Rebels and Rulers, 1500-1660: Society, States, and Early Modern Revolution Agrarian and Urban Rebellions

288 Pages·1982·9.31 MB·English

by  Perez Zagorin

REBELS AND RULERS, 1500-1600
VOLUME I
Society, states, and early modern revolution
Agrarian and urban rebellions
Armed peasants carrying a banner with plowshare. Title illustration from a pam-
phlet of the German peasant war: Action, order and instruction agreed upon by all
companies and bands of peasants and to which they have together bound themselves, 1525. In
March 1525 the articles in this pamphlet established the revolutionary peasant
organization, the Christian Union of upper Swabia (see ch. 7). (Courtesy of the
British Library.)
Rebels and rulers, 1500-1660
VOLUME I
SOCIETY, STATES, AND EARLY MODERN REVOLUTION
AGRARIAN AND URBAN REBELLIONS
PEREZ ZAGORIN
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© Cambridge University Press 1982
First published 1982
Reprinted 1984
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Zagorin, Perez.
Rebels and rulers, 1500-1660.
Includes bibliographical references and
indexes.
Contents: v. 1. Society, states, and early
modern revolution - v. 2. Provincial
rebellion.
1. Revolutions - Europe - History - 16th cen-
tury. 2. Revolutions - Europe - History - 17th
century. 3. Europe-History - 1492-1648.
4. Europe - History - 17th century. I. Title.
D210.Z33 1982 940.2 81-17039
ISBN o 521 24472 2 (vol. 1) hard covers AACR2
ISBN o 521 28711 1 (vol. 1) paperback
Transferred to digital printing 2003
Contents
Volume I
SOCIETY, STATES, AND EARLY MODERN REVOLUTION
AGRARIAN AND URBAN REBELLIONS
Preface page ix
Part I. Introduction
1 The concept of revolution and the comparative history of
revolution in early modern Europe 3
2 Conspectus, typology, causality 28
Part II. Revolutionary contexts
3 The society of orders 61
4 Monarchy, absolutism, political system 87
5 Economy, conjunctural factors, the crisis of the
seventeenth century 12 2
6 Religion, the Reformation, millenarianism 140
Part III. Revolutions
7 Agrarian rebellion 175
The German peasant war 186
Kett's rebellion 208
French agrarian rebellions 214
8 Urban rebellion 228
French urban rebellions 237
The Spanish monarchy 245
Index 275
Contents
Volume II
PROVINCIAL REBELLION
REVOLUTIONARY CIVIL WARS, I 560-1660
Preface page vii
Part III. Revolutions (continued)
9 Provincial rebellion 1
France: the Languedoc revolt of 1632 and the Nu-pieds
revolt in Normandy of 1639 8
Moriscos and Huguenots 13
English provincial rebellions 19
Aragon, Catalonia, Portugal, Scotland, and Ireland 31
I o Revolutionary civil war: the French civil war 51
I1 Revolutionary civil war: the Netherlands rebellion 87
12 Revolutionary civil war: the English revolution 130
13 Revolutionary civil war: the Fronde 187
14 Epilogue 223
Index 227
VI
Preface
If of the making of books on revolution there appears to be no end, this is
because the subject of revolution continues to possess a compelling signif-
icance for contemporary historiography and other disciplines.
The present book is the product of a combined interest in the general
and historical problem of revolution and in the society and civilization of
early modern Europe. It has grown naturally out of my previous work
devoted principally to the history of early modern England and to the
English revolution of 1640-60. Its purpose is twofold: first, to add to the
comprehension of revolution by means of a comparative treatment of the
revolutions of the sixteenth and earlier seventeenth centuries in their
appropriate context; second, to throw further light on the society that
produced these revolutions and thus determined their character and lim-
its.
In pursuing these ends, I have also sought to aid understanding by
pointing out some of the misconceptions frequently found in discussions
of revolution. A part of the reason for these misconceptions is explained
in the first chapter. That one of their main sources is Marxism, however,
has made it necessary for me to criticize in various places both the Marxist
theory and Marxist interpreters of revolution. In my judgment, every-
thing valuable and true in the thought of Marx himself has by now been
fully assimilated into history and the other social sciences as their common
property and resource. What still survives as "Marxism," therefore, is in
the East a petrified philosophy maintained as official dogma by authoritar-
ian regimes and in the West an intellectual pastime for professors and
commentators ranged into rival doctrinal schools.
Although I have cited many texts in the following inquiry, the latter,
owing to its scope, can hardly be based primarily on original documentary
evidence. Rather, it must depend to a considerable extent on the writings
relating to its subject by many previous scholars, older and more recent.
During the past generation or so, however, an increasing number of his-
vii
Preface
torians have focused attention upon the revolutions of early modern
Europe. At the same time, a wealth of research and numerous works of
synthesis have greatly extended and deepened our knowledge of broad
aspects of this period. This is an achievement in which American, British,
French, and other continental historians have shared. I have made use of
many of their contributions, which have helped to stimulate and direct
my thinking and in other ways facilitated my task. Naturally, I am aware
of the dangers I have run in traversing diverse areas in which I am not
myself a specialist. Notwithstanding, I have deemed it worthwhile to accept
them, in view of the intrinsic importance and interest of the themes
embraced in this book.
Of the work's two volumes, the first contains general theoretical, meth-
odological, and typological reflections, a conspectus of the revolutions of
the time in the states to which the study is devoted, and an examination
of their essential contexts, followed by a discussion of peasant and urban
rebellion. The second volume deals with provincial rebellion and then
with revolutionary civil war, which, as the most consequential type of
revolution to occur in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, receives
the most extended treatment.
One of an author's chief pleasures is to express his gratitude for the
assistance that has made his work possible. The Institute for Advanced
Study at Princeton, by granting me its membership and an enjoyable year's
stay, permitted me to begin the research for this book. A part of my sup-
port at the institute was contributed by the National Endowment for the
Humanities under Grant H5426. In 1975-6, while visiting as Clark
Memorial Library Professor at the University of California at Los Ange-
les, I was able to make further progress. A fellowship at the National
Humanities Center provided the opportunity to advance the work toward
conclusion. My warm thanks are due all these distinguished institutions
for their help. I am also grateful to the administration of The University
of Rochester for its cooperation and to the various libraries and their staffs
whose collections I have used. Once again I am much indebted to Mrs.
Claire Sundeen for her invaluable secretarial service in the preparation of
my manuscript.
My deepest obligation is to my wife, Honore Sharrer, and this book is
dedicated to our son.
Vlll
PART I
Introduction