Periods of Economic and Social Recession in the Seventeenth Century
Point out the various dimensions of the 17th century crisis. Explain why some countries were more seriously affected by this crisis than others.
Intro: There was, for several decades in the seventeenth century, a period of major economic and social recession, crisis and secular readjustment, which contrasts strikingly with the periods of economic expansion which preceded and followed it. Its effects were not confined to any single country, but, with a few marginal exceptions, can be traced throughout the entire range of the economic area dominated by and from, Western Europe, from the Americas to the China Seas; nor were they confined to the economic field. The simultaneous occurrence of revolutions or attempted revolutions in the middle of the seventeenth century, in England, France, the Spanish Empire and the Ukraine has been connected with the crisis.
The crisis of the period saw cases of simultaneous state breakdowns around the globe than any previous or subsequent age: something historians have called "The General Crisis." In the 1640s, Ming China, the most populous state in the world, collapsed; the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the largest state in Europe, disintegrated; much of the Spanish monarchy, the first global empire in history, seceded; and the entire Stuart monarchy rebelled-Scotland, Ireland, England, and its American colonies. In addition, just in the year 1648, a tide of urban rebellions began in Russia (the largest state in the world), and the Fronde Revolt paralyzed France (the most populous state in Europe); meanwhile, in Istanbul (Europe's largest city), irate subjects strangled Sultan Ibrahim, and in London, King Charles I went on trial for war crimes (the first head of state to do so). In the 1650s, Sweden and Denmark came close to revolution; Scotland and Ireland disappeared as autonomous states; the Dutch Republic radically changed its form of government; and the Mughal Empire, then the richest state in the world, experienced two
Intro: There was, for several decades in the seventeenth century, a period of major economic and social recession, crisis and secular readjustment, which contrasts strikingly with the periods of economic expansion which preceded and followed it. Its effects were not confined to any single country, but, with a few marginal exceptions, can be traced throughout the entire range of the economic area dominated by and from, Western Europe, from the Americas to the China Seas; nor were they confined to the economic field. The simultaneous occurrence of revolutions or attempted revolutions in the middle of the seventeenth century, in England, France, the Spanish Empire and the Ukraine has been connected with the crisis.
The crisis of the period saw cases of simultaneous state breakdowns around the globe than any previous or subsequent age: something historians have called "The General Crisis." In the 1640s, Ming China, the most populous state in the world, collapsed; the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the largest state in Europe, disintegrated; much of the Spanish monarchy, the first global empire in history, seceded; and the entire Stuart monarchy rebelled-Scotland, Ireland, England, and its American colonies. In addition, just in the year 1648, a tide of urban rebellions began in Russia (the largest state in the world), and the Fronde Revolt paralyzed France (the most populous state in Europe); meanwhile, in Istanbul (Europe's largest city), irate subjects strangled Sultan Ibrahim, and in London, King Charles I went on trial for war crimes (the first head of state to do so). In the 1650s, Sweden and Denmark came close to revolution; Scotland and Ireland disappeared as autonomous states; the Dutch Republic radically changed its form of government; and the Mughal Empire, then the richest state in the world, experienced two