The road to prosperity with the Industrial Revolution was now through production and sale to the world through free trade policies and instruments. Until then, the exploitation of precious metals and the accumulation of commercial capital in the world through international trade had continued to increase since the second half of the century. In fact, the growth rate of industrial production and world trade in the following years had been significantly higher than in previous years and periods.

Increased trade with the effect of the industrial revolution has led to the need for trade education. Commercial education, which began with the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States, is the foundation of today’s major trade schools. In this study, we examined how business education began in Europe and the United States, the steps it took and how it was taught.

Economic growth and development are not the same things, although economic growth is a phenomenon that is followed by almost everyone. Economic growth includes the increase in per capita national income. Development involves both economic growth and structural change. Economic development occurs over a long period of time when there is an increase in the economic welfare of individuals in a country. The idea of a link between development and foreign trade in economic theory is based on classical economists. Adam Smith and David Ricardo, J.S., who were the representatives of the liberal view, who produced their works in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Classical economists like Mill talk about the dynamic effects of markets. Not only one country will benefit from free foreign trade, but international prosperity and exchange will increase prosperity all over the world. Since the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, there has been strong criticism of the views of the Classical School.

The systematic penetration of trade education into the European and American Education Systems, which is the basis of today’s Faculties of Business and Economics, has been with the Industrial Revolution. These schools, which constitute the foundations of today’s highly respected universities, have given great importance to the merchant sector and they have never denied the material and moral support of these schools both during the establishment and development of these schools. Over time, the educational contents changed, were updated and started to use modern educational techniques required by the era. The main reason for the emergence of these schools was the need for qualified manpower required by the trade. Realizing that economic growth cannot be lasting without economic development, the western world has seen and continued to invest in people who are at the heart of economic growth.

In fact, in our country, trade education has started to be given in a way that does not fall behind the Western examples. The Greek nation, which was the best nation in the Ottoman Empire, established the Elen Commerce School in Heybeliada (Halki), the first private business school of the country, in 1831 and began to train traders in need of trade. Following the closure of the Elen School of Commerce for various reasons, the Hamidiye School of Commerce was established in 1883 as the first public school of the country. After school, it became Istanbul Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences, and gave life to Marmara University which is today one of the biggest universities in the country.