This article explores the impact of imperialism, revolution, and industrialization on 19th-century Europe. In what ways did they transform the continent? Were these changes uneven and sporadic?

The Industrial Revolution is a central concept in conventional understandings of the modern world, and as such is a core topic on many history courses. It is therefore difficult for students to see it as anything other than an objective description of a crucial turning-point, yet a generation of social and labour history has revealed the inadequacies of the Industrial Revolution as a way of conceptualizing economic change. This book provides students with access to recent upheavals in scholarly debate by bringing a selection of previously published articles, by leading scholars and teachers, together in one volume, accompanied by explanatory notes. The editor's introduction also provides a synthesis and overview of the topic. As the revision of historical thought is a continual process, this volume seeks to bring the reinterpretation of such debates as working-class formation up to the present by introducing post-structuralist and feminist perspectives.

Written for the layman as well as the economic historian this famous and much-used book not only presents a general synthesis of the pattern of European industrialisation; it also provides material for a comparative study by illustrating, in separate case studies, the specific characteristics of development in Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Italy.

This is a small book on a very large subject. It is written for the general reader and for students who want an overview of modern European imperialism and an indication of some of the major issues with which historians of imperialism are currently concerned. Obviously, such a book cannot go into detail on any aspect of the subject. I have attempted wherever possible to use particular cases of imperialism to represent larger phenomena that occurred in many different places and at different times. I have also included references to important works on the subjects discussed in each section of the book; preference has been given to recently published studies and to those in English which are most likely to be available to the reader. Although the book is not purely a narrative and is organized around a number of theses, the presentation of the theses is necessarily abbreviated and the support for them incomplete. They should be considered as means of structuring the material; fuller exposition must awaith future publications. - Preface.

In the 19th century Europe changed more rapidly and radically than during any prior period. These chapters offer an approach to understanding one of the most complex periods of modern history, addressing all the major issues.