Best histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century. European history 1500s, 1600s. Free Online Book & Magazine Library.
See our Guide for Finding History Books on Century Past
‘Book Collections‘ and ‘Vintage Books‘ are at the bottom of the last page.
CORE BOOKS – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Centuries of Childhood – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Aries, Philippe
1962
“The theme of this extraordinary book is the emergence of the modern conception of family life and the modern image of the nature of children. The discovery of childhood as a distinct phase of life, M. Aries shows, is a recent event. Until the end of the Middle Ages, the child was, almost as soon as he was weaned, regarded as a small adult, who mingled, competed, worked and played with mature adults. Only gradually did parents begin to encourage the separation of adults and children, and a new family attitude, oriented around the child and his education, appeared.” – Book jacket
From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Barzun, Jacques
HarperCollins 2000
“Highly regarded here and abroad for some thirty works of cultural history and criticism, master historian Jacques Barzun has set down in one continuous narrative the sum of his discoveries and conclusions about the whole of Western culture since 1500.” -Publisher. Europe best histories.
See our History Directory
The Pursuit of Glory: Europe, 1648-1815 – European History 1600s
Blanning, T. C. W.
Penguin 2008
“Thoroughly covers the politics and endless wars of the period…. History writing at its glorious best.” -NY Times.
Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (vol 1) – Best Histories of Europe 16th Century
Braudel, Fernand
1977
“The focus of Fernand Braudel’s great work is the Mediterranean world in the second half of the sixteenth century, but Braudel ranges back in history to the world of Odysseus and forward to our time, moving out from the Mediterranean area to the New World and other destinations of Mediterranean traders. Braudel’s scope embraces the natural world and material life, economics, demography, politics, and diplomacy.” – Publisher. Europe best histories.
See our Modern World History Textbooks PDF
Structures of Everyday Life; the limits of the possible – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Braudel, Fernand
1979
Volume 1 of the 3-volume series, “Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century”.
This social and economic history of Europe from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution organizes a multitude of details to paint a rich picture of everyday life.
See our collection of Ancient World History PDF Free Download Textbooks
Origin of the Jesuits – European History 1600s
Brodrick, James , S.J
1940
“The Society of Jesus, the largest religious order in the Catholic Church, has aroused violent emotions and conflicts from the very day it was founded. Praised by its friends as a brilliant and uncompromising bulwark of the Church, it has been as bitterly denounced by its enemies. Throughout its entire history, the Society has been in the forefront of any struggle involving the Church as her devoted champion.” – Book cover. Europe best histories.
The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-1800 – Best Histories of Europe
Butterfield, Herbert
Macmillan 1957
Contents: The historical importance of a theory of impetus – The conservatism of Copernicus – The study of the heart down to William Harvey – The downfall of Aristotle and Ptolemy – The experimental method in the seventeenth century – Bacon and Descartes – The effect of the scientific revolution on the non-mechanical sciences – The history of the modern theory of gravitation – The transition to the Philosophe movement in the reign of Louis XIV – The place of the scientific revolution in the history of western civilisation – The postponed scientific revolution in chemistry – Ideas of progress and ideas of evolution. Europe best histories.
Reformation – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Chadwick, Owen
1964
In this volume of the “Pelican History of the Church” Professor Owen Chadwick deals with the formative work of Erasmus, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, with the special circumstances of the English Reformation, and with the Jesuits and the Counter-Reformation. Europe best histories.
See our European History books pdf 18th & 19th Centuries
Armies and Societies in Europe 1494-1789 – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Corvisier, Andre
1979
“One of France’s leading military historians examines European military history within the perspective of social and economic change… Just as European society changed greatly between 1494 and 1789, a fundamental change took place in the role of the military. During the ancien regime, the professional use of arms evolved from a private to a public institution and the military became the essential instrument of state power…” – Book jacket. Europe best histories.
Church and the Age of Reason 1648-1789 – European History 1600s
Cragg, Gerald R.
1960
Volume in the “Penguin History of the Church” series. This span in the history of the Christian Church stretches from the age of religious and civil strife which existed before the middle of the seventeenth century to the age of industrialization and republicanism which followed the French Revolution and the begining of the Napoleonic wars. Europe best histories.
See our War in the Middle Ages books
Women of the Renaissance – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Dean, Ruth and Melissa Thomson
2005 Dewey Dec. 940.2
Women of the Renaissance brings to life the daily work and notable achievements of early modern women in their roles as wives and mothers, caregivers, workers, religious leaders, queens, rebels, pirates, scholars, writers and artists.
Counter Reformation – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Dickens, Arthur Geoffrey
1969
The reform of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century was historically as important as the contemporary Protestant Reformation. Though never committed solely to fighting Protestantism, it inevitably also became a Counter Reformation, since it soon faced the threat created by Luther and his successors. The century between the career of Ignatius Loyola and that of Vincent de Paul became a classic age of Catholicism. The lives of its saints, popes and secular champions could hardly be made more fascinating by any novelist. While paying due attention to the great characters, the author also considers the broader political, social and cultural features of the Counter Reformation. Europe best histories.
See our City & Travel magazines
Age of Religious Wars, 1559-1689 – Best Histories of Europe 16th & 17th Century
Dunn, Richard S.
1979
Volume in the “Norton History of Modern Europe”.
Calvinism versus Catholicism in Western Europe. Religion and politics ; Spain under Philip II ; The French wars of religion, 1562-1598 ; The revolt of the Netherlands ; Elizabethan England The decline of Spain — Political disintegration in Central and Eastern Europe. The Holy Roman Empire, 1555-1618 ; Eastern borderlands ; The Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648 ; The rise of Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia — The psychology of limited wealth. Population ; Agriculture and industry ; Dutch commercial capitalism ; Property and privilege ; Women and witchcraft ; The price revolution ; Capitalism and Calvinism ; Mercantilism — Absolutism versus constitutionalism. The rise of French absolutism ; The Puritan revolution ; France under Louis XIV ; The Glorious Revolution — The century of genius. The scientific revolution ; Religious art in the Baroque age ; Five philosophical writers ; The golden age of English, Spanish, and French drama — Toward a new balance of power. The west European wars of 1688-1713 ; The east European wars of 1683-1721 ; Peter the Great ; Europe in 1715. Europe best histories.