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.

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.