Europe in the Eighteenth Century: Aristocracy and the Bourgeois Challenge

by George Rudé

Europe in the Eighteenth Century is a social history of Europe in all its aspects: economic, political, diplomatic military, colonial-expansionist. Crisply and succinctly written, it describes Europe not through a history of individual countries, but in a common context during the three quarters of a century between the death of Louis XIV and the industrial revolution in England and the social and political revolution in France. It presents the development of government, institutions, cities, economies, wars, and the circulation of ideas in terms of social pressures and needs, and stresses growth, interrelationships, and conflict of social classes as agents of historical change, paying particular attention to the role of popular, as well as upper- and middle-class, protest as a factor in that change.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

George Rudé was a British Marxist historian, specializing in the French Revolution and "history from below," especially the importance of crowds in history.

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was put off by the "Marxist historian" label placed on Rude, only to be happily surprised that he avoided the heavy-booted marching through history of other Marxist historians. Europe in the 18th Century is an excellent comparison of countries in a large variety of areas--classes, industry, cities, bureaucracy, etc. He shows a remarkable diversity in Europe. "Aristocracy and the Bourgeois Challenge"--his subtitle--doesn't really express the breadth of the book. At the end, when he comes to "Why was there a revolution in France," he has no simple answer. "It would be ingenuous, of course," he writes, "to imagine that a recipe for revolution in one country would be equally or exactly applicable to any other." But having laid out the similarities and differences among the countries throughout the book, he tries to show how France's situation led to revolution while other country's did not.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. The world today is very much a consequence of the 18th century. The book was a bit dry at times. Also, it often referred to works of art or literature, or certain influential people without explaining who or what they were, which can be a bit confusing if you're not already familiar with them.

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking look at many aspects of 18th century history - covers topics of interest to my research into early geology and mining. Troubleis we humans seem to be reluctant to learn the lessons from history. Revolution warning when people's cost of living far exceeds their income, as in our post-Covid world

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst textbook I was assigned in college. It starts out (if I recall correctly), "It is a truism that the seventeenth century was a time of rapid social and political change." It doesn't improve from there. If this was ever sold outside of a mandatory course syllabus, I'll be shocked.