The General Crisis of the 17th Century in Regional Context

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The concept of a 'General Crisis' represents a widespread belief amonghistorians that the seventeenth century witnessed a crisis in interpersonalconflict, as part of demographic, environmental and economic crises.Initially referring to Europe, the concept of a General Crisis in theseventeenth century has now been extended to societies across the globe.Instead of focusing on global societal, economic or political tensions, thisthesis examines the General Crisis in regional context. Regions were thecultural units in which economic and political tensions played out. Thisstudy evaluates the evidence for a General Crisis in North-East England,particularly the Palatinate of Durham. My research will test the ways inwhich one specific regional society experienced and resolved crises on theground. Only at a regional level can historians grasp the balance betweensystemic issues such as climate change, food supply and demography,versus the agency of individuals in periods of crisis.In focusing on inter-personal relations, this study applies concepts from thesocial sciences, including sociological theories relating to risk, vulnerabilityand trust, in order to evaluate the ways in which the General Crisis playedout in regional context.The resilience of communities within seventeenth-century Durham and thereasons for variations in levels of vulnerability to disaster will beconsidered, testing the concept of a General Crisis for lived experiences inregional context. This will be achieved through the use of diverse historicalrecords in Durham University Archives, Durham County Record Office, andTyne and Wear Archives.