A student guide to the main contours of 19th-century European history when the continent's standing was at its highest and its influence spanned the globe. The period 1830-1890 forms the core of that century. By 1830 most of The "old regime" had vanished, and by 1890 there was only a hint of the catastrophic world events to come. These decades are treated here by six scholars all of whom are regularly involved in student teaching. They provide a series of essays which reflect the skills that historians have to master when challenged by problems of evidence, interpretation, and presentation. The book covers the topics of France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Russia, as well as analyzing the themes of political thought, cultural trends, the economy and warfare, international relations and imperialism.