Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

1. 16th-17th centuries Maps developed in close correspondence with the history of travel. People on pilgrimages, emissaries (Diplomacy), nobles on the Grand Tour, and later citizens educating themselves on a  Bildungsreise appreciated early modern maps as sources of information and aids to orientation. The stimulus to the production of the first map in Germany was the 1500 Catholic Jubilee. The unsigned, undated map of the route to Rome is attributed to the Nuremberg compass maker Erhard Etzlaub ( Das ist der Rom Weg von meylen zu meylen mit puncten verzeychnet von e…

1. IntroductionThe Maratha Empire emerged in the Marathi-speaking region of western India (the present-day state of Maharashtra in the Indian union) in the 17th century, and grew to be an influential early modern power in the Indian subcontinent over the 18th century. The Maratha state forms a crucial element in early modern South Asian society and politics as one of the most important rivals and successor states of the Mughal Empire. Early in the 19th century, it was the most significant impedim…

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See Exclusion | Minorities | Social structure | Underclass

1. BasicsFrom the 2nd century on, numerous legends grew up around Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose life is only briefly sketched in the NT. Especially after the divine sonship of Jesus Christ was defined dogmatically in the 4th and 5th centuries, she was venerated privately and liturgically. Particularly in the Middle Ages, a growing number of Marian feasts were established and distributed throughout the church year, while churches and pilgrimage sites (Pilgrimage, local) were dedicated to the Mother of God (see 2.2. below).In the Middle Ages, she was also seen as an exempl…

Insurance covers losses of assets brought about by specific events by distributing them among a larger number of persons. The events relevant to marine insurance are accidents at sea up to and including sinking as well as hijacking and its consequences. In the early modern period, marine insurance in the narrower sense covered damage up to and including loss of ship and cargo, in the broader sense also the consequences for the individuals affected.The beginnings of marine insurance in the late Middle Ages differed greatly from current forms of insurance, but they sha…

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1. ConceptMarital age is an important demographic parameter of the European marriage pattern, and the crucial factor in determining early modern fertility levels. Fluctuations in marital age have a telling influence on fertility and demographic growth rates (Population). A marital age differing by two years at first marriage (Marriage, contraction of) might mean (translated into number of offspring) one childbirth or offspring more or fewer, and thus a quicker or slower succession of generations.In early modern western and Central Europe, the marital age was g…

1. Concepts and theoriesThe concept of choice of partner must be seen in historical terms. “Partner” today connotes a concept of relationship based on legal, social, and economic gender equality and fundamental equal rights. None of this applied in the early modern period, nor was the term “partner” so used. Unlike terms like husband, wife, spouse, or consort (cf. German Gatte/Gattin, French  conjoint[e]), “partner” also holds connotations of other forms of relationship, while the goal of partner choice historically speaking is seen primarily in relatio…

1. ConceptThe term marital consent (German Ehekonsens) had a twofold meaning in the early modern matrimonial law of the Holy Roman Empire. Firstly, in matrimonial canon law it denoted the agreement or declaration of intent on the part of a man and woman to enter into a marriage  (Marriage, contraction of). Secondly, in many German territories – particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries – it denoted the permission to wed or recognition of a marriage that was granted by the sovereign power and local a…

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1. Legal scopeThroughout the early modern period, maritime commercial law was the branch of private law that regulated shipping by sea. It covered the legal relations of those involved in deep sea navigation: (1) the ship owner or shipping company as proprietor of the ship; (2) the skipper or captain of the ship as the highest authority on board and the proprietor’s representative; (3) the crew, which stood under the captain’s authority; and (4) finally the merchants shipping their wares. Seafarers’ articles of agreement ( Heuervertrag) were concluded between the proprietor …

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See Shipping | Trade | Trade territory

1. Introduction Two main conditions determined the choice of sea route and the management of the movement of goods by sea in the early modern period. The first was the natural conditions governing travel by sailing ship (Deep sea navigation), and the second was requirements regarding the safety and security of transports. For covering long distances at sea, relatively steady wind and current systems, at least on a seasonal basis, were particularly useful. On longer voyages, such as betw…

Like the pound, the mark in the early modern period was (1) a unit of mass, (2) a counting unit, and (3) a minted coin.(1) As a unit of mass, the mark was also the basis of coinage systems (Weights and measures). In Central Europe, the Cologne Mark ( c. 233 g) [9] gained general acceptance over other regional mark weights like the Nuremberg Mark ( c. 255 g) and the Vienna Mark ( c. 280 g), and the Esslingen  Reichsmünzordnung (Imperial Coinage Ordinance) of 1524 declared it the basic coin weight of the Holy Roman Empire. Standard mark weights were available at the office…

1. General remarks 1.1. DefinitionIn modern economic theory, the term market refers to the encounter of supply with demand for the purpose of exchange. A “perfect” or “complete” market – in contrast to a monopoly market – exists when the market price cannot be influenced by individual suppliers or demanders. This equilibrium price is considered efficient; it is possible in the absence of practical or seasonal preferences on the part of consumers or producers, when market transparency predominates, when th…

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1. Market regulations From the 16th to the 18th century, markets in Europe were the subject of numerous legal provisions. Cities were responsible for holding weekly markets, although in some cases permission had to be obtained from the local ruler (as, for instance, in Prussia) [4. 33–37]. Municipal law and local territorial law, as well as special market ordinances, were accordingly sources of law for markets. Such norms were part of police ordinances ( gute Policey). They described markets from the perspective of the sovereign power, which they likewise reflecte…