History of the world 435268 226089746 2008-07-16T19:53:25Z Reddi 13833 {{Refimprove|date=September 2007}} {{two other uses||the history of Earth which includes the time before human existence|History of Earth}} {{TOCright}} The '''history of the world''' begins ''human'' [[history]] with the first appearance of ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' and continues into the present.{{fact}} Human ''history'', as opposed to [[prehistory|''pre''history]], has in the past been said to begin with the invention, independently at several sites on Earth, of [[writing]], which created the infrastructure for lasting, accurately transmitted memories and thus for the diffusion and growth of [[knowledge]].<ref>According to ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]'', 1986 ed., vol. 29, p. 558, "Writing gives permanence to men's knowledge and enables them to communicate over great distances.... The complex society of a higher civilization would be impossible without the art of writing."</ref> Human history is marked both by a gradual accretion of discoveries and inventions, as well as by quantum leaps — paradigm shifts, and revolutions — that comprise epochs in the material and spiritual evolution of humankind. Somewhere between 8500 and 7000 [[Before Christ|BC]], humans in the [[Fertile Crescent]] began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals: [[agriculture]].<ref name="Tudge">{{cite book | last = Tudge | first = Colin | authorlink = Colin Tudge | title = [[Neanderthals, Bandits and Farmers|Neanderthals, Bandits and Farmers: How Agriculture Really Began]] | year = 1998 | publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson | location = London | id = ISBN 0-297-84258-7 }}</ref> This spread to neighboring regions, and also developed independently elsewhere, until most ''Homo sapiens'' lived sedentary lives in permanent settlements as farmers. Not all societies abandoned nomadism, especially those in isolated areas of the globe poor in [[Domestication|domesticable]] plant species, such as [[Australia]].<ref name="diamond">{{cite book | last = Diamond | first = Jared | authorlink = Jared Diamond | title = [[Guns, Germs, and Steel]] | origdate = 1999-12-01 | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | id = ISBN 0-393-31755-2 }}</ref> However, among those civilizations that did adopt agriculture, the relative security and increased productivity provided by farming allowed the population to expand. Agriculture had a major impact; humans began to affect the environment as never before. Surplus food allowed an [[upper class]] to arise, followed by increasing [[Division of labour|division of labor]].{{cn}} Writing is a product of the [[Bronze Age]], as the increasingly sedentary early [[civilization]]s in the wake of the [[Neolithic Revolution|Agricultural Revolution]] evolved complex societes with bureaucratic administrations, centralized government of [[city state]]s and ultimately early [[empire]]s. The development of Earth’s first [[civilization]] at [[Sumer]] in the [[Middle East]] was between 4000 and 3000 BC.<ref name="McNeill-Sumer">{{cite book | last = McNeill | first = Willam H. | authorlink = William McNeill | title = A World History | origyear = 1967 | edition = 4th ed. | year = 1999 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = New York | id = ISBN 0-19-511615-1 | pages = 15 | chapter = In The Beginning }}</ref> Additional civilizations quickly arose in [[ancient Egypt]], at the [[Indus Valley civilization|Indus River valley]] and in [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|China]]. Recorded history of the [[Old World]] is commonly divided into *[[Ancient history]], including the [[Ancient Near East]], Mediterranean [[Classical Antiquity]] as well as [[Ancient China]] and [[Ancient India]], from the earliest records until about the 6th century; *the [[Middle Ages]], from the 6th to 15th centuries; *the [[Early Modern period]], originating with the European [[Renaissance]], the 16th to 18th centuries; *the [[Modern period]], since the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and the [[Industrial Revolution]], from about 1800 to the present. In [[Europe]], the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] (476 CE) is commonly taken as signaling the end of [[Ancient history|antiquity]] and the beginning of the [[Middle Ages]]. A thousand years later, in the mid-15th century, [[Johannes Gutenberg]]'s invention of modern [[printing]], employing [[movable type]], revolutionized [[communication]], helping end the [[Middle Ages]] and usher in modern times, the [[European Renaissance]] and the [[Scientific Revolution]]. By the 18th century, the accumulation of [[knowledge]] and [[technology]], especially in [[Europe]], had reached a [[critical mass]] that sparked into existence the [[Industrial Revolution]]. Over the quarter-[[millennium]] since, the growth of [[knowledge]], [[technology]], [[commerce]], and — concomitantly with these — the potential destructiveness of [[war]] has accelerated geometrically, creating the [[opportunity|opportunities]] and perils that now confront the human communities that together inhabit the [[planet]]. ==Prehistory== {{main|Prehistory}} ===Paleolithic=== {{main|Paleolithic|Recent African Origin|Early Homo sapiens|Early human migrations}} [[Image:Map-of-human-migrations.jpg|thumb|400px|Map of early [[human migrations]], according to [[Mitochondrial DNA|mitochondrial]] [[population genetics]]. Numbers are [[millennia]] before the present (accuracy disputed).]] "Paleolithic" means "Old Stone Age." This was the earliest period of the [[Stone Age]]. The [[Lower Paleolithic]] predates ''Homo sapiens'', beginning with ''[[Homo habilis]]'' and the earliest use of stone tools some 2.5 million years ago. ''[[Early Homo sapiens|Homo sapiens]]'' originated some 200,000 years ago, ushering in the [[Middle Paleolithic]]. Sometime during the Middle Paleolithic, humans also developed [[Origin of language|language]], [[origin of music|music]], [[prehistoric art|early art]], as well as systematic [[paleolithic burial|burial of the dead]]. Humans spread from East Africa to the Near East some 80 millennia ago, and further to southern [[Asia]] and [[Australasia]] some 60 millennia ago, northwestwards into [[Europe]] and eastwards into [[Central Asia]] some 40 millennia ago, and further east to [[the Americas]] from ca. 30 millennia ago. The [[Upper Paleolithic]] is taken to begin some 40 millennia ago, with the appearance of "high" culture. Expansion to [[North America]] and [[Oceania]] took place at the climax of the most recent [[Ice Age]], when today's temperate regions were extremely inhospitable. By the end of the Ice Age some 12,000 [[Before Present|BP]], humans had colonised nearly all the ice-free parts of the globe. Throughout the Paleolithic, humans generally lived as [[nomad]]ic [[hunter-gatherer]]s. [[Hunter-gatherer#Social_structure|Hunter-gatherer]] societies have tended to be very small and egalitarian, though hunter-gatherer societies with abundant resources or advanced food-storage techniques have sometimes developed a sedentary lifestyle, complex social structures such as chiefdoms, and [[social stratification]]; and long-distance contacts may be possible, as in the case of [[Indigenous Australian]] "highways." ===Mesolithic === {{main|Mesolithic}} [[Image:Canoe.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Dugout canoe]].]] The "Mesolithic," or "Middle Stone Age" (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] "''mesos''," "middle," and "''lithos''," "stone") was a period in the development of [[human]] [[technology]] between the [[Paleolithic]] and [[Neolithic]] periods of the [[Stone Age]]. The Mesolithic period began at the end of the [[Pleistocene]] epoch, some 10,000 BP, and ended with [[Agriculture#History|the introduction of agriculture]], the date of which varied by geographic region. In some areas, such as the [[Near East]], agriculture was already underway by the end of the [[Pleistocene]], and there the Mesolithic is short and poorly defined. In areas with limited [[glacial]] impact, the term "[[Epipaleolithic]]" is sometimes preferred. Regions that experienced greater environmental effects as the [[last ice age]] ended have a much more evident Mesolithic era, lasting millennia. In Northern Europe, societies were able to live well on rich food supplies from the marshlands fostered by the warmer climate. Such conditions produced distinctive human behaviours which are preserved in the material record, such as the [[Maglemosian]] and [[Azilian]] cultures. These conditions also delayed the coming of the Neolithic until as late as 4000 [[BCE]] (6,000 [[Before Present|BP]]) in northern Europe. Remains from this period are few and far between, often limited to [[midden]]s. In [[forest]]ed areas, the first signs of [[deforestation]] have been found, although this would only begin in earnest during the [[Neolithic]], when more space was needed for [[agriculture]]. The Mesolithic is characterized in most areas by small composite [[flint]] tools — [[microlith]]s and [[microburin]]s. [[Fishing tackle]], stone [[adze]]s and wooden objects, e.g. [[canoe]]s and [[bow (weapon)|bow]]s, have been found at some sites. These technologies first occur in [[Africa]], associated with the [[Azilian]] cultures, before spreading to [[Europe]] through the [[Ibero-Maurusian]] culture of [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]], and the [[Kebaran]] culture of [[Palestine]]. [[List of multiple independent discoveries|Independent discovery]] is not always ruled out. During the [[Mesolithic]] as in the preceding [[Paleolithic]] period, people lived in small (mostly egalitarian) bands and tribes. ===Neolithic === {{main|Neolithic Period}} "Neolithic" means "New Stone Age." This was a period of primitive [[technological]] and [[social]] development, toward the end of the "[[Stone Age]]." Beginning in the 10th millennium BCE (12,000 BP), the Neolithic period saw the development of early [[village]]s, [[agriculture]], [[animal]] [[domestication]] and [[tool]]s. ====Rise of agriculture==== {{main|History of Agriculture}} [[Image:Maler der Grabkammer des Sennudem 001.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Ox]]-drawn [[plow]], [[ancient Egypt|Egypt]], ca. 1200 BCE.]] A major change, described by prehistorian [[Vere Gordon Childe]] as the "[[Neolithic Revolution|Agricultural Revolution]]," occurred about the 10th millennium BCE with [[Agriculture#History|the adoption of agriculture]]. The [[Sumerians]] first began farming ca. 9500 BCE. By 7000 BCE, agriculture had spread to [[India]]; by 6000 BCE, to Egypt; by 5000 BCE, to China. About 2700 BCE, agriculture had come to [[Mesoamerica]]. Although attention has tended to concentrate on the [[Middle East]]'s [[Fertile Crescent]], archaeology in the [[Americas]], [[East Asia]] and [[Southeast Asia]] indicates that agricultural systems, using different crops and animals, may in some cases have developed there nearly as early. the development of organised [[irrigation]], and the use of a specialised [[workforce]], by the [[Sumerians]], began about 5500 BCE. Stone was supplanted by bronze and iron in implements of agriculture and warfare. Agricultural settlements had until then been almost completely dependent on [[Rock (geology)|stone]] tools. In [[Eurasia]], [[copper]] and [[bronze]] tools, decorations and weapons began to be commonplace about 3000 BCE. After bronze, the Eastern [[Mediterranean]] region, [[Middle East]] and [[China]] saw the introduction of [[iron]] tools and weapons. [[Image:World 1000 BCE.png|thumb|right|300px|The technological and social state of the world, circa 1000 BCE.]] The Americas may not have had metal tools until the [[Chavín culture|Chavín]] horizon (900 BCE). The [[Moche]] did have metal armor, knives and tableware. Even the metal-poor [[Inca]] had metal-tipped plows, at least after the conquest of [[Chimor]]. However, little archaeological research has so far been done in [[Peru]], and nearly all the ''[[khipus]]'' (recording devices, in the form of knots, used by the Incas) were burned in the [[Spanish conquest of Peru]]. As late as 2004, entire [[cities]] were still being unearthed. Some digs suggest that [[steel]] may have been produced there before it was developed in Europe. The cradles of early [[civilization]]s were [[river]] [[valley]]s, such as the [[Euphrates]] and [[Tigris]] valleys in [[Mesopotamia]], the [[Nile River|Nile]] valley in [[Egypt]], the [[Indus River|Indus]] valley in the [[Indian subcontinent]], and the [[Yangtze]] and [[Yellow River]] valleys in [[China]]. Some nomadic peoples, such as the Indigenous Australians and the [[Bushmen]] of southern Africa, did not practice agriculture until relatively recent times. Before 1800, many populations did not belong to [[state]]s. Scientists disagree as to whether the term "[[tribe]]" should be applied to the kinds of societies that these people lived in. Many tribal societies, in Europe and elsewhere, transformed into states when they were threatened, or otherwise impinged on, by existing states. Examples are the [[Marcomanni]], [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]]. Some "tribes," such as the [[Kassites]] and the [[Manchus]], conquered states and were absorbed by them. Agriculture made possible complex societies — [[civilizations]]. States and markets emerged. Technologies enhanced people's ability to control [[nature]] and to develop [[transport]] and [[communication]]. ===Bronze Age=== {{see|Ancient history}} ===Early civilization=== {{main|State|Civilization}} The [[Neolithic Revolution|first Agricultural Revolution]] led to several major changes. It permitted far denser populations, which in time organised into [[states]]. There are several definitions for the term, "state." [[Max Weber]] and [[Norbert Elias]] defined a state as an organization of people that has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force in a particular geographic area. [[Image:Greatwall-SA3.jpg|thumb|left||280px|Borders delineate states — a prominent example is the [[Great Wall of China]], which stretches over 6,400 km, and was first erected in the 3rd century BCE to protect the north from [[nomad]]ic invaders called [[Xiongnu]]. It has since been rebuilt and augmented several times.]] The first states appeared in [[Mesopotamia]], western [[Iran]], [[ancient Egypt]] and [[Indus Valley]] in the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BCE.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} In [[Bronze Age]] [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Iran]], there were several [[city-states]]. [[Ancient Egypt]] began as a state without cities, but soon developed them. States appeared in [[China]] in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. A state ordinarily needs an [[Military history|army]] for the legitimate exercise of force. An army needs a [[bureaucracy]] to maintain it. The only exception to this appears to have been the [[Indus Valley civilization]], for which there is no evidence of the existence of a military force. Major wars were waged among states in the [[Middle East]]. About 1275 BCE, the [[Hittites]] under [[Muwatalli II]] and the [[ancient Egypt|Egypt]]ians under [[Ramesses II]] concluded the treaty of [[Kadesh]], the world's oldest recorded [[peace treaties|peace treaty]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ramses/Hattusili Treaty|url=http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/ramses-hattusili-treaty.htm}}</ref> [[Empire]]s came into being, with conquered areas ruled by central tribes, as in the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (10th century BCE), the [[Achaemenid Persian Empire]] (6th century BCE), the [[Mauryan Empire]] (4th century BCE), [[Qin China|Qin]] and [[Han China]] (3rd century BCE), and the [[Roman Empire]] (1st century BCE). Clashes among empires included those that took place in the 8th century, when the [[Islamic Caliphate]] of [[Arabia]] (ruling from [[Spain]] to [[Iran]]) and [[China]]'s [[Tang dynasty]] (ruling from [[Xinjiang]] to Dalian) fought for decades for control of [[Central Asia]]. [[Image:Sumerian 26th c Adab.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cuneiform script]], the earliest known writing system.]] The largest contiguous land empire in history was the [[13th-century]] [[Mongolian Empire]]. By then, most people in Europe, Asia and North Africa belonged to states. There were states as well in [[Mexico]] and western [[South America]]. States controlled more and more of the world's territory and population; the last "empty" territories, with the exception of uninhabited [[Antarctica]], would be divided up among states by the [[Berlin Conference]] (1884-1885). ====City and trade==== {{see|City|Trade}} [[Agriculture]] also created, and allowed for the storage of, [[food]] [[surplus]]es that could support people not directly engaged in food production. The development of agriculture permitted the creation of the first [[city|cities]]. These were centers of [[trade]], [[manufacture]] and [[political power]] with nearly no agricultural production of their own. Cities established a [[symbiosis]] with their surrounding [[countryside]]s, absorbing agricultural products and providing, in return, manufactures and varying degrees of military protection. The development of cities equated, both [[etymologically]] and in fact, with the rise of [[civilization]] itself: first [[Sumer|Sumerian civilization]], in lower [[Mesopotamia]] (3500 BCE), followed by [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian civilization]] along the [[Nile]] (3300 BCE) and [[Indus Valley Civilization|Harappan civilization]] in the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]] (3300 BCE). Elaborate cities grew up, with high levels of social and economic complexity. Each of these civilizations was so different from the others that they almost certainly originated independently. It was at this time, and due to the needs of cities, that [[writing]] and extensive [[trade]] were introduced. The earliest known form of writing was [[cuneiform script]], created by the Sumerians from ca. [[31st century BC|3000 BC]]. Cuneiform writing began as a system of [[pictography|pictographs]]. Over time, the pictorial representations became simplified and more abstract. Cuneiforms were written on [[clay tablet]]s, on which [[symbol]]s were drawn with a blunt [[Phragmites|reed]] for a [[stylus]]. The [[Middle Bronze Age alphabets|first alphabets]] were used in the Middle [[Bronze Age]] (2000-1500 BCE). From them evolved the [[Phoenician alphabet]], used for the writing of [[Phoenician languages|Phoenician]]. The Phoenician alphabet is the ancestor of many of the writing systems used today. In China, proto-urban societies may have developed from 2500 BCE, but the first dynasty to be identified by archeology is the [[Shang Dynasty]]. The 2nd millennium BCE saw the emergence of civilization in [[Caanan]], [[Crete]], mainland [[Greece]], and central [[Turkey]]. [[Image:Transasia trade routes 1stC CE gr2.png|thumb|300px|left|Trading routes used around the 1st century CE were centered on the Silk Road.]] In the [[Americas]], civilizations such as the [[Maya civilization|Maya]], [[Zapotec civilization|Zapotec]], [[Moche]], and [[Ica-Nazca culture|Nazca]] emerged in [[Mesoamerica]] and [[Peru]] at the end of the 1st millennium BCE. The world's first [[Currency|coinage]] was introduced around 625 BC in [[Lydia]] (western [[Anatolia]], in modern [[Turkey]]).<ref>[http://rg.ancients.info/lion/article.html The World's First Coin: The Lydian Lion]</ref> [[Trade route]]s appeared in the eastern [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] in the 4th millennium BCE. Long-range trade routes first appeared in the 3rd millennium BCE, when [[Sumer]]ians in [[Mesopotamia]] traded with the [[Indus Valley Civilization|Harappan civilization]] of the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]]. The [[Silk Road]] between [[China]] and [[Syria]] began in the 2nd millennium BCE. Cities in [[Central Asia]] and [[Persian Empire|Persia]] were major crossroads of these trade routes. [[Silla]] dynastic tombs have been found in [[Korea]], containing relics such as wine cups produced in [[Iran]].<ref>The Hankyeoreh http://www.hani.co.kr/section-021168000/2008/05/021168000200805080709002.html</ref> The [[Phoenicia]]n and [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[civilization]]s founded trade-based empires in the Mediterranean basin in the 1st millennium BCE. In the late 1st millennium CE and early 2nd millennium CE, the [[Arab]]s dominated the trade routes in the [[Indian Ocean]], [[East Asia]], and the [[Sahara]]. In the late 1st millennium, Arabs and [[Jew]]s dominated trade in the [[Mediterranean]]. In the early 2nd millennium, [[Italian people|Italians]] took over this role, and [[Flanders|Flemish]] and [[Germany|German]] cities were at the center of trade routes in [[northern Europe]] controlled by the [[Hanseatic League]]. In all areas, major cities developed at [[Crossroads (culture)|crossroads]] along [[trade route]]s. ==Ancient history== {{main|Ancient history}} [[Historiography]] proper emerges in [[Classical Antiquity]], [[Chinese historiography]]in the 6th century BC with the ''[[Classic of History]]'' and the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'', and [[Greek historiography]] from the 5th century BC, with [[Herodotus]] Earlier historical records however allow the piecing together of at least sketchy histories of the states of the [[Ancient Near East]] to as early as the [[3rd millennium BC]]. ===Religion and philosophy=== {{main|Axial Age}} {{main|History of philosophy|Development of religion|History of religion}} [[Image:Angkor wat temple.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Angkor Wat]] [[temple]], [[Cambodia]], early [[12th century]].]] New [[philosophy|philosophies]] and [[religions]] arose in both east and west, particularly about the 6th century BCE. Over time, a great variety of religions developed around the world, with some of the earliest major ones being [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Jainism]] in [[India]], and [[Zoroastrianism]] in [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. The [[Abrahamic religion]]s trace their origin to [[Judaism]], around 1800 BCE. In the east, three schools of thought were to dominate [[China|Chinese]] thinking until the modern day. These were [[Taoism]], [[Legalism (philosophy)|Legalism]] and [[Confucianism]]. The Confucian tradition, which would attain dominance, looked for [[political]] [[morality]] not to the force of law but to the power and example of tradition. Confucianism would later spread into the [[Korean peninsula]] and [[Goguryeo]]<ref>http://www.skkok.com/?_page=43</ref> and toward [[Japan]]. In the west, the [[ancient Greece|Greek]] philosophical tradition, represented by [[Socrates]], [[Plato]], and [[Aristotle]], was diffused throughout [[Europe]] and the [[Middle East]] in the 4th century BCE by the conquests of [[Alexander III of Macedon]], more commonly known as [[Alexander the Great]]. ===Civilizations and regions=== {{main|Civilization|Global empire}} <!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Pyramids of Egypt1.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[Ancient Egypt]]ians in Africa built the [[Great Pyramids of Giza]], regarded by many as the greatest architectural feat of ancient times.]] --> [[Image:Rome rulez.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Reconstruction of the centre of [[Rome]] during the reign of [[Septimius Severus]], showing the [[Colosseum]] and the area to the south of it.]] By the last centuries BCE, the [[Mediterranean]], the [[Ganges River]] and the [[Yellow River]] had become seats of [[empire]]s which future rulers would seek to emulate. In [[History of India|India]], the [[Mauryan Empire]] ruled most of [[South Asia|southern Asia]], while the [[Pandyas]] ruled [[South India|southern India]]. In [[History of China|China]], the [[Qin Dynasty|Qin]] and [[Han Dynasty|Han]] dynasties extended their imperial [[governance]] through political unity, improved communications and [[Emperor Wu of Han China|Emperor Wu]]'s establishment of [[state monopolies]]. In the west, the [[ancient Greeks]] established a civilization that is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture of modern [[western civilization]]. Some centuries later, in the 3rd century BCE, the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] began expanding their territory through conquest and colonisation. By the reign of Emperor [[Augustus]] (late 1st century BCE), Rome controlled all the lands surrounding the Mediterranean. By the reign of Emperor [[Trajan]] (early 2nd century CE), Rome controlled much of the land from [[England]] to [[Mesopotamia]]. The great [[empire]]s depended on [[military]] [[annexation]] of territory and on the formation of defended settlements to become agricultural centres. The relative peace that the empires brought, encouraged [[international trade]], most notably the massive trade routes in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] that had been developed by the time of the [[Hellenistic Age]], and the [[Silk Road]]. The empires faced common problems associated with maintaining huge armies and supporting a central bureaucracy. These costs fell most heavily on the [[peasant]]ry, while land-owning [[magnate]]s were increasingly able to evade centralised control and its costs. The pressure of [[barbarians]] on the frontiers hastened the process of internal dissolution. [[China]]'s [[Han Empire]] fell into [[civil war]] in 220 CE, while its [[Roman Empire|Roman]] counterpart became increasingly decentralised and divided about the same time. Throughout the [[temperate zone]]s of [[Eurasia]], [[Americas|America]] and [[North Africa]], empires continued to rise and fall. The gradual break-up of the [[Roman Empire]], spanning several centuries after the 2nd century CE, coincided with the spread of [[Christianity]] westward from the [[Middle East]]. The western Roman Empire fell under the domination of [[Germanic tribes]] in the 5th century, and these [[polities]] gradually developed into a number of warring states, all associated in one way or another with the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. The remaining part of the Roman Empire, in the eastern Mediterranean, would henceforth be the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Centuries later, a limited unity would be restored to [[western Europe]] through the establishment of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in [[962]], which comprised a number of states in what is now [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], [[Belgium]], [[Italy]], and [[France]]. In China, [[dynasties]] would similarly rise and fall. After the fall of the [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] and the demise of the [[Three Kingdoms]], [[Nomad]]ic tribes from the north began to invade in the 4th century CE, eventually conquering areas of Northern China and setting up many small kingdoms. The [[Sui Dynasty]] reunified China in [[581]], and under the succeeding [[Tang Dynasty]] ([[618]]-[[907]]) China entered a second [[golden age]]. The Tang Dynasty also splintered, however, and after [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period|half a century of turmoil]] the [[Northern Song Dynasty]] reunified China in [[982]]. Yet pressure from nomadic empires to the north became increasingly urgent. [[North China]] was lost to the [[Jurchens]] in [[1141]], and the [[Mongol Empire]] conquered all of China in 1279, as well as almost all of [[Eurasia]]'s landmass, missing only [[central Europe|central]] and [[western Europe]], and most of [[Southeast Asia]] and [[Japan]]. In these times, northern [[India]] was ruled by the [[Gupta Empire|Guptas]]. In southern India, three prominent [[Dravidian people|Dravidian]] kingdoms emerged: [[Chera dynasty|Chera]]s, [[Chola]]s and [[Pandyas]]. The ensuing stability contributed to heralding in the golden age of [[Hindu]] culture in the 4th and 5th centuries CE. [[Image:Peru Machu Picchu Sunset.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|[[Machu Picchu]], "the Lost City of the Incas," has become the most recognizable symbol of [[Inca]] [[civilization]].]] At this time also, in [[Central America]], vast societies also began to be built, the most notable being the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] and [[Aztecs]] of [[Mesoamerica]]. As the [[mother culture]] of the [[Olmecs]] gradually declined, the great Mayan [[city-state]]s slowly rose in number and prominence, and Maya culture spread throughout [[Yucatán]] and surrounding areas. The later empire of the [[Aztecs]] was built on neighboring cultures and was influenced by conquered peoples such as the [[Toltec]]s. In [[South America]], the [[14th century|14th]] and [[15th century|15th centuries]] saw the rise of the [[Inca]]. The [[Inca Empire]] of [[Tawantinsuyu]], with its capital at [[Cusco]], spanned the entire [[Andes]] [[Mountain Range]]. The Inca were prosperous and advanced, known for an excellent [[Inca road system|road system]] and unrivaled [[masonry]]. [[Islam]], which began in [[7th century]] [[Arabia]], was also one of the most remarkable forces in world history, growing from a handful of adherents to become the foundation of a series of [[empire]]s in the [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], [[Central Asia]], [[India]] and present-day [[Indonesia]]. In northeastern Africa, [[Nubia]] and [[Ethiopia]] remained [[Christian]] enclaves while the rest of Africa north of the [[equator]] converted to [[Islam]]. With Islam came new technologies that, for the first time, allowed substantial trade to cross the [[Sahara]]. Taxes on this trade brought prosperity to [[North Africa]], and the rise of a series of [[Sahelian kingdom|kingdoms in the Sahel]]. This period in the history of the world was marked by slow but steady technological advances, with important developments such as the [[stirrup]] and [[moldboard plow]] arriving every few centuries. There were, however, in some regions, periods of rapid technological progress. Most important, perhaps, was the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] area during the [[Hellenistic period]], when hundreds of technologies were invented. Such periods were followed by periods of technological decay, as during the [[Roman Empire]]'s decline and fall and the ensuing [[early medieval]] period. The [[Plague of Justinian]] was a [[pandemic]] that afflicted the [[Byzantine Empire]], including its capital [[Constantinople]], in the years [[541]]–[[542]] [[AD]]. It is estimated that the Plague of Justinian killed as many as 100 million people across the world.<ref>[http://dpalm.med.uth.tmc.edu/courses/BT2003/BTstudents2003_files%5CPlague2003.htm The History of the Bubonic Plague]</ref><ref>[http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/1996/plague.htm Scientists Identify Genes Critical to Transmission of Bubonic Plague]</ref> It caused [[Medieval demography|Europe's population]] to drop by around 50% between 541 and 700.<ref>[http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/bioter/anempiresepidemic.html An Empire's Epidemic]</ref> It also may have contributed to the success of the [[Arab conquests]].<ref>[http://www.justiniansflea.com/events.htm Justinian's Flea]</ref><ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/04/arts/idbriefs5H.php The Great Arab Conquests]</ref> ==Middle Ages== {{main|Middle Ages}} The Middle Ages are commonly dated from the [[fall of the Roman Empire|fall of the Western Roman Empire]] (or by some scholars, before that) in the [[5th century]] to the beginning of the [[Early Modern Period]] in the [[16th century]], marked by the rise of [[nation-states]], the division of Western [[Christianity]] in the [[Reformation]], the rise of [[humanism]] in the [[Italian Renaissance]], and the beginnings of European overseas expansion which allowed for the [[Columbian Exchange]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-58260/history-of-Europe history of Europe:: The Middle Ages &ndash; Britannica Online Encyclopedia]</ref> The period corresponds to the [[Islamic conquests]] and the [[Islamic golden age]], followed by the [[Mongol invasions]] in the Middle East and Central Asia. South Asia sees a series of "[[Middle kingdoms of India|Middle kingdoms]]" followed by the establisment of [[Islamic empires in India|Islamic empires]]. The [[Chinese Empire]] sees the succession of the [[Sui Dynasty|Sui]], [[Tang Dynasty|Tang]], [[Liao Dynasty|Liao]], [[Yuan Dynasty|Yuan]] and [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] Dynasties. The Middle Ages witnessed the first sustained [[urbanization]] of northern and western [[Europe]]. Many modern European states owe their origins to events unfolding in the Middle Ages; present European political boundaries are, in many regards, the result of the military and dynastic achievements during this tumultuous period. ==Early Modern period== {{main|Early Modern period}} ===Rise of Europe=== {{see|History of Europe}} [[Image:Gutenburg bible.jpg|left|thumb|150px|The invention of the movable-type '''[[printing press]]''' in 1450s [[Germany]] was awarded #1 of the Top 100 Greatest Events of the [[Millennium]] by [[Life (magazine)|LIFE Magazine]]. By some estimates, less than 50 years after the first ''[[Bible]]'' was printed in 1455, more than nine million books were in print.]] Nearly all the agricultural civilizations were heavily constrained by their [[Natural environment|environments]]. Productivity remained low, and [[climatic]] changes easily instigated [[boom and bust]] [[cycle]]s that brought about civilizations' rise and fall. By about 1500, however, there was a qualitative change in world history. [[Technological]] advance and the [[wealth]] generated by [[trade]] gradually brought about a widening of possibilities. Even before the [[16th century]], some civilizations had developed advanced societies. In ancient times, the [[Archaic period in Greece|Greek]]s and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] had produced societies supported by a developed [[monetary economy]], with [[financial market]]s and [[private property|private-property]] rights. These institutions created the conditions for continuous [[capital accumulation]], with increased [[productivity]]. By some estimates, the per-capita income of Roman Italy, one of the most advanced regions of the [[Roman Empire]], was comparable to the per-capita incomes of the most advanced economies in the 18th century. (see [http://www.atypon-link.com/AEAP/doi/abs/10.1257/089533006776526148#search=%22the%20economy%20of%20the%20roman%20empire%20temin%22]) The most developed regions of [[classical]] civilization were more [[Urban area|urbanized]] than any other region of the world until early modern times. This civilization had, however, gradually declined and collapsed; historians still debate the causes. [[China]] had developed an advanced [[monetary economy]] by 1,000 CE. China had a free [[peasantry]] who were no longer subsistence farmers, and could sell their produce and actively participate in the market. The agriculture was highly productive and China's society was highly urbanized. The country was technologically advanced as it enjoyed a monopoly in [[piston|piston bellows]] and [[printing]]. (see [http://www.nri.org.uk/joseph.html Joseph Needham]). But, after earlier onslaughts by the [[Jurchens]], in 1279 the remnants of the [[Sung]] [[empire]] were conquered by the [[Mongols]]. Outwardly, [[Europe]]'s [[Renaissance]], beginning in the 14th century, consisted in the rediscovery of the [[classical]] world's scientific contributions, and in the [[economic]] and [[social]] rise of [[Europe]]. But the Renaissance also engendered a culture of [[curiosity|inquisitiveness]] which ultimately led to [[Humanism]], the [[Scientific Revolution]], and finally the great transformation of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The [[Scientific Revolution]] in the 17th century, however, had no immediate impact on [[technology]]; only in the second half of the 18th century did scientific advances begin to be applied to practical [[invention]]. The advantages that [[Europe]] had developed by the mid-[[18th century]] were two: an [[entrepreneurial]] culture, and the wealth generated by the [[Atlantic]] trade (including the [[African slave trade]]). By the late [[16th century]], American [[silver]] accounted for one-fifth of Spain's total budget.<ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575057_13/spain.html Conquest in the Americas]</ref> The profits of the [[slave trade]] and of [[West Indies|West Indian]] plantations amounted to 5% of the [[Economic history of Britain|British economy]] at the time of the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/con_economic.cfm Was slavery the engine of economic growth?]</ref> While some historians conclude that, in 1750, [[productivity|labour productivity]] in the most developed regions of [[China]] was still on a par with that of Europe's Atlantic economy (see [http://www.nber.org/cgi-bin/author_papers.pl?author=carol_shiue Wolfgang Keller and Carol Shiue]), other historians like [[Angus Maddison]] hold that the per-capita productivity of [[western Europe]] had by the late [[Middle Ages]] surpassed that of all other regions.<ref>[http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/ Homepage of Angus Maddison]</ref> A number of explanations are proffered as to why, from the late Middle Ages on, Europe rose to surpass other civilizations, become the home of the [[Industrial Revolution]], and dominate the world. [[Max Weber]] argued that it was due to a [[Protestant work ethic]] that encouraged Europeans to work harder and longer than others. Another socioeconomic explanation looks to [[Medieval demography|demographics]]: Europe, with its celibate clergy, colonial emigration, [[smallpox|high-mortality]] urban centers, periodic [[List of famines|famines]] and outbreaks of the [[Black Death]], continual [[List of wars|warfare]], and late age of marriage had far more restrained [[population growth]], compared to Asian cultures. A relative shortage of labour meant that surpluses could be invested in labour-saving technological advances such as [[water-wheel]]s and [[mill (factory)|mill]]s, [[Spinning (textiles)|spinner]]s and [[loom]]s, [[steam engine]]s and [[shipping]], rather than fueling population growth. Many have also argued that Europe's institutions were superior, that [[property right]]s and [[free market|free-market]] economics were stronger than elsewhere due to an ideal of [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] peculiar to Europe. In recent years, however, scholars such as [[Kenneth Pomeranz]] have challenged this view, although the revisionist approach to world history has also met with criticism for systematically "downplaying" European achievements.<ref>Ricardo Duchesne, [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1540-5923.2006.00168.x?cookieSet=1 "Asia First?"], ''The Journal of the Historical Society'', Vol. 6, Issue 1 (March 2006), pp.69-91</ref> Europe's [[geography]] may also have played an important role. The [[Middle East]], [[India]] and [[China]] are all ringed by [[mountain]]s but, once past these outer barriers, are relatively flat. By contrast, the [[Pyrenees]], [[Alps]], [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]], [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]] and other mountain ranges run through [[Europe]], and the continent is also divided by several [[sea]]s. This gave Europe some degree of protection from the peril of [[Central Asia]]n invaders. Before the era of firearms, these nomads were militarily superior to the agricultural states on the periphery of the [[Eurasia]]n continent and, if they broke out into the plains of northern India or the valleys of China, were all but unstoppable. These invasions were often devastating. The [[Islamic Golden Age|Golden Age of Islam]] was ended by the [[Mongol invasions|Mongol]] sack of [[Baghdad]] in 1258. [[India]] and [[China]] were subject to periodic [[invasion]]s, and [[Russia]] spent a couple of centuries under the [[Tatar invasions|Mongol-Tatar]] Yoke. [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[western Europe]], [[logistic]]ally more distant from the [[Central Asia]]n heartland, proved less vulnerable to these threats. Geography also contributed to important [[geopolitical]] differences. For most of their histories, China, India and the Middle East were each unified under a single dominant power that expanded until it reached the surrounding mountains and deserts. In 1600 the [[Ottoman Empire]] controlled almost all the Middle East, the [[Ming Dynasty]] ruled China, and the [[Mughal Empire]] held sway over India. By contrast, Europe was almost always divided into a number of warring states. Pan-European empires, with the major exception of the [[Roman Empire]], tended to collapse soon after they arose. [[Image:Vascodagama.JPG|thumb|right|180px|[[Vasco da Gama]] sailed to [[India]] to bring back [[spice]]s in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.]] One source of Europe's success is often said to be the intense [[competition]] among rival [[Europe]]an states. In other regions, [[stability]] was often a higher priority than [[growth]]. [[China]]'s growth as a [[Maritime trade|maritime]] power was halted by the [[Ming Dynasty]]'s ''[[Hai jin]]'' ban on ocean-going commerce. In Europe, due to political disunity, a blanket ban of this kind would have been impossible; had any one state imposed it, that state would quickly have fallen behind its competitors. Another doubtless important geographic factor in the rise of Europe was the [[Mediterranean Sea]], which, for millennia, had functioned as a maritime superhighway fostering the exchange of goods, people, ideas and inventions. By contrast to Europe, in [[tropics|tropical lands]] the still more ubiquitous [[tropical disease|diseases]] and [[Human parasitic diseases|parasites]], sapping the strength and health of humans, and of their animals and crops, were socially-disorganizing factors that impeded [[progress]]. ===Age of Discovery=== {{main|Age of Discovery}} In the fourteenth century, the [[Renaissance]] began in Europe. Some modern scholars have questioned whether this flowering of [[art]] and [[Humanism]] was a benefit to science, but the era did see an important fusion of Arab and European knowledge. One of the most important developments was the [[caravel]], which combined the Arab [[lateen sail]] with European [[square rig]]ging to create the first vessels that could safely sail the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Along with important developments in [[navigation]], this technology allowed [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1492 to journey across the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and bridge the gap between [[Afro-Eurasia]] and [[the Americas]]. This had dramatic effects on both continents. The Europeans brought with them [[viral]] diseases that American natives had never encountered, and uncertain numbers of natives died in a series of devastating [[epidemic]]s. The Europeans also had the technological advantage of [[horse]]s, [[steel]] and [[gun]]s that helped them overpower the [[Aztec]] and [[Incan]] empires as well as [[North America]]n cultures. Gold and resources from the Americas began to be stripped from the land and people and shipped to Europe, while at the same time large numbers of European colonists began to emigrate to the Americas. To meet the great demand for labour in the new colonies, the mass import of [[Africa]]ns as [[slavery|slave]]s began. Soon much of the Americas had a large racial underclass of slaves. In West Africa, a series of thriving states developed along the [[Slave Coast|coast]], becoming prosperous from the exploitation of suffering interior African peoples. [[Image:Eertvelt, Santa Maria.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''The [[Santa Maria (ship)|Santa Maria]] at Anchor'', painted ca. 1628 by [[Andries van Eertvelt]], shows [[Christopher Columbus]]' famous [[carrack]].]] Europe's maritime expansion unsurprisingly — given that continent's geography — was largely the work of its Atlantic seaboard states: [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], [[England]], [[France]], and [[the Netherlands]]. The [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] and [[Spanish Empire]]s were at first the predominant conquerors and source of influence, but soon the more northern [[England|English]], [[France|French]] and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] began to dominate the [[Atlantic (ocean)|Atlantic]]. In a series of wars, fought in the [[17th century|17th]] and 18th centuries, culminating with the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Britain emerged as the first world power. It accumulated an empire that spanned the globe, controlling, at its peak, approximately one-quarter of the world's land surface, on which the "[[The empire on which the sun never sets|sun never set]]". Meanwhile the voyages of Admiral [[Zheng He]] were halted by China's [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368-1644), established after the expulsion of the [[Mongols]]. A Chinese commercial revolution, sometimes described as "incipient [[capitalism]]," was also abortive. The [[Ming Dynasty]] would eventually fall to the [[Manchu]]s, whose [[Qing Dynasty]] at first oversaw a period of calm and prosperity but would increasingly fall prey to Western encroachment. Soon after the invasion of the Americas, Europeans had exerted their technological advantage as well over the peoples of Asia. In the early [[19th century]], Britain gained control of the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Egypt]] and the [[Peninsular Malaysia|Malay Peninsula]]; the French took [[French Indochina|Indochina]]; while the Dutch occupied the [[Dutch East Indies]]. The British also took over several areas still populated by [[Neolithic]] peoples, including [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and [[South Africa]], and, as in the Americas, large numbers of British colonists began to emigrate there. In the late 19th century, the European powers [[Scramble for Africa|divided]] the remaining areas of [[Africa]]. This era in Europe saw the [[Age of Reason]] lead to the [[Scientific Revolution]], which changed man's understanding of the world and made possible the [[Industrial Revolution]], a major transformation of the world’s economies. The Industrial Revolution began in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]] and used new modes of production — the [[factory]], [[mass production]], and [[mechanisation]] — to manufacture a wide array of goods faster and for less labour than previously. The Age of Reason also led to the beginnings of modern [[democracy]] in the late-18th century [[American Revolution|American]] and [[French Revolution]]s. Democracy would grow to have a profound effect on world events and on [[quality of life]]. During the Industrial Revolution, the world economy was soon based on [[coal]], as new methods of [[transport]], such as [[railways]] and [[steamship]]s, effectively shrank the world. Meanwhile, industrial [[pollution]] and [[Natural environment|environment]]al damage, present since the discovery of fire and the beginning of civilization, accelerated drastically. ==20th century to present== {{main|20th century|21st century}} The [[20th century]] opened with [[Europe]] at an apex of wealth and power, and with much of the world under its direct [[colonial]] control or its indirect domination. Much of the rest of the world was influenced by heavily Europeanized nations: the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. As the century unfolded, however, the global system dominated by rival powers was subjected to severe strains, and ultimately yielded to a more fluid structure of independent nations organized on Western models. [[Image:WWI.png|thumb|350px|[[World War I]], fought between the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] (''green'') and the [[Central Powers]] (''orange''), ended the [[German Empire]], the [[Austro-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]], the [[Russian Empire]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]].]] This transformation was [[catalysis|catalyzed]] by [[war]]s of unparalleled scope and devastation. [[World War I]] destroyed many of Europe's empires and monarchies, and weakened [[France]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]]. In its aftermath, powerful ideologies arose. The [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] of [[1917]] created the first [[communism|communist]] state, while the [[1920s]] and [[1930s]] saw [[militarism|militaristic]] [[fascism|fascist]] dictatorships gain control in [[Italy]], [[Germany]], [[Spain]], [[Japan]] and elsewhere. Ongoing national rivalries, exacerbated by the economic turmoil of the [[Great Depression]], helped precipitate [[World War II]]. The [[militaristic]] [[dictatorship]]s of [[Europe]] and [[Japan]] pursued an ultimately doomed course of [[imperialist]] [[expansionism]]. Their defeat opened the way for the advance of [[communism]] into [[Central Europe]], [[Yugoslavia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], [[Albania]], [[China]], [[North Vietnam]] and [[North Korea]]. [[Image:Nagasakibomb.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Nuclear weapon]]s, used against [[Japan]] in 1945, ended [[World War II]] and opened the [[Cold War]].]] Following World War II, in 1945, the [[United Nations]] was founded in the hope of allaying conflicts among nations and preventing future wars. The war had, however, left two nations, the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]], with principal power to guide international affairs. Each was suspicious of the other and feared a global spread of the other's political-economic model. This led to the [[Cold War]], a forty-year stand-off between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies. With the development of [[nuclear weapons]] and the subsequent [[arms race]], all of humanity were put at risk of [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]] between the two superpowers. Such war being viewed as impractical, [[proxy war]]s were instead waged, at the expense of non-nuclear-armed [[Third World]] countries. The Cold War lasted through the ninth decade of the twentieth century, when the Soviet Union's communist system began to collapse, unable to compete economically with the United States and western Europe; the Soviets' [[Central Europe]]an "[[satellite state|satellites]]" reasserted their national sovereignty, and in 1991 the [[Soviet Union]] itself [[Breakup of the Soviet Union|disintegrated]]. This left the United States for the time being as the "sole remaining superpower," a status whose permanence came into question as that country's economic supremacy began to show signs of slippage. In the early postwar decades, the [[Africa]]n and [[Asia]]n colonies of the Belgian, British, Dutch, French and other west European empires won their formal independence but faced challenges in the form of [[neocolonialism]], poverty, illiteracy and [[Endemic (epidemiology)|endemic]] [[tropical disease]]s. Many of the [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]]an nations gradually formed a political and economic community, the [[European Union]], which subsequently expanded eastward to include former Soviet satellites. [[Image:As17-140-21391c1.jpg|right|thumb|170px|The last exploration of the [[Moon]] — [[Apollo 17]] (1972).]] The twentieth century saw exponential progress in [[science]] and [[technology]], and increased [[life expectancy]] and [[standard of living]] for much of humanity. As the developed world shifted from a [[coal]]-based to a [[petroleum]]-based economy, new transport technologies, along with the dawn of the [[Information Age]], led to increased [[globalization]]. [[Space exploration]] reached throughout the [[solar system]]. The structure of [[DNA]], the very template of [[life]], was discovered, and the [[human genome]] was sequenced, a major milestone in the understanding of human biology and the treatment of [[disease]]. Global [[literacy]] rates continued to rise, and the percentage of the world's [[labour (economics)|labor]] pool needed to produce [[humankind]]'s [[agriculture|food]] supply continued to drop. The century saw the development of new global threats, such as [[nuclear proliferation]], [[epidemic]]s of contagious diseases, [[Natural environment|environmental]] problems such as the [[greenhouse effect]] and [[deforestation]], and the dwindling of global [[natural resource|resources]]. It witnessed, as well, a dawning awareness of ancient hazards that had probably previously caused [[mass extinction]]s of [[lifeform]]s on the planet, such as near-earth [[asteroid]]s and [[comet]]s, [[supervolcano]] eruptions, and [[gamma-ray burst]]s. Meanwhile the life courses of many states continued to be accompanied by wars, with resulting loss of life, economic devastation, disease, famine and genocide. As of 2008, some 30 [[ongoing conflicts|ongoing armed conflicts]] raged in various parts of the world. As the [[20th century]] yielded to the [[21st century|21st]], it became increasingly clear that Earth's human population was fast becoming lodged in a historic [[bottleneck (engineering)|bottleneck]] of [[Natural resource|resource]] constraints, exacerbated by mounting population and growing environmental degradation. A matter of particular urgency was the development of more plentiful and safer sources of [[energy]] such as [[renewable energy|renewable energy varieties]], and perhaps expanded use of [[nuclear energy]] and of "clean" [[fossil fuels|fossil-fuel]] technologies.<ref>''The Biosphere'' (A ''[[Scientific American]]'' Book), ''passim.'' Harrison Brown gives a particularly instructive example (p. 118) of a technological bottleneck that was broken in 18th-century England when three generations of the [[Abraham Darby]]s succeeded in developing [[coke (fuel)|coke]] as a substitute for depleted supplies of wood that had been used in the manufacture of iron. Brown describes the linking of coal to iron as "second only to agriculture in its importance to man." It resulted in a rapid expansion of the iron industry and led directly to the development of the [[steam engine]], which gave man for the first time a means of concentrating enormous quantities of inanimate [[energy]]. This combination of developments in turn gave rise to the [[Industrial Revolution]].</ref> ==Notes== {{reflist}} </div> ==References== *''The [[Biosphere]]'' (a ''[[Scientific American]]'' book), San Francisco, W.H. Freeman & Co., 1970, ISBN 0-7167-0945-7. This seminal book, originally a 1970 ''[[Scientific American]]'' magazine issue, covered virtually every major concern and concept that has since been debated regarding [[material]]s and [[energy resource]]s, [[population]] trends and [[environmental degradation]]. *{{cite book | author=[[Jared Diamond]] | title=[[Guns, Germs, and Steel|Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies]]. | location=New York | publisher=W. W. Norton | year=1996 | id=ISBN 0-393-03891-2}} *{{cite book | author=[[Fernand Braudel]] | title=The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II | location=Berkeley, Calif. | publisher=University of California Press | year=1996 | id=ISBN 0-520-20308-9}} *{{cite book | author=[[Fernand Braudel]] | title=Capitalism and Material Life, 1400-1800 | location=New York | publisher=HarperCollins | year=1973 | id=ISBN 0-06-010454-6}} *[[Marshall Hodgson]], ''Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe, Islam, and World History'' (Cambridge, 1993). *[[Kenneth Pomeranz]], ''The Great Divergence: China, Europe and the Making of the Modern World Economy'' (Princeton, 2000). *[[Clive Ponting]], ''World History: a New Perspective'' (London, 2000). *[[Ronald Wright]], ''[[A Short History of Progress]]'', Toronto, Anansi, 2004, ISBN 0-88784-706-4. *[[Ankerl, Guy]], ''Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western'', Geneva: INUPRESS,2000, ISBN2-88155-004-5. == Further reading == ''''Rise of the West'''' * [[David Landes]], "[[The Wealth and Poverty of Nations]]: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor", New York, W. W. Norton & Company (1999) ISBN 978-0393318883 * [[David Landes]], "Why Europe and the West? Why Not China?," ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 20:2, 3, 2006. * [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1540-5923.2006.00168.x?cookieSet=1 Ricardo Duchesne, "Asia First?", ''The Journal of the Historical Society'', Vol. 6, Issue 1 (March 2006), pp.69-91] '''(PDF)''' * [[William H. McNeill]], ''The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community'', Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1963. *[[Larry Gonick]], ''The Cartoon History of the Universe'', Volume One, Main Street Books, 1997, ISBN 978-0385265201, Volume Two, Main Street Books, 1994, ISBN 978-0385420938, Volume Three, W. W. Norton, 2002, ISBN 978-0393324037. ==See also== ===History topics=== *[[Medieval demography]] *[[Technological singularity]] *[[Historiography]] *[[Development criticism]] ===History by period=== *[[List of archaeological periods]] *[[List of time periods]] ===History by region=== * [[History of Africa]] * [[History of the Americas]] ** [[History of North America]] ** [[History of Central America]] ** [[History of the Caribbean]] ** [[History of South America]] * [[History of Antarctica]] * [[History of Australia]] * [[History of New Zealand]] * [[History of the Pacific Islands]] * [[History of Eurasia]] ** [[History of Europe]] ** [[History of Asia]] *** [[History of East Asia]] *** [[History of the Middle East]] *** [[History of South Asia]] *** [[History of Southeast Asia]] ==External links== *[http://www.antiquebooks.net/cgi-bin/bookfront?book=13 Universal Concise History of the World, 1832] Full text, free to read, American book on the history of the world with the intriguing perspective of 1832 America. *[http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html WWW-VL: World History] at European University Institute {{Spoken Wikipedia|History_of_the_world.ogg|2005-04-19}} <br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[#top|'''''Return to top of page.''''']] [[Category:History by topic|World]] [[ang:Stǽr þǽre Worulde]] [[ar:تاريخ العالم]] [[cy:Hanes y Byd]] [[de:Menschheitsgeschichte]] [[es:Historia universal]] [[fr:Histoire du monde]] [[id:Sejarah Dunia]] [[he:היסטוריה של העולם]] [[ms:Sejarah dunia]] [[nl:Geschiedenis van de wereld]] [[ja:世界の歴史]] [[no:Verdens historie]] [[pl:Historia świata]] [[ru:Всемирная история]] [[simple:World History]] [[fi:Maailmanhistoria]] [[sv:Världens historia]] [[tl:Kasaysayan ng daigdig]] [[vi:Lịch sử thế giới]] [[zh:世界歷史]]