Crisis, Absolutism, Revolution: Europe and the World, 1648-1789, third edition
© 2005
Birn's exceptionally well-written narrative covers the century and a half that preceded the French Revolution. The first section, "An Age of Crisis and Discovery (1648-1715)," treats the period between the Peace of Westphalia and the death of Louis XIV as a time of political experimentation, colonial exploitation, hardening social lines, economic regression, and scientific advance. The second section covers the period known retrospectively as the "Ancien Régime" (1715-1789). Eighteenth-century politics are viewed as replete with confrontation and conflict; and a broadened view of the Enlightenment emphasizes the significance of print culture, while also introducing the reader to sites of sociability such as academies, salons, Masonic lodges, and coffeehouses.
This is the third edition, revised and expanded, of Crisis, Absolutism, Revolution: Europe 1648-1789, and new to it is an examination of European contact with Africa, the Americas, and South and East Asia. More attention is also paid to the slave trade, women, family life, religion, exploration, and the emergence of a civil society. It contains an index, 17 maps, and 20 illustrations.
Product Details
- World Rights
- Page Count: 594 pages
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 1.1in x 9.0in
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Reviews
Raymond Birn's stimulating update of his classic Crisis, Absolutism, Revolution: Europe and the World, 1648-1789 interweaves political narrative and two vital historical themes: the emergence of the Atlantic world and the socio-economic basis of material life. Deeply thoughtful and clearly argued, Birn's book is one of the best treatments of the early-modern period; and its insight into eastern European events and the interaction of Europeans with the wider world is particularly well-done. For those who liked Colin Jones' The Great Nation, Birn's text is written in the same engaging, readable style.
Jeff Horn, Manhattan College, author of "Qui parle pour la nation?" Les élections et les élus de la Champagne méridionale, 1765-1830 -
Author Information
Raymond Birn is Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon, and also the author of Forging Rousseau: Print, Commerce and Cultural Manipulation in the Late Enlightenment.
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Table of contents
List of Illustrations
PrefacePart I: An Age of Crisis and Discovery (1648-1715/26)
Chapter 1. The People, the Land, and the State
Chapter 2. The Age of Mercantilism
Chapter 3. Crisis and Resolution: the West
Chapter 4. Crisis and Resolution: the Center and the East
Chapter 5. Europe and the World
Chapter 6. The Age of Reason
PART II: An Age of Hope and Revolution (1715-1789)
Chapter 7. The People, the Land, and the State
Chapter 8. The Enlightenment
Chapter 9. The Ancien Régime Triumphant (1715-1763)
Chapter 10. The Decline and Fall of the Ancien Régime
Bibliography
Sources
Index
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Subjects and Courses