ABSTRACT
The formation of states in early modern Europe has long been an important topic for historical analysis. Traditionally, the political and military struggles of kings and rulers were the favoured object of study for academic historians. This book highlights new historical research from Europe’s northern frontier, bringing ‘the people’ back into the discussion of state politics, presenting alternative views of political and social relations in the Nordic countries before industrialisation. The early modern period was a time that witnessed initiatives from people from many groups formally excluded from political influence, operating outside the structures of central government, and this book returns to the subject of contentious politics and state building from below.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|36 pages
Bringing the people back in
part II|88 pages
The war, riots, and protests
chapter 383|22 pages
The ethics of rule and the pragmatics of resistance
chapter 6|16 pages
Pride of the communes
chapter 7|18 pages
Insurgents of the Oldenburg state in Torstenson war 1643–1645
part III|56 pages
Bringing order to the state from below
part IV|50 pages
Elites in state formation
chapter 18211|16 pages
From state elite to regional elite
chapter 12|16 pages
An improvised empire
part V|96 pages
Formation of the public sphere in the 18th century
chapter 23214|19 pages
From subjects to rural citizens?
chapter 15|22 pages
Houses divided?
chapter 16|18 pages
Local space building as state building?
part VI|10 pages
State building from below in perspective