History of Civilization - Essay Example

History of Civilization: Why European Civilization Rather than any of the other Major Civilizations was the only one to Expand Successfully Overseas and Establish a Global Presence between the 15th and Early 19th Centuries Introduction There have been a number of different civilizations that have been able to successfully conquer and maintain control of different parts of the known world. However, the successes achieved by the European civilization in overseas expansion and the establishment of a global presence is seen to cause this civilization to be recognized as being one of the most successful civilizations. The predominance that is seen to characterize western civilization across the world is seen to be relatively unprecedented largely due to the fact that although many civilizations emerged before the European civilization and actually managed to radiate their influence far beyond the borders of their original homeland, these civilizations had nevertheless not managed to cast and sustain their predominance right around the globe. The successes of the European civilization are seen to be made all the more apparent when they are compared to those of some of the other civilizations that emerged before it. While these civilizations did manage to expand, they were however unable to attain global dominance. The Islam civilization for instance managed to expand from its origins in the Middle East to Affect Central Africa and Asia, it also managed to expand to the Pacific coasts of East Indies and the Atlantic Coast of Morocco, however, it was unable to obtain any permanent foothold in Europe as a result of religious opposition, in addition to this, Islamic civilization never having crossed the Atlantic to venture into the New World as it did not have access to the appropriate navigational sciences and technology to be able to accomplish this. The Eastern orthodox Christendom civilization on the other hand initially grew up in mediaeval Byzantium and was successfully carried to the Pacific by the Russians but it eventually succumbed to Western social and religious influences by the close of the 17th century that were not in support of Western Christianity. The ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece managed to extend their own political influence into Northern Europe where the Roman Empire is seen to have brought artistic inspiration to the Far East and India. While the Ancient India civilization manage to radiate her commerce, art and relation into the East Indies and Far East, it was however not able to successfully penetrate the West. The predominance of the European civilization is further magnified by the fact that civilizations that established the Chinese Empire and the Roman empire co-existed for two centuries without their having any direct economic or political intercourse (Toynbee 5). Factors that Contributed to the Successful Expansion and Global Predominance of the European Civilization The Age of Discovery: The Age of Discovery, which is a period in history that started in the early 15th century and went on to last until the early 17th century, is seen to be one of the critically factors that aided in the expansion of the European civilization. During this period, Europeans are seen to have engaged in a very intensive exploration of the entire world and as a result o this were able to establish direct contact with the Americas, Africa, Oceania, Asia in addition to successfully mapping the planet (Arnold 5). Technological Advances in Navigational Science: Advances in navigational science is seen to have greatly aided navigation and the expansion of the European civilization. These advances are seen to have included compasses, printed charts and maps as well as cannons to be used in the protection of cargo. Exploration is seen to have not been an entirely new concept to Europe as during the middle ages, most of the exploration had been conducted eastwards and overland. One of the key European explorers was Marco Polo who successfully established a number of embassies with trading posts such as Samarkand and Constantinople. However, during the turn of the fifteenth century, as a result of use of advances in navigational science that replaced the more dated classical geography of Ptolemy, European exploration and discovery is seen to have turned westwards towards the yet to be discovered America, and southwards towards what Ptolemy had referred to as lands unknown, these lands unknown were later to turn out to be the largely uncharted lands of Africa. The development of the caravel is also considered to be another key technological innovation that served to further advance the spread of European civilization. In their exploratory endeavors early explorers generally used to barks that at times weighed about 20 tons and had a single mast, in addition to this, they also attempted to experiment with the longer and larger barinels. However, neither of these vessels was found to be quite adequate for use in the increasingly longer voyages and this subsequently led to the development of the caravel. The Portuguese developed the caravel as a highly maneuverable and small sailing ship to be used in the exploration of the Atlantic Ocean and the West African cast. The ship had a number of lateen sails that not only gave is good speed but also, enabled the caravel to be able to sail in a windward direction. The caravel’s design was also adapted by the Spanish who added three masts to it. It is also thought that about two caravels were chosen as at least two accompanying vessels for Columbus’s expedition (Schwarz nd). Political / Economic Factors: The promise of gaining economic and political power over other countries as a result of conquering the important sea routes, commodity markets and possible expansion of the state as a result of colonizing new lands is one of the major factors that prompted the European civilization’s overseas ventures. The victorious capture of Ceuta gave Portugal allowed them to easily access African trade routes and be able by pass the Ottoman empire and Venice which would normally impose tariffs on all passing trades. Spain supported Columbus’ venture and supplied him with three ships and ninety men as Columbus promised that he could be able to find a viable and alternative trade route to the Indies by crossing the Atlantic, this would have allowed Spain to be able to conquer the thriving spice –market. The success of Columbus’ voyages to the Americas allowed for Spain to be able to secure sufficient and stable revenue for its rapidly declining treasury. England started to seek trade via seas during the second half of the sixteenth century when Anthony Jenkinson was afforded privileges of sea trade within the Ottoman empire after having been interviewed by Sultaan Suleiman, he also received letters of recommendation from the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible (Grimbly 157). The privileges and letters allowed England to trade in the Caspian sea and along Volga. Using these letters and privileges, Jenkinson was able to seal a deal with governor Abdullah of Persia where English wool would be traded for Persian silk. The Dutch were late arrivals in the overseas commerce and it was not until towards the end of the sixteenth century that they sent fleets into Asia, the Atlantic, the Americas and India so as to establish overseas embassies that would allow for the Dutch to join England, Portugal and Spain in exploiting the lucrative trade posts. Religious Factors: The expansion of the European civilization is seen to have also been fuelled by the desire to expand the Christian empire. Prince Henry of Portugal wanted to try and deal a body-blow to Islam by expanding the Christian Empire around the new found lands (Sanneh 86). Spanish emperor Charles V is also seen to have been eager to expand the Christendom and taking advantage of Spain’s nearly 700 year old tradition of constantly crusading against Islam, he used Spanish conquistadores in sailing to the Americas in the west. Social Factors: During the sixteenth century, the population of the European civilization began to boom and this was not helped by the importation of black slaves into Portugal who were receiving a Christian education in the hope of eventually converting them and causing them to be recognized as Portuguese citizens. The rapidly increasing population in Europe is seen to have put considerable pressure on the limited resources available and especially so with the poor harvests that plagued Europe from 1526 through to 1580 when people in certain parts of Europe were forced to eat acorns. This caused rapid inflation in Europe and the civilization was forced to attempt to seek for new overseas suppliers so as to keep the people at peace and maintain the empires, the inflation affecting Europe during this period is also seen to have been caused by the surge in the supply of silver and gold that had been brought about by Portugal and Spain in their exploitation of the newly discovered lands (Scammell 44-45). Conclusion The success of the European civilization in overseas expansion and establishment of a global presence in the period ranging between the 15 century through to the early 19th century is seen to have been characterized by several main factors, these are; the expansion of Christendom via the use of crusades, the acquisition of political power and fame through discovery, the desire for economic power and wealth, the urgency for finding more basic resources as a result of population pressure in Europe and advances in navigational science and technology. It is by taking advantage of the benefits afforded by this unique combination of factors, that the European civilization was able to attain better success at expansion and establishment of a global overseas presence. Works cited Arnold, David. The Age of Discovery, 1400-1600. Routledge, 2013. Print. Grimbly, Shona. Atlas of Exploration. Routledge, 2013. Print. Sanneh, Lamin. Disciples of all nations : pillars of world Christianity. New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Scammell, Geoffrey. The First Imperial Age: European Overseas Expansion 1500-1715. Routledge, 2003. Print. Schwarz George. History of the Caravel. (nd) Web 17 Nov. 2014. Toynbee, Arnold. Civilization on trial. Oxford University Press. 1948. Print. Read More