Europe and the Making of Modernity; 1815-1914 is a clear and engaging chronicle of the political; economic; social; and cultural changes that transformed Europe during the nineteenth century. An introduction neatly summarizes the major issues and events of the French Revolution; while a sweeping narrative takes readers from the Congress of Vienna to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo. Employing the latest research; the book incorporates discussions of gender; nationalism; imperialism; the rise of the new working and middle classes; and the ways in which artists represented the modern world to new audiences. It also provides a unique integration of the history of Eastern Europe into the story. Winks and Neuberger explore how European societies responded to the challenges of the French and Industrial Revolutions with the invention of modern political parties and the rise of modern nationalism and the nation-state. They chart the spread of democratic institutions and the obstacles to democratic reform in a world where rapid change confronted a tenacious past. Europe and the Making of Modernity; 1815-1914 examines the creation of European modernity during the nineteenth century through conflicts over identity; sovereignty; prosperity; security; and human nature. Featuring chronologies; supplemental reading lists; maps; and illustrations for ease of reference; the book is ideal for undergraduate courses on nineteenth-century European history.
#1007947 in Books 2001-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.10 x 1.00 x 5.30l; #File Name: 0195146603288 pages
Review
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful. An Empire where class trumps raceBy Bernard KwanDavid Cannadine; a self declared "Child of Empire" has what can only be described as an obsession with the British Aristocracy. Unlike some of his other works such as "Decline and fall oft the British Aristocracy" where he allows bittersweet emotions such as nostalgia to be evoked at the passing of an era; or the undisguised glee of an outsider indulging in schadenfreude in "Aspects of Aristocracy: grandeur or decline" this book presents a much more balanced analysis.His thesis is that there was a complex interplay of class and race in the Empire; but in most cases class trumps race.The defining example from the book is an exerpt from the "Raj quartet" where the british aristo identifies more clearly with his Indian counterpart who went to public school than to the uncouth white police constable. However the police constable viewed himself as superior to the Indian because of his race.Its thesis accords well with my experience in public school at Winchester College in England where I felt accepted as a peer despite being Asian. But my same peers were openly disdainful of poor uneducated Pakistani and Bangledeshi immigrants. (They welcomed the educated Indians much more easily)Perhaps these sentiments were what prevented mass support for Oswald Mosley and Fascism in the 1930s despite prevalent anti-semitism. It has been argued by John Lucas that Nazism as an ideology failed because Hitler had made his elite too small. The British extended their elites to the sultans; nawabs; emirs and kings all over the Empire and used them to bind the Empire together.This book provides an interesting contrast to America where race is so much more important. Black and white interracial marriages are quite commonplace in Britain. In my opinion it better to recognize nobility in another person and disdain the baseness in another person regardless of the colour of their skin.8 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Elegy for EmpireBy John D. CofieldDavid Cannadine has added another well written volume to his studies of the British aristocracy; the British class system in general; and other related topics. Ornamentalism covers the British attitudes towards their Empire during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Cannadine argues that the British took a hierarchical view of their empire; ruling it on the basis of what they supposed to be traditional English government; which devolved from the monarch to the local nobility and gentry. In the empire colonial governments made use of local grandees; such as the numerous Indian princes; so that Britain ruled not so much over them as through them. Thus Cannadine disagrees with prevailing historical opinion; that the Empire was based on race; by demonstrating its basis in existing class structureAs always; Cannadine writes clearly with few wasted words. He continues to be a master of the short biographical/historical sketch. A short but fascinating read.12 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Pomp; Circumstance and the Creation of the British EmpireBy Chris LipscombeThis is a much better book than I had originally expected. It is also a much easier read than I had anticipated. It's certainly not dry-as-dust narrative history. I had first read a review of the book in History Today which suggested that Ornamentalism by David Cannadine cast a new light on the importance of rank and ceremony in binding the British empire together across the globe; especially during its peak from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. This was enough to whet my appetite. That; and an interesting reminder in the title that Edward Said had already written in his book Orientalism about the fascination that the East (Near; Middle or Far; depending on the distance from London as the epicentre) had for British empire-builders; and a suggestion that the ideological traffic of empire was more than just a one-way street. Ornamentalism certainly delivers on its promise in painting a complex cultural picture of cultural and ideological interchange between ruling hierarchies throughout the British Empire. The author shows how this order was identifed and then explicitly sustained through mechanisms such as the British peerage system (think about all those thousands of OBEs). Cannadine also shows how order abroad confirmed and upheld order at home. This "Burkean" view of society bolstered (even upholstered) the fortunes of conservative British politicians from Disraeli to Churchill. As this world view dissolved through the twentieth century; so did British support for carefully constructed local elites overseas. In my own country; small conservative New Zealand; attachment to the Mother Country died hard. British titles were only abolished in New Zealand in 2000. Ornamentalism argues its own corner. It doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive history of the British Empire (go to the Cambridge History series for that). But it is an enjoyable read; and provided (at least for me) a different; richer way of thinking about empire. The book is also entertaining (some great anecdotes of the Raj in India); insightful (nice distinctions between the different experiences of the Dominions; the Colonies and the Mandates); idiosyncratic (the author provides a personal perspective of empire in an unexpected epilogue); and credible (check out the great notes/bibliography). If you are even vaguely interested in the British Empire; Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; or your own country belongs to that odd international club called the British Commonwealth;do yourself a favour and read this book. You'll enjoy it.
