The Transitions of Politics and Society in Early Modern Germany

The book explores the early political and social transition of Germany in modern times. It focuses on the path choices and transition of the main political forces of Germany (emperors, vassals, imperial cities, and farmers) in the 15–18th century, as well as the impact of this transition on the historical development of Germany after the 19th century. Cover Copyright Information Contents List of Figures Foreword Afterword and Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Conditions for Transition of the Politics in Early Modern Germany 1.1 The Decline of the German Monarchy 1.2 Emergence of Statehood in Principalities 1.3 Cities in Late Medieval Germany 1.4 German Peasants Burdened with Multi-Level Oppressions 2. State-Building at the Imperial Level and the Backwardness of German Monarchy 2.1 State-Building at the Level of Reich 2.2 The Backwardness of German Monarchy in the Early Modern Transition 3. The Choices of the German Cities in the Political Transitions of Early Modern Germany 3.1 The Alliance between the Citizens and the Monarchy 3.2 The Swiss Path and the “Turning Swiss” of South-West Germany 3.3 Joining the Alliance with the Same Religious Denomination 3.4 Seeking to Exist and Develop in the New Framework of the Reich 4. The Common Man’s Path to State Building 4.1 The Concept of “the Common Man” 4.2 The Uniqueness of the German Peasants 4.3 The Course of the 1525 Revolution 4.4 The Goals of the Common Man’s Revolution and State-Building 4.5 The Common Man’s Revolution and Its Influence on the State-Building of Early Modern Germany 5. Princes’ Path to the Early Modern State Building 5.1 Territorial State-Building Prior to the Reformation 5.2 The Reformation and Its Promotion of the Territorial State-Building 5.3 Some Cases of Territorial State-Building: Austria, Hesse, and Brandenburg-Prussia 5.3.1 Austria 5.3.2 Hessen 5.3.3 Brandenburg-Prussia 5.3.4 Some Other German Territorial States 5.4 The Nature of the Territorial States 6. Social Transition in Germany during the Reformation 7. Discontinuity or Continuity? Rethinking the Sonderweg Bibliography