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The Wheels of Commerce: Civilization & Capitalism 15th-18th Century, Vol. 2 Paperback – 1982

by Fernand Braudel (Author), Sian Reynolds (Translator)

21 customer reviews

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Product Details

Paperback: 670 pages
Publisher: Harper & Row; 1st edition (1982)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060150912
ISBN-13: 978-0060150914
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #770 in Books > Business & Money > Biography & History > Economic History
- #2397 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources
- #5525 in Books > Business & Money > Economics

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

Very Annalesesque

By Collin Garbarino VINE VOICE on June 8, 2006

Format: Paperback

In The Wheels of Commerce, Fernand Braudel deftly blended history and economics with the result that neither suffers. His goal in this book, the second volume in his Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century, was "to analyse the machinery of exchange as a whole, from primitive barter up to and including the most sophisticated capitalism" (21). In the process of examining this machinery of exchange, Braudel also proposed an ambitious thesis concerning the origins of capitalism. The book itself is a monumental work, an impressive combination of statistical analyses and illustrations from primary sources.

Braudel's first two chapters, "The Instruments of Exchange" and "Markets and the Economy," investigated the role of circulation. In chapter one, he concentrated on the mechanisms by which goods (and money) were traded. Braudel explained that markets and shops were at the bottom of the world of commerce. Markets took place once or twice a week, and shops were open everyday. Fairs, the wholesale markets, were on the higher level. Participants traded large amounts of goods and settled their accounts at the end. Braudel pointed out the importance of fairs in the development of capitalism: "The fair itself created credit" (91). If one merchant had a negative trade balance with another merchant, he would either offer a bill of exchange (a promise of payment on another exchange) or defer payment with interest until another fair. Additionally, these bills of exchange could be sold to a third party if necessary, introducing speculation. The trading mechanisms of the fair were eventually consolidated into the large exchanges of cities like Amsterdam and London, and eventually these exchanges grew into the stock markets.Read more ›

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Mindblowing

By P. Roberts on March 8, 2014

Format: Paperback

The rating is for all three volumes, as this book really requires it. Braudel's style will be absolutely off-putting to some readers with the lack of structure and seemingly endless detail given to minor events. What he has to say however, is extremely important and has changed my views about capitalism and economics in general more than any other single work. I'll try my hand at summarizing his main ideas:

1: There exists three layers in any economy. First and most importantly there is the autarkic, self-sufficient economy of the household which has historically constituted the greatest part of the wider economy. This is family, communal and noncommercial activities. At the next level there is the marketplace, the town-square, the fair, the bazaar where goods are exchanged. From simple exchange markets form trading zones and begin to rationalize an economy, which happens when prices begin to fluctuate in unison. Finally at the top level there is capitalism, which is originally created by the working of the market but becomes independent from it. It is the "zone of the anti-market, where the great predators roam and where the law of the jungle operates."

2: Capitalism, or rather capital, can be defined by its ability to choose which markets to enter, what to control and what to leave alone. Throughout the late middle ages and early modern era the greatest bastions of capitalism were the leading merchant cities of Europe rather than the larger territorial states of Spain, France or England.Read more ›

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but the illustrations are like wandering through a museum

By Roger Merritt on November 24, 2014

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

All three volumes are fascinating. Well, sometimes the sheer volume of examples and documents can be daunting, but the illustrations are like wandering through a museum. He manages to bring life and light to dry and dusty details like bills of exchange. I'd recommend this to anybody who is really curious about history.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Dense Read but fascinating Information

By M6 on August 15, 2013

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

If you enjoy detailed aspects about life from the 15th-18th century then this is a great reference book. It is written for the layman but takes a long time to get through the material. It also covers a wide range of topics. Great source of historical information.

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A monumental work

By Kyriakos Varveris on October 10, 2013

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Massive work, full of details, by the master of economic history. A word of caution: You have to dig very hard, in order to collect the priceless and intriguing meanings of this work. In the end you will be rewarded!!!

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

The Wheels Of Capitalism In Its Swaddling Clothes

By Alfred Johnson on June 3, 2011

Format: Paperback

Karl Marx, the 19th century revolutionary socialist and dissector of the underpinnings of the capitalist mode of production, is most famous for his inflammatory pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto, a programmatic outline of, and rationale for, the socialist reconstruction of society beyond the current capitalist market system. Not as well known, and certainly not as widely read, was his equally important Das Capital that, painstaking, gives a historical analysis of the rise of capitalism based on the appropriation of surplus value by private owners. Where Marx worked in broad strokes to lay out his theory relying mainly on (and polemizing against) bourgeois economists the work under review, the second volume of a three volume study of the evolution of capitalism, Fernand Braudel's Wheels of Commerce, fills in the spaces left by Marx's work. Although Braundel, of necessity, tips his hat to Marx's insights his work does not depend on a Marxist historical materialist concept of history, at least consciously, although in its total effect it is certainly comparable with that interpretation of history.

Braudel digs deep into the infrastructure of medieval society to trace the roots of capitalism to the increased widespread commerce that the rise of rudimentary production of surplus goods permitted. He highlights, rightly I think, the important role of fairs, other lesser adjunct forms of commercial endeavor like peddling and shop keeping, and the rise of fortunately located (near rivers, the ocean, along accessible roadways) cities committed full-time to creating a market for surplus goods being produced in the those cities, on the land and, most importantly, in far-off places.Read more ›

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A tasty book indeed!

The book is giving a unique picture of human life before the 19th century. Quite adequatly showing peoples everyday customs and habits. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Piotr

The Wheels of Commerce

Braudel is a rare historian who is very thorough in explaining evolutionary process of civilization. Read more

Published on August 28, 2010 by S. D. Haas

Thanks!

I needed this book for class and it arrived in good condition and in a timely fashion, so I appreciate the time and effort given by this vendor.

Published on March 9, 2009 by Araceli Arciero

Great Economic History

I read this volume and its two companions several years ago, and they changed my view of the world. Although I am a long time amateur student of history and economics, this series... Read more

Published on March 7, 2008 by David W. Drake

A Brilliant History of Capitalism

In the first volume of this series, Braudel sets the stage for life and commerce in the period under discussion. Read more

Published on February 6, 2008 by S. T. Sullivan

One of the best books I will ever read

Wow, by far one of the best books that I have ever read. I usually do not like history because I prefer to be more proactive and immersed in today's world. Read more

Published on April 7, 2007 by Mr. Nathaniel Singer

Capitaliism, trade and globalization explained

There are various pretenders to the throne of explaining globalization, such as Thomas Friedman's recent The World Is Flat, but all such efforts seem shallow and pallid compared to... Read more

Published on May 16, 2006 by Charles Hugh Smith