Conversation so far:
What is La Mediteranee?
His first book.
what was the topic?
Braudel looks at two or three centuries in order to spot a particular pattern, such as the rise and fall of various aristocracies.
what time period was he studying?
the Age of Philip II.

Question: what patterns did he discover?
Self-contained rewrite: what patterns did Braudel discover during the age of philip II?