The so-called Europeans were well-versed in science and technology; with this power in their possession, the Europeans decided to use it to their advantage to dominate the world. Studying other cultures and societies played a significant role in enabling Europeans to send their scientists overseas with the conquerors to expand their understanding of those cultures and societies. They justified their colonization and exploration of the world by claiming that it was necessary to search for variable natural resources such as gold and gain global glory for their respective governments. In addition, to establish a monopoly on trade routes to the lucrative Asian market. The main reasons why Europeans pursued the conquest of other parts of the world will be discussed in detail in this essay.
When looking at the world in the year 800 AD, the European peninsula would have escaped the notice of the average spectator. Rome had been destroyed, and there had been no adequate centralized power to take its place. Instead, an array of narrow-gauged tributary territories fought over who had the right to inherit the broken Roman legacy. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the center of political and economic gravity shifted eastward to Byzantium's 'new Rome' and the Muslim Caliphate. A spectator six hundred years later, in the year AD 1400, would have noticed a substantially different Europe, as well as a significant shift in the continent's relationship with neighboring Asia and Africa. The various empires had merged into a smaller number of influential institutions due to this consolidation. These nation-states were successfully competing with their neighbors to the south and east, and they were ready to embark on great international adventures of their own.
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Thereupon, Europeans gained control of 84 percent of the world's area between 1492 and 1914. Hoffman (2015), on the other hand, establishes the validity of conventional theories such as geography and the Industrial Revolution. The arguments fell short of providing satisfying explanations for why Europe was the dominant force in the world. For centuries, the Chinese, Japanese, Ottomans, and South Asians were significantly more technologically advanced than others. Hoffman provides light on the two millennia of economic, political, and historical changes that have set European states on a distinct path of development, military rivalry, and war, as well as the reasons for these changes. A strong proponent of economic and political history. Hoffman confirms that Europe would have lost its dominance if certain circumstances had been altered. Another nation could have taken over as the world's dominant force. Consequently, the military sector in Europe grew at an incredible rate, and Europe gained an insurmountable advantage in gunpowder technology innovation. Which countries built colonial empires or controlled the slave trade and which economy was the first to industrialize were determined by the repercussions of the war. Hoffman uncovers the startling factors contributing to Europe's long-standing global dominance by disproving traditional theories.
According to Hoffman, Western Europe outperformed all other regions of the world in terms of military innovation, not because of higher GDP per capita or greater industrialization, but rather because of their 'tournament model' of (military) competition, which dates back to the late Middle Ages and has continued to the present day (14th century onwards). Specifically, Hoffman explains why Western Europe possessed a unique combination of four specific factors that enabled extremely high levels of military innovation. In contrast, China, Japan, India, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia lacked these factors and did not possess any competitive military model to drive military innovation. However, Western Europe was thus uncommon in meeting all four conditions required for advancing the gunpowder industry, which was executed without downtime. In any other region of Eurasia, a claim of this magnitude would be unthinkable.
Furthermore, the tournament model of competitive military innovation could not be successful unless each of the four essential requirements is met, both individually and collectively, to be successful. Until at least the early twentieth century, these four requirements could only be found in Western Europe during the early fourteenth century. Substantially, there were frequent battles similar in size geographically and economically. Western leaders invested enormous resources in the conduct of war, such as military expenditures, which were exceptionally high to succeed. They prioritized using gunpowder technology heavily and faced minimal setbacks in adopting military advancements, which played a significant role in conquering the world. Simultaneously, China, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire were engaged in a battle against nomads, an adversary against which gunpowder was not particularly successful. As a result, they were forced to devote a portion of their military expenditures to outdated technologies required to combat nomads. They were only able to spend part of their efforts on the development of gunpowder. Again, they were confronted with a civil war, regional upheaval, and competition among governments of similar size, all of which should have spurred them to make aggressive investments in military technology. Despite this, the mindset did not exist in their geopolitical.
In conclusion, the history of Western Europe in the year 1400 AD serves as a demonstration of how science and technology have transformed them into militarily superior forces with solid institutional foundations. Learning about different cultures and societies helped them broaden their knowledge and apply it to their advantage, allowing them to conquer 84 percent of the world's land surface.
References
- Aktürk, Ş. and Hoffman, P. (2017). 'Review of Why Did Europe Conquer The World?', HoffmanPhilip T., Insight Turkey, 2017, Vol.19, No. 3, pp. 243-246. [online] http://www.jstor.org/stable/26300540 [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].
- Hoffman, P. (2015), 'Why Did Europe Conquer the World?'. Princeton: Princeton University Press. [online] https://doi.org/10.15159781400865840 [Accessed 13 Nov.2021].
- Wolf, E. and Diaz, N. (2010). ‘Europe and the People Without History’. New ed. Berkeley: The University of California Press.
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