Duiker and Speilvogel's Book, World History Since Term Paper

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Duiker and Speilvogel's book, World History Since 1865, Volume II examines the emergence of imperialism promoted by Europeans and the resulting affects of their determination to expand, far surpassing imperial Rome.

Great Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal and even Russia intruded forcefully into Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the South Pacific and finally sought out the North and South Poles. Today, there is common agreement that European overseas expansion was a constant factor of the nineteenth century, with British commercial activities the most obvious.

But the key aspect of this mobile expansion and what dominated world history from 1500 to the present is the gradual integration of the world into a European-dominated global system. One of the more interesting aspects of this "globalization" is to understand that countries outside of Europe were not victims of this movement. Historical, social, economic and political dynamics contributed to European Imperialism, particularly during the 19th century. By comparing world cultures and civilizations, it is easy to understand how regional and eventually world integration became possible.

Consider Chapter 8 in Dukier and Spielvogel's book that discusses early civilizations in Africa. It depicts urban life, lineage, and the role of women and eventually slavery as themes in African society. Africa was one of the countries that drew the attention of new imperialism. Africa, along with Asia offered a treasure chest of much needed raw materials by European countries that were feeling the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Although the climate and terrain of Africa did not offer a popular scenario for European settlement, it did provide a politically free atmosphere for acquiring goods.

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The authors do note that slavery was common in Egypt long before it showed up in Africa. In North Africa alone, as much as 75% of the population was enslaved.During the 19th century, both Great Britain and France were seeking strategic trade outlets and by the end of the century they both held land holdings in Africa; France had Algeria and Great Britain had South Africa.

Duiker and Spielvogel look at world history and in particular European Imperialism as part of a larger "world system" that played a significant role in creating cross-cultural interactions that influenced other civilizations. "European intellectual life in the 18th century was marked by a revolutionary transition to the largely secular, rational and materialistic perspective that in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries defined the modern Western mentality and dramatically affected much of the rest of the world."

As we strive to understand the theories that support imperialism, we begin to unravel a complicated picture that suggest that it was not all Eurocentric, fanning out from Europe to non-Western countries. "The activities taking place on the local scene -- by merchant, adventurer, soldier, or missionary, far from the capitals of Europe concerning expansionist capitalism or a glory-seeking nationalism."

By 1815 the world had known some four hundred years of continuous European imperialism. Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French and British colonial empires had followed one another. The very list of countries emphasizes the lead taken in this expansion by the western, maritime peoples. The creation of dynastic….....

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