A History of Western Society, Volume 2

The Combined Volume includes all chapters.

Volume 1 includes Chapters 1-16.

Volume 2 includes Chapters 14-30.

Since 1300 includes Chapters 11-30.

 

Preface

Maps, Figures, and Tables

Special Features 

 

Chapter 14: European Exploration and Conquest, 1450–1650

What was the Afro-Eurasian trading world before Columbus?

      The Trade World of the Indian Ocean

      The Trading States of Africa

      The Middle East

      Genoese and Venetian Middlemen

How and why did Europeans undertake ambitious voyages of expansion?

      Causes of European Expansion

      Technology and the Rise of Exploration

      The Portuguese Overseas Empire

      Spain’s Voyages to the Americas

      Spain "Discovers" the Pacific

      Early Exploration by Northern European Powers

What was the impact of European conquest on the New World?

      Conquest of the Aztec Empire

      The Fall of the Incas

      Portuguese Brazil

      Colonial Empires of England and France

      Colonial Administration

How did Europe and the world change after Columbus?

      Economic Exploitation of the Indigenous Population

      Society in the Colonies

      Population Loss and the Ecological Impacts of Contact

      Sugar and Slavery

      Spanish Silver and Its Economic Effects

      The Birth of the Global Economy

How did expansion change European attitudes and beliefs?

      Religious Conversion

      European Debates About Indigenous Peoples

      New Ideas About Race

      Michel de Montaigne and Cultural Curiosity

      William Shakespeare and His Influence

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Columbus Describes His First Voyage

Thinking Like a Historian: Who Was Doña Marina?

Individuals in Society: Catarina de San Juan

Viewpoints: Aztec and Spanish Views on Christian Conversion in New Spain

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Andrés Sánchez Gallque, The Mulatto Gentlemen of Esmeraldas, 1599

 

Chapter 15: Absolutism and Constitutionalism, ca. 1589–1725

What were the crises and achievements of seventeenth-century European states?

      The Social Order and Peasant Life

      Environmental, Economic, and Social Crisis

      The Thirty Years’ War

      State-Building and the Growth of Armies

      Baroque Art and Music

What was absolutism, and how did it evolve in western and central Europe?

      The Decline of Absolutist Spain in the Seventeenth Century

      The Foundations of French Absolutism

      Louis XIV and Absolutism

      Life at Versailles

      Louis XIV’s Wars

      The French Economic Policy of Mercantilism

What explains the rise of absolutism in Prussia and Austria?

      The Return of Serfdom

      The Austrian Habsburgs

      Prussia in the Seventeenth Century

      The Consolidation of Prussian Absolutism

What were the distinctive features of Russian and Ottoman absolutism?

      Mongol Rule in Russia and the Rise of Moscow

      Building the Russian Empire

      The Reforms of Peter the Great

      The Ottoman Empire

What were alternatives to absolutism in early modern Europe?

      The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

      The Failure of Absolutism in England

      The Puritan Protectorate

      The Restoration of the English Monarchy

      Constitutional Monarchy

      The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Thinking Like a Historian: What Was Absolutism?

Evaluating Written Evidence: Peter the Great and Foreign Experts

Individuals in Society: Hürrem

Viewpoints: Stuart Claims to Absolutism and the Parliamentary Response

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Gonzales Coques, The Young Scholar and His Wife, 1640

 

Chapter 16: Toward a New Worldview, 1540–1789

What revolutionary discoveries were made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

      Contributions from the Muslim World

      Scientific Thought to 1500

      The Copernican Hypothesis

      Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo: Proving Copernicus Right

      Newton’s Synthesis

      Natural History and Empire

      Magic and Alchemy

What intellectual and social changes occurred as a result of the Scientific Revolution?

      The Methods of Science: Bacon and Descartes

      Medicine, the Body, and Chemistry

      Science and Religion

      Science and Society

How did the Enlightenment emerge, and what were major currents of Enlightenment thought?

      The Early Enlightenment

      The Influence of the Philosophes

      Enlightenment Movements Across Europe

How did the Enlightenment change social ideas and practices?

      Global Contacts

      Enlightenment Debates About Race

      Women and the Enlightenment

      Urban Culture and Life in the Public Sphere

What impact did new ways of thinking have on politics?

      Frederick the Great of Prussia

      Catherine the Great of Russia

      The Austrian Habsburgs

      Jewish Life and the Limits of Enlightened Absolutism

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Galileo Galilei, The Sidereal Messenger

Thinking Like a Historian: The Enlightenment Debate on Religious Tolerance

Viewpoints: Rousseau and Wollstonecraft Debate Women’s Equality

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Léonard Defrance and the Public Sphere

Individuals in Society: Moses Mendelssohn and the Jewish Enlightenment

 

Chapter 17: The Expansion of Europe, 1650–1800

Why did European agriculture grow between 1650 and 1800?

      The Legacy of the Open-Field System

      New Methods of Agriculture

      The Leadership of the Low Countries and England

Why did the European population rise dramatically in the eighteenth century?

      Long-Standing Obstacles to Population Growth

      The New Pattern of the Eighteenth Century

      How and why did rural industry intensify in the eighteenth century?

      The Putting-Out System

      The Lives of Rural Textile Workers

      The Industrious Revolution

What important changes occurred in economic thought and practice in the eighteenth century?

      Economic Regulation and the Guilds

      The Financial Revolution

      Adam Smith and Economic Liberalism

      How did empire and trade shape new economic, cultural, and social developments?

      Mercantilism and Colonial Competition

      The Atlantic Economy

      The Transatlantic Slave Trade

      Identities and Communities of the Atlantic World

      The Atlantic Enlightenment

      Trade and Empire in Asia and the Pacific

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Thomas Malthus on the Limitation of Human Population

Thinking Like a Historian: Rural Industry: Progress or Exploitation?

Viewpoints: Opposing Views on Guilds and Economic Regulation

Evaluating Visual Evidence: New Ideas about Race and Identity

Individuals in Society: Rebecca Protten

 

Chapter 18: Life in the Era of Expansion, 1650–1800

How did marriage and family life change in the eighteenth century?

      Late Marriage and Nuclear Families

      Work Away from Home

      Contraception and Community Controls

      New Patterns of Marriage and Illegitimacy

      Sex on the Margins of Society

What was life like for children, and how did attitudes toward childhood evolve?

      Child Care and Nursing

      Foundlings and Infanticide

      Attitudes Toward Children

      The Spread of Elementary Schools

How did increasing literacy and new patterns of consumption affect people’s lives?

      Popular Literature

      Leisure and Recreation

      New Foods and Appetites

      Toward a Consumer Society

What role did religion play in eighteenth-century society?

      Church Hierarchy

      Protestant Revival

      Catholic Piety

      Marginal Beliefs and Practices

How did the practice of medicine evolve in the eighteenth century?

      Faith Healing and General Practice

      Improvements in Surgery

      Midwifery

      The Conquest of Smallpox and the Birth of Vaccination

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: A Day in the Life of Paris

Individuals in Society: Rose Bertin, "Minister of Fashion"

Thinking Like a Historian: A New Subjectivity

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Hogarth’s Satirical View of the Church

Viewpoints: The Case for and Against Female Midwives

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Chapter 19: Revolutions in Politics, 1775–1815

What were the factors behind the revolutions of the late eighteenth century?

      Social Change

      Growing Demands for Liberty and Equality

      The Seven Years’ War

Why and how did American colonists forge a new, independent nation?

      The Origins of the Revolution

      Independence from Britain

      Framing the Constitution

      Limitations of Liberty and Equality

How did the events of 1789 result in a constitutional monarchy in France?

      Breakdown of the Old Order

      The Formation of the National Assembly

      Popular Uprising and the Rights of Man

      A Constitutional Monarchy and Its Challenges

Why and how did the French Revolution take a radical turn?

      The International Response

      The Second Revolution and the New Republic

      Total War and the Terror

      The Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory

      How did Napoleon Bonaparte create a French empire, and why did it fail?

      Napoleon’s Rule of France

      Napoleon’s Expansion in Europe

      The Grand Empire and Its End

      How did slave revolt on colonial Saint-Domingue lead to the independent nation of Haiti?

      Revolutionary Aspirations in Saint-Domingue

      The Outbreak of Revolt

      The War of Haitian Independence

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Abigail Adams, "Remember the Ladies"

Thinking Like a Historian: The Rights of Which Men?

Viewpoints: Contrasting Visions of the Sans-Culottes

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808

Individuals in Society: Vincent Ogé

 

Chapter 20: The Revolution in Energy and Industry, ca. 1780–1850

Why and how did the Industrial Revolution emerge in Britain?

Why Britain?

      Technological Innovations and Early Factories

      The Steam Engine Breakthrough

      Steam-Powered Transportation

      Industry and Population

      How did countries outside Britain respond to the challenge of industrialization?

      National and International Variations

      Industrialization in Continental Europe

      Agents of Industrialization

      The Global Picture

How did work and daily life evolve during the Industrial Revolution?

      Work in Early Factories

      Working Families and Children

      The New Sexual Division of Labor

      Living Standards for the Working Class

      Environmental Impacts of Industrialization

What were the social consequences of industrialization?

      The New Class of Factory Owners

      Responses to Industrialization

      The Early British Labor Movement

      The Impact of Slavery

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Individuals in Society: Samuel Crompton

Viewpoints: The Experience of Child Labor

Evaluating Visual Evidence: The Dinner Hour, Wigan

Thinking Like a Historian: Making the Industrialized Worker

Evaluating Written Evidence: Advice for Middle-Class Women

 

Chapter 21: Ideologies and Upheavals, 1815–1850

How was peace restored and maintained after the Napoleonic Wars?

      The European Balance of Power

      Metternich and Conservatism

      Repressing the Revolutionary Spirit

      Limits to Conservative Power and Revolution in South America

What new ideologies emerged to challenge conservatism?

      Liberalism and the Middle Class

      The Growing Appeal of Nationalism

      The First Socialists

      The Birth of Marxist Socialism

What were the characteristics of the Romantic movement?

      The Romantic Worldview

      Romantic Literature

      Romanticism in Art and Music

How did reforms and revolutions challenge conservatism after 1815?

      The Greek War of Independence

      Liberal Reform in Great Britain

      Ireland and the Great Famine

      The Revolution of 1830 in France

What were the main causes and consequences of the revolutions of 1848?

      A Democratic Republic in France

      Revolution and Reaction in the Austrian Empire

      Prussia, the German Confederation, and the Frankfurt National Assembly

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: The Karlsbad Decrees: Conservative Reaction in the German Confederation

Thinking Like a Historian: The Republican Spirit in 1848

Individuals in Society: Mary Shelley

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Honoré Daumier, Gargantua, 1831

Viewpoints: Picturing Revolutionary Violence in 1848

 

Chapter 22: Life in the Emerging Urban Society, 1840–1914

What were the main changes in urban life in the nineteenth century?

      Industry and the Growth of Cities

      The Advent of the Public Health Movement

      The Bacterial Revolution

      Improvements in Urban Planning

      Public Transportation

How did class and gender reinforce social difference in the nineteenth century?     

      The Distribution of Income

      The People and Occupations of the Middle Classes

      The People and Occupations of the Working Classes

      Prostitution

      The Leisure Pursuits of the Working Classes

      Faith and Religion

How did urbanization affect family life and gender roles?

      Lifestyles of the Middle Classes

      Middle-Class Marriage and Courtship Rituals

      Middle- and Working-Class Sexuality

      Separate Spheres and the Importance of Homemaking

      Child Rearing

What were the most important changes in science and culture?

      The Triumph of Science in Industry

      Darwin and Natural Selection

      The Modern University and the Social Sciences

      Realism in Art and Literature

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: First Impressions of the World’s Biggest City

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Apartment Living in Paris

Individuals in Society: Franziska Tiburtius

Thinking Like a Historian: The Promise of Electricity

Viewpoints: Émile Zola and Naturalism/Realism in Western Literature

 

Chapter 23: The Age of Nationalism, 1850–1914

What were the main features of the authoritarian nation-state built by Napoleon III?

      France’s Second Republic

      Napoleon III’s Second Empire

How were strong nation-states forged in Italy, Germany, and the United States?

      The Unification of Italy

      The Austro-Prussian War

      Taming the German Parliament

      The Franco-Prussian War and German Unification

How did Russian and Ottoman leaders modernize their states and societies?

      The "Great Reforms" in Russia

      The Russian Revolution of 1905

      Reform and Readjustment in the Ottoman Empire

How did the relationship between government and the governed change after 1871?

      The Responsive National State

      The German Empire

      Republican France and the Third French Republic

      Great Britain and Ireland

      The Austro-Hungarian Empire

What were the costs and benefits of nationalism for ordinary people?

      Making National Citizens

      The Feminist Movement

      Nationalism and Racism

      Jewish Emancipation and Modern Anti-Semitism

How and why did revolutionary Marxism evolve in the late nineteenth century?

      The Socialist International

      Labor Unions and the Evolution of Working-Class Radicalism

      Marxist Revisionism

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Visual Evidence: The Proclamation of the German Empire, January 1871

Evaluating Written Evidence: Eyewitness Account of Bloody Sunday

Thinking Like a Historian: How to Build a Nation

Individuals in Society: Theodor Herzl

Viewpoints: Marxist Revisionism

 

Chapter 24: The West and the World, 1815–1914

What were the global consequences of European industrialization?

      The Rise of Global Inequality

      The World Market

      Western Pressures on China

      Japan and the United States

      Western Intervention in Egypt

How was massive migration an integral part of Western expansion?

      The Pressure of Population

      European Emigration

      The Immigrant Experience in the United States

      Asian Emigration

How did the New Imperialism change Western colonialism?

      The European Presence in Africa Before 1880

      The Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa

      The British in Africa After 1885

      Imperialism in Asia

      Causes of the New Imperialism

      A "Civilizing Mission"

      Gender and Empire

      European Critics of Imperialism

How did non-Westerners respond to Western expansion?

      Impacts and Patterns of Response

      The British Empire in India

      Reforming Japan

      Toward Revolution in China

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Nativism in the United States

Evaluating Visual Evidence: European Imperialism at Its Worst

Individuals in Society: Cecil Rhodes

Viewpoints: White Man’s Burden or Capitalist Exploitation?

Thinking Like a Historian: Women and Empire

 

Chapter 25: War and Revolution, 1914–1919

What caused the outbreak of the First World War?

      Growing International Conflict

      The Mood of 1914

      The July Crisis and the Outbreak of War

How did the First World War differ from previous wars?

      Stalemate and Slaughter on the Western Front

      The Widening War

      In what ways did the war transform life on the home front?

      Mobilizing for Total War

      The Social Impact of Total War

      Growing Political Tensions

Why did world war lead to a successful Communist revolution in Russia?

      The Fall of Imperial Russia

      The Provisional Government

      Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution

      Trotsky and the Seizure of Power

      Dictatorship and Civil War

What were the benefits and costs of the postwar peace settlement?

      The End of the War

      Revolution in Austria-Hungary and Germany

      The Treaty of Versailles

      The Peace Settlement in the Middle East

      The Human Costs of the War

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Viewpoints: Poetry in the Trenches

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Wartime Propaganda Posters

Individuals in Society: Vera Brittain

Thinking Like a Historian: The Partition of the Ottoman Empire and the Mandate System

Evaluating Written Evidence: Peace, Land, and Bread for the Russian People

 

Chapter 26: Opportunity and Crisis in the Age of Modernity, 1880–1940

How did intellectual developments reflect the ambiguities of modernity?

      Modern Philosophy

      The Revival of Christianity

      The New Physics

      Freudian Psychology

How did modernism revolutionize Western culture?

      Architecture and Design

      New Artistic Movements

      Twentieth-Century Literature

      Modern Music

How did consumer society change everyday life?

      Modern Mass Culture

      The Appeal of Cinema

      The Arrival of Radio

What obstacles to lasting peace did European leaders face?

      Germany and the Western Powers

      Hope in Foreign Affairs

      Hope in Democratic Government

What were the causes and consequences of the Great Depression?

      The Economic Crisis

      Mass Unemployment

      The New Deal in the United States

      The Scandinavian Response to the Depression

      Recovery and Reform in Britain and France

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Friedrich Nietzsche Pronounces the Death of God

Individuals in Society: Sigmund Freud

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Georg Grosz, Eclipse of the Sun, 1926

Viewpoints: The Modern Girl: Image or Reality?

Thinking Like a Historian: The Radio Age

 

Chapter 27: Dictatorships and the Second World War, 1919–1945

What were the most important characteristics of Communist and Fascist ideologies?

      Conservative Authoritarianism and Radical Totalitarian Dictatorships

      Communism and Fascism

      The Spanish Civil War

How did Stalinism transform state and society in the Soviet Union?

      From Lenin to Stalin

      Stalin and the Nationalities Question

      The Five-Year Plans

      Life and Culture in Soviet Society

      The Great Purges and the Great Terror of 1937-38

What kind of government did Mussolini establish in Italy?

      The Seizure of Power

      The Fascist Regime in Action

What policies did Nazi Germany pursue, and why did they appeal to ordinary Germans?

      The Roots of National Socialism

      Hitler’s Road to Power

      State and Society in Nazi Germany

      Popular Support for National Socialism

      Aggression and Appeasement

What explains the success and then defeat of Germany and Japan during World War II?

      German Victories in Europe

      Europe Under Nazi Occupation

      The Holocaust

      Japanese Empire and the War in the Pacific

      The Grand Alliance and the "Hinge of Fate"

      Allied Victory

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Famine and Recovery on a Soviet Collective Farm in the Ukraine

Thinking Like a Historian: Normalizing Eugenics and "Racial Hygiene" in Nazi Germany

Evaluating Visual Evidence: Nazi Propaganda and Consumer Goods: The "People’s Car"

Viewpoints: Oratory and Ideology in World War II

Individuals in Society: Primo Levi

 

Chapter 28: Cold War Conflict and Consensus, 1945–1965

Why was World War II followed so quickly by the Cold War?

      The Legacies of the Second World War

      The Peace Settlement and Cold War Origins

      West Versus East

      Big Science in the Nuclear Age

What were the sources of postwar recovery and stability in western Europe?

      The Search for Political and Social Consensus

      Toward European Unity

      The Consumer Revolution

What was the pattern of postwar development in the Soviet bloc?

      Postwar Life in the East Bloc

      Reform and De-Stalinization

      Foreign Policy and Domestic Rebellion

      The Limits of Reform

How did decolonization proceed in the Cold War era?

      Decolonization and the Global Cold War

      The Struggle for Power in Asia

      Independence and Conflict in the Middle East

      Decolonization in Africa

What were the key changes in social relations in postwar Europe?

      Changing Class Structures

      Patterns of Postwar Migration

      New Roles for Women

      Youth Culture and the Generation Gap

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Viewpoints: Cold War Propaganda

Evaluating Visual Evidence: "Building the Republic": Socialist Realism in Postwar East Berlin

Evaluating Written Evidence: De-Stalinization and Khrushchev’s "Secret Speech"

Thinking Like a Historian: Violence and the Algerian War

Individuals in Society: Armando Rodrigues

 

Chapter 29: Challenging the Postwar Order, 1960–1991

Why did the postwar consensus of the 1950s break down?

      Cold War Tensions Thaw

      The Affluent Society

      The Counterculture Movement

      The United States and Vietnam

      Student Revolts and 1968

      The 1960s in the East Bloc

What were the consequences of economic stagnation in the 1970s?

      Economic Crisis and Hardship

      The New Conservatism

      Challenges and Victories for Women

      The Rise of the Environmental Movement

      Separatism and Right-Wing Extremism

What led to the decline of "developed socialism" in the East Bloc?

      State and Society in the East Bloc

      Dissent in Czechoslovakia and Poland

      From Détente Back to Cold War

      Gorbachev’s Reforms in the Soviet Union

What were the causes and consequences of the 1989 revolutions in the East Bloc?

      The Collapse of Communism in the East Bloc

      German Unification and the End of the Cold War

      The Disintegration of the Soviet Union

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Evaluating Written Evidence: Human Rights Under the Helsinki Accords

Evaluating Visual Evidence: The Supermarket Revolution

Individuals in Society: Margaret Thatcher

Thinking Like a Historian: The New Environmentalism

Viewpoints: "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall"

 

Chapter 30: Life in an Age of Globalization, 1990 to the Present

How did life change in Russia and the former East Bloc countries after 1989?

      Economic Shock Therapy in Russia

      Russian Revival Under Vladimir Putin

      Political Instability and Russian Intervention in the Former Soviet Republics

      Economic and Political Transformations in the Former East Bloc

      Civil War in Yugoslavia

How did globalization affect European life and society?

      The Global Economy

      The New European Union

      Supranational Organizations

      Life in the Age of Social Media

      The Costs and Consequences of Globalization

How is growing ethnic diversity changing contemporary Europe?

      The Prospect of Population Decline

      Changing Immigration Flows

      Toward a Multicultural Continent

      Europe and Its Muslim Population

What challenges will Europeans face in the coming decades?

      Growing Strains in U.S.-European Relations

      Turmoil in the Muslim World

      The Global Recession and the Viability of the European Union

      The New Populism

      The COVID-19 Pandemic

      Dependence on Fossil Fuels, Climate Change, and Environmental Degradation

      Promoting Human Rights

LOOKING BACK / LOOKING AHEAD

REVIEW & EXPLORE

Individuals in Society: Alexei Navalny

Viewpoints: Debating the Impact of Social Media and the Internet

Evaluating Written Evidence: The Thessaloniki Programme

Evaluating Visual Evidence: "John Bull" Supports Brexit

Thinking Like a Historian: The Conservative Reaction to Immigration and Islamist Terrorism

 

Glossary

Index

Timeline: A History of Western Society: A Brief Overview

About the Authors