Although 17th century Europe experienced continuous war and revolution, it was also a time when creativity flourished: Cervantes and Velásquez in Spain, Shakespeare and Milton in London, Rubens in Antwerp, Rembrandt in Amsterdam, and Molière in Paris. The vast changes in art, science and religion ultimately gave birth to modernity--and this all-encompassing history traces each landmark.

A concise survey that introduces readers to the people, ideas, and conflicts in European history from the Thirty Years' War to the Napoleonic Era. The authors draw on gender studies, environmental history, anthropology and cultural history to frame the essential argument of the work.

"In this book, Professor Begin and his fellow authors provide an account of the main aspects of seventeenth century Europe - from economy and society to politics, war, and intellectual life. Finally, the book dwells on the ways in which contact with a wider world beyond Europe impinged on the consciousness of Europeans in this 'age of curiosity'. This account, written by leading specialists in the field, will challenge those who are familiar with the period to think again about established views, and awaken the interest of those unfamiliar with it."--BOOK JACKET.

This new volume in the Short Oxford History of Europe series looks at the sixteenth century - one of the most tumultuous and dramatic periods of social and cultural transformation in European history. Six leading experts consider this period from a variety of perspectives, including political, social, economic, religious, and intellectual history, and subject traditional explanations of all these areas to revision in light of the most modern scholarship. - ;The sixteenth century witnessed some of the most abrupt and traumatic transformations ever seen in European society and culture. Populatio.