From Reich to State
The Rhineland in the Revolutionary Age, 1780–1830

A history of the Rhineland in the Napoleonic era.

Michael Rowe (Author)

9780521824439, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 July 2003

346 pages, 3 maps
23.5 x 16.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.68 kg

"Rowe has crafted a carefully researched argument that, in unraveling the tangled legacy of transnational political cultures, demonstrates in measured and sensible terms how Rhenish society absorbed and adapted key elements of western European citizenship ideals. His scholarship not only provides an important regional supplement to Michael Broer's and isser Woloch's broader interpretations of Napoleonic Europe but also presents to German specialists a thesis of continuity that does justice to the Old Regime, Napoleonic and Restoration eras." Journal of Modern History James M. Brophy, University of Delaware

Napoleon's contribution to Germany's development was immense. Under his hegemony, the millennium-old Holy Roman Empire dissolved, paving the way for a new order. Nowhere was the transformation more profound than in the Rhineland. Based upon an extensive range of German and French archival sources, this book locates the Napoleonic episode in this region within a broader chronological framework, encompassing the Old Regime and Restoration. It analyses not only politics, but also culture, identity, religion, society, institutions and economics. It reassesses in turn the legacy bequeathed by the Old Regime, the struggle between Revolution and Counter-Revolution in the 1790s, Napoleon's attempts to integrate the German-speaking Rhineland into the French Empire, the transition to Prussian rule, and the subsequent struggles that ultimately helped determine whether Germany would follow its own Sonderweg or the path of its western neighbours.

Preface
Maps
1. Introduction
Part I. 1780–1801: Enlightenment, Revolution, Occupation: 2. Land, Stadt and Reich
3. French invasion and exploitation
Part II. 1801–1813: Napoleon: 4. The Napoleonic method of government
5. Identities and state formation
6. War and society
7. The Rhineland and the Continental System
Part III. 1813–1830: Transition, Reform, Reaction: 8. The end of the French Rhineland, 1813–1815
9. The Rhineland and the development of Germany, 1815–1830
10. Reflections
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]