This innovative work in comparative urban history explores why outstanding achievements in material and intellectual culture in early modern Europe tended to cluster in certain maritime cities. Patrick O'Brien, his coeditors and eighteen distinguished historians from Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain, and North America, have collaborated to compare economic, architectural, artistic, publishing and scientific achievements in three European cities during their golden ages: Antwerp (c. 1492-1585), Amsterdam (c. 1585-1659) and London (c. 1660-1730). This study offers fascinating insights to...

This book is the first full overview of Dutch financial history from the sixteenth century to the present day. It is replete with data and figures drawn from fresh research for the key elements that determined the development of public finance, currency and banking. It provides a step-by-step description of the evolution of the financial systems in one of the pioneer countries of modern finance.

Throughout all ages, the activities of mankind have weighed heavily upon the environment. In turn, changes in that environment have favoured the rise of certain social groups and limited the actions of others. Despite this, environmental history has remained a blind spot for most social and economic historians. This is to be regretted, as the various and unequal effects of environmental change often explain the strengths and weaknesses of certain social groups, irrespective of their being defined along the lines of class, gender and ethnicity. This volume brings together the expertise of...