Readers are offered the fundamental work of the famous French economist Jerome Adolph Blanqui (1798-1854), containing an account of the history of political economy in Europe from ancient times to the beginning of the XIX century. This edition is the first volume of the book, which examines the history of European political economy from Antiquity to the 18th century. The existence of political economy in ancient Greece and Rome is shown, the political and economic systems of antiquity are described. The changes that took place in the social economy of Europe under the influence of Christianity are considered, the economic consequences of the feudal system are analyzed. The emergence of the credit system in Europe, the establishment of banks and their impact on the success of political economy are described.