“What do I think of western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.” This quote was said by Mahatma Gandhi. Little did he know the effect that the rise of the West would have on the rest of the world. Maritime achievement, industrialization, and imperialism helped the West to rise in power and ultimately changed the second half of the millennia.
Between the 16th and 17th centuries, European sailors traveled the seas in search of treasures, fame and new trade. Before Christopher Columbus came over, there were no cattle and horses in America. They introduced the animals to the natives which changed the way they hunted (Schiffman’s Captain’s blog). Maritime travel also changed the European mind of wealth and paved the way for
…show more content…
America and Europe became industrialized and urbanized during the 18th and 19th centuries (history.com). Before the Industrial revolution, manufacturing was often done in people's homes using tools or basic machines (history.com). Life for the average person was poor and typically unhealthy. Industrialization and creativity marked a shift to powered machinery, mass production, and factories (history.com). The development of steam engines played a role in the Industrial Revolution. It manufactured goods and improved the standard of living. Britain’s, Spinning Jenny, which allowed in increase in spooled thread production helped decrease the workload of people and increased production. Industrialization spread to many European countries. It helped speed up manufacturing and building on a wide scale. More goods can be produced by industrialized countries. The telegraph was invented in 1837 which increased communication. Industrial financiers and banks also increased as the New York Stock Exchange was founded in the 1790’s (history.com). Industrialization made an economy run more efficiently, allowing more goods to be produced and more labor freed up to improve the economy further. Industrialization helped give rise to the Western culture through innovation, transportation and communication …show more content…
This changed the shape of the world. One of the motives were to explore unknown territory in order to conduct scientific experiments and medical research (effects of imperialism). Weak countries that were colonized benefited by improvements in education and sanitation (Jessie). The mother nations built roads, canals, and railways causing improved infrastructure. Africa and India benefited greatly from imperialism (Jessie). Unemployment went down when factories were built and life expectancy went up. Products were sold on the international market and made colonies wealthy. Colonization provided the colonizers with a new labor force a new supply of raw materials. There were new crops, tools and farming methods which boosted the gather rate in harvesting crops. Imperialism helped other countries in many ways and helped the West rise to
Imperialism had several diverse impacts on Asia, Africa, and Europe. The pros about imperialism, was that new roads and railroads that were built connected many parts of India. The introduction of the telegraph and postal systems united many people. Discovering new agricultural methods improved farming in the west and in Africa and Asia. Schools that were built by the British educated many people. Human rights were recognized, by ending customs that threatened many humans.
Ancient civilizations have had profound effects of what we know as the modern world today. The primary purpose for anything that lives is to survive. Throughout history animals, plants and humans have adapted to their surroundings. All living things have changed throughout time. The thing that differs humans from rest is, humans are more cognitively advanced. Over the course of time the shape and size of the human skull has changed. The size of the human brain has increased, which has allowed humans to adapt more to their surroundings. To survive, humans were making tools for hunting and to cut with. The closer you lived to the equator the darker your skin may have been, so you could adapt to the intensity of the sun’s rays. If you lived further
Civilization: The West and the Rest, presented by Niall Ferguson, is a documentary in which Ferguson reveals what he calls the six killer applications which has helped Western civilization dominate over everyone else. These six applications are competition, science, property, medicine, consumerism, and work. Ferguson asks many questions over the course of the series as well as provides examples as to how Western civilization has surpassed other nations and empires. Ferguson’s main question in each episode is, “If we lose our monopoly over apps like these, could Western civilization be consigned to history.” This paper will analyze Ferguson’s questions and the examples he provides for the killer applications of competition, science, property, medicine, consumerism, and work, as well as his conclusions as to why the West has risen to the top, how the rest are passing up the West, as well as his conclusions to if the West can remain above the rest.
The Industrial Revolution was a time period of rapid growth in society. Referring to the 1700’s century in England where the output of machine made goods greatly increased. Prior to the changes made during the Industrial Revolution, workers often manufactured products in their homes using handtools and basic machinery. However, industrialization marked a shift of labor from small farms in rural areas to large factories in cities and was a time of new products, inventions and methods of work.The results of the Industrial Revolution led to many positive outcomes because new cultivation methods spread rapidly around the world. The Industrial Revolution made a significant political, economical, and social change throughout Europe. The Industrial
During the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution made a significant political, economical, and social change throughout Western Europe. The Industrial Revolution was brought on, partly, due to the English civil war. During the Industrial Revolution, England experienced major advances in transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing, which spread throughout Europe. By the 1830s most European countries started railroad construction and the mechanization of manufacturing (Hunt, 654). One of the most significant changes that occurred during this time period was the shift of labor from small farms in rural areas to large factories in urbanized cities.
In the early 19th century rural worker produced their own goods and were very self sufficient. Farm families grew their own crops and raised their own animals and made their own clothing, candles, and soap. They would sell those products at markets for money to buy certain products that couldn't be produced on their own. By the middle of the 19th century, America, especially in the Northeast, became more industrialized. This spurred on a Market Revolution. People were buying and selling goods instead of making it for personal use. This caused big changes in not only the US economy, but in the daily lives of Americans. The incomes of everyday Americans rose as goods and services grew. Inventions such as the textile mill and interchangeable parts played a huge role in the improvements and growth of factories in the North. Interchangeable parts allowed mass production and strengthened industry. With the Market Revolution came an Economic Revolution. This impacted communication as well as transportation. The telegraph, invented in 1837, allowed instantaneous communication and railroads allowed safe, reliable, and quick transportation. Water transportation, such as steamboats and canals, made it easier to move heavy machinery and raw materials. The building of canals and railroads required a large amount of workers. The labor demand grew which caused many immigrants to come to America for new opportunities to make a living. The investment in canals and railroads also turned the Northeast into the center of commerce in America, and after opening the Eerie Canal, New York City became the main link between agriculture in America and European markets. The improvements in transportation and communication aided in allowing Americans in different regions to keep in touch in addition to creating interdependencies and markets.
The industrial revolution changed America dramatically. Machines were introduced during this era. For example, the cotton gin was introduced, a machine where cotton was separated from the seed, for we could make cotton products faster. Trains and steamboats were introduced too, making it easier to transport people and goods around America. The industrial revolution brought negative and positive changes to the United States’ economy, society, and politics between 1800-1860.
In the 1760s though the 1820’s Britain started to use machines to produce goods instead of doing it by hand mostly, due to the fact that the items were easier to maker, therefore making them cheaper, and improving life. This also spawned, much later though, the digital revolution, which involved using technology, not machinery. The Industrial Revolution transformed the European society by, making busier cities, increasing the population, and polluting the continent.
The industrial revolution came about because of many variables: progresses in transportation and communications, the development of manufacturing innovation, the advancement of new frameworks of business association, and maybe most importantly, increases in population development. As far as population trends, America became more populous as the years went by. The population was about 4 million in 1790. By 1820, it had reached 10 million and 17 million by 1840. New developments in public health played an important role in the population growth. (Brinkley, 222) Railroads were a very efficient way of transportation. They got people and supplies to places faster than in previous times. The telegraph improved communication. Before the telegraph, communication over long distances could only happen in person. Without the railroads, the telegraph would not work because the wires of the telegraph ran along the railroad tracks and the telegraph offices were usually located in the railroad stations. (Brinkley,
Europeans voyage of discovery, also known as the Global exchange, played a social, economic, and cultural development on other lands. Lands, such as Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America was included in this exchange where Europeans played a vital role. In some ways, Europeans helped and hurt these lands. However, Europeans helped other lands more than harm them. Europeans helped the social development by allowing lands to make profits and grant women power.
“The condition that exists when people have developed effective ways of organizing a society and care about art, science, etc.” This is the definition of civilization. So when I explain the different characteristics of the western civilizations, which is mainly made up of all the countries in the world that have roots that go way back to ancient Greece. Although western societies have a lot of similarities as todays and other civilizations, it’s still tend to be known to as pretty rare, mainly in the way “western” think and believe. Western people thinking investigates something that is thought to be true and questions it, they were the type of humans to heavily test everyone’s mind. They would challenge one another to think outside of what
Through out the history of Western Civilization we have seen many important moments occur. From the Neolithic revolution, to humans conquering and spreading across the globe, there are many moments that have shaped its history and the present day. In this essay I will mention 5 of the most important moments/changes in Western Civilization and the reasons for why they are so important to societies in the western world and beyond.
Despite having a predominantly negative effect on colonized populations, Imperialism improved the lives of colonized people because it introduced innovations and inventions that helped to unify conquered areas through easier means of communication and improved native economies by increasing productivity. During the Age of Imperialism, most colonial powers had developed technologies that the countries they colonized did not yet have access to. Industrial inventions like crop rotation, telephone lines, the steamboat, the cotton gin and railroads allowed Imperialist powers to produce and transport materials more efficiently than colonized countries could. When Imperialist powers colonized other countries they were often motivated by However, when
The Industrial Revolution brought about an overwhelming amount of economic change to the United States. The first Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain and in Europe in the latter part of the eighteenth century and, it then spread to the United States and Germany. The Industrial Revolution itself refers to a change from hand and home production to machine and factory (Kelly). During this time period, America was growing in knowledge. The industrialization of America involved three great developments. Transportation was expanded, electricity was effectively harnessed and many improvements were made to several industrial processes (Kelly). Although this change greatly helped the United States economy, it had both a positive and negative impact on the lives of the American people.
Although imperialism had several negative impacts on certain regions, it lead to the introduction of a better government system and improvement in technology. The efforts put in by Europe to colonize weak countries resulted in improvement of education and sanitation in the colonized countries. Africa specially gained a lot from Imperialism. Schools and hospitals were built,