A History of North-Western Europe

Concentrates solely on North-Western Europe, examines the crucial structural changes that shaped the modern world

The History of North-Western Europe provides a broad account of the regions included in the modern states of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Great Britain. Offering a rigorous yet accessible analytical narrative of the centuries between the fall of the Roman Empire and the First World War, noted historian Robin Briggs examines the many forms of structural change that helped to create a distinctive North-Western European society.

Organized chronologically into fourteen substantial chapters, the text covers major events and eras such as the Protestant Reformation, the rise of the fiscal-military state, and the scientific and industrial revolutions that combined to undermine traditional authority structures and generate new understandings of the world. The author also offers insights into the origins and development of the urban and industrial society that ultimately transformed the globe. Topics include the Carolingian dynasty, the rule of feudal lords and popes, the bubonic plague, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Napoleonic wars, the Revolutions of 1848, the growth of nationalism and instability preceding the Great War, and much more.

• Stimulates readers to reflect in new ways on how the past is crucial to understanding the present
• Combines a coherent narrative with strong analyses of crucial developments at every stage of North-Western European history
• Explores the upheavals that shaped the social, religious, economic, and political landscape of the region
• Discusses how European naval, military, religious, and economic power was projected worldwide

The History of North-Western Europe: From Late Antiquity to the First World War is an excellent textbook for undergraduate students in European History courses, as well as a valuable resource for general readers looking for a wide-ranging historical account of the countries of the region.

Preface ix

1 From Rome to the Carolingians 1

2 Rulers, Feudal Lords, and Popes 31

3 Social Change, Persecution, and Economic Development 59

4 Rulers, Politics and War Down to the Fifteenth Century 78

5 A Changing World; the Plague, the Renaissance and the New Discoveries 99

6 The Reformation and the Age of Religious War 119

7 Political Conflict and Civil War: Britain and France to 1660 155

8 The World of Ideas and the New Science 179

9 Britain, The Netherlands and the France of Louis XIV 208

10 Eighteenth-Century Developments and the Enlightenment 230

11 The Road Through Revolution to Napoleon 258

12 From the Holy Alliance to the Revolutions of 1848 290

13 Industrial and Medical Revolutions and Religious Change 308

14 Nationalism, Democracy and Instability 335

Conclusion 360

Bibliographic Note 368

Index 372

ROBIN BRIGGS is Emeritus Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford. He is a specialist in French and European history, with numerous publications in the fields of social and religious history. Briggs is a Fellow of the British Academy and the author of several books, including Communities of Belief: Cultural and Social Tension in Early Modern France and Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft.

COMBINES A COHERENT NARRATIVE WITH STRONG ANALYSES OF EVERY MAJOR STAGE OF NORTH-WESTERN EUROPEAN HISTORY FROM 476 AD TO THE START OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

In A History of North-Western Europe, distinguished historian Robin Briggs presents a rigorous yet accessible analytical narrative of the regions included in the modern states of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Great Britain. Covering the centuries between the fall of the Roman Empire and the First World War, this unique volume concentrates solely on North-Western Europe as it examines the many forms of structural change that helped to not only create a distinctive society, but also shape the development of our modern world.

Fourteen chronologically organized chapters examine the upheavals that shaped the social, religious, economic, and political landscape of the region, such as the Black Death, the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Napoleonic Wars, the Revolutions of 1848, the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, and more. Throughout the text, the author provides deep insights into the origins and evolution of the urban and industrial society that extended European naval, military, religious, and economic influence across the globe.

Inviting readers to reflect in new ways on how the past is crucial to understanding the present, A History of North-Western Europe is an excellent textbook for undergraduate students in European History courses, as well as a valuable resource for general readers looking for a wide-ranging historical account of the region.