter H. Wilson     260
The Scandinavian Kingdoms   Michael Bregnsbo     276
The Dutch Republic   J. L. Price     289
The Italian States   Gregory Hanlon     304
Iberia: Spain and Portugal in the Eighteenth Century   Christopher Storrs     322
France   Michael Rapport     338
Britain and Hanover   Torsten Riotte     354
International Connections     369
Diplomacy and the Great Powers   Andrew C. Thompson     371
Islam and Europe   Molly Greene     387
Europe and the World   Philippe R. Girard     402
Europe and the Sea   Jan Glete     418
Politics and the State     433
Dynasticism and the World of the Court   Clarissa Campbell Orr     435
Absolutism and Royal Government   Ronald G. Asch     451
War, 1688-1812   Ciro Paoletti     464
Participatory Politics   David M. Luebke     479
The French and European Revolutions   Alan Forrest     495
Bibliography     512
Index     556

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This is a useful book. It starts the student off with the idea if interrelationships between social, economic, cultural and political change.... University libraries catering for a wide range of courses in historical subjects will want to consider this for acquisition." (Reference Reviews, 2009)

"This is an impressive volume, with leading experts providing a wide-ranging coverage that should satisfy most requirements for effective and thoughtful introductory surveys.... All specialists on this period will find much of value in this excellent volume." (History, January 2009)

“A vivid portrait of 18th-century Europe … .Inclusion of diverse interpretative methodologies, including gender studies … brings fascinating illumination to period sociology. Recommended for European history collections.” ( Library Journal)

Editorial Reviews

In 31 engaging essays, Wilson (From Reich to Revolution) and 29 international scholars offer a vivid portrait of 18th-century Europe, including many previously under-recognized northern and eastern states. Also significant is the book's inclusion of diverse interpretative methodologies, including gender studies-which brings fascinating illumination to period sociology. The essays are thematically divided into five segments: communities and their economic realities, the development of culture, geographically disparate sociopolitical concerns, Europe's connection to the outside world, and variations in government. Intended for field specialists, the essays sometimes make references that may seem obscure to general readers. Recommended for European history collections.

—Savannah Schroll Guz

Library Journal

"This is a useful book. It starts the student off with the idea if interrelationships between social, economic, cultural and political change.... University libraries catering for a wide range of courses in historical subjects will want to consider this for acquisition." (Reference Reviews, 2009)

"This is an impressive volume, with leading experts providing a wide-ranging coverage that should satisfy most requirements for effective and thoughtful introductory surveys.... All specialists on this period will find much of value in this excellent volume." (History, January 2009)

"A vivid portrait of 18th-century Europe…. Inclusion of diverse interpretative methodologies, including gender studies … brings fascinating illumination to period sociology. Recommended for European history collections." (Library Journal)

From the Publisher