Characteristics of France: Man and Things (Part 1)

Author: [French] Fernand Braudel
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: In the second part, "Humans and Things," I depict the basic framework of my country's history from both demographic and economic perspectives because population and economy are the most obvious and easily graspable signs of deep historical movements. How many people were there? How did the material goods make human survival and reproduction possible? Or, how did they force people to move forward, break away from this or that path, and abandon these or those acquired positions? André Piguet calls population human resources, while G. Poivre further argues that population is the primary indicator data, the least arbitrary standard. In light of this, the first two chapters of this part will explore the issue of population, namely "French Population from Prehistoric Times to 1000 AD and Its Long-Term Cycles" and "French Population Since 1000 AD and Its Long-Term Evolution." Chapters three and four will focus on economic issues, with titles "Peasant Economy Until the 20th Century—Infrastructure" and "Peasant Economy Until the 20th Century—Superstructure."