Human civilization has undergone various developments in history but there are developments that have had a greater impact on the modern world than others. The paper will evaluate three developments that have had the greatest impact on civilization. The first significant development was the impact of the Greek in politics. The Greeks invented democracy as a form of government because they believed that true politics should include decisions and rule by the people. They rejected common political institutions that existed in their era such as kingship. They not only got rid of royal dynasties but also the priestly caste. Aristocracy replaced monarchial rule. Aristocracy is the rule of the better born. Also, the style of leadership changed after the advancement of military warfare such as the trireme and hoplite. Due to the extensive bloodshed, they settled on democracy by 500 BC through the rights of citizens and foreigners. The Spartans developed their state according to egalitarianism and militarism. Egalitarianism meant that the rights of all citizens in the state were equal. On the other hand, the Athenian society encouraged its citizens to excel in philosophy, politics, literature, business, and art according to their talents (Pavlac, 2011). The fundamentals of Athenian democracy influenced modern-day democracy in the western world.
The other significant development was western colonial imperialism. It was an ear when European kingdoms expanded their empires overseas. There was western exceptionalism, an idea that the Europeans were better and different than other civilizations in the entire world. They believed that it was their role to ‘civilize' other societies in different parts of the world. The strength of the European states was driven by their impulse to expand overseas, accumulation of wealth, technological advancement, the strength of government, and cultural sophistication. They initially began with ‘voyages of discovery’ by understanding the trade networks in most parts of Africa and Asia. Europeans had three motives to expand overseas: spread Christianity, colonialism, and imperialism ( Nisbet, 2017) . Europeans desired to spread Christianity to ‘heathens’ in the new lands. Colonialism gave them a great opportunity for profit by using the resources in Asia and Africa to build their kingdoms. Imperialism existed in both the national and personal level. New lands often brought glorification, revenues, and wider empires for the monarchs. Ultimately, the monarchs divided the new lands amongst themselves and converted Africans in the areas they had conquered. Furthermore, they influenced their culture and language.
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The other significant event was the scientific agricultural revolution that began in 1650 in England. It allowed human to control the environment to a greater extent than ever before. It allowed them to determine which crops that should be planted and their nutrition levels. The concentration on scientific agriculture allowed the non-conformists to invest in industry, commerce, and finance. The diligent work ethic of the Calvinists allowed the state to grow economically and it allowed England to bind Ireland, Scotland, and wales into the kingdom. It also allowed Great Britain to hold India, Canada, Egypt, and South Africa (Scott, 2017). The growing economy encouraged financial innovations such as insurance where the insurance could cover the losses incurred by businessmen after natural disasters. It also allowed the country to invest in machinery, energy, and transportation.
Ultimately, it ushered the industrial revolution in Europe. They harnessed power from water mills, transportation solved the issue of bad roads, and machines made work easier in the kingdom. Various inventions during the 18 th century improved life and the government supported the inventions. However, the industrial revolution did not solve the issue of gender inequality because women lacked opportunity in training, apprenticeship, and education (Scott, 2017). Ultimately, the industrial revolution led to the rise of machines such as steam engines and railroads. The inventions in the industrial revolutions have a great impact on modern day civilizations.
References
Nisbet, R. (2017). History of the Idea of Progress . Routledge.
Pavlac, Brian A. (2011). A concise survey of western civilization; Supremacies and Diversities throughout history, Brown and Littlefield Publishers
Scott, J. C. (2017). Against the grain: a deep history of the earliest states . Yale University Press.
