Europe: Privilege and Protest: 1730-1789, 2nd Edition
- Binding: Paperback
- Edition: 2
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
- Publish date: 02/01/2001
Description:
The 50 years that preceded the French Revolution were characterized by economic, social, and political tensions. The era witnessed challenges to the monopoly of political power traditionally claimed by monarchies and privileged elites. These challenges combined with the pressure of an increasing population on a perpetually inadequate supply of food; imperial rivalries in America and Asia; and the expansionist policies of Prussia and Russia to create an age of increasing unrest and dissent.
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This fascinating account of the period reveals how the Enlightenment, in condemning privilege, was in fact attacking the roots of the accepted social order, already top-heavy from its expensive superstructure of bureaucracies and standing armies. The complex and significant events of this era are illuminated to provide the essential background to the revolutionary period that followed. The new edition of this classic book provides readers with an introduction to a key period in modern European history. It has been updated in the light of recent scholarship and includes a fully revised bibliography.
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