Fernand Braudel

Fernand Braudel was the foremost French historian of the postwar era and a leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three great projects, each representing several decades of intense study: "The Mediterranean" (1923–49, then 1949–66), "Civilization and Capitalism" (1955–79), and the unfinished "Identity of France" (1970–85). His reputation stems in part from his writings, but even more from his success in making the Annales School the most important engine of historical research in France and much of the …