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A broad, comparative topical overview of Europe in the 17th century. Topics of chapters PopulationEconomic Policy and IdeasCommerce, Finance, and CommunicationsIndustriesArmiesNaviesInternational Law and DiplomacyColoniesPolitical ThoughMathematics and SciencePhilosophyEducationReligionLiterature"The purpose of this book is to examine some of the more important activities of the seventeenth century, distinguishing their mutual relations and their places in the great transition. It does not aim at covering the whole ground. For one reason or another it omits some subjects no less important than those it includes, such as agriculture, the family and the position of women, music, and much of the history of law. The arrangement is not rigidly systematic; for instance, the subjects overlap at many points." -- from the Introduction[This 2nd edition includes a good deal of new matter and corrects a number of mistakes from the 1st edition of 1929].