WiSe 2024/25, Vorlesung, Prof. Roelevink: The Economic History of the Modern World

Economic history is always also global history, i.e. international interdependence. In global history, the global interdependence of the world is usually dated to the 15th century and associated with the beginning of 'European expansion'. In this lecture, we will trace the glocal (global and local) history of capitalism from the end of the 15th century to recent times via the central resources – silver, sugar, cotton, coal, steel, rubber, oil and rare earths. We pay particular attention to the actors of glocal interdependence: traders, entrepreneurs and producers.