On one level a history of the Electorate of Mainz in the eighteenth century, this book also seeks to illuminate a much wider area. In particular it is intended to be a contribution to the debate on the 'German Problem' - the growing cultural and political divergence between Germany and Western Europe in the modern period. Many historians have identified the crucial phase of this development in the nineteenth century; Dr Blanning argues that the eighteenth century was of equal if not greater importance.