The Rise of The Western World
During the sixteenth century, the world powers weren’t the same as today. At the time, no country was greater than China. China’s advanced technology, fertile and irrigated plains, great canal system, and well run administration, were some of its numerous advantages over the rival countries. Although China was unquestionably superior when compared to all other world powers, some civilizations were not far behind. The Muslim world was quickly expanding during the sixteenth century. The Ottoman Turks’ strong army was rapidly conquering countries and their naval power was growing. The Turks’ were also able to accomplish what many other civilizations couldn’t. They were able to unify an official faith, language, and culture over a large population. Japan and Russia weren’t as powerful as the Turks, but they were still considered a world power. These two countries both had geographic advantages and expanding militaries. Europe was considered a world power, but the weaknesses of the continent were more apparent than strengths.
So how could Europe manage to rise to the top? Europe would need a miracle in order for that to happen. Today Europe’s emergence to the height all the world’s civilizations during the sixteenth century is called the “European Miracle.” Several reasons for this miracle include Europe’s geographic location, increase in shipbuilding, political fragmentation, improvement of weaponry and defense, and the use of the “New Worlds” resources.
Europe’s geographic location was very important for its growth. Because Europe’s landscape consisted of mountain ranges and large forests, conquering the continent would be very difficult for anyone. Geography was very important in water tran...
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...ces, whale oil, seal oil, sugar, indigo, tobacco, rice, furs, timber, potatoes, and maize. All these materials greatly increased the wealth of Europe.
The “European Miracle” was able to happen due to many things. Europe’s geographic location, increase in shipbuilding, political fragmentation, improvements in weaponry and defense, and the use of the “New Worlds” resources all contributed to the “European Miracle.” I believe that political fragmentation is the main factor that made this miracle happen. The political fragmentation in Europe helped each country and city-state believe in improvement and experimentation. If Europe was centralized they wouldn’t have any competition and they would be content with their current status. This happened to China and they let Europe get past them. You should always strive to better in every aspect even if you’re on top.
...new technology and manipulated into a device of warfare and killing. This is a clear example of how Europe’s success was influenced by geographical luck.
As the classical world became more globalized, more countries gained a larger spot on the world stage. When a country had a desireable study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia. Upon returning to Europe, Polo reported on Asian technologies that had been previously unknown of. These included the silk produced, astrolabe, the compass and the movable-block printing. These technologies became commodities in Europe of high demand. Therefore, much of Asia had a large export. This gained them respect on the European stage. This also increased European interest in Asia, furthering the trends of globalization that had been seen with the development of the Silk Road. This can also be examined through the prominence of madrasas. These were religious colleges and centers of philosophical learning. They originated as a byproduct of Islamic presence in the Caliphates. These learning centers attracted Christian European scholars to much of Islamic Spain and Asia. As the work of translators such as, Averroes, made these scientific findings accessible for larger populations, the Muslim world grew in prominence in Eurasia. A less prevalent byproduct of these globalization and contact was the boosting of economies. As scientific learning centers and new
In the mid 18th century many different powers in Europe were trying to spread their influence and gain global power. However, this was not without difficulty. There were many regional issues that these powers needed to overcome such as economic complications, struggles with native and conquered peoples, and competing with other European powers.
“Why Western History Matters” is an essay adapted from a speech Donald Kagan delivered to the National Association of Scholars, and was reprinted in the December 28, 1994, issue of the Wall Street Journal. Throughout Kagan’s essay, he describes the essential need for the college course, Western History. He does so by examining older cultures and explaining why they were quintessential to the past and to our future development as a society. I strongly concur with Kagan’s standpoint of the necessity of history, and the realization of how exactly our flourishing society came about. History is a key constituent in determining who we are; for to determine who we are one must first know from whence they came. In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
Cotton, spices, silk, and tea from Asia mingled in European markets with ivory, gold, and palm oil from Africa; furs, fish, and timber from North America; and cotton, sugar, and tobacco from both North and South America. The lucra¬tive trade in enslaved human beings provided cheap labor where it was lacking. The profits accrued in Europe, increasingly in France and Britain as the Portuguese, Spanish, and then Dutch declined in relative power. It was a global network, made possible by the advancing tech¬nology of the colonialists.
...n made ships carrying the products Europeans most desired, and the rough outline of the worlds continents were mapped (Parry, 322-323). Needless to say, the European countries were a lot better off after the Age of Reconnaissance concluded.
AUTHOR: Oswald Spengler, (1880-1936), was a German philosopher who acquired his conservative views from his father, a postal official in Germany. Spengler attended the Universities of Munich, Berlin and Halle in Germany, where he studied natural science and mathematics. In 1903, he wrote his dissertation on a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus, though he failed due to a lack of references. Spengler resubmitted his revised thesis in 1904, earning him his doctorate degree. Shortly after earning his degree, Spengler suffered a mental break down, secluding himself from the world. In 1906, he recovered and began working as a teacher in secondary schools until he received some money from his mother. In 1911, Spengler gathered his inheritance and moved to Munich as a private scholar.
The once great Ottoman Empire led the world from the fifteenth century until the early twentieth
During late seventeen hundreds and the early eighteen hundreds America focused on growth and development. In 1803, America bought from France 828,000 square miles of land that ranged from the Mississippi to the Rockies for the bargain price of $15,000,000. This pristine land had not yet been ravaged by the rigorous process of growing cotton, so Southern farmers were excited about the prospect. However, most farmers were also afraid of what lay in the West, be it “savages,” dangerous wildlife or inhospitable terrain. The government believed that American citizens needed convincing that travelling west, settling and stabilizing this new land was a smart thing to do. To help convince the populace, the government turned to a new media, photography. The product of this invention astounded and perplexed many viewers who believed that the photos they saw depicted the absolute truth. Their ignorance of the selective bias of photographers paved the way for rumors and myths that influenced many to venture into dangerous areas, having little idea what really lay ahead. Photography in the early American West was a manipulative tool of the government’s interest by portraying the West as a safe land filled with opportunity.
One of the main reasons Europeans colonized Africa was for their useful resources. There are countless assets in the African landscape that are wanted by other nations. The European countries had access to some of the world's most needed resources such as cotton, oils, coal, gold, and diamonds because they controlled Africa. This is shown on a chart of African colonies and their exports. " Selected African Colonies and Their Exports" (269).
The Great Divergence is term used to portray the gradual shift of dominance that Europe gained by establishing itself as the most powerful world civilization by the 19th century. While a case could be made that the Great Divergence occurred because of the pre-eminence of Europe and Britain, as well as their supposed superiority in invention and innovation above anywhere else in the world, this argument is flawed. A more compelling argument would be to state that it was rather through the geographical advantages that Europe obtained that lead it into eventually becoming the most powerful civilization after 1500 A.D., as this essay will strive to demonstrate.
Meanwhile, the Crusades had expanded trade routes to the East and given Europeans a taste for imported goods… and luxurious textiles,” (History).
Analysing The West: Unique, Not Universal. Throughout history, Western civilization has been an emerging force behind change in foreign societies. This is the concept that is discussed in the article, the West Unique, Not Universal, written by Samuel Huntington. The author makes a very clear thesis statement and uses a variety of evidence to support it. This article has a very convincing point.
The Western culture has evolved over a span of several years with various civilizations specializing in specific aspects of life or nature. In essence, Western civilization dates back to the BCE periods when Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Rome reigned. Each of the Western civilizations came with a clear lineage that portrayed such attributes as property rights, free market economy, competition, personal freedoms, and innovation (Perry, 2013). Besides, the western civilizations came at different periods with some of the attributes evolving or remaining unchanged throughout the lineage. However, the non-western civilizations contributed towards such attributes to a given extent, primarily because of the interactions among
Western Colonialism was a political and economic phenomenon where many European nations explored, conquered, settled and exploited large areas of the world. In the West colonialism began during the 15th century, which is also referred to as The Age of Discovery. The Age of Discovery was mainly led by a development in Human mobility. The flourishing technologies in the west at the time had endorsed European travel on a transcontinental scale, this then lead to colonization around the rest of the world. The travel around the Atlantic Ocean stimulated colonization. Furthermore, it is important to consider all the contributing factors that were key to the western worlds domination. Other key factors were their developed military forces, the ever