The Fuggers of Augsburg

Mark Haeberlein, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Bamberg in Germany, is author of The Practice of Pluralism: Congregational Life and Religious Diversity in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1730-1820.

"This book is an important contribution not only to the history of a single family, but to economic, social, religious, and political history of early modern Germany." --Philip Slavin, University of Kent This eminently readable history of the rise of the Augsburg merchant dynasty of the Fuggers is an enormously welcome--and timely--addition to the English-language scholarship on early modern Germany, and indeed on early modern Europe as a whole. The Fuggers were involved in the rise of early capitalism, globalization, technological innovation, the patronage of Renaissance art, papal and imperial politics, and confessional conflict in the age of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. As they amassed their spectacular fortune, the Fuggers struggled with the sometimes conflicting demands of profit, religion, ethics, and honor--which makes this book very topical as we grapple with the ethical quandaries and inequities of global capitalism in our own time. --Kathy Stuart, University of California, Davis This is a readable and meticulously researched account of the fabulously wealthy house of Fugger. The author explores the Fuggers' personal and professional relationships against a shifting backdrop of local and international politics, family life, and commerce during the Renaissance in the first in-depth examination of this extraordinary family available in English. --B. Ann Tlusty, Bucknell University This translation of Haberlein's 2006 German work traces the history of the Fugger family from the late-14th to the mid-17th century.... Written in concise, accessible prose and including a useful family genealogy and a thorough bibliography, this should prove a useful addition to college and university libraries.... Recommended. -- "CHOICE"