ABSTRACT
In contrast to today, only some 10 to 20 per cent of the early modern European population lived in towns, many of which were tiny by modern-day standards. The influence and importance of urban society, however, was disproportionately great, because towns were the political, economic, administrative and cultural centres of their localities. The exact number of town-dwellers is open to debate, not just because of the uncertainties of early modern statistics and regional difference, but also on account of problems of definition which have exercised urban historians for decades. One of the issues is the degree to which urban centres overlapped with rural society and its activities. The extent of urbanization differed between states and was dependent on a number of factors. Although the urban population of Europe increased considerably between 1500 and 1800, most of that growth was concentrated in the larger, regionally significant towns. Thus, both expansion and stagnation were characteristic of the period. Urban society also experienced, accommodated and influenced social, economic and cultural change.
