The book provides an overall reconstruction of the European economy, in the global context, from the High Middle Ages until the beginning of Modern Growth in the 19th century.

Until recently, study of the early modern economy in Europe has tended to have heroes and villains: the former being the progressive and 'modern' economies of the Netherlands and England, and the latter being doomed, backward and Catholic Italy and Spain. This picture has now changed quite drastically, and there is far more emphasis on the general growth of the European economy during this period. The progressive removal of the neighbouring threats to European prosperity (particularly the gradual crippling of Ottoman power) created an environment which benefited all societies and not simply the traditionally emphasised 'Atlantic' economies.

Technology, Skills and the Pre-Modern Economy investigates how technological skills and knowledge were reproduced and disseminated in the advanced agrarian societies of China, India, Russia and Europe in the centuries before the Industrial Revolution. The book offers regional surveys of Europe, China and India, as well as comparative studies of building, porcelain manufacturing, instrument making, printing, and shipbuilding. The authors engage with the on-going debate about the ‘great divergence’ between Asia and Europe, and its possible causes. Technology has so far had a minor role in that debate. This book is bound to change that, through the bold claims made by various contributors. Contributors are: Karel Davids, S.R. Epstein †, Gijs Kessler, Jan Lucassen, Christine Moll-Murata, Patrick O'Brien, Kenneth Pomeranz, Maarten Prak, Tirthankar Roy, Richard Unger, and Jan Luiten van Zanden.

Drawing on the most recent social, economic, cultural, and intellectual research, Mark Konnert provides an engrossing overview of Europe during a highly dynamic and turbulent historical period. The book argues that while territorial trade-offs, resource and wealth distribution, and social conflict contributed to a century and a half of revolts, civil wars, and witch hunts, religion was the main catalyst for the violence that rocked the continent. Konnert's comprehensive study will help guide the student through this complex period in European history. Maps, illustrations, and an index are included.

The Age of Modern Europe; The Industrial Revolution; The Ancien Regime and Its Critics; The Despots and the High Enlightenment; The French Revolution and the Reign of Terror; The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire; The Attempt to Restore the Acien Regime; The Age of European Revolution; The New Nationalism; The Industrial Nation States; The Industrializing States; The Culture of Industrial Europe; The Great War and the Russian Revolution; The Formation of the Soviet Union; The Rise of Fascism; The European Democracies; The Second World War; Cold War Europe; Eastern Europe since 1953; The Cold Wars and After; Western Europe and the European Community since the 1950's; Modern and Ultra-Modern Europe in the 1990's. Also includes Chronology of History, Maps, Charts, Tables, Full Index, and Bibliography.