The 17th century crisis

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History

University of Delhi

Q. Examine the various theories accounting for the 17

century crisis. Do you think England

escaped the crisis?

The 17

century Europe was a period that witnessed economic downswing, wars and uprisings

along with the breakdown of political structures. In demographic terms, many parts of Europe

showed signs of stagnation and decline. Thus, the 17

century in Europe has often been regarded as

a period in which a single general crisis affected the economy, political stability and demography of

most countries in the entire continent of Europe.

The term ‘crisis’ or ‘General crisis’ for 17

century Europe was first coined by Eric J. Hobsbawm.

He used this term in his pair of 1954 articles ‘The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century’ published in

Past and Present. Hobsbawm discussed the crisis in economic terms and he also noted the

commercial collapse of the European economy in both agricultural and industrial sectors from the

1620s through the 1640s. According to him, the economic crisis in Europe allowed the transition

from the feudal economic system to the capitalist economy leading to the Industrial Revolution. He

argues that capitalism, which has already taken roots in the 16

century, had led to its transition in

the interim of the 17

century as by the 18

century it had been established in the Bourgeois

society.

Eric J. Hobsbawm’s narrative about the economic crisis in his articles ‘The Crisis of the

Seventeenth Century ’ is purely Marxist. According to him, one important aspect of the result of the

economic crisis was the rise of absolutism. The rise of absolutism, according to Hobsbawm,

allowed unlimited centralised authority which led to the gathering of enough capital for lump-sum

payments and running of their armies in Europe.

Hugh Trevor Roper finds a general lack of solid evidence for the ‘Economic Crisis’ theory of

Hobsbawm and he rather sees the crisis in political terms. Trevor Roper in his article ‘The General

Crisis of the Seventeenth Century’, argues that the middle years of the 17

century in Western

Europe saw a widespread breakdown in polity, economy and society caused by a complex series of

religious, demography, economic and political development. According to him, the crisis resulted

from a conflict between parasitic bureaucracy and puritanically minded opposition ‘The country’

created by the Renaissance state during the boom of the 16

century that became difficult to endure

during the period of wars and decline in the 17

century. Trevor Roper narrows the period of crisis

from the 1640s to 1660s in contrast to Hobsbawm’s time from 1620s to 1640s.

The general crisis overlaps the ‘Little Ice Age’ which is believed to have occurred in 17

century

Europe. This was the period when there was a marked change in the temperature, giving rise to long

winters and excessive rain during the summers in Europe. According to some historians like

Geoffrey Parker, the climatic changes that were occurring in 17

century Europe caused a lot of

economic hardships for the people as agriculture production became scarce. This phenomenon of

cooling climate without adequate solar power led to the outbreak of various diseases and an

increase in the deposits of carbon. Different regions, such as Germany and Castile, suffered a

considerable decline in population in the first half of the 17

century because of starvation and

famine.

Another important reason for the decline in the population was the various wars such as the English

Civil War, the Fronde in France, the Thirty Years War in Germany and revolts against the Spanish

crown in Portugal, Naples and Catalonia that ravaged Europe during the 17

century. The incessant

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History University of Delhi Q. Examine the various theories accounting for the 17th century crisis. Do you think England escaped the crisis? The 17th century Europe was a period that witnessed economic downswing, wars and uprisings along with the breakdown of political structures. In demographic terms, many parts of Europe showed signs of stagnation and decline. Thus, the 17th century in Europe has often been regarded as a period in which a single general crisis affected the economy, political stability and demography of most countries in the entire continent of Europe. The term ‘crisis’ o ...
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