The dilemma of how best to protect human rights is one of the most persistent problems facing the international community today. This unique and wide-ranging history of humanitarian intervention examines responses to oppression, persecution and mass atrocities from the emergence of the international state system and international law in the late sixteenth century, to the end of the twentieth century. Leading scholars show how opposition to tyranny and to religious persecution evolved from notions of the common interests of 'Christendom' to ultimately incorporate all people under the concept of 'human rights'. As well as examining specific episodes of intervention, the authors consider how these have been perceived and justified over time, and offer important new insights into ideas of national sovereignty, international relations and law, as well as political thought and the development of current theories of 'international community'.

The dilemma of how best to protect human rights is one of the most persistent problems facing the international community today. This unique and wide-ranging history of humanitarian intervention examines responses to oppression, persecution and mass atrocities from the emergence of the international state system and international law in the late sixteenth century, to the end of the twentieth century. Leading scholars show how opposition to tyranny and to religious persecution evolved from notions of the common interests of 'Christendom' to ultimately incorporate all people under the concept of 'human rights'. As well as examining specific episodes of intervention, the authors consider how these have been perceived and justified over time, and offer important new insights into ideas of national sovereignty, international relations and law, as well as political thought and the development of current theories of 'international community'.

The period 1350-1750 saw major developments in European warfare, which not only had a huge impact on the way wars were fought, but also are critical to long-standing controversies about state development, the global ascendancy of the West, and the nature of 'military revolutions' past and present. However, the military history of this period is usually written from either medieval or early-modern, and either Western or Eastern European, perspectives. These chronological and geographical limits have produced substantial confusion about how the conduct of war changed. The essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of land and sea warfare across Europe throughout this period of momentous political, religious, technological, intellectual and military change. Written by leading experts in their fields, they not only summarise existing scholarship, but also present new findings and new ideas, casting new light on the art of war, the rise of the state, and European expansion.

Europe is increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-faith, as well as multi-cultural. Western democracies now comprise a plurality of fundamental opinions and inherited cultures; it is not clear how (or if ) they can be related to each other without involving either oppression or anarchy. This debate requires historical understanding and a contemporary grasp of the points at issue amongst different cultures. By virtue of their proximity and frequent historical interaction, Britain and France lend themselves to comparative study. The studies in this volume collectively demonstrate that the affairs of religious minorities in these two countries were not only of concern to themselves and their national established churches. Rather, over a long-term period, they had a sustained impact on many other issues. All chapters illustrate the problematic shift from a persecutory to a pluralistic mentality.

The period 1350-1750 saw major developments in European warfare, which not only had a huge impact on the way wars were fought, but also are critical to long-standing controversies about state development, the global ascendancy of the West, and the nature of 'military revolutions' past and present. However, the military history of this period is usually written from either medieval or early-modern, and either Western or Eastern European, perspectives. These chronological and geographical limits have produced substantial confusion about how the conduct of war changed. The essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of land and sea warfare across Europe throughout this period of momentous political, religious, technological, intellectual and military change. Written by leading experts in their fields, they not only summarise existing scholarship, but also present new findings and new ideas, casting new light on the art of war, the rise of the state, and European expansion.

The values and institutions of the Christian Church remained massively dominant in early modern English society and culture, but its theology, liturgy and unity were increasingly disputed. The period was overall one of institutional conformity and individual diversity: the centrality of Christian religion was universally acknowledged; yet the nature of religion and of religious observance in England changed dramatically during the Reformation, Renaissance, and Restoration. Further, because English culture was still biblical and English society was still religious, the state involved itself in ecclesiastical matters to an extraordinary extent. Successive political and ecclesiastical administrations were committed to helping each other, but their attempts to mould religious beliefs and customs were effectively attempts to modify English culture. Church and state were complementary, yet because they were ultimately distinct estates, they could work only, at best, uneasily in partnership with each other. Cultural output is thus an ideal lens for examining this period of tension in the church, state and society of England. The case studies contained in this volume examine the intersection of politics, religion and society over the entire early modern period, through distinct examples of cultural texts produced and cultural practices followed.