German history, 1770-1866
By: by James J. Sheehan.
Series: Oxford history of modern Europe
Publisher: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press
Published: 1990
Place of publication: Oxford [England]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 969
Subjects: Germany  -- History  -- 1740-1806; Germany  -- History  -- 1806-1815; Germany  -- History  -- 1815-1866
Description: This volume in the Oxford History of Modern Europe is a comprehensive study of German history from 1770 to 1866. It examines the manner in which the development of bureaucratic and participatory institutions changed the character and capacities of governments throughout German Europe; the economic expansion in which the productivity of both agriculture and manufacturing increased, commercial activity intensified, and urban growth was encouraged; and the rising culture of print, which sustained new developments in literature, philosophy, and scholarship, and helped transform the rules and procedures of everyday life. These developments, it is argued, led to an erosion of the traditional values and institutions, and played an important part in the transformation of German politics, society, and culture. Rather than viewing the development of a Prussian-led Nation State as "natural" or inevitable, the book emphasizes alternative forces of unity and division which existed up until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.