Early modern Europe, 1450-1789

566 Pages·17.815 MB·English

by  Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks

more information - www.cambridge.9781107031067

Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789
The second edition of this best-selling textbook is thoroughly updated to include
expanded coverage of the late eighteenth century and the Enlightenment, and
incorporates recent advances in gender history, global connections, and cul-
tural analysis. It features summaries, timelines, maps, illustrations and discus-
sion questions to support the student. Enhanced online content and sections
on sources and methodology give students the tools they need to study early
modern European history. Leading historian Merry Wiesner-Hanks skilfully
balances breadth and depth of coverage to create a strong narrative, paying par-
ticular attention to the global context of European developments. She integrates
discussion of gender, class, regional, and ethnic differences across the entirety of
Europe and its overseas colonies as well as the economic, political, religious and
cultural history of the period.
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks is Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee and an experienced textbook author. Her recent books include
Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (third edition, Cambridge, 2008),
Christianity and Sexuality in the Early Modern World: Regulating Desire, Reform-
ing Practice (second edition, 2010) andGender in History: Global Perspectives
(second edition, 2010).
the cambridge history of europe
The Cambridge History of Europe is an innovative textbook series covering the
whole of European history from c . 600 to the present day. The series is aimed
at fi rst-year undergraduates and above and volumes in the series will serve
both as indispensable works of synthesis and as original interpretations of the
European past. Each volume will integrate political, economic, religious,
social, cultural, intellectual and gender history in order to shed new light
on the themes and developments that have been central to the formation of
Europe. Volume I, Part 1 covers the period from the end of antiquity to the
twelfth century and Volume I, Part 2 takes the story to the fl ourishing of the
Renaissance. Volume II looks at the period from the development of printing
in the 1450s to the French Revolution, Volume III surveys the forging of
modern Europe from 1789 to the First World War and fi nally Volume IV
examines the period from 1914 to 2000. The fi ve books will combine chrono-
logical and thematic approaches to the past, will survey Europe in its entirety,
from the Atlantic to Russia’s Urals, and will situate European developments
within a global context. Each volume will also feature boxes, illustrations,
maps, timelines, and guides to further reading as well as a companion website
with further primary source and illustrative materials.
volumes in the series:
I Part 1 Europe from Antiquity to the Twelfth Century
MATTHEW INNES
I Part 2 Medieval Europe, 1100–1450
ROBERT SWANSON
II Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789
MERRY E. WIESNER-HANKS
III The Making of Modern Europe, 1789–1919
SIMON DIXON
IV The Twentieth Century, 1914–2000
GEOFF ELEY
cambridge history of europe
Early Modern
Europe
1450–1789
SECOND EDITION
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
cambridge university press
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town,
Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb28ru, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107643574
© Merry Wiesner-Hanks 2006, 2 013
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2 006
Reprinted six times
Second edition 2 013
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by the MPG Books Group
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Wiesner, Merry E., 1952– author.
Early modern Europe, 1450–1789 / Merry Wiesner-Hanks. – Second edition.
p. cm. – (Cambridge history of Europe ; v. 2)
Includes index.
isbn978-1-107-03106-7 (hardback) – isbn978-1-107-64357-4 (paperback)
1. Europe – History – 1492–1648. 2. Europe – History – 1648–1789. 3. Europe – Civilization.
I. Title.
d203.w54 2013
940.2′2 – dc23 2012037578
isbn978-1-107-03106-7 (hardback)
isbn978-1-107-64357-4 (paperback)
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to
in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such
websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
List of illustrations x
List of maps xiii
List of source boxes xiv
List of methods and analysis boxes xvi
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
Structure of the book 6
Sources for early modern history 8
Chapter summary 14
Questions 15
Further reading 15
PART I 17
1 Europe in the world of 1450 18
Travel beyond Europe 21
Individuals in society 27
Politics and power 30
Cultural and intellectual life 35
Religious institutions, ideas, and practices 38
Economics and technology 43
Chapter summary 47
Questions 48
Further reading 49
2 Individuals in society, 1450–1600 50
The body 53
The life cycle: childhood and youth 59
vi contents
The life cycle: sexuality 62
The life cycle: marriage 68
The life cycle: widowhood and old age 72
The life cycle: death 75
Family, kin, and community networks 78
Chapter summary 83
Questions 84
Further reading 84
3 Politics and power, 1450–1600 86
Military technology and organization 90
Standing armies and navies 94
Taxes, bureaucracies, and marital politics 97
The British Isles 99
France 103
Spain and Portugal 106
The Holy Roman Empire 113
The Ottoman Empire 116
Eastern and northern Europe 117
Italy 119
Power at the local level 121
Chapter summary 122
Questions 124
Further reading 124
4 Cultural and intellectual life, 1450–1600 126
Schools and education 129
Political theory 135
Humanism 138
Vernacular literature and drama 144
Music and art 149
Chapter summary 159
Questions 160
Further reading 160
5 Religious reform and consolidation, 1450–1600 162
The early Reformation 166
The Reformation in England 172
contents vii
The radical Reformation 174
Social change and the Reformation 178
Religious wars 180
Calvinism 183
The Catholic Reformation 186
Later religious wars 192
Chapter summary 196
Questions 197
Further reading 198
6 Economics and technology, 1450–1600 200
Capitalism, economic theory, and population growth 203
Late medieval agriculture 206
Rural developments in western Europe 210
Neo-serfdom and slavery in eastern Europe 213
Mining and metallurgy 216
Cloth and commerce 217
Banking and money-lending 220
Urban life 224
Poverty and crime 228
Chapter summary 233
Questions 234
Further reading 234
7 Europe in the world, 1450–1600 236
Indian Ocean connections 241
Chinese and Portuguese voyages 243
Columbus’s background and voyages 245
Early voyagers after Columbus 249
Europeans in Asia: merchants and missionaries 254
Europeans in Africa: slavers and sugar growers 258
Europeans in the Americas: conquerors and miners 263
Global connections and the Columbian exchange 267
Chapter summary 272
Part summary, 1450–1600 273
Questions 274
Further reading 275
viii contents
PART II 277
8 Individuals in society, 1600–1789 279
The social body: orders and classes 281
The writing body: letters and diaries 288
The inner body: emotions and passions 292
The studied body: anatomy and medical theory 295
The treated body: medicine and public health 298
The reproducing body: childbirth and contraception 302
The deviant body: sex crimes and scandals 304
Chapter summary 310
Questions 311
Further reading 312
9 Politics and power, 1600–1789 314
Absolutism in theory and practice 317
Warfare and alliances 321
France 328
Spain and Portugal 335
The British Isles 338
The Dutch Republic 344
The Ottoman Empire 347
Hapsburg lands 349
Brandenburg-Prussia 351
Sweden and Poland 352
Russia 356
Enlightened rulers 358
Chapter summary 360
Questions 361
Further reading 361
10 Cultural and intellectual life, 1600–1789 364
Learned societies, salons, and newspapers 368
Ancient authorities and new methods in science 373
The revolution in astronomy 376
Mathematics, motion, and the mind of God 378
Reason, knowledge, and property 381
Natural rights and their limits in the Enlightenment 383
Literature and drama 389
Art and architecture 393