Showing titles in 18th Century

One of France's greatest writers, Voltaire was frequently persecuted for his ideas and as a result, spent time in the famed Bastille. He fled his native land for England in 1726, at which time he witnessed the differences between the two countries. His celebrated Letters on England was first published in that nation in 1733 and contained 24 succinct letters on subjects ranging from religion and politics, to trade, the arts, philosophy, and science.

Untamed Waters: The Golden Age of Piracy is a captivating and thoroughly researched exploration of history's most notorious era, delving into the thrilling world of pirates and their daring exploits on the high seas. From the sun-kissed shores of the Caribbean to the treacherous waters of the Indian Ocean, this book unravels the motivations behind piracy and its impact on global trade and politics. With meticulous citations, it serves as both an engaging listen for history enthusiasts and a valuable academic resource.

Does democracy die in darkness, as the saying suggests? This book reveals that modern democracy was born in secrecy, despite the widespread conviction that transparency was its very essence.

Transformations in Portugal and Brazil followed the discovery of gold in Brazil's hinterland and the hinterland's subsequent settlement. Although earlier conquests and evangelizations had incorporated new lands and peoples into the monarchy, royal officials now argued that the extraction of gold and the imperatives of rivalry and commerce demanded new approaches to governance. Using archival records of royal and local administrations, Kirsten Schultz shows how the eighteenth-century Portuguese crown came to define and defend Brazil as a "colony" that would reinvigorate Portuguese power.

Embark on a captivating journey through Russia's past with Russian History: 1700-1906, the second book in our engaging From Rus to Russia series. This book takes you through an era of transformation, where mighty empires grew and revolutionary ideas took root.

This book will also take you on a whirlwind tour of the Napoleon Era, where you'll get up close and personal with the little general who almost conquered the world—if only the Russians hadn't been so darn cold. You'll learn about his rise and fall, his brilliant strategies, and his complicated love life, all told in a way that'll make you feel like you're right there in the thick of things.

Kamehameha the Great became the sovereign monarch during a time of rapid transition for his islands. His rivals were no longer limited to the kings of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. Ambitious men had arrived from America, England, France, Portugal and Spain, either offering their war material and service personnel to the highest bidder or staking a claim of the islands for themselves and their masters.

In February 1793, in the wake of the War of American Independence and one year after British prime minister William Pitt the Younger had predicted fifteen years of peace, the National Convention of Revolutionary France declared war on Great Britain and the Netherlands. France thus initiated nearly a quarter century of armed conflict with Britain. During this fraught and still-contested period, historian Nathaniel Jarrett suggests, Pitt and his ministers forged a diplomatic policy and military strategy that envisioned an international system anticipating the Vienna settlement of 1815.

In Regency England the eldest son usually inherited almost everything—while his younger brothers, left with little inheritance, had to make a crucial decision: What should they do to make an independent living? Historian Rory Muir weaves together the stories of many obscure and well-known young men of good family but small fortune, shedding light on an overlooked aspect of Regency society. This is the first scholarly yet accessible exploration of the lifestyle and prospects of these younger sons.

The Age of Atlantic Revolution was a defining moment in western history. Our understanding of rights, of what makes the individual an individual, of how to define a citizen versus a subject, of what states should or should not do, of how labor, politics, and trade would be organized, of the relationship between the church and the state, and of our attachment to the nation all derive from this period (c. 1750-1850).

Is there such a thing as a timeless classic? More than a decade ago, Rochelle Gurstein set out to explore and establish a solid foundation for the classic in the history of taste. To her surprise, that history instead revealed repeated episodes of soaring and falling reputations, rediscoveries of long-forgotten artists, and radical shifts in the canon, all of which went so completely against common knowledge that it was hard to believe it was true.

We are divided over the history of the United States, and one of the central dividing lines is the frontier. Was it a site of heroism? Or was it where the full force of an all-powerful empire was brought to bear on Native peoples? In this startlingly original work, historian Robert Parkinson presents a new account of ever-shifting encounters between white colonists and Native Americans.

Although the ideology of judging a person for the color of their skin has infected much of the planet today, this series is focused on the origin, distribution, and perpetuity of this deceptive scourge. According to Margret Hunter of Mills College, her studies of Colorism in America and around the world is, “However, dark-skinned people of color are typically regarded as more ethnically authentic or legitimate than light-skinned people. Colorism is directly related to the larger system of racism in the USA and around the world.”

Based on new archival research, Fort Ticonderoga, The Last Campaigns: The War in the North, 1777-1783 by distinguished historian Mark Edward Lender highlights the strategic importance of the fort as British, American, and regional forces fought for control of the northern front at a critical point in the war. The book tells the Ticonderoga story in all of its complexity and drama, correcting misconceptions embedded in many previous accounts, and sheds vital new light on this key chapter in America's struggle for independence.

The West looted millions of priceless relics from China during the colonial era. It's time to give them back. This book tells the story of when they were stolen, who stole them and where they are now. It also offers a way to give China back its treasures which should be acceptable to everyone.