This page brings together free online books, topic searches and Open Access resources related to European history from 1500 to 1700, including the Reformation, monarchy, exploration, warfare, and political change. The materials range from older public domain works to modern scholarly studies.
The Topics section below helps readers find books and documents within the huge Internet Archive collection, which includes periodicals and other materials, from older historical works to recent publications. Each topic link generates an Internet Archive search focused on that subject. Browsing the topics and selecting those of interest is usually easier and more effective than searching Internet Archive directly.
The section below Topics provides links to related modern Open Access books. See that section for more information.
Topics – European History Books PDF 16th and 17th Centuries
The topic links below lead to Internet Archive search results related to European history in the 16th and 17th centuries. Each link opens a books-and-documents search focused on a particular topic.
Search results generally include fully readable books, periodicals, and other documents. For some subjects, Internet Archive also contains other media, such as images, audio, or video files. These can be selected from the media options above the search results. Filters on the left side of Internet Archive pages can help narrow search results by year, language, or related subjects.
- 16th century
- 16th Century Church history
- 16th Century Civilization
- 16th Century England
- 16th Century France
- 16th Century Germany
- 16th Century Intellectual life
- 16th Century Italy
- 16th Century Netherlands
- 16th Century Turkey
- 16th Century World
- 17th century
- 17th Century Church history
- 17th Century Civilization
- 17th Century England
- 17th Century France
- 17th Century Germany
- 17th Century Intellectual life
- 17th Century Italy
- 17th Century Netherlands
- 17th Century World
- Counter-Reformation
- Description and travel early works to 1800
- Economic conditions 16th century
- Economic conditions 17th century
- History – 16th century – Fiction
- History – 17th century – Fiction
- History 1492-1648
- History 1517-1648
- History 1517-1648 Sources
- History 1648-1715
- History Military 1492-1648
- Kings and Rulers
- Military art and science – Europe – History – 17th century
- Military art and science – Europe – History – 17th century
- Politics and government 1492-1648
- Reformation
- Renaissance
- Social conditions 16th century
- Social conditions 17th century
- Social life and customs – 16th century
- Social life and customs – 17th century
Open Access European History PDF Books and Materials Free Download
The Open Access books and other materials below are modern works made freely available online by universities, academic publishers, the Library of Congress, and other organizations. Many reflect current scholarship and research.
Some works may only be read online, but many can also be downloaded as PDF or EPUB files.
Related Pages on Century Past
See our Century Past directories for hundreds of webpages of Books; Magazines; Articles, maps, & photos; and Newspapers. You’ll find the same directories on the top Menu. Here are a few suggested pages: