Introduction: Laying the foundations for modern capitalism in France, 1500-1800 -- From merchant capitalism to finance capitalism -- Continuity and change in merchant capitalism, 1800-1840s -- The revolution in banking and transportation, 1850s-1870s -- The new world of financial and commercial capitalism, 1870s-1900s -- The flowering of industrial capitalism -- Textile capitalism -- The capitalism of coal -- The capitalism of iron and steel -- Hardware, machinery, and construction -- The capitalism of chemicals -- The capitalism of glass, paper, and print -- Industrial capitalism and consumer goods -- The new world of industrial capitalism -- The second Industrial Revolution and the beginnings of managerial capitalism, 1880s-1930s -- Big steel -- The electrical industry -- The automobile and its allies -- Chemicals and materials -- The new world of managerial capitalism.