A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

Contents

List of Maps xxi

Preface xxiii

Acknowledgments xxix

Chapter 1

PART ONE FOUNDATIONS

Medieval Legacies and Transforming

Discoveries 3

Medieval Continuities 5 The Fragmentation of

Europe • At the Crossroads of Cultures • The

Structure of Society • Feudalism • A Subsistence

Economy • Religion and Popular Culture

The Emergence of Early Modern Europe 18

A Rising Population • An Expanding Economy •

The Growth of Towns • Municipal Liberties • The

Emergence of Sovereign States • Developing State

Structures • Limits to State Authority

Transforming Discoveries 31 Gunpowder, Warfare,

and Armies • The Printing Press and the Power of the

Printed Word • Exploration and Conquest in the New

World: The Origins of European Empire

Conclusion 42

Chapter 2 The Renaissance 44

The City-States of the Italian Peninsula 45

Thriving Economies • Social Structure • Renaissance

Political Life • Florence: Anatomy of a Renaissance

City