review
Dawn of the New Era: The Dramatic 16th Century by academic and author Marina Münkler is an engaging new history of the sixteenth century. This work of popular non-fiction successfully decentralises Europe by foregrounding the interdependence of global empires, from the Ottoman Empire to the Aztecs.
Dawn of the New Era is a refreshing departure from standard histories of Europe. Focusing on the sixteenth century, Münkler explores the interconnectedness of empires and world regions during the period without exceptionalising any one geopolitical location, and instead exposes a complex international network of correlations and conflict. Europe emerges from this narrative not as a coherent entity but as one that was created through the need for self-definition.
Münkler begins by laying out her rationale for what she describes as a history of the sixteenth century ‘from a global perspective’. The book is then structured thematically, rather than chronologically, and is divided into eight main chapters, each with multiple subchapters. Chapters cover themes from the expansion of the Ottoman Empire to religious wars and persecution in the old and new worlds.
Dawn of the New Era makes it clear that empire building was not a uniquely European proposition and examines the subtle differences between the varying approaches and perspectives of colonising powers, whether these came from a desire for economic control or the advent of bureaucratic governance. One of the book’s many strengths lies its emphasis of the Ottoman Empire’s instrumental role in the creation of the concept of Europe; Münkler reveals how the idea of the Turkish empire was tactically deployed within European countries so as to portray it as a threatening external force, in a narrative that did no justice to the Ottoman Empire’s inner complexity.
A well-written and accessible book, Dawn of the New Era recreates a map that connects Europe, the Ottoman Empire, South Asia, and the Americas, exploring their relative technological, scientific, and maritime efforts, but also detailing how each of these world powers was indispensable to the others. Unpacking unexpected aspects of familiar events, it will appeal to a wide cross-section of readers, and will have particular appeal for those who enjoyed Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads: A New History of the World.
Rights sold: Spain, Planeta
Find out more: https://www.rowohlt.de/verlag/rights/book/marina-muenkler-anbruch-der-neuen-zeit-9783871341762
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