17Th Century category: 857 books

The nation which has unmistakably assumed the leading role in European affairs during the past two hundred years is France. At the opening of the eighteenth century she already enjoyed a commanding position. In the wars to which the ambition of her king, Louis XIV, gave rise, almost all the countries...

The Thirty Years War (1618-48) was the most destructive European conflict prior to the twentieth century. It reduced the population of central Europe by around a quarter and left thousands of towns and villages in ruins. This uniquely comprehensive collection of translated documents covers all aspects...

THE century subsequent to the peace of Westphalia is distinguished as the age of Louis the Fourteenth, that monarch being the sun by which it was illumined, and whose splendor was reflected by all the courts of Europe. The first revolution against the middle ages was accomplished in him, by his subjection...

Samuel Auchmuty was born in New York in 1756\. During the American Revolution his remained loyal to King George and he joined the British 45th Foot in 1777. After the war he remained in British service, campaigned in many parts of the world and rose through the ranks. Despite a varied and distinguished...

This is a review of some of the odd fashions of the 17-19th centuries. This short illustrated piece covers both clothing and hair styles of the day. Richly illustrated.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was one of the most admired astronomers who ever lived and a key figure in the scientific revolution. A defender of Copernicus´s sun-centred universe, he famously discovered that planets move in ellipses, and defined the three laws of planetary motion. Perhaps less well...

‘Every student of the seventeenth century in England must desire sooner or later to have his say about its greatest figure.  So says John Buchan in the preface to this magnificent biography, in which he sets out to reshape the way the soldier and statesman is perceived.  Born in 1599,...

Franciscans in sixteenth-century New Spain were deeply ambivalent about their mission work. Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the first archbishop of Mexico, begged the king to find someone else to do his job so that he could go home. Fray Juan de Ribas, one of the original twelve 'apostles of Mexico' and...

The early decades of the sixteenth century were a turbulent time for the Italian peninsula as competing centres of power struggled for political control. Nowhere was this more true than the area contested by Milan and Venice, that was constantly crossed and occupied by rival armies. Investigating...

Uroscopy - the diagnosis of disease by visual examination of the urine - played a very prominent role in early modern medical practice and in the lives of ordinary people. Widely considered as the most reliable way to diagnose diseases and pregnancies it was taught at the best universities. Leading...

Interest in the history of violence has increased dramatically over the last ten years and recent studies have demonstrated the productive potential for further inquiry in this field. The early modern period is particularly ripe for further investigation because of the pervasiveness of violence. Certain...

Why in the pre-industrial period were some settlements resilient and stable over the long term while other settlements were vulnerable to crisis? Indeed, what made certain human habitations more prone to decline or even total collapse, than others? All pre-industrial societies had to face certain...

Practices of Diplomacy in the Early Modern World offers a new contribution to the ongoing reassessment of early modern international relations and diplomatic history. Divided into three parts, it provides an examination of diplomatic culture from the Renaissance into the eighteenth century and presents...

First published in 1926. Don Juan was a Persian Moslem who became a Spanish Roman Catholic. His description of Persia and his account of the wars waged by the Persians during the sixteenth century considerably add to modern day knowledge of the history of the period. The book describes the Safavi...