ABSTRACT
The most devastating urban fire in early modern Europe also took place in England. In the ensuing decades, Dorchester's inhabitants were inspired to perform good works which, measured concretely in terms of charitable donations per capita, have made it possible to describe their community as the 'most philanthropically generous town in western England'. Long-suppressed conflicts between specific segments of the community might suddenly be exposed, and the ever-latent tension between the well-being of individual groups and the good of the community as a whole could abruptly come to the surface. In the long run, the most serious threats to urban stability often came from a breakdown of customary social relations within the community itself. Every type of crisis which afflicted the early modern city could threaten the social fabric. Generally municipal governments could foresee the crisis and swung into action long before it reached its peak. The causes of crisis took many different forms.
