The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century (Paperback)

by G. Parker (Author) "In 1642 John Goodwin, a pamphleteer, predicted that 'the heate and warmth and living influence' of the English House of Commons in their struggle with..." (more)
Key Phrases: prolonged sunspot minimum, structured corona, solar behaviour, Southeast Asia, New York, The Hague (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This updated volume takes the still acrimonious debate over the "General Crisis" of the seventeenth century up to today. Geoffrey Parker and Lesley Smith have collected ten important subsequent essays concerning the social, economic and political crises which affected Europe and Asia in the mid-seventeenth century. This new edition of The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century contains fresh research, new perspectives and completely updated bibliographies and index.

About the Author
Geoffrey Parker is Professor of History at Yale University, and the author of several books including The Thirty Years War. Lesley Smith is formerly of Brasenose College, Oxford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (August 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041512882X
• ISBN-13: 978-0415128827
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,664,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crisis or not?, March 29, 2005

By	An Historian (Houston) - See all my reviews

Several theses discussing the much debated cause of the crisis of the 17th Century and whether it actually existed. Views ranging from solely economic attributes to lack of governmental flexibility to change with the times is argued as the sole reasons for the crisis. Some center completely on Europe, showing their ethnocentrism, while other acknowledge the existence and contribution of the growing South-East Asian colonies. As a whole, most if not all the possible contributing factors are presented at one point or the other. This compilation is often used in graduate courses to stimulate discussion on the topic.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is a group of essays, May 19, 2000

By	"ha-mevaker" (Jerusalem Israel) - See all my reviews

This book is a collection of essays on the historical theory of the 'Crisis of the Seventeenth Century'. The basis of this theory is that do to a number of reasons, European counries jointly experainced national crisises during the Seventeenth Century. As the Seventeenth Century includes the Thirty Years War and the English Revelution this sounds like an plaudible theory. Some modern historians theorize that the poor weather was the cause of this general Crisis. Taking this train of logic to its natural conclusion, the book includes a number of essays on whether there was a General Crisis in the entire world or not. In my opinion, this book is intended for the serious History student and is certainly not good for someone who doesn't already know the History of the Seventeenth Century.