Grütter, Werner; Borth, Wilhelm: Geschichtliche Grundlagen Europas, Von der griechisch-römischen Antike bis zum Zeitalter des Absolutismus. Zeiten und Menschen, Vol. 1. Paderborn: Schöningh-Verlag, 1985, S. 140.
"Jacob Fugger during a Meeting with his Head Accountant in the Branch Office in Augsburg"
This miniature, created by a book maker from Augsburg in 1518, records the new economic ethos at a time of watershed when banking, credit transactions and long distance trade linked the European continent to a worldwide market. The textbook authors explain the role of Jacob Fugger, a large scale manufacturer, in the development of the geopolitical space known as ‘Europe’.
Grütter, Werner
Borth, Wilhelm
The first volume in the textbook series Times and People was designed for use by the 11th grade and covers the period from antiquity until the French Revolution, while focusing on political, social and economic history. In addition to conveying traditional knowledge for school pupils, the team of authors treats cultural and everyday history as well as topics from applied geography. It also includes details of the achievements of historically important individuals.
Having been published at a time of political détente in Europe (1971-1985), the very history of this volume reflects a period marked by radical educational reforms. The Agreement on the Restructuring of the Secondary School's Upper Level at the Secondary Level II, which ushered in a reform of the upper level in the Federal Republic of Germany, was introduced by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in Germany in 1972. This reform was valid from the school year 1976/77. In the same year, both volumes of Werner Grütter’s textbook The Historical Way of Our World before 1776 were revised and recommended for use in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hamburg. Almost a decade later, Grütter, together with Wilhelm Borth, published a new edition of this work in three parts in the series New Edition G. After having been authorised for use in Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg, this textbook was also considered for use in Baden Württemberg, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western, Pomerania, Saarland and Switzerland. The present edition from 1985 has a clearly international perspective, as indicated in the revised title, The Historical Foundations of Europe.
Schöningh-Verlag
[p. 140]
Jakob Fuger in conversation with his chief accountant at the office in Augsburg (miniature, 1518, Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Brunswick)
