Two centuries of dramatic change are covered by this exciting and richly illustrated work. Eighteen leading scholars explore the political, social, religious, and cultural history of the period when monarchs based in south-east England imperfectly attempted to extend their authority over thewhole of the British Isles. These centuries witnessed the Reformation, the civil wars, and two revolutions, in which two monarchs, two wives of a king, and two archbishops of Canterbury were tried and executed, and hundreds of men and women tortured and burned in the name of religion. Yet in the same period, an explosion ofliteracy and the printed word, transformations in landscapes and townscapes, new forms of wealth, new structures of power, and new forms of political participation freed minds and broadened horizons. These centuries marked the beginning of Britain's imperial power and its emergence as perhaps themost liberal and mature of European states. The integrated illustrations and maps form an essential part of the book, complementing all aspects of the text. It also contains a Chronology, Glossary, Family Trees of the monarchy, Further Reading, and an extensive Index.

Originally published in 1977, this book investigates the controversial question as to whether England has seen two industrial revolutions, whether economic changes in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England deserve to be distinguished as a period in which an economic ‘revolution’ nearly took place, but eventually aborted. The book considers the changes that took place in the most important industries in the period and estimates the significance of these changes for the overall structure of the English economy. It also assesses the attitudes of the various historians involved in the debate and the nature of the evidence on which their arguments have been based. The combination of critical assessment in the introduction and the evidence of the 34 original documents will guarantee a wide readership of the book among students and teachers of economic history.

A new, transformative history – in Tudor times there were Black people living and working in Britain, and they were free ‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth.’ David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England… They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history. *** Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018 A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer ‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ Evening Standard, Books of the Year ‘Splendid… a cracking contribution to the field.’ Dan Jones, Sunday Times ‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable… the narrative is pacy... Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again.’ Daily Mail

This book was first published in 1962. Until the era of the Industrial Revolution wool was, without question, the most important raw material in the English economic system. The staple article of the country's export trade in the Middle Ages, it remained until the nineteenth century the indispensable basis of her greatest industry. This book looks at the decline of cloth industry in East Anglia sine the mid-sixteenth century.

Praise for the author:: 'For anyone researching the subject, this is the book you've been waiting for.' Washington Post From the death of Richard III on Bosworth Field in 1485 to the execution of Charles I after the Civil Wars of 1642-48, England was transformed by two dynasties. First, the Tudors, who had won the crown on the battlefield, changed both the nature of kingship and the nation itself. England became Protestant and began to establish itself as a trading power; facing down seemingly impossible odds, it defeated its enemies on land and sea. But after a century, Elizabeth I died with no heir and the crown was passed to the Stuarts, who sought to remould the kingdom in their own image. Leading authority on the history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Ronald Hutton brilliantly recreates the political landscape of this early modern period and shows how the modern nation was forged in these febrile, transformative years. Combining skilful pen portraits of the leading figures of the day with descriptions of its culture, economics and vivid accounts of everyday life, Hutton provides telling insights into this critical period on Britain's national history. This the second book in the landmark four-volume Brief History of Britain which brings together leading historians to tell Britain's story, from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the present day. Combining the latest research with accessible and entertaining story-telling, the series is the ideal introduction for students and general readers.

In Tudor and Stuart Britain, women writers took active roles in negotiating cultural ideas and systems to gain power by participating in politics through writing, shaping the aesthetics of genre, and fashioning feminine gender, despite constraints on women. Through the lens of cultural studies, the authors explore the ways in which women of this era worked to actually create culture. Articles cover five areas: women, writing, and material culture; women as objects and agents in reproducing culture; women's role in producing gender; popular culture and women's pamphlets; and women's bodies as inscriptions of culture.

This is a classic regional and comparative study of early modern witchcraft. The history of witchcraft continues to attract attention with its emotive and contentious debates. The methodology and conclusions of this book have impacted not only on witchcraft studies but the entire approach to social and cultural history with its quantitative and anthropological approach. The book provides an important case study on Essex as well as drawing comparisons with other regions of early modern England. The second edition of this classic work adds a new historiographical introduction, placing the book in context today.