The end of eighteenth century is often regarded as the watershed between the feudal Europe of the Middle Ages and the modern Europe of the nineteenth century and beyond. The chronology covered in this title is vast, but covers an intellectually stimulating and exciting period of European history. The pinnacle of absolute monarchy is cemented in Louis XIV's France, eventually giving way to reform and revolution; the Russian Empire becomes an important player on the Western stage under Peter I and Catherine the Great; America achieves independence; and, the ideas of the Enlightenment begin to change the intellectual and religious landscape. Max Beloff analyses the period in fascinating detail whioch will particularly interest students of Early Modern History, Politics and European diplomacy.

The end of eighteenth century is often regarded as the watershed between the feudal Europe of the Middle Ages and the modern Europe of the nineteenth century and beyond. The chronology covered in this title, first published in 1954, is vast, but covers an intellectually stimulating and exciting period of European history. The pinnacle of absolute monarchy is cemented in Louis XIV’s France, eventually giving way to reform and revolution; the Russian Empire becomes an important player on the Western stage under Peter I and Catherine the Great; America achieves independence; and, the ideas of the Enlightenment begin to change the intellectual and religious landscape. Max Beloff analyses the period in fascinating detail in a now reissued title that will be of particular interest to students of Early Modern History, Politics and European diplomacy.

The end of eighteenth century is often regarded as the watershed between the feudal Europe of the Middle Ages and the modern Europe of the nineteenth century and beyond. The chronology covered in this title, first published in 1954, is vast, and yet covers an intellectually stimulating and exciting period of European history. The pinnacle of absolute monarchy is cemented in Louis XIV's France, eventually giving way to reform and revolution; the Russian Empire becomes an important player on the Western stage under Peter I and Catherine the Great; America achieves independence; and, the ideas of the Enlightenment begin to change the academic and religious landscape. Max Beloff analyses the period in fascinating detail in a now reissued title that will be of particular interest to students to Early Modern History, Politics and European diplomacy.

Max Beloff, one of Britain's most distinguished historians, here offers an eloquent account of the relationship between history and politics in the twentieth century as seen from the perspective of his own professional life. Lord Beloff opens the book with an account of his own route to professional history and the reasons he became involved in different areas of historical specialization. He then reflects on the nature and purpose of historical studies in the light of current controversies on both sides of the Atlantic. Beloff discusses the contemporary problems and opportunities of the nations he has studied and traversed during his half-century as a working historian: Britain, France, the United States, Russia, and Israel. The last chapters deal with two major themes in Beloff's work that have formed a bridge between his scholarly contributions and his activity in politics--the quest for European unity and the collapse of the European empires that recently culminated in the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The book concludes with Beloff's provocative opinion that, based on his work on the fall of the British Empire, the end of European imperialism is a matter not for rejoicing but for regret.

"The Modern World System", Immanuel Wallerstein's influential multivolume reinterpretation of global history, traces the emergence and development of the modern world from the sixteenth century to the twentieth. -- From publisher's description.