Abstract
This paper discusses Michel Foucault's contention of the plague as a historical phenomenon, out of which a controlling, intrusive and discursively powerful form of modern rule emerged in Europe. The paper relates that, from a retrospective look at the responses to the plague in mediaeval and early modern Europe, it is tempting to conclude that the responses represented clear early examples of disciplinary power in action. Moreover, plague regimes appear to have been interventionist, controlling and totalizing. The paper then explains that this view leads to a distorted understanding of power as all-encompassing when, in reality, it was anything but. The paper concludes that it would be historically inaccurate to leave the impression that these plague regimes were omnipotent, for the simple reason that the enforcement of power was a messy, contested and negotiated process. There is also a limit to seeking examples of disciplinary power in a past period that Foucault himself did not necessarily see as completely emblematic of his theory.

Outline:
Introduction
Power as Interventionist and Controlling
Power as Limited and Hyped
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Certainly England did eventually move towards a continental style of control. But this move, instigated under the rule of Charles I, was quickly abandoned following the outbreak of the Civil War. (Naphy and Spicer, 2000, p.100) Even if this plan had been carried out by the Crown, which had by and large succeeded in setting up pest houses throughout the rest of the kingdom, London would surely have resisted, for it rejected a system of pest houses in favour of continuous home quarantine, which obviated the need for "an extensive and expensive system of workers". (Naphy and Spicer, 2000, p.126) More significantly, London insisted on relying upon local and national charities as well as normal taxation to fund measures to cope with the plague rather than resort to a special plague tax that would have made the victims of disease wholly dependent on the benevolence of the state - to this extent inhabitants were not subject to the totalizing power of the state. (Naphy and Spicer, 2000, p.126) "

Tags:surveillance, government, death, regime

Abstract
The two texts that are used in order to investigate this concept is the work, "Galileo's Daughter" by Dava Sobel and "Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe" by Merry Wiesner. These two texts clarify the differences that occurred in the treatment of men and women, where the role of women was established through unbendable social norms that were intricately woven into the fabric of society.

Abstract
This paper explains that historians argue that the economic crises experienced during the early-modern period across most of Europe and the subsequent population growth, which led to an inability for many of these individual markets to support their respective populations, was a type of Malthusian trap. The author points out that the Malthusian trap is the principle, based on Malthus' theory of population and economics, which observes that man is inclined to propagate beyond his means to support the population. The paper relates that the application of this principle to early modern Europe is often a misguided attempt to redirect the historical research to a socio-historic perspective rather than a purely economic perspective. The author concludes that, while certain markets in Europe might indeed have become over-populated with respect to their ability to provide basic levels of sustenance for their populations, other countries, such as England, did not suffer such a population growth and, furthermore, managed to maintain relatively stable economic growth in spite of Europe's overall economic decline during this period. The paper includes an annotated bibliography.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Malthus on Population Growth
Technological Impact
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In an artificial economy established in an economic lab such set ratios can be accurately predictive. However, in the natural environment, there are many external factors that would affect change on his model, and did affect change. Prices are a key oversight in his theory. While the basic premise that population growth may outstrip the growth in food productivity was true based on the circumstances within which he operated, he didn't account for the economics of food productivity to drive an increase in production worldwide that offset any local market conditions and shortages in supply."

Tags:productivity cyclical calculations, technological advances, inflation

Abstract
This paper makes the argument that the principal factor in state formation across Europe was the power of monarchs to centralise and increase their effectiveness to rule in European states. Specifically, the author makes the assertion that the monarchies of Europe created early modern state formation through the centralisation of government institutions, military expansion, financial restructuring, dynastic marriage and the use of tools created through the scientific revolution.

From the Paper
"This centralisation and increased effectiveness of tax administration in the Early Modern era allowed a larger revenue to be collected into the royal coffers, in turn meaning that more money could be pumped into the greatest expense for any Early Modern leader, the military. As military tactics and technology dictated an increased cost in the waging of war, so it was realised that the more effective a bureaucracy was, the more effective royal armies could be. The centralisation of resources for armies created a unique situation whereby relatively small countries such as England and the Netherlands were able to wage-war with more demographically prosperous countries such as France and Spain. 'Good' government also came through the scrupulous effectiveness of taxation: the less money that stuck to the hands of local barons and entered the royal treasuries, the more the central power of the monarch could spend on consolidating the state through standing armies and more charismatic schemes. This meant the population of a country would see both centralisation and state formation in a beneficial light."

Tags:centralisation military, scientific processes, monarchy

Abstract
The purpose of this paper will be to compare and contrast the nature and role of government in the economic development of early-modern Spain with that in early-modern Holland.

Abstract
This paper attempts to determine how the concept of and care for madness changed from century to century in Early Modern Europe. The paper discusses what influenced the concept of madness, what was done with mad people, how they were treated, the different meanings and definitions of madness, and the role gender played in the identification and treatment of madness. The resources used for this paper are appended.

From the Paper
"Research is crucial to the advancement of science, be it medical, psychological and, or, any number of the sciences. A look into the past often allows a deeper understanding of the theories, processes and ideologies of the present. Many scholars have provided insight into the institutions and concepts of mental health from a historical perspective, Michel Foucault, Roy Porter and Andrew Skull among them. The care of the mentally ill has evolved from the concept of social control. Where once it was the responsibility of the family and, or, community to control mad or abnormal behavior ; it is now seen as the responsibility of the medical community. Care for the mentally ill was also the responsibility of the family or community, then the religious organization, private asylums and, eventually, the medical profession and hospitalization. During the medieval era, the king was sometimes held responsible for the "lunatic" and his or her family."

Tags:deviance, community, social, interaction, psychiatric, profession, insanity, lunatics

Abstract
The paper compares De La Fayette's "The Princess of Cleves" and Defoe's "The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" and points out that "The Princess of Cleves" was written from a woman's point of view while "The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" is from a man's point of view. The paper further notes that De La Fayette's environ is based on mainland Europe and the lives of the landed gentries and the aristocrats, while Defoe's work contains few scenes on Europe. The paper adds that Defoe's work is a first-person point of view writing while De La Fayette's - as a result of how women were during the time - can only be surmised as a second-person point of view. The paper also discusses how these works' images are mainly of the personalities in Europe and their intrigues and counter intrigues. The paper concludes by highlighting these works' differences and how they both portray different pictures of Europe at the time.

From the Paper
"The point view therein the two books as coming from a man and a woman is quite important because during that time women are considered property and are subservient to men. Wives and daughters are considered under the supreme authority of the husband/father. As a result of these, it could be possible that the image of early modern Europe portrayed by De La Fayette may be not from a first person account but gathered from stories and tales of people she has had dealings with. Unlike Defoe's Crusoe, since he is a man it is highly likely that what he has written came from actual observations from someone who has been there and done that - so to speak. Take for instance some lines in Defoe's Crusoe: "I went down to my farm, settled my family, bought ploughs, harrows, a cart, wagon-horses, cows, and sheep, and, setting seriously to work, became in one half-year a mere country gentleman. My thoughts were entirely taken up in managing my servants, cultivating the ground, enclosing, planting, etc." This was a scene in a country farm estate and chances are Defoe has indeed had experience owning a farmland in the country and doing the matters that needed to be done to properly manage the place."

Tags:gentries, aristocrats, nobility

Abstract
This paper explains that, in his seminal work "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism," Max Weber provided a new perspective of the emergence of capitalism by asserting that what made Europe or the Occident develop into a capitalist economy was because the majority of its people observed the Protestant ethic as their way of life, rationalizing that people's everyday actions are a pre-requisite for a society to develop into a capitalist economy. The author contends that the development of capitalism in early modern Europe was the result not only of Protestantism but also of Catholicism. The paper states that the generalization that religion had become the catalyst for capitalism to flourish in the continent is supported by the fact that religious institutions before and during the onset of capitalism have dominated the socio-political realms of Western societies, leaving no doubt that they also control the economic activities and institutions present in the society.

From the Paper
"Indeed, capitalism is "a very complex system of institutions, highly rational in character and the product of a number of developments peculiar to Western civilization." Those who are unable to adapt to these 'complex systems of institutions' and 'rational character' are bound to be left behind in the process, neither achieving development nor economic success. Moreover, those who are unable to adapt to this system are bound to maintain the "anxiety of not knowing" and "fear of damnation." Thus, in order to be included in the capitalist economic system, one has to integrate himself/herself to these complex systems of institutions through labor and attain a rational character by conducting profit-making activities. Through labor and profit-making activities, one involves in the "spirit of capitalism" and accomplishes what Weber has termed as the Protestant ethic."

Tags:catholicism, pre-requisite, catalyst, socio-political, integration

Abstract
This paper explains that historian Benjamin Kaplan in his article "Fictions of Privacy" explores the Early Modern Period in Europe and details the negotiation between the private and the public as it related to religious practice. The author points out that the article reveals the incongruous setting for religious observance in many Early Modern European homes. The paper concludes that the creation of the private/public demarcation was vital to preventing violence and bloodshed.

From the Paper
"Benjamin Kaplan's "Fictions of Privacy: House Chapels and the Spatial accommodation of Religious Dissent in Early Modern Europe", is a very intriguing and worthwhile article. The introduction to the article is excellent, inasmuch as it vividly - and unexpectedly - reveals the incongruous setting for religious observance in many Early Modern European homes - the house attic (2002, 1031). The article then proceeds to launch into a very detailed description of the `attic chapel' (1031-1033); this description is accompanied on page 1033 with a photo. What is significant about the article's introduction is that, in surprising the reader by first portraying the former residence of the long-departed Jan Hartmann as simply a well-preserved dwelling from the past, the surreptitious nature of the house chapel is under-scored."

Tags:dutch, house, chapel, tolerance

Abstract
This paper examines events that occurred in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most notable the rise of the modern absolute monarchy and its relationship to the scientific revolution and the development of the Baroque style. The paper gives an overview of the European political and social landscape of the time, noting the conflicts between the privileged and working classes. It also notes the role of the Church in supporting feudal monarchies. This in juxtaposed to the Counter Reformation, which is described in detail. The paper further cites how the three historical events presented, the modern absolute monarchy, scientific revolution and baroque style, feed on one another and how the events of one had an effect on the other. The paper concludes with a discussion of the Baroque movement, which provided the Roman Catholic Church a setting to reclaim its lost glory after the success of the Reformation Movement. However, the paper acknowledges that the Baroque seems to have been in vain considering those that went into the Lutheran and Protestant fold did not go running back to the arms of the Roman Catholic Church.

From the Paper
"The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are periods in mankind's history that paved the way for changes to occur and the effects of these changes then are still seen at present. In Europe most especially, the rise of the modern absolute monarchy, the development of the baroque art style and the scientific revolution served to change not only the social and political landscape of Europe and the world but the cultural, religious, economic and educational milieus as well. If there was a time in Europe's history that brought forth events causing the domino principle or ripple effect, it is the occurrences during this era that made it possible.
"The European landscape was in turmoil in the early sixteenth century. Different fiefdoms are controlled by the privileged class. This is more so prevalent in France and in England albeit there is an existing monarchy; there is no centralized form of government that controls the overall governance, administration and management of assets, facilities and resources. There are barons, dukes, lords, ministers and other titled individuals each with his own parcel of land and indentured servants. Loyalty was not to the existing monarch but to whatever political alliances..."

Tags:scientific revolution, Baroque, Early modern states, reformation