Sea routes connect every pair of coastal locations. The discovery of these routes was largely the result of a century of European exploration.
Why Were the Americas so Underdeveloped when Europeans Reached Them?
Eurasia was able to produce food surpluses more than a thousand years before the Americas. Food surpluses led to specialization, which led to rapid development.
The Foundations of the Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution occurred when mathematical reasoning and experimentation were widely adopted.
Economic Ideology and the Glorious Revolution
At the time of the Glorious Revolution, an ideology that emphasized the value of labour pushed aside an ideology that justified the power of the landowners.
The Enlightenment in Britain and France
Enlightenment philosophy changed the way in which people understood their place in the world, but the British and the French changed in very different ways.
A History of Religious Toleration
The struggle for religious toleration began in the sixteenth century. Its advocates risked their livelihoods, their freedom, and even their lives.
The Industrial Revolution
Britain experienced a period of rapid technological progress that forever changed the nature of work, and that allowed it to dominate markets around the world.
The Steam Engine
The steam engine powered a new generation of industrial machinery, and gave rise to modes of transportation that would stitch the world together.
The Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was one aspect of a dramatic change in the way that people thought of themselves and the world in which they lived.
Why Did the Industrial Revolution Happen in Britain in the Eighteenth Century?
The Industrial Revolution occurred because labour was expensive relative to capital and coal, making technologies that replaced labour with machines profitable.
Merchants and Mechanics 