The European Crisis of the 1590s

First published in 1985, The European Crisis of the 1590s (now with a new preface by Peter Clark on the current literature on crisis and catastrophe) investigates in depth for the first time the origin and scale of the critical problems of the 1590s and their impact on European society. Among the contributors are many leading scholars working on European history during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The book is divided into two parts. The first analyses the particular mesh of difficulties in different areas of Europe, covering all the major countries—England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy. The second part discusses more general issues such as the impact of war and the role of the state. From a systematic, comparative examination of one period of acute difficulty and upheaval we gain valuable insights into the general nature of the economic and social crises which recurred in the early modern era. Important and vivid light is also shed on the long-term social, economic, and institutional changes affecting European countries c.1550-c.1650. General findings are emphasised in the editorial introduction and in the wide-ranging conclusion by J.H. Eliott which offers a powerful evaluation of the historical significance of the 1590s.

This volume will be essential reading for academics, students and others interested in the economic, social, and political history of Britain and continental Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It will also be valuable for all those working in the new field of crisis and catastrophe.