Channel logo

An Economic History of the World Since 1400

Season 1
Economics created our world. As the process through which societies provide for their citizens, it has driven everything from trade and politics to warfare and diplomacy. There's not a single aspect of history that has not been influenced by economics. Discover a riveting, centuries-long story of power, glory, and ideology that reveals how economic ideas emerged, evolved, and thrived or died.
201648 episodesTV-PG
Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy

Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Self-Interest, Human Survival, and History
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    How is economic history different from a history of economics? What are the primary concerns of today's economic historians? What are some watershed economic moments of the last 500 years? Why does modern economic history "begin" around 1400? Find out in this introductory lecture to the remarkable journey ahead.#History
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  2. S1 E2 - Marco Polo, China, and Silk Road Trade
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    Examine the state of the global economy circa 1400, when Europe was surprisingly at the bottom of the economic success ladder. Along the way, you'll examine the broad economic outlines of China, India, and the Islamic world and discover how Europe laid the groundwork for the new capitalist world system that exists today.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  3. S1 E3 - Manorial Society in Medieval Europe
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    Learn how Europe's manorial societies helped develop the structures and institutions that would lead to the medieval commercial revolution. You'll find out what everyday life was like on a manor, how serfs were exploited by elites, the importance of medieval trade fairs, how wool-cloth production redefined northwestern Europe, and more.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  4. S1 E4 - How Black Death Reshaped Town and Field
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    Outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics can have profound effects not just on human populations, but also on the economy. Discover how the Black Death shut down trade routes, lowered economic productivity, disrupted supply and demand, depressed land value, and ultimately made the medieval feudal system untenable.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  5. S1 E5 - Late-14th-Century Guilds and Monopolies
    August 28, 2016
    29min
    TV-PG
    After the Black Death, urban revolts placed a strong emphasis on the rights of European peasants. This also led to the creation of guilds and monopolies that reflected the self-interests of those in control of urban power structures. Find out how these systems helped carry the European economy through subsequent centuries.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  6. S1 E6 - European Discovery Routes: East and West
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    What did the age of exploration mean to the European economy? Find out in this lecture that covers the voyages of explorers like Columbus and Magellan, the reasons why Asians didn't succeed at discovering a sea route to the West, the new European commercial systems created in the Americas, and much more.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  7. S1 E7 - 1571: Spain, Portugal Encircle the Globe
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    By 1500, the Iberian kingdoms of Portugal and Spain opened up immense possibilities for the backwater European economy to take the lead on the world stage. As you follow the story of how they did it, you'll encounter the landmark Treaty of Tordesillas; the development of Crown Trade Routes; Spanish hidalgos and conquistadors; and the link between slaves, gold, and spices.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  8. S1 E8 - Old World Bourses and Market Information
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    Go inside the creation of large, state-sponsored joint-stock companies in the 17th century-including the Bourse in Antwerp and the Exchanges in London and Amsterdam-and discover how negotiated public spaces became essential commercial institutions. Also, consider the importance of merchant manuals, which collated commercial rules and best practices.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  9. S1 E9 - The Europeans' Plantation Labor Problem
    August 28, 2016
    32min
    TV-PG
    At the heart of many European colonies were plantations, an economic system that relies on one mass-produced cash crop and a large, inexpensive labor force. How did Europeans solve labor supply problems in the colonies they established around the world? When (and where) did race-based slavery begin? Why did it last for so long?
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  10. S1 E10 - Adam Smith, Mercantilism, State Building
    August 28, 2016
    29min
    TV-PG
    According to Adam Smith, if labor creates value, then the amount of wealth in the world could increase by the collective efforts of a nation. Welcome to the dawn of mercantilism, which, as you'll learn here, radically redefined how rulers used economic policy-specifically to further the process of state building.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  11. S1 E11 - British and Dutch Joint-Stock Companies
    August 28, 2016
    29min
    TV-PG
    The English East India Company. The Dutch East India Company. Go inside these and other joint-stock companies, in which a group of merchants monopolized trade with certain parts of the world. In the process, you'll discover how these companies were granted sweeping powers, including the right to make war when they felt it necessary.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  12. S1 E12 - Europe, the Printing Press, and Science
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    How did the printing press shape the modern economy of the Western world? The answer, as you'll learn, is inextricably linked with scientific and technological progress, including the rapid circulation of new ideas, the rise of a lay intelligentsia, and the establishment of new ways of organizing knowledge.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  13. S1 E13 - The Industrious Revolution: Demand Grows
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    Explore the two centuries from 1600 to 1800 known as the industrious revolution." First, examine the early rise of the first factories (which guilds and states initially opposed). Then, study the slow change of the household economy, consumption patterns, and consumer behavior (including the introduction of cotton cloth)."
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  14. S1 E14 - Why Didn't China Industrialize Earlier?
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    Economic development in China between 1500 and 1800 was quite similar to that in Europe during the same period. So why did Europe industrialize, but China did not? Review some of the factors that contributed to a robust economy in China, then examine why China and Europe set off on different economic trajectories.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  15. S1 E15 - 18th-Century Agriculture and Production
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    Using Great Britain as a microcosm for Western Europe, examine several key changes in the relationship between agriculture and production that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. These changes include the increased centralization of government and the increased concentration of labor in the cities.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  16. S1 E16 - Industrial Revolution: The Textile Trade
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    Discover what Great Britain's burgeoning textile trade in the 18th century reveals about why this nation was the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Consider how the introduction of a popular new product generated significant market demand, how inventors solved problems, and why the steam engine is rightly considered the decisive factor that facilitated large-scale industrial production.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  17. S1 E17 - British Coal, Coke, and a New Age of Iron
    August 28, 2016
    29min
    TV-PG
    During the Industrial Revolution, Western Europe learned to make iron products better, faster, and cheaper than ever before. Travel back to the age of iron and steel in this lecture that covers everything from new smelting processes and coke fuel to Henry Cort's inventions and the construction of early iron-frame buildings.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  18. S1 E18 - Power: From Peat Bogs to Steam Engines
    August 28, 2016
    29min
    TV-PG
    Coal wasn't the only fuel in use during the Industrial Revolution. First, Professor Harreld introduces you to other power sources that were in use at the time (including peat and animal power). Then, he takes you inside the dramatic evolution of the steam engine-a new power source that would have an irrevocable impact on the progression of the world economy.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  19. S1 E19 - A Second Industrial Revolution after 1850
    August 28, 2016
    32min
    TV-PG
    What makes the Second Industrial Revolution so different from its predecessor? Learn why the United States (thanks to close ties with Great Britain) was an early participant in this second phase, which saw the dawn of the American system of interchangeable parts and a stronger bond between science and industry.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  20. S1 E20 - Family Labor Evolves into Factory Work
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    Industrialization was not just a helpful force but also a disruptive one. In fact, many scholars believe it led to the breakdown of the working class family structure. Investigate what this meant for families, including the destabilization of wages, the gendering of occupations, the worsening of working conditions, and the rise of our modern ideas of class consciousness.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  21. S1 E21 - Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Modern Firm
    August 28, 2016
    32min
    TV-PG
    Meet Cornelius Vanderbilt, the man who was a veritable centerpiece of the Industrial Revolution. You'll learn how this iconic industrialist amassed great wealth and influence, he formed his massive railroad empire, sparked the rise of the modern firm and management hierarchies, and came to epitomize the idea of the self-made individual.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  22. S1 E22 - 19th-Century Farm Technology, Land Reform
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    From land reform to scientific farming techniques to new farm technology, explore the factors that transformed agricultural production in Europe and the United States. Topics include how America became the world's dominant agricultural power, the peasant rights that came from the French Revolution, and how farmers used new practices like crop-rotation systems.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  23. S1 E23 - Speeding Up: Canals, Steamships, Railroads
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    Railroads, steamships, telegraphs, telephones-each of these 19th-century innovations helped create the globalized, interconnected world that we currently inhabit in the 21st century. Follow the trajectory of the history of modern transportation and communication (with its emphasis on speed) as it relates to the story of economics.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  24. S1 E24 - European Urbanization and Emigration
    August 28, 2016
    31min
    TV-PG
    By 1910, the population of Europe had tripled-and this expanding population provided manufacturers with a growing base of consumers to whom they could market goods. Professor Harreld uses 19th-century Paris as the perfect example of how a city handles (and mishandles) rapid urbanization and a huge influx of immigrants.
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
  25. S1 E25 - Unions, Strikes, and the Haymarket Affair
    August 28, 2016
    30min
    TV-PG
    The Haymarket Affair in Chicago perfectly illustrates the social tensions industrialization generated-and which have yet to be solved. First, learn what we mean by class" and "class consciousness." Then, explore the unique goals of trade unions. Lastly, examine the growing politicization of labor, including the use of labor strikes and the philosophies of Marx and Engels."
    Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
Show all 48 episodes

Details

More info

Audio languages
English
Subtitles
English [CC]
Producers
The Great Courses
Cast
Donald J. Harreld
Studio
The Great Courses
By clicking play, you agree to our Terms of Use.