World History since 1450 AD

Three Key Events

Three important changes that have occurred since the year 1450 AD came with
key events – the 1492 “discovery” of the New World, with its colonization and growth of
European imperialism it caused; the Industrial Revolution, a time of technological
innovation that later caused both economic and social change; and finally, a
communications revolution that's helping bring the world closer together, hand-in-hand,
with globalization.

What was thought to be another route to Asia, the 1492 “discovery” was
something no one had predicted: a brand new continent, and for the Europeans, it would
translate into a land that to them, seemed as if waiting to be colonized and set foot on by
Europeans. Seeing a fresh new continent rich in resources and arable land, the European
race for colonization of the Americas began. Such imperialist movements had unanimous
effects: the establishment of a colonial society characterized by hierarchical organization,
the destruction of social rights (in the beginning, for the natives, and later on, for the
African slaves); and finally, the creation of the colonies as a source of wealth and power.
The last one is of particular mention because it encompasses several concepts. The
colonies in the Americas were highly sought after because of the resources they
possessed. Thus, in a sense, whatever country colonized an area with resources had
complete access to those resources because it was their colony. This gave rise to the
economic theory of mercantilism, which expressed establishing a favorable balance of
trade (i.e. equal amounts of import/export). The colonies provided resources (not
considered imports because, as aforementioned, the country “owned” these resources) as
well as a market for finished goods/exports – the colonists were forced to pay for these
finished European goods, which, in addition to tax on these goods, stirred major
resentment. In a nutshell – the discovery of the Americas stirred not only colonization, as
the major European powers established political and economic presence in the New
World, sometimes with little regard for the natives; but also imperialism, the term coined
to refer to a nation’s desire to extend its own rule over foreign lands and societies. Lastly,
the discovery of the Americas also resulted in the amount of land a nation possessed
being the factor that most influenced how wealthy it was (mercantilism featured the
colonies as main European markets; thus, the more colonies a nation possessed, the more
markets it had access to).

The Industrial Revolution of the 1800s was also a key event in world history since
1450, and it's easy to see why. In fact, many historians credit it is one of the most
important events in history. Owing largely to the impact of the Industrial Revolution
however, was its multi-faceted nature. For many, it may seem as a time when there were a
lot of technological developments occurring, and a lot of new machines were made.
Experienced people began inventing machines, ranging from a telegraph to a radio, to
even an airplane, but the impact of these technological innovations was so widespread
that it made this period of inventing one of the most important worldwide (the Revolution
itself occurred mostly in Europe, but its effects reached farther). The improvement of
agricultural technology for tasks such as plowing, seeding, and reaping allowed more
people to depart from the farms and head towards the cities, where they could find new
jobs in the growing industrial economy; this resulted in increased urbanization. Individual
industries became more technologically advanced – the textile industry enjoyed
industrialization first, with inventions such as John Hargreaves' spinning jenny, capable
of spinning vast amounts of thread, and Eli Whitney's cotton gin. Eli Whitney also
developed the concept of interchangeable parts, which helped speed up repairs. Henry
Ford's assembly line made output speed tremendously quick. But these innovations came
with a social price – factory workers were overworked and underpaid, and child labor
was also not uncommon. New social classes also came as a result of the Industrial
Revolution, namely a reigning class of wealthy aristocrats, a middle class composed of
managers, accountants, and other skilled professionals, and a bottom working class
composed of peasants and factory workers alike. With the increased production of goods
during the Revolution also came new economic ideas, which competed against each other
at a time – one was the capitalist free-market system, which promoted private industry
and little government involvement in business, and Marxism (later translated into
socialism/communism) which called for equality, both social and economic, amongst its
citizens. Lastly, Europe, whom experienced the Industrial Revolution first and the most,
became a “clearinghouse for raw materials”. It began colonizing other lands fast, as it
extracted their raw materials, made it into finished products at home, and then forced it
upon the conquered peoples, to buy it. This had already been happening in the Americas,
but the Scramble for Africa – a late 1800s race for conquering lands of Africa – brought
this, under European imperialism, to developing African nations. Basically, the Industrial
Revolution brought technological innovation, and with it, a force to strengthen European
power. Had it not been for the inventions of this period however, many inventions today
would not have been possible. Some even, are used to this day – the telephone and
airplane, and X-ray, while more primitive back then, are still used today.

The last key change, in world history since the year 1450 AD, can be described as
the communications revolution of the latter half of the 20th century. This revolution was in
a sense similar to the Industrial Revolution of the 17th century in that it brought much
technological innovation. Personal computing was born as a result of it. These machines
sped up production in business settings, it assisted with office tasks such as organization
of files and folders, etc. But the second part of it, the development of the Internet, aided
greatly in increasing the rate of dissipation of information worldwide and also contributed
to connecting distant peoples. Such effects go hand-in-hand with a growing 20th century
global trend known as globalization. Globalization is a very broad term, but at its
simplest refers to the growing interconnectedness of global cultures. In other words, it's
the shrinking of the world. Globalization can best be understood as encompassing links
between distant peoples, political entities, countries, etc. in various ways – economic
(integration of national economies worldwide through trade and foreign direct
investment); social (development of humanitarian efforts, such as UNESCO and similar
human rights programs); cultural (simultaneous westernization and growing cultural
diversity) – all possible ways, really. It's bringing everyone together. A concrete example
of one aspect of globalization, the economic one, occurred well before the term became
widespread. When the US entered a Great Depression, so did countries in Europe and
Asia. The reason for this was an integration of their economies, at that time, through
world banks and credit. Everyone becomes friends with everyone, in a sense, and when
one friend takes a hit, everyone takes it with him.

World history is going to keep changing, like a novel with plot twists at every
page turn. The discovery of the Americas set off European imperialism, the Industrial
Revolution brought sweeping technological and economic change, and the
communications revolution helped foster globalization – a fancy word for a shrinking
world – even more. The most important change is that very same one – that the world is
becoming much smaller, and at a much faster rate than ever before.