Big Data in History

Big Data in History introduces a project to create a world-historical archive that will trace the last four centuries of historical dynamics and change. The archive will link research on social, economic, and political affairs, plus health and climate, for societies throughout the world. The care, detail, and advanced technology that go into building such an archive are outlined in this book, and the benefits of gathering and disseminating data from our long history are clearly mapped out. Chapters address the archive's overall plan, how to interpret the past through a global archive, how to organize historical research on five continents, and the missions of gathering widespread records, linking local data into global patterns, and exploring the results. The concluding chapters summarize project plans and compare it with two major and successful projects in worldwide data: the modelling of climate and documenting the human genome.

Patrick Manning is Mellon Professor of World History and Director of the World History Center at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. A leader in world-historical scholarship and institution-building, with specialization in Africa and the African diaspora, he now directs an effort to create a world-historical archive.