The General Crisis of the 17th Century in Regional Context

“普遍危机”的概念代表了历史学家的一种普遍信念，即17世纪见证了一场人际冲突危机，作为人口、环境和经济危机的一部分。17世纪普遍危机的概念最初指的是欧洲，现在已经扩展到全球社会。本文不是关注全球社会、经济或政治紧张局势，而是在区域背景下考察一般危机。地区是经济和政治紧张局势发挥作用的文化单位。本研究评估了英格兰东北部普遍危机的证据，特别是达勒姆的普法尔茨。我的研究将测试一个特定地区社会在实地经历和解决危机的方式。只有在地区层面上，历史学家才能把握气候变化、粮食供应和人口统计等系统性问题与危机时期个人行为之间的平衡。在关注人际关系的同时，本研究运用了社会科学的概念，包括与风险、脆弱性和信任相关的社会学理论，以评估一般危机在区域背景下发生的方式。将考虑17世纪达勒姆社区的恢复能力以及对灾难的脆弱性水平变化的原因，测试区域背景下生活经验的一般危机概念。这将通过使用杜伦大学档案馆、杜伦县档案局和泰恩和威尔档案馆的各种历史记录来实现。

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.