I thought Douglass North's textbook on economic history was useful when I studied it in school, and he likely has a lot of other articles and books you can pick

I thought Douglass North's textbook on economic history was useful when I studied it in school, and he likely has a lot of other articles and books you can pick and choose from. He died in 2015 but was quite prolific and won the Nobel prize. I have the last book he co-authored on my shelf that I still need to read. I think he's most known for his work in the role of institutions (which I think helps elucidate the "economic factors that come together" part of your curiosity): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglass_North#Institutions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglass_North#Institutions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_institutional_economics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_institutional_economics