"The Industrial Revolution is central to the teaching of economic history. It has also been key to historical research on the commercial expansion of Western Europe, the rise of factories, coal and iron production, the proletarianization of labour, and the birth and worldwide spread of...

How it began: Great Britain and the developing world. The East India company -- Informal empire: Argentina; Egypt; China -- Varieties of colonialism: India, Nigeria -- How it continues: the United States and the developing world. Seeking influence abroad: Caribbean, Pacific Asia -- Fighting...

The international monetary system imploded during the Great Depression. As the conventional narrative goes, the collapse of the gold standard and the rise of competitive devaluation sparked a monetary war that sundered the system, darkened the decade, and still serves as a warning to...