In this fascinating study Michael Rowe focuses on state-formation in Napoleonic Europe. It brings together the research findings of specialists in the histories of Europe's constituent nations and states during a momentous period in their development. Thematically focused and integrated within a comparative framework, the individual contributions explore areas as diverse as Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Russia. What impact did Napoleon have on these nations, and how did they respond to his challenge?

Napoleon's contribution to Germany's development was immense and nowhere was the transformation more profound than in the Rhineland. Based upon an extensive range of German and French archival sources, this study analyzes the Napoleonic influence in this region within a broader chronological framework encompassing the Old Regime and Restoration. It analyzes not only politics, but also culture, identity, religion, society, institutions and economics in its examination of Napoleon's impact on Germany.