First Published in 1984, European Society presents a wide-ranging survey of European Society in the two centuries preceding the Industrial Revolution. It draws on all the latest published research in the major European languages and provides a broad overview of the major structural changes that occurred between 1500 and 1700, both in social organization and in the various social classes. Topics covered range from the price revolution and the family, to the nobility, the peasantry, popular rebellions and the development of absolutism. At every stage the importance of social changes for the evolution of political events is stressed, and one chapter deals with the political crisis of the mid seventeenth century.

While it takes account of the major events of the period the main emphasis of the book is on the ‘other Europe’, the Europe of ordinary people and their daily lives as seen through the perspective of modern quantitative research. Themes such as rebellion, literacy, witchcraft, poverty and popular culture are therefore integral parts of the social picture presented here. The author’s mastery of fine detail in his sources illuminates every point, and brings the material vividly to life. This is a must read for scholars and students of European history.

First Published in 1984, European Society presents a wide-ranging survey of European Society in the two centuries preceding the Industrial Revolution. It draws on all the latest published research in the major European languages and provides a broad overview of the major structural changes that occurred between 1500 and 1700, both in social organization and in the various social classes. Topics covered range from the price revolution and the family, to the nobility, the peasantry, popular rebellions and the development of absolutism. At every stage the importance of social changes for the evolution of political events is stressed, and one chapter deals with the political crisis of the mid seventeenth century.

While it takes account of the major events of the period the main emphasis of the book is on the ‘other Europe’, the Europe of ordinary people and their daily lives as seen through the perspective of modern quantitative research. Themes such as rebellion, literacy, witchcraft, poverty and popular culture are therefore integral parts of the social picture presented here. The author’s mastery of fine detail in his sources illuminates every point, and brings the material vividly to life. This is a must read for scholars and students of European history.

For nearly two centuries Spain was the world’s most influential nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. Because none of this was achieved by its own economic or military resources, Henry Kamen sets out to explain how it achieved the unexpected status of world power, and examines political events and foreign policy through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century to Philip V in the 1700s.

He explores the distinctive features that made up the Spanish experience, from the gold and silver of the New World to the role of the Inquisition and the fate of the Muslim and Jewish minorities. In an entirely re-written text, he also pays careful attention to recent work on art and culture, social development and the role of women, as well as considering the obsession of Spaniards with imperial failure, and their use of the concept of ‘decline’ to insist on a mythical past of greatness. The essential fragility of Spain’s resources, he explains, was the principal reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power.

This completely updated fourth edition of Henry Kamen’s authoritative, accessible survey of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world experience substantially expands the coverage of themes and takes account of the latest published research.

For nearly two centuries Spain was the world’s most influential nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. Because none of this was achieved by its own economic or military resources, Henry Kamen sets out to explain how it achieved the unexpected status of world power, and examines political events and foreign policy through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century to Philip V in the 1700s.

He explores the distinctive features that made up the Spanish experience, from the gold and silver of the New World to the role of the Inquisition and the fate of the Muslim and Jewish minorities. In an entirely re-written text, he also pays careful attention to recent work on art and culture, social development and the role of women, as well as considering the obsession of Spaniards with imperial failure, and their use of the concept of ‘decline’ to insist on a mythical past of greatness. The essential fragility of Spain’s resources, he explains, was the principal reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power.

This completely updated fourth edition of Henry Kamen’s authoritative, accessible survey of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world experience substantially expands the coverage of themes and takes account of the latest published research.

First Published in 1984, European Society presents a wide-ranging survey of European Society in the two centuries preceding the Industrial Revolution. It draws on all the latest published research in the major European languages and provides a broad overview of the major structural changes that occurred between 1500 and 1700, both in social organization and in the various social classes. Topics covered range from the price revolution and the family, to the nobility, the peasantry, popular rebellions and the development of absolutism. At every stage the importance of social changes for the evolution of political events is stressed, and one chapter deals with the political crisis of the mid seventeenth century.

While it takes account of the major events of the period the main emphasis of the book is on the ‘other Europe’, the Europe of ordinary people and their daily lives as seen through the perspective of modern quantitative research. Themes such as rebellion, literacy, witchcraft, poverty and popular culture are therefore integral parts of the social picture presented here. The author’s mastery of fine detail in his sources illuminates every point, and brings the material vividly to life. This is a must read for scholars and students of European history.

First Published in 1984, European Society presents a wide-ranging survey of European Society in the two centuries preceding the Industrial Revolution. It draws on all the latest published research in the major European languages and provides a broad overview of the major structural changes that occurred between 1500 and 1700, both in social organization and in the various social classes. Topics covered range from the price revolution and the family, to the nobility, the peasantry, popular rebellions and the development of absolutism. At every stage the importance of social changes for the evolution of political events is stressed, and one chapter deals with the political crisis of the mid seventeenth century.

While it takes account of the major events of the period the main emphasis of the book is on the ‘other Europe’, the Europe of ordinary people and their daily lives as seen through the perspective of modern quantitative research. Themes such as rebellion, literacy, witchcraft, poverty and popular culture are therefore integral parts of the social picture presented here. The author’s mastery of fine detail in his sources illuminates every point, and brings the material vividly to life. This is a must read for scholars and students of European history.

For nearly two centuries Spain was the world’s most influential nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. Because none of this was achieved by its own economic or military resources, Henry Kamen sets out to explain how it achieved the unexpected status of world power, and examines political events and foreign policy through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century to Philip V in the 1700s.

He explores the distinctive features that made up the Spanish experience, from the gold and silver of the New World to the role of the Inquisition and the fate of the Muslim and Jewish minorities. In an entirely re-written text, he also pays careful attention to recent work on art and culture, social development and the role of women, as well as considering the obsession of Spaniards with imperial failure, and their use of the concept of ‘decline’ to insist on a mythical past of greatness. The essential fragility of Spain’s resources, he explains, was the principal reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power.

This completely updated fourth edition of Henry Kamen’s authoritative, accessible survey of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world experience substantially expands the coverage of themes and takes account of the latest published research.

For nearly two centuries Spain was the world’s most influential nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. Because none of this was achieved by its own economic or military resources, Henry Kamen sets out to explain how it achieved the unexpected status of world power, and examines political events and foreign policy through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century to Philip V in the 1700s.

He explores the distinctive features that made up the Spanish experience, from the gold and silver of the New World to the role of the Inquisition and the fate of the Muslim and Jewish minorities. In an entirely re-written text, he also pays careful attention to recent work on art and culture, social development and the role of women, as well as considering the obsession of Spaniards with imperial failure, and their use of the concept of ‘decline’ to insist on a mythical past of greatness. The essential fragility of Spain’s resources, he explains, was the principal reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power.

This completely updated fourth edition of Henry Kamen’s authoritative, accessible survey of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world experience substantially expands the coverage of themes and takes account of the latest published research.