Summary Of Charles Kupchan's 'The West, The Rising Rest'

The year 1500 is considered a major turning point in world history according to Paul Kennedy in his article “The Rise of the Western World”. This date has been chosen by countless scholars to mark the split between premodern and modern times. In the premodern world, the “gun powder empires” of the east, including the Ming of China and the Ottoman Turks had many achievements, making them two of the dominant world cultures prior to 1500. However, these great civilizations did not continue to gain greater power after 1500. Meanwhile, what Kennedy refers to as “the European Miracle” created a dynamic and competitive western world. As the eastern civilizations discontinued their overall progress, Europe began its rise to power.

During the period of 1492 to 1750, Europe experienced drastic changes during their Age of Discovery. As a result of contact and colonization, Western Europe’s economy, political, social, and military systems changed, but also maintained certain aspects that enabled them to build strong civilizations. Such changes include increased (international) trade routes, more centralized governments such as monarchies, decreased unifying influence of the Catholic Church, and increased interest in military conquest and expansion.

The year 1500 was a major turning point in history. Before 1500, other world powers played a major role in the shaping of world events and Europe played a limited role. These “Gunpowder Empires” applied a great amount of power in the world culturally, economically, and technologically. In Paul Kennedy’s article, “The Rise of the West”, it is shown how Europe came to power after 1500. Europe’s rise to power was greatly affected by the world powers that reigned prior to 1800.

Christianity and Islam are two of the world’s largest religions. The two are different in beliefs but are similar in origin. Like many religions both Islam and Christianity claim to be the one and only true way to God. Although Islam and Christianity differ in major ways, they also share some similarities.

There are some similarities between Christianity and Islam. Christianity and Islam are both religion. Both religion are founded in the Middle East; and they are founded by Prophets of God. They have both impact the course of history. The Christians and Islam each believed that there is only one true God.

The rise of the west was a time in which European nations became more advanced and had an increase of power and dominance. Europe became a dominant nation in the 16th Century while two large Gunpowder empires began to decline. These European nations dominated because they had technological advancements. Some of which were gunpowder, cannons, and much more. Both the Ottoman and the Ming Empires rose to the top and then declined after the European nations began to advance. The European Miracle was when the European nations began to advance in technology, they expanded, and dominated the world.

With Christianity and Islamic religions in mind, we need to know the facts about each one before comparing and contrasting. First off, Christianity is a religion founded by a guy named Paul, around 30-35 AD. Paul founded the religion in Jerusalem, Israel and he passed it on to many people today. The founder of the Islamic religions is Muhammad. Muhammad founded the Islamic religion in Mecca, Saudi Arabia around the time of 610 AD. Both religions have a symbol that is used to recognize each religion. In Christianity they use a cross to symbolize Jesus dying on a cross. In Islamic religions

As a nation we should unite to move on from our prejudices and come together as a

According to our text book The West Encounters & Transformations “The history of the West begins with the domestication of animals, the cultivation of the first crops, and

Christianity and Islam are wide spread religions which impact the lives of believers spiritually. Both religions have had substantial impact on the course of history and have formed the basis of many countries laws and are highly recognized by governments. Though Christianity is more widely known, they both pose the same challenges to each other. Considering the similarities and differences of Christianity and Islam, it can be said they are both very different.

Christianity has numerous sects; in comparison, Islam has only two major branches. The main sects of Islam are Sunni and Shi'a. The partition between these two sects is the disagreement over authority. For example Sunni believes authority is political. On the other hand, Shi'a believes authority is political and religion.

In Samuel P. Huntington’s article “The West: Unique, Not Universal,” he addresses his audience with a very controversial question: Is Western Culture universal or unique? Huntington elaborately opens up this question with research and examples to explain and persuade readers that the West will never be a universal culture for all, but rather a unique culture that will be accepted by those who appreciate it. For decades now, historians and scholars have debated with one another to determine who is right and wrong. However, from a handful of articles from different scholars, Samuel Huntington’s statement that the West is unique rather than universal is supported and even further elaborated on by these particular sources. A common understanding between all the sources, that must be noted, is that a civilization’s culture is not comprised of material goods but rather their culmination of their religion(s), values, language(s) and traditions. While although there are scholars out their that negate the West is unique, a large amount of scholars still argue and strengthen Huntington’s argument that the West has unique and exclusive characteristics that make them distinctive and rare.

The biggest difference in Islam and Christianity is that Muslims don’t believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which is the basic foundation of Christianity. Muslims believe that Jesus was a servant of God as well as a prophet. Muhammad is believed to be a prophet and a servant of God also; however, Muhammad is said to be the last prophet sent by God to guide humanity. On the contrary, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and is therefore viewed as God

The rise of the West refers to a period of time when Western Europe rose to power due to many environmental, political, and social factors. Many historians attribute the Rise of the West to the time period of 1450 to 1850. This power surge of Western Europe has been attributed to the global dominance of Western Europe and America in the 21 century. The interesting aspect regarding the Rise of the West is how Western Europe developed so differently from other parts of the world, leading it to be the superpower of the world. Over the past 50 years, the idea of the rise of the West has been closely re-examined. Prior to the 1950s, historians believed that the rise of the West occurred because it was destined to; because Europe is the best and

Many religions have impacted the thoughts and beliefs of millions around the world. Two of these religions are Islam and Christianity, both of which are similar, yet, incredibly different. Christianity, which had come long before Islam, is known to be the root of Islam which makes sense since the two religions share much in common. They are both Abrahamic and monotheistic religions which means they share the belief in only one true existing God and are rooted to have many similarities. Their differences, however, are what make them two distinctive religions, which is why they are recognized and classified for being so. Similarities and differences arise in many topics and situations, but differences take over and divide them into