The Early Modern Period

The non-Western societies responded to the West’s power differently, during the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s.When the industrialization train rolled into other societies, they greeted it with open arms. They would try to preserve the old ways, or sought out to modernize on their own. Some were too weak to adjust on their own terms.

Once these societies were flowing with western influence and ideas in their societies, the people of China and Japan began to try and adopt to these ideas and become big industrial societies as well. In China, these ideas were supported by the people although their government tried to diminish these ideas, while in Japan, the government felt that they had no other choice but to reform, so they began to embrace western development. In

Whereas Japan accepted Western ideals and even went so far as to emulate them by implementing them into their society, China succumbed to European power because of its reluctance to follow Western influences. Since Chinese officials and rulers in the empire

“The rebirth.” “The early modern period.” The Renaissance is alluded to by many names, referring to the great artistic renewal period beginning in the 14th century and ending in the 17th century. Occurring after the Medieval Period, it is often considered to be the bridge to modern day history as we know it. It was period of change, revival, and great augmentation for society. With the Middle Ages coming to an end and with the intellectual decline that had followed, scholars and thinkers alike began to study the ideals of ancient philosophers of the classical world, most prominently the Greeks and Romans, a time of great innovation and high human achievement, the likes of Humanism that hadn’t been seen for centuries.

This essay will explore the rise of the West through examination of the evolution of European civilization. The theories and works of numerous authors, regarding how and why the Great Divergence occurred, will be considered; mainly the role of government, technological development and culture. Ultimately, it will be clear that the struggle for power in Europe led to a shift in the culture of Europe, which eventually led to the rulers that were vying for power making decisions that benefited their subjects rather than the government or church. Thus, the Great Divergence can be linked to the contrasting ideologies of the West and those of

During the late seventeenth century under the leadership of Peter the Great, Russia underwent a period of modernization and westernization due to Peter’s reforms. However, without the reforms he instituted, Russia would have remained the most culturally unevolved country in Europe for quite a long time.

Western Civilization has had a tremendous influence on many different cultures worldwide. From the Hispanic cultures in South and Central America, to the Caribbean islands, and also to the various exotic African countries, and even to the distinguished cultures that reside in the continent of Asia. In many ways than one, these cultures have been molded to be as westernized as they could possibly be without losing their traditional customs indefinitely. They’re religion, fashion sense, and family structures have all been altered in some form so that it could resemble the western nation’s patriarch. Countries in North America and Europe have for centuries traveled to different continents in the world and colonized many nations, as a result of that, many of the customs and traditions of those people have been shaped to be a bit more westernized.

The Middle Ages, often referred to as the Dark Ages, was regarded to be a time of despair, disease, and death. Just as the name the “Dark Ages” suggests, this period of European history seemed to be surrounded by darkness and hopelessness. Unfortunately, the majority of people only see this side of the Middle Ages when, in fact, the Middle Ages was a much more important era. Especially during the late Middle Ages, one can find a change in orthodox social structure, political instability mostly concerned with succession to the throne, and economic changes and how those changes went hand in hand with the change in society. After certain demographical changes and turning points such as the Hundred Years’ War, Europe began to transform

The Renaissance period was between 1400-1600 century. It began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe. The Renaissance time is were self paintings mostly came from. In most of the painting the people were nude. They started making the painting 3D. There are many things about the Renaissance. Renaissance means born a new. The concept enshrined in the world of Renaissance is actually one of rebirth. It was considered the beginning of modern history. The High Renaissance was from about 1495-1527. The Late Renaissance was from about 1527-1600.

The transition from the Medieval period to the Early Modern period is marked by a few significant factors. These new discoveries were just the beginning of the potential of what the world would eventually become today. These events are the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450, the discovery of the New World in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, and the use and importance of gun powder. These new findings changed the way people lived and how they communicated with others.

The reign of Peter the Great saw Russia evolving from a medieval state into a modern, western state. Peter’s reforms, domestic policies, and foreign policies allowed for Russia to become a legitimate competitor in the global world and to become a power in Eastern Europe. Peter’s reign had a positive, forward effect on the Russian land.

China experiences the pressure of the imperialist’s military which China did not have the knowledge or the experience to match. China went from a superior leader, self-sufficient country, that thought that everyone else were barbarians to a torn country. China accepted foreign trade, but they wanted to control and limit how much and with who the trade was used for, they felt that they European trade was unnecessary. They did not allow the western merchants to have any power or privileges and restricted them to Canton, plus they refused to open their trade system beyond Co-Hong which caused china to not become as prosperous as Japan. (Valentini 2013) Because China the believed that they were the center of civilization and that the Western culture was inferior the Chinese government refused to go along with any of the European’s request and the two nations became hostile towards

     During this same time Peter the Great sought to ¡°westernize¡± Russia. An autocratic tsar who had absoluter power, he did not wish to share it with his royal court. He moved the capital to St. Petersburg, and absorbed western intellectual and cultural trends. He forced all his nobles to cut of their beards, and instructed them to learn modern Western dances. Russia historically had an autocratic tsar like Peter, + the nobles have no political clout in the government. However, the nobles in Russia are huge landowners and had enormous powers over the serfs on their estates. This economic power, b/c serfs were almost like slaves, made them wealthy + prosperous. Thus, although Peter the Great rules without the input of anyone else, the nobles were westernized under his rule + enjoyed power over their serfs and economic gains.

The Christian religions rise to supremacy in the middle ages was the result of several factors. Christians had long been persecuted by the Roman Empire because the Romans felt that Christianity challenged and offended the Greco-Roman Gods and the Christians were prone to revolt against Roman rule. Christianity survived because it had many teachings that appealed to the downtrodden in Roman society, these teachings being that even though they were suffering they would gain equality and possibly superiority in the next life, Christianity gave them hope.