Die Friedlosigkeit der frühen Neuzeit: Grundlegung einer Theorie der Bellizität Europas

In this essay, the Augsburg historian Johannes Burkhardt declared "The Peacelessness of the Early Modern Age" to be the signature of the centuries between the Renaissance, Reformation and French Revolution and spoke of a special "bellishness in Europe". In fact, in almost three centuries there is hardly a year in which an armed conflict has not been fought somewhere in Europe. War was the worst, but nonetheless everyday way of dealing with difference, be it in the quest for political dominance in the European power system, in violent attempts to restore denominational unity or to assert independence, or as a conflict resolution between central authority and particular forces within a country. Added to this were the wars »on the fringes« of Europe, such as the long-lasting conflict with the Ottomans and the struggles for supremacy between European colonial powers that were being fought outside of Europe. Burkhardt tries to explain this bellicity of Europe  in this essay.