European Jewry in the Age of Mercantilism, 1550-1750
Third edition
'A
beautiful work of scholarship and synthesis that should immediately become
a standard text . . . For the first time, the history of early modern
European Jewry is presented as a coherent whole and in a form recognizable
to non-Jewish scholars, adhering to all of the standards of scholarship
. . . [a] sparkling book.'
David S. Katz, English Historical Review
'An ambitious and much needed study of Jewish life and culture in
the context of Europe's intellectual and religious history . . . To this
he has brought his own sharply critical judgement and a highly original
interpretative theory . . . highly stimulating.'
Henry Roseveare, Economic History Review
The first edition of this book was the joint winner of the Wolfson Literary Prize for History in 1986. For this third edition, the book has been updated and includes a new introduction.
More info
'Continues to be a basic book for understanding how Jews were affected by
the changes of the early modern period.'
Stephen J. Burnett, Sixteenth Century Journal
This survey history of Jewish life and culture in early modern Europe is the first to focus on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as a radically new phase in Jewish history. The book lays particular emphasis on the reversal of trends in western and central Europe in the late sixteenth century, which was followed by a rapid increase in Jewish numbers and activity, and far-reaching reorganization of Jewish society and institutions. A major consequence of these changes was a much expanded and more varied Jewish role in European civilization as a whole.
The first edition of this book was the joint winner of the Wolfson Literary Prize for History in 1986. For this third edition, the book has been updated and includes a new introduction.
From the reviews of previous editions:
'A beautiful work of scholarship and synthesis that should immediately become
a standard text . . . For the first time, the history of early modern European
Jewry is presented as a coherent whole and in a form recognizable to non-Jewish
scholars, adhering to all of the standards of scholarship . . . [a] sparkling
book.'
David S. Katz, English Historical Review
'An ambitious and much needed study of Jewish life and culture in the context
of Europe's intellectual and religious history . . . To this he has brought
his own sharply critical judgement and a highly original interpretative theory
. . . highly stimulating.'
Henry Roseveare, Economic History Review
'Israel's sweeping synthesis of two centuries of Jewish demographics, economics,
community life, and culture is no mere restatement of the existing scholarly
consensus . . . an important, highly controversial study of great interest.'
M. A. Meyer, Choice
'A fundamental reinterpretation of early modern Jewish history.'
John D. Klier, Journal of European Studies
'Should become standard reading for all historians of early modern Europe.'
Theodore K. Rabb, Times Literary Supplement
'An important book . . . which will be of extreme value to all students
of early modern Europe . . . Professor Israel has shed new and powerful light
on a neglected period.'
Lionel Kochan, British Book News
About the author
Jonathan I. Israel is Professor of Dutch History and Institutions at University College London. He is the author of The Dutch Republic and the Hispanic World, 1606-1661 (1986), Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585-1740 (1989), Empires and Entrepots: The Dutch, the Spanish Monarchy, and the Jews, 1585-1713 (1990), The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477-1806 (1995), and Conflicts of Empires: Spain, the Low Countries, and the Struggle for World Supremacy, 1585-1713 (1997), and editor of The Anglo-Dutch Moment: Essays on the Glorious Revolution and its World Impact (1991). He has held visiting professorships and research fellowships in the Netherlands and France, and at the University of California at Los Angeles, and is a Fellow of the British Academy.
Publication details
| Format | 23.5 x 15.5 cm / 6" x 9" |
| Pages | 288 pages, map, paperback |
| ISBN | 978-1-874774-42-6 |
| Price | £17.95 / $29.95 |
| Date of publication | 1997 |
Contents
Preface to the third edition
Preface to the first edition
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 Exodus from the West
2 Turning-Point (1570-1600)
3 Consolidation (1600-1620)
4 Jewish Culture (1550-1650)
5 The Thirty Years War
6 The High Point (I): The 'Court Jews' (1650-1713)
7 The High Point (II): Jewish Society (1650-1713)
8 The High Point (III): 'A Republic Apart'
9 The High Point (IV): Spiritual Crisis (1650-1713)
10 Decline and Renewal (1713-1750)
11 Conclusion
Bibliography
Primary printed sources
Secondary works
Index
Reviews
FIRST & SECOND EDITIONS
'An important book . . . which will be of extreme value to all students
of early modern Europe . . . Professor Israel has shed new and powerful light
on a neglected period.'
Lionel Kochan, British Book News
'Remarkable and very readable . . . a consistent narrative of Jewish participation
in the socio-economic odyssey of their Wirtsvölker.'
J. Wansbrough, Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies
'Israel's sweeping synthesis of two centuries of Jewish demographics, economics,
community life, and culture is no mere restatement of the existing scholarly
consensus . . . an important, highly controversial study of great interest to
those serious students of Baroque Jewish and general history who are equipped
to weigh its challenging claims.'
M. A. Meyer, Choice
'An ambitious and much needed study of Jewish life and culture in the context
of Europe's intellectual and religious history . . . a skilful synthesis of
current scholarship. To this he has brought his own sharply critical judgement
and a highly original interpretative theory . . . highly stimulating.'
Henry Roseveare, Economic History Review
'A beautiful work of scholarship and synthesis that should immediately
become a standard text . . . For the first time, the history of early modern
European Jewry is presented as a coherent whole and in a form recognizable to
non-Jewish scholars, adhering to all of the standards of scholarship . . . Israel's
sparkling book should eliminate that blind spot found in so many historical
works, which should be dealing with Jewish themes but have not done so simply
because no suitable guide was readily to hand.'
David S. Katz, English Historical Review
'Professor Israel deserves major credit for doing what others have shied
away from: recognizing the early modern period as a unit for the Jews of Europe
as a whole and trying to find clear trends across the continent. All students
of Jewish and general economic history of the period must study this book carefully
and will learn much.'
Benjamin Ravid, European History Quarterly
'A valuable survey'
J. L. Price, History
'A fundamental reinterpretation of early modern Jewish history . . . an
important starting point for a fuller re-examination of early modern Jewish
history.'
John D. Klier, Journal of European Studies
'Important, readable, illuminating . . . offers a fresh approach and many
new interpretations in Jewish history of the early modern period, and challenges
conceptions long held sacred by previous historians.'
George Wolf, Judaica Book News
'This comprehensive account of rapid political and economic change over
two centuries should become standard reading for all historians of early modern
Europe.'
Theodore K. Rabb, Times Literary Supplement
THIRD EDITION
'Sheds further light on a subject only beginning to receive adequate attention
and scholarship . . . In this updated third edition, Professor Israel adds the
new evidence from recent research to support the several important themes .
. . For both the academic specialist as well as the reader with a general interest,
Professor Israel's monograph makes a scholarly and accessible contribution .
. . a lively and erudite analysis . . .'
Lawrence Haar, Jewish Book News & Reviews
'Continues to be a basic book for understanding how Jews were affected
by the changes of the early modern period.'
Stephen J. Burnett, Sixteenth Century Journal
Prizes
The first edition of this book was the joint winner of the Wolfson Literary Prize for History in 1986.
