Europe in Crisis: 1598–1648

In the new edition of this classic book, Geoffrey Parker draws on material from all over Europe to provide an authoritative and exciting account of the eventful first half of the seventeenth century. The continent enjoyed scarcely a year of peace during this period. Instead revolution, civil war and complex international conflicts brought many states to the edge of collapse in the 1640s. Professor Parker examines three crucial conflicts: the desperate struggle of the Habsburgs with France and the Dutch Republic; the rivalry of Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Poland for control of the Baltic, and the confrontation between the Austrian Habsburgs and their subjects which escalated into the Thirty Years′ War. He also illuminates the leading social, economic and intellectual developments of the period. The new edition has been revised throughout and includes an updated bibliography.

List of Figures. List of Maps. List of Tables. Preface to the Second Edition. Note on Conventions. Prelude: Prague Spring. 1. European Society and the Economy. Climate and Crisis. Rich and Poor. Supply and Demand. An Economy on the Edge of Crisis. 2. European Society and the State. The Theory of Absolutism. Religious Absolutism. Political Absolutism. The State and War. 3. The Times of Troubles in the East, 1593–1618. The Austrian Habsburgs and the Turks. The Vasas and their Enemies. The Rape of Russia. 4. Armed Neutrality in the West, 1598–1618. The Recovery of France. The Netherlands Divided. Spain under Philip III. 5. The Apogee of Habsburg Imperialism, 1618–1629. The Bohemian Revolt. Years of Victory. Rise and Fall of a Coalition. France and the Cold War for Italy. 6. The Defeat of the Habsburgs, 1629–1635. Sweden and Poland. Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein. The Cardinal–Infante. 7. War and Revolution, 1635–1648. On the Edge of Disaster. The Crisis of the Spanish Monarchy. France Resurgent. The End of the Eighty Years′ War. The End of the Thirty Years′ War. 8. The Culture of Post–Renaissance Europe. War and Culture. The Culture of Everyday Life. Elite Culture. Notes. Further Reading. Index.

Geoffrey Parker is Andreas Dorpalen Professor of History at Ohio State University. He previously taught at Yale University (1993–96) and at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where he was department chair from 1989 to 1991. He also taught at the Universities of Cambridge and St Andrews in Britain and at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, in Canada. His many books include The Military Revolution. Military innovation and the rise of the West, 1500–1800 (1988), the winner of two book prizes, Philip II (1978), now in its third edition, The Grand Strategy of Philip II (1998) The Dutch Revolt (revised edition, 1984), and The Thirty Years′ War (revised edition, 1997).

"Geoffrey Parker′s book is characteristically lucid, lively and vigorous. In its updated form it makes the best introduction to the period I know." –– Peter Burke FBA, Professor of Cultural History, University of Cambridge "This is no ordinary textbook, but one that can be read and enjoyed again and again. Thanks to the breadth of the author′s knowledge of the primary and secondary material, even scholars of the period will continually find new nuggets of information and fresh insights to set them thinking." –– Laurence Brockliss, Magdalen College, Oxford "This textbook is witty, lively and provocative. Unlike so many anglophone historians, Professor Parker thinks Moscow and Mecklenburg are as interesting as Madrid or Marseilles: this is a genuinely European history of Europe." –– Robert Frost, King′s College, London "The 2001 version of Europe in Crisis is much more than the 1979 [edition] with a few additions or amendments: the text has been revised thoroughly and comprehensively, many passages in the 2001 bear little resemblance to their predecessors, and the presentation and style of the book are emphatically ′new millennium′ rather than ′1970s′... Students and other reders who came to the period 1598–1648 through Europe in Crisis will find the new edition equally instructive, enjoyable, enlightening and essential; it thoroughly deserves the appellation of ′Modern Classic′ and will long remain a standard text." ( Reviews in History ) " The new edition [is] equally instructive, enjoyable, enlightening and essential; it thoroughly deserves the appellation of ′modern classic′ and will long remain a standard text" –– David J Sturdy ( Reviews in History, Sept 2002)