The causes of the English Revolution, 1529-1642

Contains much the best all-round analysis of the causes of the English Revolution that we have. It synthesizes and makes sense of the research of a whole generation of scholars. "Dividing the nation and causing massive political change, the English Civil War remains one of the most decisive and dramatic conflicts of English history. Lawrence Stone's account of the factors leading up to the deposition of Charles I in 1642 is widely regarded as a classic in the field. Brilliantly synthesising the historical, political and sociological interpretations of the seventeeth century, Stone explores theories of revolution and traces the social and economic change that led to this period of instability. The picture that emerges is one where historical interpretation is enriched but not determined by grand theories in the social sciences and, as Stone elegantly argues, one where the upheavals of the seventeenth century are central to the very story of modernity. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Clare Jackson, Trinity Hall, Cambridge." -- Provided by the publisher In attacking the problem of revolution, as most others of major significance in history, we historians should think twice before we spurn the help offered by our colleagues in the social sciences, who have, as it happens, been particularly active in the last few years in theorizing about the typology, causes, and evolutionary patterns of this particular phenomenon. Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page ix) Preface (page xi) Preface to second edition (page xv) Part I Historiography Chapter 1 Theories of revolution (page 3) Chapter 2 The social origins of the English Revolution (page 26) Part II Interpretation Chapter 3 The causes of the English Revolution (page 47) Chapter 4 Second thoughts in 1985 (page 165) Index (page 182) Contains an analysis of the causes of the English Revolution, synthesizing the research of a whole generation of scholars. Lawrence Stone. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.