Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century These are heavy going, both physically and mentally, but well worth it -- the scope is phenomenal, touching details across centuries of history and different civilizations.  Fantastic maps and charts illustrate the concepts, along with period pictures. 

These books  make excellent background reading for many historical novels that flesh out this fascinating period.

The Living Theatre's Capital Changes - the emergence of capitalism as a world force is about the last great turning in economic history, the time between 1400 and 1800 when capital emerged as a distinct force in the world. The company has been grappling with this material ... looking at the research of French historian Fernand Braudel (1902-1985) for more than twenty years, drawn to his writing by his brave effort to sidestep ideological biases as much as is humanly possible, and by the wealth in his works of what Ezra Pound called "luminous details," the resonant specifics that reveal the shape of the whole. ... While their identities are fictional, the events that shape their lives are historical occurences culled from Braudel