The Constant Change in Human History Since 1500

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Table of Contents

Primary Bibliography
Secondary Bibliography
Footnotes

Throughout history, humankind has progressively evolved from one epoch to the other, in terms of technology and activities. Of all living beings, humankind is the only rational being. This aspect has seen humankind desire to dominate and subjugate the world.

Wars of conquest have existed since humankind surfaced on the face of the Earth. In the desire to dominate, different civilizations have emerged, technological advancements made and consequently humankind has traveled throughout the world exploring, trading, and spreading various religions and ideologies. This aspect of interaction and discoveries has revolutionized especially since 1500. Human beings have a dynamic lifestyle that is constantly in a state of flux.^[1]

During the 16^th Century onwards the world experienced major and drastic changes. Trade during the 1500 intensified all over the world in what can be referred to as the age of exploration. European nations were the most dominant during this period.

The Europeans explored the just discovered new lands of Americas and Oceania, in the process, trading with those they found in these new areas, waging warfare on the natives, subjugating them and establishing their cultures. Europeans on their way to India happened to discover that East Africa was an important base to enable them conduct business with Far East efficiently.

After Vasco Da Gama had toured the region and reported to the king in Portugal, the Portuguese attacked East Africa and took over towns like Kilwa and Mombasa that were very hostile to the Portuguese.

They established their base in Malindi town, which was a bit friendly. Vasco Da Gama erected a pillar and placed a cross on top in Malindi to signify the arrival of Christianity. Arabs who were Muslims had dominated the Coast of Africa at the time. Europeans also engaged in massive trading activities with Far East countries like Japan and China. Chinese ceramics became very popular in Europe.

When the Americas were fully occupied by the European nations, the Europeans established plantations to provide raw materials for industries in Europe.^[2] In order to secure cheap, reliable, and sufficient labor for the plantations, European Nations attacked Africa in search of slaves in what came to be referred to as the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Many wars were fought especially on the coast of West Africa and since Europeans had superior weapons, many Africans were taken to America as slaves.

Many kingdoms collapsed in this region of West Africa, families were split up and a lot of human suffering was witnessed. Since the males were the most enslaved, the male population in the area decreased rapidly forcing the female population to step up to perform the tasks that were traditionally performed by men especially the physically challenging tasks like tilling the land.

After 1500, major scientific innovations and discoveries were also made. Copernicus was the first of this generation to make a major discovery. Copernicus observed that the sun was actually at the center of the solar system and not the Earth. He observed that it was actually the earth that revolves around the sun, and not the sun revolving around the earth. His discoveries put him at hot spot as science collided with religion. The church was the most dominant and influential body of the time.

Those who opposed the church were executed, or excommunicated. However, with later scientists like Galileo supporting Copernicus and using the periscope to support their claims, a new era of scientific revolution had been born. Martin Luther also challenged the church and the protestant movement was born.^[3]

Rene Descartes came up with rationalism as the main source of knowledge in epistemology. Descartes asserted that knowledge was from thinking alone and came up with the rationalistic theory. This assertion saw the emergence of the empiricism theory in opposition of Descartes.

Empiricists asserted that knowledge was from the sense and everything else must fall under sense perception. In the process of trying to prove who was right, they ended up making discoveries and contributions. Descartes became an influential figure in mathematics and philosophy.

Francis Bacon an empiricist came up with the scientific method. Bacon method advocated for the use of experiments and observations then analyze the results using inductive method of inference. This has become a founding point of modern science, which relies more on empiricism. Isaac Newton the British scientist also became an influential scientific figure in the 17^th Century.

Isaac Newton discovery of the law of gravity solved many scientific questions. Newton also contributed heavily in mathematics as he advanced linear equations. Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher reconciled rationalism and empiricism with his transcendental inference, further contributing in the age of enlightenment.

After much political turmoil in Europe like the French Revolution, another new era of development dawned. This was the Industrial Revolution, which forever changed the course of history. Gender roles in society were harmonized as both men and women started working together in industries. Women took roles that were traditionally reserved for men, like coal mining.

This was due to the increase in demand of labor. Children were also used as unskilled casual laborers in many sectors. The movement of people into industrial centers led to urbanization. Towns rapidly grew and rural urban migration trend became widespread. Population of the countries of Europe almost doubled, with class society emerging. This saw Karl Marx classification of society claiming that economy is the most influential tool in shaping the society.

Industrial revolution further led to national consciousness. States like Ireland started to consider themselves as one independent sovereign state. In this era of nationalism, nations competed with one another for supremacy, which led to acquisition of oversees colonies. Migration of people to the new lands also became rapid. Items of trade were in surplus and this prompted European nations to acquire colonies in order to create ready markets for goods produced by their industries.

Religion movements also united in an effort to spread the gospel. In colonized African countries, the church, schools, and hospitals were established in one area. The church used the political class for protection and thus the church and politics went hand in hand. The Islamic influence in Africa was drastically reduced as all Islamic occupiers were forced out of Africa. Japan also became very much involved in the acquisition of colonies in the Far East. Japan became a dominant force, which forcefully occupied and imposed its rule on China.

The competition of nations among many other reasons led to the outbreak of the First World War.^[4] In this war, millions of people lost their lives with a lot of human suffering all over the world. Germany lost her colonies after being defeated in the war. After the war, various changes occurred, however, competition among nations continued.

When Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy, he allied himself with Adolf Hitler, the German leader. Hitler was aggressive and insatiable; his attack on Poland led to the Second World War. World War 2 came with suffering never seen before. The US used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan causing major suffering and the effects are still felt up to date.

Hitler massacred over six million Jews^[5]. After World War 2, Soviet Union and the US emerged as the super powers each with different ideologies consequently leading to the Cold War. During the cold war no military confrontation was ever witnessed rather, it was the competition on the world stage each nation discrediting the other and looking for allies. Cold War ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and communism.

Many issues have preoccupied humankind in the modern era. The racial discrimination in America has always been a hot topic. Many key figures like Martin Luther King have come out in condemnation of segregation. The tension between Israel and Palestine, Iraq Invasion of Kuwait, Independence of African states from colonialism, terrorism and Jihad wars have been the controversial issues of the contemporary world.

From 1500, it has been observed that humankind has progressively evolved. The setting of 1500, 1600, 1700 and so on has been improving with each century. The 21^st century has become the era of the internet and globalization. The different epochs have clearly shown that humankind activities are dynamic, in a state of flux and keeps on improving in all sectors. This can be used to project the future based on the past, future world wars be averted, and collaborations improved.

Primary Bibliography

Adams, Steve,. & Reilly, Kevin. 1998. World History New Jersey: Markus Wiener P Publishers

Anonymous. Document in World History. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Secondary Bibliography

McComb, David, 2001. World History: 1500 to the Present. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies

Webster, Hutton, 1925, World History New York D. C. Heath and company.

Wilkinson, Philip, 1996 World History. New York: DK Pub.

Footnotes

Webster Hutton. World History 1925 p5
Wilkinson Philip, World History 1996 pp56-60
Anonymous Document World History part 13
Adams& Reilly World History 1998 p83
McComb David. World History: 1500 to the Present 2001

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The Constant Change in Human History Since 1500

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