An Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and the OAPEN library. This book, designed as a resource for scholars, educators, activists and non-specialist readers, presents the results of new research on the role of Romani groups in European culture and society since the nineteenth century. Its specific focus is on the ways in which Romani actors, in their interactions with non-Romanies, have contributed to shaping Europe's public spaces. Twelve chapters recount the experiences and accomplishments of individuals and families, from across Europe (England, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Finland) and Canada. All based on new research, and maintaining a focus on the real lives and activities of Romani people rather than on the perspective of the majority societies, these studies exemplify the creative presence of Romani people in the fields of politics, economics and culture. We see them as writers, artists and performers, political activists and resistance fighters, traders and entrepreneurs, circus and cinema managers and purveyors of popular science. Sensitive to the ambivalent position from which Roma act, the cases are linked and contextualized by a general introduction and by section introductions written by leading scholars of Romani studies with expertise in history, ethnography, musicology, literary and discourse studies and visual culture. The volume is richly illustrated, including many images that have never been published before, and includes an extensive bibliography / guide to further reading. Contributors to the volume: Begona Barrera, Beatriz Carrillo de los Reyes, Malte Gasche, Pawel Lechowski, Anna G. Piotrowska, Laurence Prempain, Juan Pro, Eve Rosenhaft, Carolina Garcia Sanz, Maria Sierra, and Tamara West.

From the Occupy protests to the Black Lives Matter movement and school strikes for climate action, the twenty-first century has been rife with activism. Although very different from one another, each of these movements has created alliances across borders, with activists stressing that their concerns are not confined to individual nation states. In this book, Daniel Laqua shows that global efforts of this kind are not a recent phenomenon, and that as long as there have been borders, activists have sought to cross them. Activism Across Borders since 1870 explores how individuals, groups and organisations have fostered bonds in their quest for political and social change, and considers the impact of national and ideological boundaries on their efforts. Focusing on Europe but with a global outlook, the book acknowledges the importance of imperial and postcolonial settings for groups and individuals that expressed far-reaching ambitions. From feminism and socialism to anti-war campaigns and green politics, this book approaches transnational activism with an emphasis on four features: connectedness, ambivalence, transience and marginality. In doing so, it demonstrates the intertwined nature of different movements, problematizes transnational action, discusses the temporary nature of some alliances, and shows how transnationalism has been used by those marginalized at the national level. With a broad chronological perspective and thematic chapters, it provides historical context, clarifies terms and concepts, and offers an alternative history of modern Europe through the lens of activists, movements and campaigns.

The story of Horatio Nelson's life - his naval glory, public fame, charismatic leadership, scandalous romance, and untimely death as he led the British to victory at the Battle of Trafalgar - has ensured his enduring position as England's favourite hero. This engaging, full-length biography of Nelson (1758-1805) presents a gripping account of his climb to fame as well as the fascinating details of his personal and emotional life. A man of contradictions, Nelson emerges in this biography as a ruthless and aggressive leader, the epitome of a fighting commander; an ambitious attention-seeker capable of self-pity, self-delusion, and childish behaviour; yet to be admired for his transcendent courage, kindness and leadership skills, which inspired love and affection in those he led. "This is a splendid biography, not only because it is well written and well researched, but also because it neither seeks to demean the hero nor excuse the man. Heroism becomes the more remarkable when it is shown by people who in other ways are very like ourselves." L.G. Mitchell, Times Literary Supplement "A formidable addition to the already crowded Nelson canon ...Vincent's publishers have done him proud. There are excellent maps and battle diagrams; the illustrations are copious, and many have rarely been seen before." Paul Johnson, Literary Review "This full-blown biography offers a profusion of detail about Nelson's health and finances, his way with the welfare and discipline of his men and how his battles were fought and usually won ...A true portrait of an extraordinary man." Tom Pocock, Spectator "This is a wonderful book, the best modern biography of Britain's greatest admiral." John Keegan, Daily Telegraph "Edgar Vincent has written a robust, level-headed account of Nelson's life." Adam Preston, Financial Times "A stately literary battleship, bristling with truly terrifying military and biographical detail." Sunday Telegraph Shortlisted for the BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize.

In Three Centuries of Girls' Education, Mary Anne O'Neil offers both an examination and the first English translation of Les Reglemens des religieuses Ursulines de la Congregation de Paris. Published in 1705, Regulations is the first pedagogical system explicitly designed for the education of girls. It is also one of the few surviving documents describing the day-to-day operations of early Ursuline schools. O'Neil traces the history of the document from the writings of the Italian foundress of the Ursulines, to the establishment of the religious order in Paris in 1612, to the changes in the organization of Ursuline schools in nineteenth-century France, and, finally, to Mother Marie de St. Jean Martin's spirited defense of the traditional French Ursuline method after World War II. In the eighteenth century, New Orleans Ursulines used the Regulations as a guide to establish their schools and teaching methods. Overall, O'Neil's history and translation recover a vital source for historians of the early modern era but will also interest scholars in the fields of education history and female religious life.

For centuries the society and politics of Old Regime Europe relied on the strong connection between past, present, and future and on a belief in the unstoppable continuity of time. What happened during the eighteenth century when the Age of Revolutions claimed to cancel the previous social order and announced the dawn of a new era? This book explores how antiquarianism provided new political bodies with allegedly time-hallowed traditions and so served as a source of legitimacy for reshaping European politics. The love for antiquities forged a common language of political communication within a burgeoning public sphere. To understand why this happened, Marco Cavarzere focuses on the cultural debates taking place in the Italian states from 1748 until 1796. During this period, governments tried to establish regional "national cultures" through erudite scholarship, with the intent of creating new administrative and political centralization within individual Italian states. Meanwhile, other sectors of local societies used the tools of antiquarianism in order to offer a counter-narrative on these political reforms. Ultimately, this book proposes a localized way of reading antiquarian texts. Far from presenting timeless knowledge, erudition in fact gave voice to specific tensions which were linked to restricted political arenas and regional public opinion.

Iran and a French Empire of Trade examines the understudied topic of Franco-Persian relations in the long eighteenth century to highlight how rising tensions among Eurasian empires and revolutions in the Atlantic world were profoundly intertwined. Conflicts between Persia, Turkey, India and Russia, and European weapons-dealing with these empires occurred against a backdrop of climate change and food insecurities that destabilized markets. Takeda shows how the French state relied on "entrepreneurial imperialism" to extend commercial activities eastwards beyond the Mediterranean during this time, from Louis XIV's reign to Napoleon Bonaparte's First Empire. Organized as a collection of microhistories, her study showcases a colourful set of characters-rogue merchants from Marseille, a gambling house madam, a naturalized Greek-French drogman, and a bi-cultural Genevan-Persian consul, among others-to demonstrate how individuals on the fringes of French society spearheaded projects to foster ties between France and Persia. Considering the Enlightenment as a product of a connected world, Takeda investigates how trans-imperial adventurers, merchants, consuls, and informants negotiated treaties, traded commodities and arms, transferred knowledge, and introduced industrial practices from Asia to Europe. And she shows the surprising ways in which Enlightenment debates about regime changes from the Safavid to Qajar dynasties and Persia's borderland wars shaped French ideas about revolution and policies related to empire-building.

The innovative city culture of Florence was the crucible within which Renaissance ideas first caught fire. With its soaring cathedral dome and its classically-inspired palaces and piazzas, it is perhaps the finest single expression of a society that is still at its heart an urban one. For, as Brian Jeffrey Maxson reveals, it is above all the city-state - the walled commune which became the chief driver of European commerce, culture, banking and art - that is medieval Italy's enduring legacy to the present. Charting the transition of Florence from an obscure Guelph republic to a regional superpower in which the glittering court of Lorenzo the Magnificent became the pride and envy of the continent, the author authoritatively discusses a city that looked to the past for ideas even as it articulated a novel creativity. Uncovering passionate dispute and intrigue, Maxson sheds fresh light too on seminal events like the fiery end of oratorical firebrand Savonarola and Giuliano de' Medici's brutal murder by the rival Pazzi family. This book shows why Florence, harbinger and heartland of the Renaissance, is and has always been unique.