History 272 - European Dynasties & Empires

This lecture/discussion course examines family, gender, wealth, territorial control, and empire in the age of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, when political power concentrated in the web of influential families throughout Europe and the New World connected by blood, land, wealth and influence. This course studies the strategies, maneuverings, and consequences of Europe's major dynasties (Habsburgs, Stuarts, Bourbons, Romanovs and others) in their quest for hegemony and empire in early modern Europe and the wider world.