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History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750) — page 3

180 public-domain history - early modern (c. 1450-1750) books, summarised. Page 3 of 4.

Cover of History of Central America, Volume 1, 1501-1530: The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 6

History of Central America, Volume 1, 1501-1530: The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 6

Hubert Howe Bancroft

A handful of Spanish adventurers, driven by gold and glory, march across the Isthmus of Darien and the forests of Central America, upending native civilizations and battling each other for imperial spoils.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)10 min read
Cover of History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Volume 1

History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Volume 1

J. H. (Jean Henri) Merle d'Aubigné

Faith in divine grace cannot survive when human institutions demand that believers purchase their own salvation.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of The Court of Philip IV.: Spain in Decadence

The Court of Philip IV.: Spain in Decadence

Martin A. S. (Martin Andrew Sharp) Hume

A proud empire crumbles under the weight of its own illusions while its courtiers indulge in extravagant spectacles and hollow pageantry.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of The Conspiracy of Gianluigi Fieschi, or, Genoa in the sixteenth century

The Conspiracy of Gianluigi Fieschi, or, Genoa in the sixteenth century

Emanuele Celesia

In the shadow of the Renaissance, a young nobleman dares to challenge the most powerful figures of his age, igniting a desperate struggle for Genoa’s lost liberty. This historical inquiry peels back the layers of a sixteenth-century political crisis to reveal the human cost of ambition and imperial intrigue.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 36, 1649-1666: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 36, 1649-1666: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

Unknown

These archival records document the volatile intersection of Spanish colonial ambition, religious factionalism, and the struggle for administrative control within the Philippine archipelago during the mid-seventeenth century.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of A Treatise of Witchcraft

A Treatise of Witchcraft

Alexander Roberts

The devil’s reach is long, yet his power is limited to the permissions granted by a higher authority. To understand his influence is to recognize the absolute necessity of anchoring one’s faith in God alone.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Chronicles of the house of Borgia

Chronicles of the house of Borgia

Frederick Rolfe

A sprawling, idiosyncratic defense of a maligned dynasty, this work reclaims the notorious figures of the Renaissance from centuries of hostile myth-making. It challenges the conventional image of a blood-soaked, poisoning family by meticulously re-examining the primary historical record.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Switzerland, &c., Volume 4

History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Switzerland, &c., Volume 4

J. H. (Jean Henri) Merle d'Aubigné

The Reformation is not merely a theological shift, but a dramatic struggle for the soul of Europe, where the clash of kings and the conviction of reformers decide the fate of nations.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of History of Friedrich II of Prussia

History of Friedrich II of Prussia

Thomas Carlyle

The life of a legendary monarch unfolds here, tracing the harsh, transformative crucible of his youth and the iron-willed foundations of his eventual reign. This expansive history examines the collision of private anguish and public duty, detailing the volatile, often brutal, relationship between a stern father and…

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Unknown

HOOK This collection of seventeenth-century colonial records offers a stark, unvarnished window into the daily friction between Spanish civil authority and the religious orders operating in the Philippine archipelago.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Unknown

Colonial officials, Jesuit missionaries, and royal decree-makers scramble to defend, maintain, and govern a precarious Pacific outpost.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)5 min read
Cover of Queens of the Renaissance

Queens of the Renaissance

M. Beresford Ryley

Six portraits of remarkable women trace the emergence, triumph, and spiritual fracturing of the European Renaissance through the intimate realities of private character and public trial.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 1 (of 2)

The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 1 (of 2)

George Haven Putnam

A bureaucratic history of institutional fear, this study shows how the Catholic Church sought to govern the intellect of Europe through the systematically organized suppression of books.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of German Culture Past and Present

German Culture Past and Present

Ernest Belfort Bax

The social order of medieval Europe unravels as new financial systems, peasant revolts, and religious schisms reshape the daily life and cultural trajectory of the German nation.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of A Voyage to New Holland, Etc. in the Year 1699

A Voyage to New Holland, Etc. in the Year 1699

William Dampier

A three-year voyage to chart uncharted southern waters turns into a masterclass in patient observation, tracking everything from Brazilian timber to tail-less Australian lizards.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal Society

Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal Society

Royal Society (Great Britain)

This collection captures a pivotal era of discovery, where the expanding horizons of the seventeenth-century world were cataloged with the urgent curiosity of an emerging scientific age. It serves as a repository for the reports of travelers, merchants, and scholars who sought to map both the physical geography and…

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Satan's Invisible World Discovered

Satan's Invisible World Discovered

George Sinclair

This collection serves as a seventeenth-century polemic against skepticism, arguing that the existence of the supernatural is a prerequisite for a moral universe. It remains a grim, authoritative record of a worldview where the veil between the physical and the demonic was considered paper-thin.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Heroes of Modern Europe

Heroes of Modern Europe

Alice Birkhead

History is a gallery of human effort, where poets, reformers, and soldiers shape the continent. These figures define the spirit of their ages, revealing that heroism is born from the crucible of struggle.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of A New Orchard And Garden

A New Orchard And Garden

Lawson, William, active 1618

This 17th-century manual offers a practical and poetic guide to creating a flourishing orchard, proving that the patience required for gardening is a virtue rewarded by both fruit and peace of mind.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Unknown

The history of the seventeenth-century Philippine Islands is a chronicle of fragile colonial outposts, distant imperial mandates, and the harrowing intersection of global trade and local survival.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of Buffon's Natural History, Volume 03 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c

Buffon's Natural History, Volume 03 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c

Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de

This sweeping inquiry into the mechanics of life challenges the dogmas of the Enlightenment, arguing that existence is not a fixed design but a fluid, mechanical dance of organic molecules.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Erasmus Against War

Erasmus Against War

Desiderius Erasmus

Humanity is born for friendship and kindness, not for the slaughter of war. This timeless appeal argues that the nature of man and the teachings of Christ stand in absolute opposition to the carnage of conflict.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic

The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic

William Hickling Prescott

A grand, sweeping chronicle of a transformative epoch, this work captures the rise of Spain from a fractured collection of territories into a unified, formidable power under its most iconic monarchs.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Unknown

The seventeenth-century Philippines emerge as a precarious frontier of the Spanish Empire, defined by the constant threat of Dutch naval blockade, the fragility of the China trade, and the grueling logistics of colonial survival. This archival collection offers a raw, unvarnished look at the administrative…

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The history of the Bastile, and of its principal captives

The history of the Bastile, and of its principal captives

R. A. (Richard Alfred) Davenport

The Bastille stands in history as a symbol of arbitrary tyranny, a fortress where the king’s whim could bury a man without hope of justice. This chronicle examines the lives of those who vanished behind its walls, offering a stark portrait of the fragile line between power and ruin in pre-revolutionary France.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Unknown

This collection of primary documents offers an unvarnished look at the administrative, religious, and military machinery of the Spanish Philippines at the close of the sixteenth century. Through letters, reports, and royal decrees, the text reveals the day-to-day struggle to maintain a colonial outpost on the far…

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 44, 1700-1736: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 44, 1700-1736: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

Unknown

Archival records from the early eighteenth century reveal a colonial frontier defined by fragile religious missions, volatile political violence, and the relentless, often corrupt, machinery of trans-Pacific trade. These documents illuminate the friction between imperial mandates and the harsh realities of life in…

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The place of magic in the intellectual history of Europe

The place of magic in the intellectual history of Europe

Lynn Thorndike

Magic is not merely a collection of ancient superstitions, but a foundational thread woven into the development of Western intellectual life. This survey traces how magical beliefs persisted alongside, and often within, the most sophisticated scientific systems of antiquity and the Middle Ages.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Discovery of Oxygen, Part 2

Discovery of Oxygen, Part 2

Carl Wilhelm Scheele

A rigorous, hands-on journey through eighteenth-century pneumatic chemistry, where simple glassware and animal bladders unlock the fundamental secrets of the atmosphere.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)5 min read
Cover of Pictures of German Life in the XVth, XVIth, and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. I

Pictures of German Life in the XVth, XVIth, and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. I

Gustav Freytag

Centuries of division and conflict forged a nation's soul, leaving its ordinary people to build a society from the ashes of feudalism, war, and religious schism.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Scholemaster

The Scholemaster

Roger Ascham

A bitter debate over educational discipline in Tudor England yields a revolution in how languages are taught.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)5 min read
Cover of History of the Peninsular War, Volume 5 (of 6)

History of the Peninsular War, Volume 5 (of 6)

Robert Southey

A gritty, detailed narrative of endurance and strategy, this volume captures the peninsular conflict as a grueling war of attrition fought across shattered fortresses, mountainous passes, and politically fractured halls.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Unknown

This collection of seventeenth-century archival records captures the precarious administration of the Spanish Philippines, detailing a world of colonial bureaucracy, religious mission work, and strategic naval anxiety.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of A Voyage to Abyssinia

A Voyage to Abyssinia

Jerónimo Lobo

A Jesuit missionary navigates the treacherous political and physical landscapes of seventeenth-century Ethiopia, documenting his desperate struggle to sustain a fragile Catholic foothold amidst shifting empires and unforgiving wilderness.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of A true & exact history of the island of Barbados

A true & exact history of the island of Barbados

Richard Ligon

This seventeenth-century account documents the rapid transformation of a Caribbean landscape into a highly organized, brutal engine of sugar production. It serves as a stark testament to the colonial ambition and human cost defining the era.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The journal of Montaigne's travels in Italy by way of Switzerland and Germany in 1580 and 1581, Volume 2 (of 3)

The journal of Montaigne's travels in Italy by way of Switzerland and Germany in 1580 and 1581, Volume 2 (of 3)

Michel de Montaigne

A sixteenth-century nobleman wanders through the Italian landscape, observing the quirks of local custom, the remnants of antiquity, and the persistent, unglamorous realities of his own physical ailments.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Shakespeare Garden

The Shakespeare Garden

Esther Singleton

This exploration unearths the botanical world of Elizabethan England, tracing the flowers, herbs, and formal designs that inspired the playwright’s most enduring imagery.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Luther's Little Instruction Book: The Small Catechism of Martin Luther

Luther's Little Instruction Book: The Small Catechism of Martin Luther

Martin Luther

A concise guide for the home, this manual distills complex theological doctrines into simple, practical instructions meant for daily family life. It serves as a foundational text for religious instruction and personal conduct.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of A Decade of Italian Women, vol. 2 (of 2)

A Decade of Italian Women, vol. 2 (of 2)

Thomas Adolphus Trollope

This work recovers the lives of four prominent Italian women, tracing their influence through the intellectual, social, and political upheavals of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It offers a candid look at the friction between individual ambition and the rigid structures of the Church and state.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of British Campaigns in Flanders 1690-1794: Being Extracts from "A History of the British Army"

British Campaigns in Flanders 1690-1794: Being Extracts from "A History of the British Army"

Fortescue, J. W. (John William), Sir

This volume serves as a focused, scholarly distillation of over a century of British military engagement in the Low Countries. By isolating these specific campaigns, it provides a sharp lens through which to view the evolution of the British Army from the late seventeenth through the late eighteenth century.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Some Forerunners of Italian Opera

Some Forerunners of Italian Opera

W. J. (William James) Henderson

The story of music’s evolution is rarely a clean break; it is a long, tangled vine of experiments, pageants, and missteps that finally bloomed into the structured grandeur of the opera.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of On the History of Gunter's Scale and the Slide Rule During the Seventeenth Century

On the History of Gunter's Scale and the Slide Rule During the Seventeenth Century

Florian Cajori

Long before digital computation, mathematical minds turned logarithmic scales into physical instruments, sparking an intense seventeenth-century debate over who first brought the slide rule into being.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Close of the Middle Ages, 1272-1494, 3rd Ed

The Close of the Middle Ages, 1272-1494, 3rd Ed

Lodge, Richard, Sir

Two centuries of European turmoil transform medieval feudalism into modern statecraft as kingdoms, popes, and merchant leagues fight for survival.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)11 min read
Cover of On the manner of negotiating with princes: On the uses of diplomacy

On the manner of negotiating with princes: On the uses of diplomacy

Monsieur de (François) Callières

A practical treatise on statecraft argues that quiet persuasion, disciplined self-control, and the methodical gathering of intelligence achieve far more lasting political dominance than brute military force or ostentatious display.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Tudor school-boy life: the dialogues of Juan Luis Vives

Tudor school-boy life: the dialogues of Juan Luis Vives

Juan Luis Vives

This collection of dialogues offers a rare, intimate window into the daily life and intellectual expectations of a sixteenth-century schoolboy. It serves as both a primary source for Renaissance history and an engaging, if instructional, literary work.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of History of the Conquest of Mexico

History of the Conquest of Mexico

William Hickling Prescott

A sweeping chronicle of the fall of an empire, this narrative documents the collision between the Spanish expedition and the Aztec civilization, culminating in the brutal siege of their capital.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Printing and the Renaissance: A paper read before the Fortnightly Club of Rochester, New York

Printing and the Renaissance: A paper read before the Fortnightly Club of Rochester, New York

John Rothwell Slater

Printing was not the spark that ignited the Renaissance; rather, the intellectual hunger of the era forged the printing press as its essential instrument of change.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Annals of the Turkish Empire, from 1591 to 1659

Annals of the Turkish Empire, from 1591 to 1659

Mustafa Naima

A panoramic view of an empire in transition, these chronicles chart seven decades of political upheaval, military campaigns, and the relentless machinery of court intrigue within the Ottoman world.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)8 min read
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