ABSTRACT
The true story of the early modern city is the story of how a dozen generations of human beings, severely constrained by the technological limitations of a preindustrial society and struggling against a broad unyielding background of institutional and economic stability, managed to make the most of their lives. Yet the underlying institutional structures of urban society were remarkably similar all over Europe, and they remained highly constant in character throughout the early modern era. Climate imposed and culture reinforced differences in the design, appearance and use of individual buildings and urban space in general. But the decline in urban autonomy was more keenly felt by members of the local elite than by the large body of ordinary town-dwellers. Power relations within the smaller spheres of urban life also remained essentially constant. The basic parameters of gender relations remained constant throughout the early modern era.
