State formation in early modern Alsace, 1648-1789

Alsace, a contested borderland region with a long and obdurate German heritage, first became part of France after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Stephen Lazer's deeply researched book analyzes this history, focusing on Alsace itself rather than on the usual dichotomy between periphery and cen...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Lazer, Stephen 1983- (VerfasserIn)
Format: Buch
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: Rochester, NY : University of Rochester Press, 2019
Mit dem übergeordneten Werk verknüpfte Titel:Changing perspectives on early modern Europe [19]
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Changing perspectives on early modern Europe
Schlagworte:Elsass Politik Verwaltung Geschichte 1648-1789
Umfang:xi, 3, 256 Seiten
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Alsace, a contested borderland region with a long and obdurate German heritage, first became part of France after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Stephen Lazer's deeply researched book analyzes this history, focusing on Alsace itself rather than on the usual dichotomy between periphery and center. Lazer's narrative reveals how the French monarchy transformed this fractured borderland, which possessed neither fixed borders nor representative institutions, into something resembling a province. With only weak claims, France had to negotiate sovereignty with Alsace's many individual rulers. Those rulers then legitimized French rule, providing the administrative institutions and borders that Alsace lacked. State Formation in Early Modern Alsace, 1648-1789, examines the wide range of power-sharing solutions the kings of France and Alsatian lords worked out between them through a close study of five territories ruled by the dukes of Pfalz-Zweibrucken-Birkenfeld. Some lands fell immediately to France; some required significant concessions; others contested the French bid for rulership. France eventually acquired all five territories. The dukes, members of the Holy Roman Empire, nevertheless maintained their autonomy, especially in the administrative and confessional spheres. Indeed, ducal officials proved decisive enacting Alsace's new, mixed political culture on the ground. Lazer's research makes a much-needed contribution to our understanding of the process of state formation in early modern Europe
Beschreibung:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 223-246
Beschreibung:xi, 3, 256 Seiten Karten 24 cm
ISBN:9781580469531
1580469531
9781787444843
1787444848