H David Stewart

French Historians 1900-2000: The New Historical Writing in Twentieth-Century France examines the lives and writings of 40 of France's great twentieth-century historians. Blends biography with critical analysis of major works, placing the work of the French historians in the context of their life stories Includes contributions from over 30 international scholars Provides English-speaking readers with a new insight into the key French historians of the last century.

The French government annexed the province of Roussillon in 1659, just as Louis XIV reached his majority. The region was peopled by Catalans, a group with their own language, religious values, political traditions, and cultural patterns. Louis XIV and his ministers sought to accomplish two goals in the province. First, they wanted to compel the Roussillonnais to accept French political authority as legitimate and, second, they desired to eradicate the Catalan cultural identity in the province. This study examines the means by which the French chose to pursue their goals and the methods of resistance employed by the inhabitants of Roussillon. It concludes with an explanation of why the French ultimately failed to acculturate the province despite their success in asserting their political authority.

From 1702 to 1714, the War of the Spanish Succession affected most of Europe and significant parts of the New World, with battles ranging from the Hungarian plains to the harbors of Rio de Janeiro. The death of the last Hapsburg King of Spain unleashed a struggle for his empire. This book includes entries analyzing the individuals who determined the course of the war, who played a diplomatic, economic, or military role, as well as entries analyzing the pivotal battles influencing the outcome. The provisions of the final treaties, known as the Pacification of Utrecht, are examined in detail, as is the significance of those provisions. The diplomats at Utrecht followed the principles of balance of power, compensation, and legitimacy to mold the peace. The peace set the boundaries of Western Europe until the convulsion of the French Revolution.

The book opens with an introduction pointing to the significance of the treaties provisions. The alphabetical arrangement of the entries, the numerous cross-references, the bibliographies at the end of the entries, a genealogical table, a chronology, and the index make this work easy to use.