Description
Book SynopsisAn ambitious study of the historical roots, development and role of citizenship during the period from the late Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Citizenship is shown to be not just an exclusively European institution, but one that could be traced to China, the Middle East and the American colonies.
Trade Review'A profoundly original book. Prak shows how much of what historians and social scientists think they know about citizenship and the rise of democratic politics is simply wrong. Uncovering the errors that have blinded so many, he proceeds to construct a historically grounded foundation for a new understanding of the meaning of citizenship that instructs us about the past and the present.' Jan de Vries, University of California, Berkeley
'This is a major contribution to emancipating citizenship from the nation. Tracing varieties of citizenship before its invention as nationality, Prak makes a compelling case for understanding citizenship as a practical activity without binary oppositions: European versus non-European, urban versus rural, or national versus international. The result is a riveting narrative, forcefully inviting us to think differently and historically about citizenship.' Engin Isin, Queen Mary University of London
'This is a large, richly researched, provocative study which repositions the pre-modern city, its citizens and agencies, at the centre of the European political stage. It is a brilliant exemplar of the New Urban History, setting European developments in a broad global perspective.' Peter Clark, University of Helsinki
'In this wide ranging and bold book, Maarten Prak offers a penetrating analysis of urban citizenship in pre-modern Europe. He both revises a Weberian narrative about the distinctiveness of western European civic institutions in comparison to those in Asia and the Americas and undoes assumptions about the superiority of national citizenship post-1789.' Martha Howell, Columbia University, New York
'The book is based on a lifetime of research in urban history, and the material is presented with clarity, concision, and enormous authority.' Christopher R. Friedrichs, The American Historical Review
Table of ContentsIntroduction: worlds of citizenship; Part I. Dimensions of Citizenship in European Towns: 1. Formal citizenship; 2. Urban governance: citizens and their authorities; 3. Economic citizenship through the guilds; 4. Welfare and the civic community; 5. Citizens, soldiers, and civic militias; Part II. Cities and States, Or: The Varieties of European Citizenship: Introduction to Part II; 6. Italian city-states and their citizens; 7. The Dutch Republic: the federalisation of citizenship; 8. Citizenship in England: from the Reformation to the Glorious Revolution; 9. Cities and states in Continental Europe; Part III. Citizenship Outside Europe: Introduction to Part III; 10. Original citizenship in China and the Middle East; 11. Recreating European citizenship in the Americas; Conclusions: citizenship before and beyond the French Revolution.
