Fractured Europe: 1600 – 1721

This book presents a narrative history of Europe, including Britain and Ireland, from the beginning of the seventeenth century to the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721. It is organized around geographical regions, paying as much attention to northern and eastern Europe, as to western and southern. The narrative is divided into two sections, supported by maps, illustrations and other supporting material. The first covers the period from 1600 to1660 and is followed by an assessment of the themes that emerge from this section. The second takes up the story from 1660 and follows it through to 1721. The conclusion reflects on the most significant themes of the post–1660 decades. Whilst the core of the book is devoted to the political and diplomatic evolution of Europe in the seventeenth century, the author also integrates the visual arts and sciences into the discussion and assesses their influence on the wider historical development of the continent.

Acknowledgements. Preface. List of Maps. List of Illustrations. 1. The Context of 1600. 2. Central and Southern Europe: 1600–1635. 3. Central and Southern Europe: 1635–1648. 4. Western Europe: 1600–1660: Spain and France. 5. Western Europe: 1603–1660: Britain and the United Provinces. 6. Northern Europe: 1618–1660: Scandinavia, Russia and Poland. Interlude. 7. Central and Southern Europe with the Ottoman Empire: 1660–1720. 8. Western Europe: 1660–1720: France and Spain. 9. Western Europe: 1660–1720: Britain the United Provinces and War. 10. Northern Europe: 1660–1721: Scandinavia, Russia and Poland. Concluding Discussion. List of Significant Dates. Bibliography.

David J. Sturdy is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Ulster in Coleraine. His previous publications include The d′Aligres de la Rivière: Servants of the Bourbon State in the Seventeenth Century (1986), Science and Social Status in Early Modern France: The Members of the Académie des Sciences, 1666–1750 (1995) and Louis XIV (1998).

"A first–rate narrative account of a fascinating period in European history. The inclusion of the British Isles is especially welcome as is the due weight devoted to eastern Europe. Sturdy is alive to the varieties and ambiguities of European history in this period, and is not seduced by easy talk of the development of the modern state or simplistic assessments of absolutism." Jeremy Black, University of Exeter <!––end––> "Dr Sturdy has written an excellent introduction to seventeenth–century Europe for the student approaching the subject for the first time. He supplies in a lucid description the factual evidence essential to the formulation of thematic or analytical arguments about the period." Lionel K. J. Glassey, University of Glasgow "Sturdy′s book is organized around geographical regions (including the British Isles) with a break at 1660 to consider some themes... a comprehansive and factually accurate a narrative [which] is a considerable achievement. Sturdy is to be commended for producing a sound textbook, which must have been the product of much labour." Graham Derby, King Edward VI School, Southampton