Hey Historians, I was wondering if anybody could suggest some good books or articles on the Commercial Revolution or the rise of Mercantilism?

by sportsfanboy

College student here. I am trying to write a historiography on the Commercial Revolution and thought Reddit would be a good place to start.

Lipshitz2

The Marketplace of Revolution by TH Breen might be a good place to start. It talks about how the American Rev. and society were effected by consumerism and other economic factors. Pretty seminal work in American Revolutionary history. Sounds like it would be right up your alley.

Instantcoffees

Generally I'd advise you to do some research in your University library for these kind of things, but I went through my library and found a textbook which advises some specific works for further readings on the subject. Generally these are fairly known and respected works, so perfect for your specific problem. I selected some of the most relevant ones :

  • Ralph Davis, The Rise of Atlantic Economies, 1973.
  • Fernand Braudel, Civilizations and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century, 3vols, 1982-1984.
  • Maarten Prak, ed., Early Modern Capitalism: Economic and Social Change in Europe, 2001.
  • Charles Tilly and Wim P. Blockman, eds., Cities and the Rise of States in Europe, A.D. 1000-1800, 1994. ; This is more general and mostly features articles focused on state building, as expected from Charles Tilly.
  • Antonie Maczak, Henryk Samsonowicz, and Peter Burk, eds., East-Central Europe in Transition from the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth Century, 1985.
  • Raymond de Roover, Business, Banking and Economic Thought in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, 1974.
  • Richard Mackenney, The World of the Guilds in Venice and Europe, c. 1250-1650, 1987.
  • Steven Epstein, Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe, 1991.

I haven't read most of these, but a lot of these authors are known to deliver quality work. Anyone who studied history or works in related fields will probably recognize quite a few names. I also had a few books directly related to the subject, but they are in Dutch and I couldn't find them. I might keep looking if you happen to be Dutch?

In any case, good luck!