European Jewry in the Age of Mercantilism, 1550-1750

This book, joint winner of the Wolfson Literary Award for History, is a survey of Jewish life and culture in early modern Europe, which sees the 16th and 17th centuries as a radically new phase in Jewish history. It emphasizes the reversal of trends in western and central Europe in the late sixteenth century, which was followed by a rapid increase in Jewish numbers and activity, and by a far-reaching re-organization of Jewish society and institutions. The author argues that a major consequence of these changes was a much expanded and more varied Jewish role in European civilization as a whole. Jonathan Israel is also author of "The Dutch Republic and the Hispanic World, 1606-1661" and "Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585-1740".