Welcome to A History of Capitalism, a narrative history podcast about how capitalism as we know it came to be. Tune in biweekly for an epic story spanning from the Black Death to Black Mondays and everything in between.
If there's one thing that's more capitalist than anything else, it's the corporation. In this episode, we explore the modern corporation's origins in Dutch & English colonialism, the spice trade, gun-running, and more!
Merchant Kings: When Companies Ruled the World, 1600-1900 by Stephen R. Brown
The Dutch Overseas Empire, 1600-1800 by Pieter C. Emmer and Jos J.L. Gommans
For Profit: A History of Corporations by William Magnuson
Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism by Philip J. Stern
22 Apr 2024
S1.E8 - The Printing Press
Moving and storing information has always been vital to economic development. In this episode, we will turn to the story of the printing press, why it triggered the information revolution which was essential to capitalism's rise, and how it transformed economics from the ground up just as the Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Spanish were laying the foundations of global empires.
The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google by Patchen Barss
“Information Technology and Economic Change: The Impact of the Printing Press”, by Jeremiah E. Dittmar, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011, Vol. 126
A Short History of the Printing Press by Robert Hoe
Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky
Theatre of the book, 1480-1880 : print, text, and performance in Europe by Julie Stone Peters
8 Apr 2024
S1.E7 - War Capitalism
Capitalism, at its outset, was a very violent and warlike affair. In this episode, we will explore the historical model known as war capitalism and how military might was essential for granting European merchants access to the markets of Asia.
Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert
The Dutch Overseas Empire, 1600-1800 by Pieter C. Emmer and Jos J.L. Gommans
Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1540-1740 by Mark G. Hanna
“U.S. Privateering Is Legal” by Brandon Schwartz, Proceedings, U.S. Naval Institute, April 2020
The Career and Legend of Vasco de Gama by Sanjay Subrahmanyam
The Portuguese Empire in Asia, 1500-1700 by Sanjay Subrahmanyam
6 Dec 2023
S1.E6 - The Columbian Exchange
Spain's new colonial empire endowed Europe's rising monarchy with an unprecedented economic windfall. In this episode, we find out how silver and other goods extracted from the Americas made the first truly worldwide economy possible at the cost of Spain's prosperity and long-term stability.
Works Cited:
“Megadrought and Megadeath in 16th Century Mexico”, by Rodolfo Acuna-Soto, David W. Stahle, Malcolm K. Cleveland, and Matthew D. Therrell, Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 8, Issue 4, (2002)
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C Mann
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
The Resource Curse: The Political and Economic Challenges of Natural Resource Wealth by the Natural Resource Governance Institute
Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World by Marcy Norton
The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations by Michael L. Ross
Silver, Trade, and War: Spain and America in the Making of Early Modern Europe by Stanley J. Stein and Barbara H. Stein
The Colonial Heritage of Latin America: Essays on Economic Dependence in Perspective by Stanley J. Stein and Barbara H. Stein
The Spanish Treasure Fleets by Timothy R. Walton
20 Nov 2023
S1.E5 - 1492
CW: Anti-Semitic violence and the enslavement and genocide of indigenous peoples in the Americas, mention of torture, mutilation, and suicide.
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue or at least that's how the rhyme goes. It's time to dive in to Columbus' place in the history of capitalism, why Spain and Portugal were at the forefront of European maritime expeditions, and how they carved up the world.
Works Cited:
La caída de Cristóbal Colón: El juicio de Bobadilla translated by Isabel Aguirre, (Estudios: 2006)
An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, (Beacon Press: 2014)
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann, (Vintage: 2006)
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles Mann, (Vintage: 2012)
Christopher Columbus and the Enslavement of the Amerindians by Jalil Sued-badillo from Displacements and Transformations in Caribbean Cultures edited by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert and Ivette Romero-Cesareo, (University Press of Florida: 2008)
https://gsp.yale.edu/case-stud... (https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/colonial-genocides-project/hispaniola)
"Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown's Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America" from The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 55, Issue 4, December 1995 by Timothy J. Yeager
16 Oct 2023
S1.E4 - An Explosive Recipe
Its now time to kick the story of capitalism off with a bang. Gunpowder did more than just change warfare. Its production and use completely transformed society, governance, and gave rise to one of the first modern industries. Nothing shows these changes better than the Ottoman Turks, the world's first gunpowder empire, and their 1453 CE conquest of Constantinople.
Battles of the Medieval World by Kelly DeVries, Martin J. Dougherty, and Iain Dickie
An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914 by Halil Inalcik, Suraiya Faroqhi, Bruce MacGowan, Donald Quartaert, and Sevket Pamut
Re-Orient: Global Economy in the Asian Age by Andre Gunder-Frank
A History of Islamic Civilizations by Ira M. Lapidus
18 Sept 2023
S1.E3 - Money and Banking
Money. You can't live without it these days. In this episode we find out how money rose to its dominant position by the year 1400 CE, how money's limitations created banking, and how banking developed during these early years.
Episode Bibliography:
Money and Credit in Indian History from Early Medieval Times edited by Amiya Kumar Bagchi
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
"The Medieval Origins of the Financial Revolution: Usury, Rentes, and Negotiability" from The International History Review by John H. Munron
The Song-Yuan-Ming Transition in Chinese History by Paul Yakov Smith and Richard von Glahn
5 Sept 2023
S1.E2 - Merchants, Markets, and Trade
Trade across three continents was not an easy task. In this episode we meet the merchants and markets who made goods move through the eyes of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.
Episode Bibliography:
Oxford History of Medieval Europe by George Holmes
Re-Orient: Global Economy in the Asian Age by Andre Gunder-Frank
A History of Islamic Civilizations by Ira M. Lapidus
The Rihla by Ibn Battuta
The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo
28 Aug 2023
S1.E1 - The World in 1400 CE
Welcome to the beginning of our journey! This episode introduces you to the world where modern capitalism first began. Join us for a tour of Europe after the Black Death, the Middle East on the eve of Ottoman rule, India in upheaval, China approaching its zenith, and Africa's connections to the larger world.
Episode Bibliography:
Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism by Sven Beckert
The Black Death Transformed by Samuel K. Cohn
Re-Orient: Global Economy in the Asian Age by Andre Gunder-Frank
A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani
A Brief History of Chinese Civilization by Conrad Schirokauer and Miranda Brown
Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 by John Thornton
7 Aug 2023
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