Understanding how Europe evolved is essential for anyone seeking an in-depth grasp of both the history of Western civilization—and its future—for a variety of reasons:

• Almost all of the West’s important political, social, cultural, and economic institutions and ideologies either came from Europe or evolved in reaction to it.
• To witness how European civilization developed is to understand why and how the entire Western world became who and what it is.
• Finally, such an understanding is essential if you are to have a nuanced grasp of the important events that dominate the daily news.

In short, and in almost every way that matters, historical Europe was the laboratory in which the world you now live in was conceived and tested. And you’ll be living with the consequences of those experiments for the rest of your life.

The Development of European Civilization leads you through the doors of that laboratory and guides you through the development of Europe from the late Middle Ages through the eve of World War II. In these 48 lectures delivered by University of Toronto Professor Kenneth R. Bartlett, whose award-winning teaching skills have been evident in the classroom, in books, and through video lectures for more than 30 years—you’ll finally grasp the amazing results of that European laboratory over more than 600 years of history.