Transformations Of European Empires

By the 1800s, Europe had gained considerable power- centrally governed nation-states had emerged and the Industrial Revolution had deeply enriched different country’s economies. Advances in science and technology, industry, transportation, and communication provided Western nations with many advantages. Encouraged by their new military and economic prestige, European countries embarked on a path of aggressive expansion that today’s historians call “New Imperialism (1800-1914).” Europeans brought much of the world under their influence and control, dominating various countries politically, economically, and culturally. Though the West reaped the benefits of foreign imperialism, native peoples felt its harmful effects. For example, in Document

During the European age of expansion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, various European nations were colonizing the newly discovered Americas. Spain and France would become prominent players in the Western Hemisphere, both conquering and colonizing new territories. However, each country had different methods of developing their colonies in the New World. Spanish and French settlements contrasted greatly with one another in terms of economic development and Native American relations.

Europe, Africa, and North and South America societies were permanently changed by the movement of goods, people, and wealth in the late 17th and 18th centuries; by doing this it pushed the world closer to globalization. The biggest influence on this drive was referred to as ‘the Atlantic Circuit’, a triangular trade between Western Africa, the West Indies, and Western Europe. This circuit opened up so many industries of agriculture, mostly because of the quick growth of the Atlantic slave trade, but in the end drastically changed the economies of all involved. The Colonization, in combination with the agriculture industries renovated the land of the Americas, and influenced nutrition and diets around the world. Not to mention that the capitalist

By integrating so many Old World ideas, it became harder and harder to identify their true culture. Even today, one could go to an Indian reservation and see only a few people who carry as much original native traditions as possible, but none of them can because some of the new ideas were so hidden, like horses, that it's hard for even a person who is majority Native American to dissect his or her culture to its purest form. Other countries still have bright culture that they hold on to and can be recognized by. The Old World was affected negatively by the New World, but not in such a harsh way. They came back with less than half the diseases that they brought. Many people were killed by the sicknesses like yellow fever, but not in any kind of comparison to the Native Americans, and the diseases they brought were nothing to the Black Plague that so many had heard about so it didn't affect them as much as natives. Tobacco, although it may seem small, was an unnoticed problem for Europeans. It soon became a necessity. Both chewing and smoking affected their heath and is even a problem today. The negative effects on the Old World are significantly less severe than on the New World. The Old World had a huge advantage over the Native Americans because they could see a native's actual life and almost everything about them while the New World didn't originally have that benefit. Because of this, the Europeans got many agriculture ideas and foods from

Illnesses such as smallpox killed the majority of Native American populations significantly weakening the Naive Americans allowing for Europeans to more easily conquer them. The transfer of crops from the Americas to Europe allowed for a more population growth and shaped their cuisine to this day. Potatoes and native to the Americas yet they are and were a staple of European diets, most notably the Irish. European discovery of resources in the Americas led to millions of African slaves being shipped to the Americas to work in mines or plantations. This widespread slave trade has influences race relations to this day.

Before Europeans landed in the Americas, Native Americans lived within various complex societies across modern day North and South America. Two of the greatest empires that existed at the time were the Aztecs located in modern central Mexico or at the time it was called Mesoamerica and the Incas located in modern Peru, these societies were unique because they were ruled by kings, nobles and warriors whereas most North American Natives were ruled by chiefdoms. North American Native’s religion consisted of animist quality- a belief that the natural world had spiritual powers. They applied this belief to everyday life- praying to be exempt from disease, good crops, and plenty of food. Some societies amongst many North American Natives were matriarchal for example in the Iroquois society power and possessions were passed down through the female line of authority. Most women were gatherers and watched over the towns and men hunted for food for their families, maize agriculture was popular amongst the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes Natives. The Native Americans traded extensively before the Europeans arrived, for example there were annual trade fairs between the Navajos, Apaches and the Pueblos. In 1521, Hernan Cortes arrived in Mesoamerica and quickly overcame the Aztecs, not only by force but also disease. Europeans unknowingly brought many diseases, such as smallpox, influenza and measles, that the Native Americans were never exposed to and it was one of the biggest killers of the Natives. At first, Europeans forced Native Americans to be slaves and work on their plantations but soon they were replaced with the African slave.

Culture wasn’t the only thing that the Europeans brought over to the Americas. Along with their customs and rules, came the diseases that the Native American’s have never been exposed to. The Europeans brought many communicable diseases such as small pox and measles which were transmitted to the Native Americans through trade goods or someone infected with them. This quickly annihilated most of the Native American population.

The sound of row boats crashing into the eastern coast of what is now the American continents, can only be accredited to the Age of Expansion and a series of events that had encouraged the growth of the European nations in the 16th and 17th centuries. How did the European empires find the New World first when the Chinese were supposed to be the leading economy and political figure on the globe? Did the East fall short? Or was this “Rise of the West” a result of climatical events that happened to influence progress and growth on the European continent? The reason that the European empires reached the New World first is due to the ceasing of the Chinese exploration in the early 15th century, and to the climatical advantages in Europe provided

Europeans explored and settled in the Americas all throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and were generally successful. Although there were a number of factors that contributed to European successes in the New World, biological exchange was foremost. Biological exchange was the most significant force behind Europeans’ success in the Americas because it helped Europeans to wipe out Native American peoples, both physically and culturally, and to introduce European practices and resources that would help Europeans to flourish in the New World.

One difference of the effects of the encounter on both regions is that in the Americas the population decreased and in Europe population increased. The Americas population increased for many reasons. One reason for this demographic effect is because when the Europeans went on the age of exploration and they found the Americas this resulted in the encounter. When the Europeans conquered the native people they brought germs to the new world. The people of the Americas had never been exposed to such infectious diseases like measles and smallpox, without any resistance to those diseases they died in huge numbers. Compared to the Americas/ the European population increased vastly. Due to the labor systems the Europeans set up they received and trade more foods from the old world and the new world and through the Columbian exchange. These were foods such as corn,

Europeans sought out lands that provided new sources of raw materials, cheap labor, markets, areas of investment, and military boosters. As European nations became competitive with one another, there was an increased pressure to practice Imperialism to maintain power. New Imperialism was motivated greatly by the Industrial Revolution and its advancements, and efficiency of manufacturing and supplying products. European nations also focused on opening trade routes that would give them places to sell their goods. Also significant was the Europeans desire to Christianize and “civilize” other nations through missionary work and the enforcement of European cultures and beliefs. The new Imperialism brought on social changes as well. Many people urged the taking up of the “White Man’s Burden”, bringing the European version of civilization to the rest of the world, regardless whether they wanted it or not.

There are many reasons as to why the Europeans were able to make empires far away from their homelands. The first reason being that Europeans were near the Americas unlike their opponents (Asia) in which were father away. The Europeans were determined to gain more land, enlarge the religion of Christianity, and expand the economy by gaining more territory. Every European had their own reasoning for wanting to expand therefore, everyone had their own motives. Another reason that enabled them was that they were also involved in trading which helped them transport items to and from the Americas. The last reason was the Europeans immunity to diseases. While many Americans fell ill because of all of the European diseases, the Europeans did not, enabling them to conquer more land.

Have you ever wondered why our government is the way it is? Or what ideas made it so? Well, the answer lies in the Transformation periods in Europe. One of these periods was the Renaissance, when old Greek and Roman culture was revived and the arts were explored as they flourished during this time. Second was the Reformation, when the Catholic Church was challenged and Protestants began questioning the authority of the Church.

During the historical time period from 1450 to 1650, western Europe was arranged on an era of extraneous investigation and financial growth that distorted society. This duration took part in attending a stretch of European civilization to go a long way off of the borders of the continent. There were some factors that facilitated the expansion of European society from 1450 to 1650. There were also motivations both for the individual European explorers and the states that supported them.

In contrast to an area with tropical areas and isolated countries with a lower population, Europe’s much larger population allows it to expand and exceed its limits of trade and farming. This division of labor allowed them to complete work more efficiently and quickly, allowing the economy to prosper with the fast production rates and easily outdo its rivaling countries and continents. This improvement of production allowed them to trade quicker and more easily and better spread their influence throughout the rest of the