Panorama, A World History

How did the Columbian Exchange transform diets around the world? Why did expanding global trade hurt textile workers in India? In what circumstances did the COVID-19 virus become a global pandemic?

Panorama explores these questions by following the journey of humankind in a global context, weaving a world-scale narrative with a single chronological thread. It empowers you to connect the regional histories of particular states, empires, and cultural traditions to larger patterns of change on hemispheric and global scales—examining migratory movements, networks of trade, the spread of religions, pandemics, and environmental transformations.

Richly illustrated with 120 images and 48 maps, this new edition is organised into three chronological parts, each covering a defined era in world history. Volume 2 starts in the mid-fifteenth century CE and surveys up to the present day.

Each chapter includes dedicated learning features:

• “Individuals Matter” presents biographical sketches of individuals, both notable historical figures and ordinary people, whose lives in some way illuminate the chapter’s main developments.
• “Weighing the Evidence” asks you to analyse and interpret primary sources, either texts or visual artefacts.
• “Thinking about the Past with Global and Comparative Themes” encourages you to examine the threads of change that cut across global space and time.
• “Thinking History” questions help consolidate your knowledge, and “Reflecting on the Past” questions invite you to contemplate broader chapter themes.
• In-margin definitions of words and phrases help you build key vocabulary.

With its unique global narrative, chronological storytelling, and exceptional features, Panorama provides a clear framework to analyse and engage with the changes, continuities, and anomalies in our world’s past—and their impact on the present.