Biography and works of Fernand Braudel

The works and works of Fernand Braudel determined the development not only of French, but also of world historical science in the 20th century. This scientist made a real revolution in historiography and source study, focusing on not the events, as his predecessors and many contemporaries did, but on the specifics of the development of history as a whole, the pace and dynamics of the transformation of the goals of socio-economic social structures. As part of his research, he sought to show the story as a whole, not limited to retelling the facts and incidents. He had international recognition, he was a member of such an organization as the French Academy, and also was a member of other major educational centers.

General characteristic of the direction

The direction of development of historical science in the 20th century was largely determined by the young annals school, whose representatives considered the old positivist historiography obsolete and called for paying attention not to facts but to processes in the economy and society, which, in their opinion, constitute a true story, then Time as external political events and facts are only an outward manifestation of their changes. The direction received its name from the same magazine, which was published by M. Blok and L. Febvre. This new edition became the mainstay of new ideas in French historiography, but at first the annal school was not widely popular because of the rule of positivistic science.

Some facts of life

The future famous historian at first also adhered to its traditions, old rules and when studying history, paid attention to the personalities of rulers, statesmen, political events. However, very soon he departed from these principles and joined the young course of the annals. But before he begins to analyze his views, it is necessary to dwell on his biography, because all the events in his life had a great influence on his becoming as the greatest researcher of his time.

The birthplace of the historian is a small French village in Lotharigia, which is located on the border with Germany. He was born in 1902 in a simple family: his father was a mathematics teacher, a grandfather a soldier and a peasant. The future historian spent his childhood in the countryside, monitoring the life of ordinary workers had a great influence on the worldview, largely determining his interest in the history of everyday life. This place of birth, according to the author's recollections, was the first school, because from it he brought out an understanding of the value and importance of the everyday existence of ordinary people.

In 1909, he enrolled in primary school in the Paris suburb, and then in the capital's lyceum. According to the historian, studying was given to him very easily: he had a good memory, he was fond of reading, art creativity, history, and thanks to his father's preparation he coped with mathematical disciplines. His parent wanted him to receive a technical specialty, but the historian entered the Humanities Faculty at the Sorbonne. Fernand Braudel, like many young students of that time, was interested in the theme of the revolution, and he, in an effort to obtain a degree, chose the topic for the thesis to start in a small town near his native village, but these plans were not to be realized.

Work abroad

The scientist went to Algeria, where he taught from 1923 to 1932. He was a brilliant lecturer and already showed himself as a brilliant teacher. In his recollections, these years had a huge influence on him: he was so interested in the world of the Mediterranean that he decided to devote a dissertation to him. In these years he not only teaches, but also very fruitfully engaged in scientific activity, working with archival documents. He was very efficient and in a few years had accumulated a huge amount of material sufficient for writing a scientific study. By this time, the publication of his first article (1928) was included.

Change in views

Fernand Braudel was greatly influenced by his meeting with L. Febvre in 1932, when both returned to their homeland. This acquaintance in many ways determined the features of his future scientific approaches. He became not only a supporter of the ideas of the annals school, but also his close friend. The scientist collaborated with his famous journal, which subsequently affected his writings. The fact is that at first he chose the policy of King Philip II in the Mediterranean for his thesis, which corresponded to the traditions of positivist historiography, but later he departed from the personality of this ruler and decided to make the history of the environment, the study of general trends in development at a close Attention to the economy, social structure, economy. So the French historian became the founder of a new direction in historiography - geohistory, which involved the combination of the study of the phenomena of the past in indissoluble connection with the nature of the climate, features of the terrain.

Work in Brazil and during the war years

From 1935 to 1937, the scientist taught at the University of Brazil. This new work, he said, also had a huge impact on him, primarily in the culturological sense. Being extremely receptive by nature, he watched with interest the life in one place of several nationalities, which subsequently determined Fernand Braudel's interest in the problem of the coexistence of different civilizations. Returning to his homeland, under the guidance of his friend, he decided to write a dissertation on the Mediterranean, but already in line with a new direction, however, the beginning of the war and the occupation of the country changed these plans.

The historian first fought, but not for long, as he was captured along with the remnants of his detachment and remained in captivity until 1945. Nevertheless, he found the strength to continue his work. The scientist worked from memory, restoring his archival records and achievements of previous years. In addition, the researcher was able to establish contact with Feb, who, after the execution of the Bloc for participating in the Resistance movement, remained the sole head of the annals direction. Braudel was imprisoned in the city of Mainz, where the university was, and the conditions of detention of prisoners of war were not very severe. Here he had the opportunity to continue his work, which was successfully defended after the war, in 1947.

Post-war decades

After the publication of his famous dissertation "Mediterranean Sea and the Inland World in the Epoch of Philip II" the author became an acknowledged representative of the new school. At this time he is actively engaged in teaching, and has proved himself not only as a talented scientist, but also as an excellent organizer. In 1947, together with his friends, he founded the sixth section of the Practical School of Higher Studies, which became the mainstay of new research developments. After the death of Fevre, he became its president and held this post until 1973. He also became the editor of his journal and began teaching at the College de France, where he was head of the department of modern civilization.

Departure from social activities

However, after the events of 1968, serious changes occurred in his fate, as in the fate of the country. The fact is that this year began a massive student movement, which acquired a fairly wide scope. Braudel, returning to his homeland, tried to enter into negotiations with the participants, but this time found that his words no longer produce the desired effect on them, as in previous years. Moreover, it was found that he himself is considered a representative of outdated science. After these events, he decides to leave most of the posts he holds and devote himself exclusively to scientific work.

New work

From 1967 to 1979, he worked hard on his next major work, "Material civilization, economics and capitalism." He set himself, it would seem, an impossible task: to study the history of the economy from the 15th to the 18th century. In this fundamental work he showed, on the basis of a vast historical material, the mechanisms of the development of the national economy, trade, and the material conditions for the existence of people. He was also interested in the intermediary role of merchants, traders, banks.

According to the scientist, the economic and social factors that formed in the previous decades became the basis for the policy, the events of which he did not attach much importance, considering them superficial and uninteresting for the scientist, for which he was often criticized. He was also accused of trying to write a global history and embrace all aspects of life, which is essentially impossible. Nevertheless, the new work of the researcher changed the direction of the development of historiography.

Views and methodological approaches

The history of everyday life has become the main object of his research. But his concept of historical time, which he divided into a long (the main thing that covers the existence of civilizations), a short one (events of separate periods that cover the lives of individuals) and a medium, cyclical (which includes temporary recessions and upsurge in different spheres of society ). Before his death, he actively worked on the work devoted to the history of France, one of the sections of which is called "People and Things", in which he conducted a thorough analysis of the life of the people, their way of life and development. But he died in 1985, not having completed his work to the end.

Value

The role of this scientist in historiography can not be overestimated. He made a real revolution in science, following the representatives of the annals school from the history of facts to the study of social, economic processes. He brought up a whole galaxy of scientists, among whom such famous names as Duby, Le Goff and many others. His works became a landmark in historical and scientific and in many ways determined the direction of its development in the 20th century.