This book presents a narrative history of Europe, including Britain and Ireland, from the end of the sixteenth century to the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721.

A first--rate narrative account of a fascinating period in European history. The inclusion of the British Isles is especially welcome as is the due weight devoted to eastern Europe. Sturdy is alive to the varieties and ambiguities of European history in this period, and is not seduced by easy talk of the development of the modern state or simplistic assessments of absolutism. Jeremy Black, University of Exeter Dr Sturdy has written an excellent introduction to seventeenth--century Europe for the student approaching the subject for the first time. He supplies in a lucid description the factual evidence essential to the formulation of thematic or analytical arguments about the period. Lionel K. J. Glassey, University of Glasgow Sturdya s book is organized around geographical regions (including the British Isles) with a break at 1660 to consider some themes... a comprehansive and factually accurate a narrative [which] is a considerable achievement. Sturdy is to be commended for producing a sound textbook, which must have been the product of much labour. Graham Derby, King Edward VI School, Southampton

David J. Sturdy is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Ulster in Coleraine. His previous publications include The da Aligres de la Riviere: Servants of the Bourbon State in the Seventeenth Century (1986), Science and Social Status in Early Modern France: The Members of the Academie des Sciences, 1666--1750 (1995) and Louis XIV (1998).

Acknowledgements. Preface. List of Maps. List of Illustrations. 1. The Context of 1600. 2. Central and Southern Europe: 1600--1635. 3. Central and Southern Europe: 1635--1648. 4. Western Europe: 1600--1660: Spain and France. 5. Western Europe: 1603--1660: Britain and the United Provinces. 6. Northern Europe: 1618--1660: Scandinavia, Russia and Poland. Interlude. 7. Central and Southern Europe with the Ottoman Empire: 1660--1720. 8. Western Europe: 1660--1720: France and Spain. 9. Western Europe: 1660--1720: Britain the United Provinces and War. 10. Northern Europe: 1660--1721: Scandinavia, Russia and Poland. Concluding Discussion. List of Significant Dates. Bibliography.