Who we are

Dr Christopher Storrs

Profile

Before joining the Programme as a lecturer in 1994, I taught at various universities in England.

My teaching focuses primarily on Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. In 2006-2007, I am offering two Honours modules: 'Imperial Spain 1476-1840' (Level 3 Option); and 'Enlightened Despotism in Europe 1763-1789' (Level 4 Honours Module). A new module 'The French Revolution 1789-1799' (Level 4 Special Subject) will become available in session 2007-2008.

My current research is on what has been called Spain's 'Dark Ages', between 1665 and 1746 and on the Savoyard version of the so-called 'fiscal-military state' in the eighteenth century. Issues connected with these subjects are important to some of the Honours modules I teach.

I believe a history degree should be both challenging and enjoyable. I seek to identify issues or problems in the past which have contemporary resonances. In addition, I try as far as possible, to obtain copies of original source materials which enable students to draw their own conclusions about some of the problems my modules focus on. I visit Spain at least once a year, to further my research and to obtain original materials for my classes.

Teaching interests

Undergraduate Modules:
Imperial Spain 1476-1840
Enlightened Despotism in Europe 1763-1789
The French Revolution 1789-1799

Research

• Publications
• Research Statement
• Suggested areas for postgraduate supervision
• Research problems
• Thinking about some of my other research interests

Publications

Book

• War, Diplomacy and the Rise of Savoy 1690-1720 (Cambridge, 1999).

Articles/chapters

• 'Machiavelli Dethroned: Victor Amadeus II and the making of the Anglo-Savoyard alliance of 1690', European History Quarterly, 22 (1992).
• 'Introduction: The Consolidation of Noble Power in Europe c. 1600-1800', in H. M. Scott, (ed.), The European Nobilities in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, 2 Vols., I (London, 1995). [with H. M. Scott]
• 'The Army of Lombardy and the Resilience of Spanish power in Italy 1665-1700. Part One', War in History, 4 (1997); and 'The Army of Lombardy and the Resilience of Spanish power in Italy 1665-1700. Part Two', War in History, 5 (1998).
• 'Disaster at Darien (1698-1700)? The Persistence of Spanish Imperial Power on the Eve of the Demise of the Spanish Habsburgs', European History Quarterly, 29 (2000).
• 'La pervivencia de la monarquia espanola bajo el reinado de Carlos II (1665-1700)', Manuscrits. Revista d'historia moderna, 21 (2003).
• 'Ormea as Foreign Minister 1732-45: The Savoyard State between England and Spain', in A. Merlotti, ed., Nobilta e Stato in Piemonte (Turin, 2003)
• 'Foreign Penetration of the Spanish Empire 1660-1714: Sweden, Scotland and England', in A.I. Macinnes and A.H. Williamson, eds., Shaping the Stuart World 1603-1714: The Atlantic Connection (Leiden, 2006)

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Research Statement

My main interest is in state formation, the rise and fall of empires, and international relations (including war) in early modern Europe. The subject of my last book was the rise of a small Italian state during a period of major warfare in Europe, between 1690 and 1720. Currently, I am particularly interested in the Hispanic world. The central problem I am exploring is how a supposedly 'exhausted' Spain managed to keep its empire in Europe and overseas intact in the face of threats from more powerful competitors. Other research interests include crime and punishment in the ever-larger standing armies of early modern Europe, and espionage and its impact upon policy in the wars of later seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe.

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Suggested areas for postgraduate supervision

• Early Modern Spain c.1476-1840
• Early Modern Italy, especially Spanish Italy and the Duchy of Savoy
• Early Modern Portugal
• State Formation in Europe c.1600-1800
• National Identity in Europe c.1600-1800
• The European Nobility/-ies c.1600-1800
• War, Diplomacy and International Relations in Europe c.1600-1800
• Crime and Punishment in European Armies c.1600-1800
• The Collection, Evaluation and Use of Intelligence in Europe 1600-1800

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Research Problems

Spain's role is one the great gaps in our knowledge - and more important our understanding - of international relations in the second half of the seventeenth century and to a lesser degree that of the early eighteenth century. I would welcome research students wishing to work with me on the many historical problems associated with this issue.

• Has the triumph of the modern nation state produced a history largely unsympathetic to the supranational Spanish Habsburg 'Monarchy' or empire?
• Has the dismantling of the Francoist state in Spain since 1975 produced too local a history in Spain disinclined to recognize the importance of a Castilian-dominated state/empire?
• To what extent are current explanations of Spain's international trajectory - its 'fall' and 'rise' between 1665 and 1746 - too deterministic?
• What does this say about broader theories about the rise and fall of Great Powers and empires?

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Thinking about some of my other research interests

• What do patterns of crime and punishment in early modern armies say about crime and punishment in the larger society?
• How far did states use court-martials to inculcate distinctive values in their officer corps?
• How do we evaluate effectively the importance of (secret) intelligence, in the early modern era?
• Can we devise an appropriate methodology?

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