The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the Rise of Europe
By James Belich
Princeton University Press
ISBN: 978069121965
At over 600 pages, this comprehensive study of the Black Death provides a global perspective on the pandemic and its aftermath. It explores how this medieval plague reshaped societies worldwide, creating both winners and losers in its wake.
Excerpt:
The consequences (and, to a lesser extent, the causes) of the Black Death; the causes (and, to a lesser extent, the consequences) of European expansion, plus their interaction, are big enough subjects for any book. But, for my sins, I have become convinced that a still broader approach, indeed a global one, best yields fresh light on them. I should therefore sketch a few idiosyncrasies in my own take on global history. It has at least two forms: extensive and intensive.
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Extensive global history attempts broad overviews, not necessarily of the whole planet’s whole history, but of large chunks of it, or broad patterns in it. It should avoid rigid meta-narratives privileging a single culture group and implying inexorable progress towards the present. But flexible cross-cultural frameworks suggesting broad patterns and processes still have their uses, as long as they do not pretend to be the only respectable way of doing history. Intensive global history, in contrast, brings useful perspectives from anywhere, anytime, to bear on particular historical problems, however big or small, then tests the resulting hypothesis on a wide range of accessible sources, including unpublished theses, arcane journals, and recent science. It may seem ungenerous in second-guessing the specialists on whom it depends, but in fact takes them seriously, and seeks to enhance their depth with its breadth. Intensive global history is this book’s main game, but this prologue lays its foundation by experimenting with the extensive variant.
Who is this book for?
Our understanding of the Black Death continues to evolve with new research, making a book like this valuable for medievalists to stay up to date with current perspectives on the pandemic. What sets this book apart from others in the field is its extensive coverage of the Black Death in Asia and Africa, along with its analysis of the pandemic’s long-term effects on empire-building and colonialism.
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The Author
James Belich is a retired Professor of Global and Imperial History at the University of Oxford. His research usually revolves around the history of New Zealand and the origins of European expansionism in the late medieval and early modern eras.
The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the Rise of Europe
By James Belich
Princeton University Press
ISBN: 978069121965
At over 600 pages, this comprehensive study of the Black Death provides a global perspective on the pandemic and its aftermath. It explores how this medieval plague reshaped societies worldwide, creating both winners and losers in its wake.
Excerpt:
The consequences (and, to a lesser extent, the causes) of the Black Death; the causes (and, to a lesser extent, the consequences) of European expansion, plus their interaction, are big enough subjects for any book. But, for my sins, I have become convinced that a still broader approach, indeed a global one, best yields fresh light on them. I should therefore sketch a few idiosyncrasies in my own take on global history. It has at least two forms: extensive and intensive.
Extensive global history attempts broad overviews, not necessarily of the whole planet’s whole history, but of large chunks of it, or broad patterns in it. It should avoid rigid meta-narratives privileging a single culture group and implying inexorable progress towards the present. But flexible cross-cultural frameworks suggesting broad patterns and processes still have their uses, as long as they do not pretend to be the only respectable way of doing history. Intensive global history, in contrast, brings useful perspectives from anywhere, anytime, to bear on particular historical problems, however big or small, then tests the resulting hypothesis on a wide range of accessible sources, including unpublished theses, arcane journals, and recent science. It may seem ungenerous in second-guessing the specialists on whom it depends, but in fact takes them seriously, and seeks to enhance their depth with its breadth. Intensive global history is this book’s main game, but this prologue lays its foundation by experimenting with the extensive variant.
Our understanding of the Black Death continues to evolve with new research, making a book like this valuable for medievalists to stay up to date with current perspectives on the pandemic. What sets this book apart from others in the field is its extensive coverage of the Black Death in Asia and Africa, along with its analysis of the pandemic’s long-term effects on empire-building and colonialism.
The Author
James Belich is a retired Professor of Global and Imperial History at the University of Oxford. His research usually revolves around the history of New Zealand and the origins of European expansionism in the late medieval and early modern eras.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
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