I. The Pattern of Government -- Kings, courts, and parliaments from 1660 to the French Revolution / Alfred Cobban -- II. The Architectural Setting: Royalty, religion and the urban background / Sir John Summerson -- III. The Technological Imperative: scientific discoveries in the service of man / W.H.G. Armytage -- IV. Countryside and Industry: The economics of an age of change / D.C. Coleman -- V. Europe Overseas: Slavery, commerce and empire / K.G. Davies -- VI. War on a New Scale: Professionalism in armies, navies and diplomacy / J.R. Western -- VII. Taste and Patronage: The role of the artist in society / L.D. Ettlinger -- VIII. The Enlightenment: Free inquiry and the world of ideas / Robert Shackleton -- IX. The Rise of the People: Life and death among the poor / Olwen H. Hufton -- X. Epilogue: Reform and Revolution: The end of the Ancien Regime -- Postscript: On Music / Alfred Cobban -- Map of Europe in the Eighteenth Century