From the rebuilding of territories devastated by the Thirty Years War, to the modernization of the Napoleonic era, this book covers all key aspects of German history in the 'long eighteenth century' between 1648 and 1815. It takes a unique approach by particularly focussing on princely courts as central elements of Germany's political system on the one hand, and on Germany's global connections on the other.

Discussing the interrelationship of social status and political power within territorial states (whether they were republican city states or princely states), the Holy Roman Empire's complex structures and the European 'society of princes', Thomas Biskup – for the first time – systematically provides a comprehensive account of the transition period between early modern and modern German history from the perspective of the 'new political history'. He also provides a much-needed discussion of German history as part of Europe's global entanglements in the first 'age of Empire' from a post-colonial perspective.