Feudalism was the economic and political system of Europe during the Middle Ages. One might be tempted to dismiss it as a primitive system, discarded when something better came along, but to do so would be to misunderstand human institutions…
Category: political institutions
The Emergence of European States
From the fall of the Roman Empire until at least 1100 AD, there was nothing in Europe that could be called a state. States emerged in England and France over the period 1100-1300, and later in other parts of Europe. They showed early signs of constitutional government, but some countries veered towards authoritarianism under the financial stress of the fifteenth-century military revolution…
Why was Science Successful in Europe?
In the time between the Scientific Revolution and World War II, almost every major advance in modern science was made by scientists who were culturally European…
Science and Society in China and the Islamic World
Science must be integrated into the fabric of society — institutionalized — if it is to succeed over the longer term. Science was successfully institutionalized in Europe during the twelfth century. China and the Islamic world were at different times the world leader in science, but neither society institutionalized it, and science eventually faltered in both societies…
Reining In the Kings
The security of person and property is an essential aspect of property rights. That security was endangered during Europe’s Middle Ages by, among other things, the predatory behaviour of kings…
Economic Ideology and the Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution changed the way that the English thought about their economy. The proponents of an economic ideology that justified the power of the landowners became less influential. The proponents of an ideology that emphasized the value of labour, and the role of manufacturing and trade in realizing this value, became more influential…
A History of Religious Toleration
The First Amendment was the culmination of a centuries-long struggle in which the advocates of religious toleration risked their livelihoods, their citizenship, and even their lives. This struggle began in the sixteenth century…
Britain in the Early Eighteenth Century
Who were the people that brought about the Industrial Revolution? Although they had much in common with the Dutch, they were different from other Europeans in a number of ways. They were also very different from the British of a century earlier…
The Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was influenced by both the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment…
The Nineteenth-Century Rules for Growth
Over the course of the Industrial Revolution, Britain became an industrial superpower. Other countries had to find policies that would allow them to develop their industry despite Britain’s enormous first-mover advantage. These policies necessarily involved protectionist trade policies and government intervention…
Merchants and Mechanics 