The New Cambridge Modern History

War, plague, rebellions, and religious and dynastic conflicts changed the distribution of power between states, as well as their structure, when many of the social, intellectual and political foundations of Europe during the Ancien Régime were laid. The mass of the people suffered from direct and indirect effects of war, but both limited and absolutist governments and a variety of social groups strengthened themselves. In this volume, contributors discuss the shift of power and command of oceanic routes to north-western Europe, the failure of Habsburg power in Spain and Germany and the rebuilding of their power in Bohemia. The internal costs of France's victory over Spain and her international position in the 1650s are assessed. Greater immediate gains were won by smaller powers, the Dutch and the Swedes and, despite the Civil War, England. Particular attention is paid to attitudes towards absolutism and the development of scientific ideas.

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"… a major event for both teachers and students of the period concerned … Happily this volume is among the best. A team of distinguished scholars, several of them foreign, has been assembled, and on the whole they have performed their task well."
English Historical Review

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Product details

• Date Published: February 1980
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521297134
• length: 856 pages

• dimensions: 228 x 152 x 49 mm
• weight: 1.21kg
• availability: Unavailable - out of print November 2000