The Birth of a Great Power System, 1740-1815

by H.M. Scott

The Birth of a Great Power System, 1740-1815 examines a key development in modern European the origins and emergence of a competitive state system. H.M. Scott demonstrates how the well-known and dramatic events of these decades - the emergence of Russia and Prussia; the three partitions of Poland; the continuing retreat of the Ottoman Empire; the unprecedented territorial expansion of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, halted by the final defeat of Napoleon - were part of a wider process that created the modern great power system, dominated by Europe's five leading states. Enhanced by maps and a chronology of principal events, this comprehensive and accessible textbook is fully up-to-date in its coverage of recent scholarship. Unlike many other treatments of this period, Scott extends his beyond the French Revolution of 1789 in order to demonstrate how events both before and after this great upheaval merged to produce the central political development in modern European history. This book addresses the crucial phase in the emergence of the modern international system which, with the subsequent addition of the USA, Japan and Russia, has prevailed until the present day.

Genres: History, European History

456 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Hamish Scott

Reviews

[Aman · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, not entirely sure if it is that great of a book, but it is kinda of my first pure history book so... I thought it was solid.

I learned a lot. Sometimes uses unnecessarily big words, which is fine when it is in the interest of using precise language, but can make reading cumbersome.

In general, tells a easy to follow, engage story of the birth of the Great Powers and the system they create.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful run through the major foreign policy developments of the period that made for a surprising page turner. Particularly appreciated the emphasis on what happened during the various interwar periods, which had definitely been a gap in my knowledge going in.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hamish Scott provides an outstanding history of international history from the War of the Austrian Succession in the 1740s to the downfall of Napoleon in 1815. The study, incorporating recent research, replaces the second half of the study by Derek McKay and H.M. Scott published back in the early 1980s. This new work is now the standard study and a must read for scholars of this era.