Notes on Global General History

a general history of the world: from prehistoric times to the 21st century (the 7th edition of the new school-based first and second volumes set)

Chapter 14: revolutionary western civilization

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The root cause of this major difference can be found in the uniqueness of the new western civilization-diversity, strong adaptability and getting rid of the traditional shackles that bind all other civilizations in Eurasia. The new civilization has not only brought historic changes to the west, but also brought historic changes to the world when the world is under the influence of a revolutionary new society, as predicted by Bacon.

Third, the progress of technology

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Finally, the humanitarian ethics of Christianity also promoted the development of western technology; Humanitarian ethics itself was developed by opposing the inhumanity of the ancient imperial society. The monks in the monastery insist that manual labor is an integral part of spiritual life. Or, as they say, "labor is prayer." As the earliest intellectuals with dirt under their fingernails, these monks went down in history. They first connected intelligence with sweat, and in doing so, they promoted the progress of technology. By building monasteries, they pushed the boundaries of new settlements into the forests of northern Europe and eastern Europe, and they also introduced advanced agricultural methods.

IV. Developing Economy

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In terms of population and trade volume, cities in medieval Western Europe were insignificant compared with those in China, India or the Middle East. However, due to their growing autonomy and political power, they are very unique. It is precisely because they have just emerged and are in the framework of a politically divided Europe rather than a rock-solid empire that citizens have shown self-confidence and independence from the beginning, which is not found anywhere else in Eurasia.

VI. The vigorous development of the Renaissance

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The secularism and individualism of the Renaissance are also reflected in academic achievements and education. Francesco Petrarca, the so-called father of Renaissance literature, namely Petrarch (134-1374), emphasized the value of classical literature as a means of self-cultivation and the guidance of social action. Similarly, the new boarding schools established during the Renaissance did not train priests, but trained businessmen's children. The school curriculum focuses on the study of classical works and sports, and its purpose is to educate students to live happily and healthily and become responsible citizens.

iv. American Indians in history

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Obviously, the balance of power in America is completely different from that in Africa. Geographical environment, small population, low-level economic, political and social organizations, all of which are unfavorable to Indians and enable Europeans to occupy America; At this time, in Africa, Europeans only occupied a few unstable small foothold in the coastal areas. Although American Indians can't effectively resist European invaders, the fact remains that they have made outstanding contributions to human development. The most important of these contributions is that they have cultivated a variety of plants that have become the mainstay of daily diet all over the world. The most famous are corn, potato, soybean (the main source of protein), pumpkin, tomato and cocoa. In a word, America has cultivated almost as many plants as the whole Eastern Hemisphere-this is a truly extraordinary achievement. Today, more than 5% of agricultural products in the United States are derived from plants originally cultivated by Indians. The United States is a major exporter of food to the world market, so it can be said that without American Indian pioneers, the total population of the world today would actually be lower.

the enlightenment of history to today

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The history of human beings proves that the cultural progress of a social group often depends on whether it has the opportunity to learn from the experience of neighboring social groups. The discoveries made by one social group can be passed on to other social groups; The more diversified the communication, the more opportunities to learn from each other. Generally speaking, the tribes with the most primitive culture are those that have been isolated from the world for a long time, so they can't benefit from the cultural achievements made by neighboring tribes. [3]

I. Modernization

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Economists define modernization as a process in which human beings enhance their control over the external environment as a means to increase per capita output. Sociologists and anthropologists point out that other features of modernization include: awakening and inspiring people, greater interest in the present and the future than in the past, a tendency to regard human affairs as understandable rather than controlled by supernatural forces, and trust in the benefits of science and technology that was established only recently.

II. Renaissance

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Most Renaissance art and literature focus on people-the new renaissance man, who is the shaper of his or her own destiny, not the plaything of supernatural forces. People don't need to concentrate on the supernatural power. On the contrary, the purpose of life is to develop their inherent potential. Leon Batista alberti (144-1472) wrote: "There is nothing that people can't do if they want to." His own achievements fully confirmed this maxim. This Florentine aristocrat is not only a playwright, poet, literary critic, organist and singer, but also an architect, mathematician and archaeologist. He was also a famous runner, wrestler and mountaineer when he was young.

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The spirit of the Renaissance is vividly reflected in its art. Because the church is no longer the only patron, artists are encouraged to turn their attention to something different from the traditional biblical theme. Giotto's paintings (1267-1337) marked the transition to naturalism. This trend was further advanced by Ma Saqiao (141-1428). Ma Saqiao mastered the unique creation of perspective in Renaissance. Different from paintings in the Middle Ages, Renaissance paintings emphasize the effects of light and shadow, and show the depth of field of people and scenery.

Third, the emergence of capitalism

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The emergence of capitalism is epoch-making. It not only affects the economy, but also affects all aspects of people's lives. Although in the early Middle Ages, money was still marginal and rarely used by people, by the late Middle Ages, it had provided energy for the rapid rise of Europe in the future. None of the previous social and economic systems was based on the concept of growth. Their goal is only to maintain, not improve, the better material living standards in the past. However, since then, capitalism has been just the opposite. Profits are reinvested to increase the amount of capital used for production. Capitalization of profits, that is, surplus value is converted into more capital, is the basic principle contained in the word "capitalism". The new "capitalists" are no longer satisfied with their lives, they are eager to expand their property. Therefore, they will not stop working hard after their consumption needs are met. This new "capitalist spirit" was summed up by Jacob Fugger, the richest banker in the 16th century: "As long as I can make money, let me make money."

Part VII The World in the Dominant Position of Western Religions (1763-1914)

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Another feature that should be specially mentioned about these three revolutions is that they were not carried out in parallel or independently. They depend on each other and constantly interact with each other. Newton's discovery of some laws governing the motion of celestial bodies and Darwin's theory on biological evolution have a far-reaching influence on political thought. Similarly, modern nationalism is completely unimaginable without new technological inventions such as printing and telegraphy. And vice versa: politics has influenced science, and the French Revolution, which gave a strong impetus to scientific progress, is one of them. Politics also affects the economy, which is clearly stated by John Wilkinson, a British manufacturer. He said bluntly: "Manufacturing and commerce are always most prosperous where the church and the king have the least intervention." [2]

Chapter 26 Scientific Revolution and Industrial Revolution in Europe

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This great change originated from the scientific revolution and industrial revolution; These two revolutions are outstanding contributions of western civilization to human development. Looking back at history, it seems that these two revolutions are of greater significance than the agricultural revolution in the Neolithic Age. The agricultural revolution made civilization possible, but once this big step forward, agriculture did not make further contributions. Science and technology, on the other hand, is developing steadily with the help of its research methods. Science itself contains the possibility of infinite progress. If we remember the scientific achievements in the past few centuries and its increasing development speed today, we can correctly evaluate the amazing possibilities and significance of science even if we don't understand it. Besides, science and technology belong to all mankind. Because science is based on objective research methods, various proposals about science have been generally endorsed by people. Science is a product of western civilization that non-western nations generally respect and pursue. In fact, it was science and its related technologies that made it possible for Europe to dominate the world in the 19th century. Therefore, the former subordinate peoples are now trying to correct the existing imbalance by figuring out the secret of the great and unique contribution made by the West to mankind.

First, the roots of the scientific revolution

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The roots of science can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, China, Greece in the classical era and the Islamic world in the middle ages. However, the scientific revolution is a unique product of western civilization. The reason seems to be that only in the West has science become an integral part of the general society. Or in other words, only in the West can philosophers-scientists and artisans unite and promote each other. Therefore, it is this combination of science and society, scientists and craftsmen that greatly promotes the unprecedented prosperity of science in the western world.

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why did this epoch-making development appear in the west? One reason lies in the academic achievements of humanism in the Renaissance. Scholars and artists can approach not only Plato and Aristotle, but also Euclid and Archimedes, who promoted the study of physics and mathematics. What is more important is the inspiration from various biological sciences. Doctors studied all the works of Hippocrates and Galen, while naturalists studied the works of Aristotle, Dior Scoori and Theophrastos. However, without the favorable social atmosphere in western Europe, these achievements in human knowledge alone could not have caused the scientific revolution. In this environment, the gap between craftsmen and scholars has been narrowed. Artisans were not so despised during the Renaissance as they were in the classical and medieval times. People respect the practical techniques of spinning, weaving, pottery making, glass making, especially the increasingly important mining and metallurgy. In Renaissance Europe, all these industries were run by freemen instead of slaves as in classical times. These freemen are not as different from the ruling clique in social status and economic status as medieval craftsmen. The improvement of the status of craftsmen in the Renaissance strengthened the relationship between craftsmen and scholars. They all made important contributions. Craftsmen have ancient old technology and added new inventions from the Middle Ages to the old technology. Similarly, scholars have provided various facts, inferences and procedures about the rediscovered ancient and medieval science. The integration of these two approaches is slow, but in the end, they cause an explosive combination.

VI. The influence of the industrial revolution on Europe

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The increase in the income of the minority at the top and the majority at the bottom of society made it possible for the consumer society to appear in Britain for the first time in human history. The desire to consume is not a special thing. Shakespeare once mentioned in "Much ado about nothing" that there are always more fashionable clothes than people can wear out ("fashion wear out more apparent than the man."). Therefore, what is unique to Britain in the 18th century is not the desire to consume, but the ability of most people to consume. In the previous human society, the income of the public was so meager that half to three quarters of the income had to be used to buy food. The little money left has to buy other necessities, so there is no money left to buy things or fashions that I want to buy on a whim. This can not only explain why the fashion at that time did not change with the seasons as it does now, but also explain why Japanese kimono, Indian waist cloth, loose pants in some Islamic countries and shawls in Latin America have remained unchanged for centuries.

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A scholar who studied this new consumerism concluded: "The new consumerism made all walks of life start to buy goods that they never had a chance to buy before, even in a wider range than before ... The clever use of social imitation made people who originally only bought' decent goods' buy' luxury goods' and people who originally bought' necessities' buy' decent goods' ... [7] Mass consumerism appeared in Britain in the 18th century in this way, and it has become a social symbol of the 2th century.

VII. The influence of the industrial revolution on the non-European world

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Why is the great expansion of Europe in the late 19th century called neo-imperialism? Imperialism is nothing new after all. If imperialism is defined as "the direct or indirect political or economic domination or control of other similar groups by a country, nation or race", then imperialism is as old as human civilization. [9] There is no doubt that the Romans were imperialists, because they conquered most parts of Europe and the Near East and ruled those areas for centuries. Moreover, before and after the Romans, many other empires around the world were conquered by various nationalities.

I. the pattern of political revolution

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In the early Middle Ages, there were three distinct social groups in Western Europe: the nobles who formed the military aristocracy, the priests who formed the church and the intellectual dignitaries, and the peasants who worked to support the above two upper classes. With the development of commerce, this situation of social class in the Middle Ages began to change due to the emergence of a new component, namely the urban bourgeoisie. As the wealth and number of this class increase, it is increasingly dissatisfied with the privileges of the feudal classes and many restrictions that hinder the development of the free market economy. Therefore, the bourgeoisie and the national monarchy have formed a mutually beneficial alliance. Kings get financial support from the bourgeoisie, from