This book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students of economics and social sciences, history, and European culture, as well as for any interested reader who would like to delve into the study of the analysis and the historical evolution of European economic history. The first part focuses on the societies of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, attempting an assessment of the economy before the emergence of the market and a description of the "economic revolution" and the path towards the establishment of capitalist production relations. The second part analyzes the levels and the process of transition from the end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the early modern era, to commercial capitalism, and to the early stages of the industrialization process in Europe. The Industrial Revolution in England, the second industrial revolution, the rise of capitalist competition, and the creation of the Belle Epoque are the subjects of the third part. The fourth part is dedicated to the economic history of the 20th century, with an emphasis on the era of wars and depression (1914-1945), the golden age of capitalist development (1945-1973), and the era of stagnation and inflation (1973-2000). In the last chapter of the book, an attempt is made to connect the economic developments of the last decades of the 20th century with the current problems of the globalized economy.