We are going to do an extreme summary of world history with a heavy concentration on Western Europe and the United States of America. Using this method, we will first lay a foundation so the pieces of history will have a place to fit as we study them. It is like looking at the picture before you build a puzzle; it makes it easier. After reading this summary you should be able to pick up any detailed history book and quickly understand where the era fits into the total stream of history.
A little background on your author will help you understand his point of view. I was born in 1947 in Bakersfield, California, my dad died just after I graduated from High School, I earned a BA in history from San Fernando Valley State College (California State Northridge now) by working my way through, and then, from 1970 to 1975, I served as a helicopter pilot for the United States Marine Corps. While in the marines, I went to night school and earned my MBA from Pepperdine University. After the marines, I attended law school, obtained a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1978, and passed the California bar that same year. I was a California attorney for over twenty-five years in both private and public practice. The City Attorney’s Office for the city of Bakersfield hired me in 1984 and I spent twenty years as their water law attorney (among many other things) leaving the city in 2004.
My thesis study for my history degree was Herodotus, probably the greatest historian ever, even though Thucydides was probably just as good. Both Greeks, both fun to read, and both about as impartial as a person can get while still breathing.
In this work I attempt to be impartial, as all historians should; however, I am prejudiced as all of us are, and by knowing that I am a staunch conservative Republican and a Christian will aid you in processing my writings, helping you know why I think some things are very important and others not so much. I like to compare events. How were the priesthoods in Egypt and the Dark Ages alike? Why didn’t China fall, as Rome did, into a complete collapse after conquest from outside invaders? Art in Europe seems to predict the future, but art in the East does not. Why is this? And so on. By comparing cultures and trying to notice similarities and differences between them, we can learn at a deeper level than simply memorizing bare sets of facts.
The history of our world can be divided into sections, and here are the ones we will use:
Prehistory (before the written word—150,000 BC to about 8000 BC in the near east)
The most important events in human history occur here: agriculture, writing, societal organization
Ancient history (8000 BC to about AD 455 or the fall of Rome)
The rise of cities and complex administrative organizations
The Dark Ages (AD 455 to AD 1300)
The failure and disintegration of Roman Western civilization and societal organization in Europe.
Renaissance (AD 1300 to AD 1500)
Rediscovering ancient wisdom and moving beyond, with the help of science and the printing press
Age of Discovery to World War I (1500 to 1914)
Europe finds out that the world is a large place, and then devours it while building a golden age of progress
World War I (1914 to 1918)
WWI cracks the Western world, then the Great Depression shatters it as the West totters on the brink of total economic and social collapse
Interwar Years and World War II (1918 to 1945)
The entire world tumbles into another total war, and then crawls over broken landscapes into the future
Cold War (1945 to 1989)
As the world rebuilds and rearranges itself, a twilight war rages menacing all, and after it fades the future darkens yet again with new threats of religious wars without end
Postmodern History (End of the cold war in 1989 and beyond . . . well, a little beyond)
Technology makes breathtaking advances while humanity’s thoughts grow cold and dark. New wars erupt with new methods of killing. What will rule the future, destruction or progress? Does progress really exist?
The invention of agriculture and animal husbandry was THE most important event in secular history. The invention of writing and the invention of the printing press were some of the next most important events, but nearly every historian will agree that without agriculture and animal husbandry the world would be a far different place. Religious folks will say the advent of their religious leader, such as Jesus Christ, Mohammad, or Buddha for example, was by far the most important event in history; however, that leads to a decision based solely on religion and a religious leader’s impact. A Christian is not going to say the birth of Buddha was more important than the birth of Jesus. Because of this, I will stay away from proclaiming the start of a religion as the most important event in history although the start of the great religions truly was of immense importance.
Just for fun, let’s guess at the top twenty events in world history (based on how they influence our present world), in order of importance (religion excluded). Here is my list. Does your list match?
Top 20 Events in History (my opinion)
1. The Invention of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (8,500 BC). The Neolithic Revolution. This will also include the invention of spoken language, the wheel, metallurgy, social order (government), and the idea of god and an afterlife (maybe), to name a few other “minor” items that go along with 8500 BC. As far as importance, nothing else comes close.
2. The invention of writing (5,000 BC).
3. The invention of the Printing Press (AD 1430).
4. The Discovery of the Scientific Method (AD 1469, Natural History published).
5. Tesla & Electricity Generation (AD 1881, first US Electrical power plant).
6. World War I, and World War II ( AD 1914-1945).
7. World Population explosion (AD 1800 on).
8. The Start of the Latest Interglacial Period (15,000 BC).
9. The Fall of the Western (AD 455) and the Eastern Roman Empire (AD 1453).
10. The Discovery of the New World (AD 1492).
11. The Industrial Revolution (AD 1804, first locomotive).
12. The Black Plague (AD 1341 China, 1347 Europe).
13. Pasteur’s theory of germs (AD 1864). Start of medical advances.
14. The Invention of Flight ( AD 1903). Leads to satellites, moon landing, jet aircraft etc.
15. The rise of Megacities (AD 1950).
16. The Invention of the Microprocessor (AD 1971, first types).
17. The Invention of the telephone (AD 1876). Leads to radio, TV, cell phones, etc.
18. Plato, Aristotle ( 429 BC). Philosophy begins.
19. The Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics (AD 1905). Start of modern science.
20. The Invention of the Internet (AD 1974).
21. The philosophic/religious Wars of Communism (1917)
Some of these items, such as the telephone, represent the start of a tremendous advance covering many areas. Religious events are excluded. Which was more important, the birth of Christ, Mohammad, Buddha, or Lao Zi? All this will depend upon one’s religious beliefs, so all of them are excluded.
In this study of history, I conclude that people are both rational and irrational. In matters of science, engineering, and basic economic decisions people are at least 80 percent rational; however, in matters of politics, religion, social interaction, philosophy, and law people are at least 80 percent irrational. This dualistic nature of humankind is the source of many problems, and it is seemingly part of our genes. In this case, rational means the actions (or events, or results) can be understood on many levels by most people, can be copied for the betterment of all (or the vast majority), and can be built upon for advancement. Irrational is the opposite in that the actions cannot be understood on any level by most people, and if copied or built upon would bring immense harm.
Throughout this history I have sacrificed exactness for readability. Many statements are “slam dunk,” such as, in the reign of Augustus, the Pax Romana ushered in two hundred years of peace. Well, in fact, it did not because there was at least one civil war within the empire and other minor wars on the boarders, but to go into all the detail would destroy the readability of the text and ruin the super summary concept.
I apologize for the quality of the maps herein. Please use the Internet references to see the maps (and photographs) in full color, and in a size that is easy to read. The Internet, especially Wikipedia and Olga’s Gallery (http://www.abcgallery.com), is a wonderful source for viewing historical art in full color.
Good reading!