{"product_id":"9780226532387","title":"Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhy did capitalism and colonialism arise in Europe and not elsewhere? Why were parliamentarian and democratic forms of government founded there? What factors led to Europe’s unique position in shaping the world? Thoroughly researched and persuasively argued, \u003ci\u003eWhy Europe?\u003c\/i\u003e tackles these classic questions with illuminating results.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Michael Mitterauer traces the roots of Europe’s singularity to the medieval era, specifically to developments in agriculture. While most historians have located the beginning of Europe’s special path in the rise of state power in the modern era, Mitterauer establishes its origins in rye and oats. These new crops played a decisive role in remaking the European family, he contends, spurring the rise of individualism and softening the constraints of patriarchy. Mitterauer reaches these conclusions by comparing Europe with other cultures, especially China and the Islamic world, while surveying the most important characteristics of European society as they took shape from the decline of the Roman empire to the invention of the printing press. Along the way, \u003ci\u003eWhy Europe?\u003c\/i\u003e offers up a dazzling series of novel hypotheses to explain the unique evolution of European culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080210366704,"sku":"9780226532387","price":63.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780226532387_p0.jpg?v=1763675523","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780226532387","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}