History of Western Civilization - Essay Example

History of the world European countries between the early 1600s to the late 1700s brawled for control of the North America continent. The super powers of the period involved Britain France and Spain. These countries were aiming to colonize the free worlds and expand their immense empires. On the rivalry of the three countries England became superior and victorious in taking over the new world. This was an outcome necessitated by the failures and deficiencies of the other two powers in the period prior to the American Revolution. It is not a warranty that the most influential country will always win as was the case of Spain. The Spanish Armada power was known to never lose a sea battle since it had amassed a huge collection of gold from its previous world adventures. Spain failed to conquer the new land due to its narrow army spread caused by her issue with Dutch territories. These matters with Dutch territories led to Spain abandoning the Indian Islands and Jamaica up for colonization. England quickly responded by acquiring this small territories for themselves. They established their bases here and began to working with sugar that was famously known as the rich men’s crop. Britain and Spain and England had different ideologies for their taking up new territories. Britain was majorly concerned with expanding their wealth and power. Conversely, Spain was focused on converting natives to Catholicism and spread the religion worldwide while still establishing the authority of the Spanish empire. The European countries such as Portugal and Dutch were out to compete for fresh sources of wealth and economical reasoning. This competitive desire offered the European nations an advantage s over the natives as they spread Christianity or trade and nothing was to stop them. They also used the advantage of being immune to diseases such as small pox and introduced animals to the virgin lands using them to entice the locals (Crocker, Fen and Pamela, 123). European Nationalism Between the 1850 and 1914, sturdy nation-states emerged which won the enthusiastic support of several social classes resulting from a change in the poise of global power and separated the masses from the socialist doctrine of class war. France’s napoleon III was integral in pioneering the victory of nationalism. His meek authoritarianism that was as result of illegal and resulted for 28 years from 1852, exhibited how a national state could be attractive for the rich and the poor, as well as the radicals and the conservatives. This way the national states became a means of coping with the difficulties of rapid political and economic variations. In Italy, Counter Cavour, the restrained leader of the Sardinia Kingdom supervised the unification of most of Italy became a political state that was not radical on social and economic issues. Subsequently, in 1862, Otto von Bismarck became the ruler of Prussia. He was a master of politics power and cleverly fought three wars and managed to unify the Germany states into a single country governed by the Prussian Leadership. Through this, he managed to succeed in strengthening German nationalism and gave it a conservative and anti-liberal drive. Nationalism was also critical in Russia as it led to vital reforms following the Crimean War. Perturbed nationalism was a vital aspect in the Russian revolution of 1905, after the loss in the war with Japan. The pope was instrumental in going against the unification of nations. They were a huge barrier to unification. The popes believed that Christendom should not be separated into states separated by ethnic or linguistic barriers (Spielvogel, 242). . Living Conditions in European Cities The industrial revolution in the 19th century led to the migration of workers to the areas where the industries were established. This caused the rapid growth of urban centers among European nations. Thought there were traditional cities in Europe the emergence of new cities and growth of existing ones was evident in this period. During the 19th century, some of the European cities reached the pinnacle of prominence through the developments that were realized during the period. The growth of new industries meant the generation of more income that was injected into the development of the development of the cities. The development of the cities was an important development in the growth of this cosmopolitan centers but the splendor we see now was not the same scenario centuries ago (Crocker, Fen and Pamela, 132). The influx of hordes of workers due to industrial revolution led to the expansion of metropolitan regions in Europe. This growth however presented major challenges. The cities were initially designed to handle large but not massive inhabitants. The presence of jobs in these areas meant that the people from the rural areas migrated to this areas. The infrastructure that was present at the time was not adequate to support the steady influx of workers to the area. There was a wanting in the infrastructure since the resources present were overstretched. One of the most basic needs of an individual m is housing. The cities could not provide adequate housing for the workers in the towns. The city planning had not anticipated this increase hence; no measures were put in place to contain the abrupt rise in population. The workers had to ensure that they satisfy this need. This led to the rising of slum areas in the cities. This was because of the low incomes being realized by the workers that made it impractical for them to pay for descent housing. The rates of rental property also increased considerably because of its demand. The workers had little options in the matter. This made them come up with temporary structures near the industries to provide shelters for them and their families. These structures mushroomed rapidly, and became an eye sore in the magnificent European cities. The slums became a problem for the cities in Europe in the 19th century. Some factories provided the workers with housing but this was no better than the slums. The workers were given small living quarters unfit for them. The workers had to make do with what was provided. The housing situation for the poor in the 19th century generally dreadful and the conditions were inhumane. This was however in contrast with the privileged class, who owned spacious mansions in cleaner and safer parts of town. There was a visible difference between the workers living condition and the wealthy who comprised of merchants and industrialists. The growth of slums grew steadily over the years. This stretched further the infrastructure of the cities. One of the key infrastructures that were strained because of the growth in population was the drainage system. The drainage was adversely affected by the development of the slums. This was because of the large number of inhabitants that were dependant on the drainage system of the cities. The deterioration of the drainage system also brought up sanitation problems in the cities. This mainly was due to the deplorable conditions the slum dwellers were living in. the sanitation problems led to outbreaks of diseases that killed countless city dwellers. Other dangers also became more pronounced with the growth of slums. Hazards like fire became a real threat in the cities due to the poor planning and building of these structures. The spread of fire among the buildings was became a major concern among the city dwellers. Some of the immigrants who could not find work or those who were laid off became beggars in the city streets. This was mainly because of the fact that they could not afford housing in the city. The hard living condition was responsible for the rise in crime rates and other social problems like prostitution. The tough living conditions led to the moral decadence in European cities (Crocker, Fen and Pamela, 125). Urban Reform The problems that emerged during the industrial revolution needed to be tackled so as to alter them to be more habitable. This called for the need for immediate reforms to address the problems that were present in this period. The councils of the respective cities came up with strategies to counter the problems that came about during the industrial revolution. Different policies were formulated in order to address the pressing issues on housing, sanitation, drainage and other problems that were experienced. The fire in the city of London prompted the authorities to devise a plan to combat city fires. This led to formation of the fire brigade system to combat the danger of fires in cities. The cities also set up plans for the construction of houses in the cities to prevent the rise of slums (Spielvogel, 234). Works cited Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Since 1300. Wadsworth Pub Co, 2011. Print. Crocker, Chester A, Fen O. Hampson, and Pamela R. Aall. Leashing the Dogs of War: Conflict Management in a Divided World. Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007. Print. Read More