The works and writings of Fernand Braudel determined the development of not only French, but also world historical science in the 20th century. This scientist made a real revolution in historiography and source studies, emphasizing not the study of events, as his predecessors and many contemporaries did, but the peculiarities of the development of history in general, 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 of facts and incidents. He had international recognition, was a member of such an organization as the French Academy, and was also a member of other major educational centers.
General characteristics of direction
The direction of the development of historical science in the 20th century was largely determined by the young school of annals, whose representatives considered the old positivist historiography obsolete and called for paying attention not to facts, but to processes in the economy, society, which, in their opinion, constitutereal history, while external political events and facts are only an external manifestation of their changes. The direction got its name from the magazine of the same name, which was published by M. Blok and L. Fevre. This new edition became a stronghold of new ideas in French historiography, but at first the annals school did not enjoy wide popularity due to the dominance of positivist scholarship.
Some facts of life
The future famous historian at first also adhered to its traditions, old rules, and when studying history, he paid attention to the personalities of rulers, statesmen, and political events. However, he very soon departed from these principles and joined the young current of the annals. But before proceeding to the analysis of his views, it is necessary to dwell on his biography, because all the events in his life had a great influence on his development as the largest researcher of his time.
The historian's birthplace is a small French village in Lorraine, which is located on the border with Germany. He was born in 1902 into a simple family: his father was a mathematics teacher, his grandfather was a soldier and a peasant. The future historian spent his childhood in the village, observing the life of ordinary workers had a great influence on his worldview, largely determining his interest in the history of everyday life. This birthplace, according to the author, became the first school, because from it he learned the value and importance of the daily existence of ordinary people.
In 1909, he entered an elementary school in the Parisian suburbs, and then to the Lyceum in the capital. According to the historian, studying was very easy for him: he had a good memory, he was fond of reading, art, history, and thanks to his father's training, he also coped with mathematical disciplines. His parent wanted him to get a technical speci alty, but the historian entered the humanitarian faculty at the Sorbonne. Fernand Braudel, like many young students of that time, was interested in the topic of revolution, and he, in an effort to get a degree, chose a dissertation topic to start in a town that was close to his native village, but these plans were not destined to materialize.
Work abroad
The scientist went to Algeria, where he taught from 1923 to 1932. He was a brilliant lecturer and even then showed himself as a brilliant teacher. According to his memoirs, these years had a huge impact on him: he became so interested in the world of the Mediterranean that he decided to devote his dissertation to it. During these years, he not only taught, but also very fruitfully engaged in scientific activities, working with archival documents. He was very hardworking and in a few years he accumulated a huge amount of material sufficient to write a scientific study. By this time, the publication of his first article (1928) dates back.
Change of mind
The formation of the worldview of Fernand Braudel was greatly influenced by his meeting with L. Febvre in 1932, when both togetherwere returning to their homeland. This acquaintance largely determined the features of his future scientific approaches. He became not only a supporter of the ideas of the school of annals, but also his close friend. The scientist collaborated with his famous journal, which subsequently affected his work. The fact is that at first he chose the policy of King Philip II in the Mediterranean as the topic for his dissertation, which corresponded to the traditions of positivist historiography, but later he moved away from the personality of this ruler and decided to make the history of the environment, the study of general trends in development with close attention, the main object of his research. attention to the economy, social structure, economy. So the French historian became the founder of a new direction in historiography - geohistory, which involved the connection of the study of the phenomena of the past in close connection with the nature of the climate, terrain features.
Work in Brazil and during the war years
From 1935 to 1937, the scientist taught at a Brazilian university. This new work, according to him, also had a huge impact on him, primarily in a cultural sense. Being extremely receptive by nature, he observed with keen interest the life of several nationalities in one place, 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, but the outbreak of war and the occupation of the country changed theseplans.
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. However, he found the strength to continue the work. The scientist worked from memory, restoring his archival records and achievements of previous years. In addition, the researcher managed to establish contact with Febvre, who, after the execution of Blok for participating in the Resistance movement, remained the only head of the annals direction. Braudel was imprisoned in the city of Mainz, where there was a university, and the conditions for prisoners of war were not very harsh. Here he had the opportunity to continue his work, which was successfully defended after the end of the war, in 1947.
Post-war decades
After the publication of his famous dissertation "The Mediterranean Sea and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II", the author became a recognized representative of the new school. At this time, he was actively engaged in teaching activities, and established himself not only as a talented scientist, but also as an excellent organizer. In 1947, together with his friends, he founded the 6th section of the Practical School of Higher Studies, which became a stronghold of new research developments. After Febvre's death, he became its president, a position he held until 1973. He also became the editor of his journal and began teaching at the Collège de France, where he held the chair of modern civilization.
Withdrawal from social activities
However, after the events of 1968, seriouschanges. The fact is that mass student movements began this year, which have acquired a fairly wide scope. Braudel, returning to his homeland, tried to enter into negotiations with the participants, but this time he found that his words no longer had the desired effect on them, as in previous years. Moreover, it turned out that he himself was considered a representative of an outdated science. After these events, he decides to leave most of his posts 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 a seemingly impossible task: to study the history of economics from the 15th to the 18th century. In this fundamental work, on the basis of vast historical material, he showed the mechanisms for the development of the national economy, trade, and the material conditions of people's existence. He was also interested in the intermediary role of merchants, merchants, banks.
According to the scientist, the economic and social factors that took shape in previous decades became the basis for politics, the events of which he did not attach much importance to, 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 cover all aspects of life, which is essentially impossible. However, the researcher's new work has changed the direction of historiography.
Views andmethodological approaches
The history of everyday life has become the main object of his research. But of particular interest is his concept of historical time, which he divided into long (the main one, which covers the existence of civilizations), short (events of individual periods that cover the lives of individuals) and average, cyclic (which includes temporary ups and downs in different spheres of society). Before his death, he actively worked on a work on 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 without completing his work.
Meaning
The role of this scientist in historiography can hardly be overestimated. He made a real revolution in science, following the representatives of the school of annals, moving away from the history of facts to the study of social and economic processes. He brought up a whole galaxy of scientists, including such famous names as Duby, Le Goff and many others. His work became a milestone in history and science and largely determined the direction of its development in the 20th century.
