Book Review: 1688

Three-hundred and twenty-two years ago, Europe ruled the world. Its fingers were in every facet and its power stretched from east to west. The year was 1688, and every country was ruled with a crown. The power of Europe, as well as the political and social dealings of all other parts of the world are examined in John E. Wills’ book 1688.

                The book 1688 by John E. Wills highlights the year of its name. Instead of focusing on the entire history of one area or people, Wills examines the government, economics, and social life of every part of the world during the late 1600s; always tying it back to the year 1688. Wills is a professor of history at the University of Southern California and has a Ph.D. in history from Harvard. He has also won the Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship for 2003.

                Many things are highlighted in this book from the time around 1688. Spain’s control of the southern colonies in the New World, and how it was really a miniature Spain (because of the absolute power given to the governors as regents for the crown) is discussed in great detail. The religious influences in the Northern colonies are discussed as well (William Penn and the Quakers are an example of this).

The Portuguese influence in Africa and the Dutch control of trade in Asia is highlighted as well. The Dutch could control trade so effectively because they didn’t try to control the politics or the societies in their colonies, as other countries did, mostly unsuccessfully, but rather focused only on controlling trade. This allowed the colonies to maintain their cultural freedom and therefore avoided rebellion.

The politics within Russia are also discussed in the book. This was probably, in my opinion, the most interesting part of Wills’ book. Tsar Peter was one of the most interesting monarchs in the world’s history, being humble enough to start off as just a drum boy in his own army and work himself up. The sabotage of the Old Believers is also highlighted in the Russian chapter of 1688.

The betrayal of King James of England and the confiscation of the English crown by Prince William of Orange is discussed alongside the description of life at Versailles and the tribulations of King Louis XIV of France.  The newfound thinking in the fields of science and philosophy by men like Newton, Locke, and Leibniz are of particular importance and description in 1688.

The shifts of power in the Middle East (Ottoman Empire) and the governments of massive Asian powers like China and Japan are discussed in detail in Wills’ books. The Chinese emperor Kangxi gets special attention in 1688 because he was a Manchu ruler influenced by Confucius teachings and was politically brilliant.

Instead of writing a list of facts like most historians do in their books, Wills took a huge risk in telling the stories of the people who lived during 1688. He took a step away from royal doctrines and trading records, and a step into the world of first hand sources.  Journals, diaries, and letters are among the sources that Wills pulled from, quoted, and used to describe the lives and tell the stories of those who wrote them. The stories that are featured include Cornelia van Nijenroode, a half Japanese woman who tried to maintain independence in her marriage, but was forever beaten and oppressed by her violent husband who stole all of her money, or that of John Locke, who waited too long to pursue the woman who he loved, and who loved him in return, but got tired of waiting and married another man. Tales like this capture the reader and make the world of 1688 real. In regular history books, it is easy to imagine everything that happened as if it happened in a different world, because it seems so distant. In Wills’ history, the stories he weaves make it real and vivid.

1688 fills in the blanks that typical historical texts leave out. Facts such as who fought what war and who issued what edict (information on the Dog Shogun  of Japan—Tokugawa Tsunayoshi—whose edicts were ever against the cruelty of animals, is particularly interesting) are included, but aren’t the main focus of the work if they didn’t greatly affect the people of 1688. Taking the facts learned from other history books and classes, and coupling it with the images and stories of Will’s 1688 gives the reader a full picture of history and the time period of the late 1600s, especially 1688. Saying that, it not only reinforced that which I have learned, but added to it immensely; I now have a more particular view not only of what happened in history, but what life was like for people as well.

I would recommend this book of anyone interested in history. It was told in a way that is very unusual of history texts and that makes it much more interesting to read. The view given by the first hand sources used by Wills give the reader a better understanding of history and allows for a much better read. You feel as though you are reading fiction, because it’s so fascinating, but in reality everything Wills says is the truth in history. It also, as I said before, adds a whole new perspective of history in that it couples facts with ways of life. I was super impressed and interested by this book and I definitely think that people should read 1688 by John E. Wills.