So, it's a night or two before the test and you just don't feel ready. Should you panic? Absolutely not! Now is the time to take a deep breath and finish final preparations. If you've been taking a global history class, studying regularly, and preparing in other ways throughout the year, you should be just about at your goal. All you need to do is calm your nerves by breathing deeply, refresh your mind by reviewing a few key strategies, and get your belongings together for test day. It's not too late to maximize your score!
First, remember that being anxious is just a waste of your energy. You can let your nerves paralyze you, or you can get into a better frame of mind by focusing your thoughts and energies on the things you can do now. That approach is more likely to bring you success than worrying about how nervous you feel. Guide your energy into positive activities that leave you feeling prepared.
Second, if you're testing soon, you don't have a lot of time available, so it's important to make the most of the time you do have. Find a location where you have privacy to study in peace, such as your bedroom (good) or the library (even better, especially if your house is a busy one with a lot of distractions). Tune out the world by turning off your telephone, your computer, and all your other electronic gadgets. Stop texting, quit surfing the Internet, and turn off the music. Ask your family and friends not to disturb you unless it's really important. Close your door (or park yourself in a library cubicle) and get ready.
Getting Ready
Step 1: Review the Test-Taking Tips
Although you're probably already familiar with the format of this test, if it's been a while since you've considered the test setup or if you're just not sure where to start, take a few minutes to review the first section of the book (that means you should also go back to the Introduction on page ix before going forward to Quick Test-Taking Tips on page 7). If you have only a few days until you test, take time to carefully review Strategies for Multiple-Choice Questions (page 41). The strategies are tried and true; they can go far toward giving your score a real boost.
Step 2: Examine the Big Ideas
If you don't have time for a full content review, at least take the time to look over the basics. We've compiled these for you in Big Ideas in World History (page 13), which outlines the concepts, themes, and ideas you'll encounter in all parts of this test. If you have time, continue on to the chapter reviews as well.
Step 3: Take a Practice Test
One of the most effective ways to really get to know any test is to take a practice test, preferably one that has been specifically designed to mimic the test in question. In this book, you'll find two complete subject tests for your use (in addition to the diagnostic test). Plus, a third practice test is available to you on the mymaxscore.com website at no extra charge.
When taking practice tests, it's important to pretend that you're really taking the test. That means you should test in a quiet area, avoid looking at any reference material, and time yourself carefully. Use the answer keys provided to see how well you're likely to do if similar questions appear on the actual test. When reviewing your responses, watch for common themes or trends and identify the areas in which you can improve. Once you know where you need the most help, review the appropriate sections in this book, or go back to your class notes and textbook for more detail.
The Night Before: Gather your Materials
The last thing you want to do the morning of the test is rush around trying to find everything you need. Therefore, we've included a checklist so that you can make sure you've gathered these items together beforehand. Put the checklist items in a backpack or small bag (along with anything else you think you might need). Have your bag ready so that you can grab it and go in the morning:
• Your admissions ticket is critical, so pack this first. Place your ticket in an easy-to-locate side pocket or zippered compartment so you can get your hands on it quickly when entering the test site.
• You will need photographic proof of identity, so bring your photo ID. Acceptable photo identification includes your photo driver's license, state-issued ID, valid passport, or school ID. You can also bring a student ID printed on school stationery; see your guidance counselor if you need this. Store your ID with your admissions ticket.
• Pack several sharpened No. 2 pencils and a no-smudge eraser. Note that this test is graded entirely by computer, so any smudging can affect your results. That's why it's important to make sure your erasers won't leave any marks. Also, note that although there should be a pencil sharpener available in the testing room, it's probably not a bad idea to pack a portable sharpener, just in case. Ink pens are not acceptable for this test.
• A calculator is not allowed for this test, so don't bring one.
• Plan to wear or bring a watch (a watch, not a phone, as phones aren't allowed in the test room) so that you can keep an eye on the clock as you work. A watch will help you to pace yourself appropriately. Of course, if your watch has alarms, buzzers, or beepers, turn them off!
• Include a small, easy-to-eat snack. Test day will be long, and you may need nourishment. Choose a snack that's high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Avoid messy items like chocolate bars, as these can melt onto your hands and desk. Also avoid nuts, as they can trigger allergies in other testers. Some good choices might be an energy or protein bar or drink, an easy-to-eat piece of fruit such as a banana, or some crackers.
• Pack a bottle of water. You'll want something to drink at some point, and it's best to avoid substances with a lot of sugar or caffeine. Although you may think these will give you a boost of energy, they're more likely to contribute to test jitters—and you'll have enough of those on your own!
• Avoid packing items you can't take into the testing room. For example, phones, pagers, calculators, and other electronic devices are prohibited in the testing room for a variety of reasons.
• Here's one important repeat: pack only what you need:
• Admissions ticket
• Photo ID
• Pencils, eraser, and portable sharpener
• Watch and/or timer
• Snack and bottle of water
Test Day: Tips
Here are some other tips for managing test day:
• The night before your test, don’t stay up all night studying. At that point, you'll be as ready as ever! Instead, concentrate on getting a good night's sleep. It's more important to feel rested and alert than it is to attempt a last-minute cram session.
• Eat a light but satisfying meal in the morning. Protein-rich foods like eggs, nuts, and yogurt are good choices, as they'll fill you up but won't give you a sugar or caffeine crash later. But don't eat too much—you don't want to be sluggish or uncomfortably full. If you must have coffee or another caffeinated beverage, that's fine. Just try not to overdo it.
• Dress in comfortable layers. The testing room might be hot or cold. You can't control the temperature, so you'll need to be able to adjust to it. Also, make sure your clothes are comfortable. Your newest outfit might be fabulous, but the last thing you need during the test is to feel annoyed by pants that are too tight or irritated by fabrics that feel itchy.
• Don't forget your backpack! It has all of your important stuff in it.
• Relax! Once you get to the testing room, take a few deep breaths and try to channel some of your energy into relaxation. Try blowing into your balled-up fists to rid your body of adrenaline. Remind yourself that you know the material, you understand how the test works, and you are ready to go. It's natural to be nervous, but it's better to push that energy into the mental task ahead.
Once the test begins, set everything else in your mind aside and focus on doing your best. You've done all you can to prepare. It's time to make that preparation pay off!
Quick Test-Taking Tips
The SAT World History Subject Test is a multiple-choice test with ninety-five questions. You'll have one hour (sixty minutes) to answer all ninety-five questions. That means you'll have less than one minute to read and answer each question. That's less than one minute to read and comprehend the question, analyze any associated chart or other data, and review all five answer options to select the most appropriate response. Clearly, this test is going to go very quickly. But don't worry; you can be successful. You just need to understand how to approach these questions to maximize your score.
Here's a tip. The SAT subject tests are intentionally designed to discourage test takers from guessing at answers. If you go back and reread the Test Scoring section earlier in this guide, you'll see that test takers are actually docked a fractional number of points (.25) for answering incorrectly. That approach is meant to deter you from random guessing when you don't know the answer. However, if you think that means you should never take a guess when you're unsure of an answer, you're wrong! We're going to recommend that you make guesses—educated guesses. Read on.
Tip 1: Skim the Questions and Answer the Easy Ones
For some timed tests, it doesn't make sense to skim the questions to find those that are easier to answer. However, for the SAT subject tests, this is a valid approach. You're awarded a raw-score point for every correct answer, so it's in your best interest to find the questions that you feel are “easy” and answer those first.
Tip 2: Don’t Use the Answer Booklet Just Yet
If you're skimming the test for easy questions, you can waste a lot of precious time locating and recording the answers one by one on your answer sheet. For example, let's say you find questions 1, 6, 9, 12, 17, 22, 26, 37, 41, 42, and 57 easy and can answer those right away. How much time do you think it will then take you to carefully locate the correct answer lines on the answer sheet to fill in your choices? If you guessed “a lot!” you're right about that. Instead of wasting that time checking and double-checking for the correct answer bubbles, develop a system for writing directly on the test booklet.
If you're sure of an answer, write the letter of the correct answer option clearly in the margin next to the test number. You might want to circle this letter or put a check mark next to it so that when you later review your answers to mark them on the answer sheet, you know you were sure of the answer for this question, and you don't feel like you have to waste more time rereading the question.
We're going to recommend that you mark up your test booklet in other ways as you work through the test, so make sure you have a clear system to use beforehand. In general, the simpler this system is, the easier it will be for you to use. There's no need to make it complicated.
Tip 3: Answer the Question in Your Head
Read each question or question stem and answer it in your head before you actually look at any of the answer options. At times, answer choices are written in such a way that they intentionally distract you from the correct answer. (That's why they're called distracters.) However, if you review the answer options with a good idea of the answer in mind, you'll be less confused by other options.
Tip 4: Pay Attention to the Words
As you read the questions and answer choices, pay attention to the wording. Some questions will include words like not or except. The inclusion of these words radically changes the answer to the question. You're looking for the answer that is not true or that does not apply. This might seem obvious, but it's actually quite easy to overlook these words when you're reading quickly.
Other questions might include qualifiers. A qualifier is a word or group of words that limits or modifies the meaning of another word or group of words. When a qualifier appears in a question, the correct response must appropriately reflect that qualifier. For example, a qualifier might indicate that the correct answer option is the one that is sometimes but not always true. Some commonly used qualifiers include the following:
• Likely, unlikely
• Apt to, may, might
• Always, never, often, sometimes
• Frequently, probably, usually, seldom
• Some, a few, a majority, many, most, much
In addition, keep an eye out for double negatives, because (just like in math) two negatives make a positive. For example, not uncommon actually means “common.” So, for example, if a question asks you to identify a trend that was “not uncommon” among a certain population, the question really wants you to find the trend that was common, not the one that was unique.
Tip 5: Read All the Answer options
Even when you're pretty sure of your answer, make sure you review all of the answer options before making your selection. Sometimes more than one answer may be correct; however, one choice will always be more correct than the others. In addition, the answer you choose should completely address all parts of the question and reflect any qualifier that has been included in the question.
Tip 6: Use Elimination Strategies
The SAT subject tests do penalize you for guessing, but that doesn't mean you should avoid making guesses. What you want to make instead are educated guesses; those are guesses you've made after eliminating the answers you know are wrong. Here's how to do this:
• Eliminate any answer you know is wrong. Draw a light line through the answer option in the test booklet.
• Eliminate options that seem unlikely or totally unfamiliar. Circle or underline the parts of the answer that you feel make it a wrong choice.
• Eliminate options that don't seem to fit grammatically with the stem or question. This is a little trickier, but if an option doesn't seem to really fit in with the question, it's likely wrong. Circle or underline the part of the answer that seems sketchy.
• Give each answer option the true-false test. That means you should ask yourself whether the answer option standing alone is true or false. Eliminate those that are false. The true-false test is useful when answer options include specific details; false answers would include misstated facts or faulty reasoning. Circle or underline the part of the answer that you believe is wrong.
• Watch for the inclusion of absolutes such as all, only, always, or never. These often signify incorrect responses, because an absolute can make an answer that is sometimes right wrong when the
absolute is applied. For example, “The moon is never visible during the day” is wrong because although the moon is usually invisible during the day, there are times when it is visible. Draw a line through answer options you can eliminate for this reason.
• Look for contradictory paired statements. For example, option A might read, “The sky is green,” and option B reads, “The sky is blue.” One of the paired answers is frequently the correct answer.
The more answer choices you eliminate, the better your chances are of guessing at the correct answer. If you can eliminate at least two or more of the answer options, you should take a guess.
Once you're ready to commit to an answer, write the letter of your answer choice in the margin of the test booklet next to the question number. Circle it or put a check mark next to it as you did with the questions you answered easily.
Tip 7: Fill Out the Answer Sheet with Care
Make sure you're timing yourself as you work through your examination. When you have about ten minutes left, stop what you're doing and mark your answers in your answer sheet. You will get credit only for answers in the answer sheet, so this is a critical step! Make sure you have enough time to transfer the answers from your booklet to your answer sheet.
The SAT subject tests are graded completely by computer, so it's critical that the answer sheet be kept clean and free from any stray markings. Input your answers carefully, stopping every few questions to make sure your question and answer numbers correspond before filling in the oval. Also, be sure you have penciled in the answer space completely and haven't left any stray pencil marks in other spaces.
Big Ideas in World History
World history is a big topic. As a result, the range of information you'll have to familiarize yourself with in preparation for the SAT World History Subject Test is quite expansive and can easily become overwhelming. That's why it's important to know the basics before you get started. To that end, use this section as a brief guide to some of the major historical topics that frequently appear on the SAT World History Subject Test. At the very least, be sure you have a basic understanding of these topics before you attempt the test.
1. Prehistory to Early Civilizations
According to most scientists, humankind (in its various evolutionary forms) has been in existence for at least 1.5 million to nearly 2.5 million years, with hominids having existed for as long as 7 million years. The era of human existence prior to the dawn of civilization is known as prehistory. Prehistory is typically divided into two eras: the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age.
The Paleolithic Age stretched from the first appearance of hominids, a humanlike species that was capable of walking upright, to about 8000 BCE. During this period, ancient humans evolved through several different evolutionary stages that included hominids, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens. It is widely believed that Homo sapiens emerged only in Africa and later spread to other regions, where it displaced other human species and eventually evolved into Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern humans. Early humans depended on hunting and gathering for survival and developed some basic cultural customs, including funerary practices, artwork, and the use of tools.
The Neolithic Age emerged at the end of the last ice age (approximately 7000 BCE). As a result of environmental changes wrought by the ice age, humans could no longer rely on hunting and gathering for survival. In response, the formerly nomadic people of the Paleolithic Age settled down in permanent villages to work the land. The resulting agricultural revolution led to better health and a larger population. This period also saw the emergence of the first major towns, including Jericho and Catalhuyuk.
Eventually, these communities evolved into the earliest civilizations, or cultures with a written or other form of language, advanced cities and institutions, skilled workers, and technological innovations.
One of the earliest and most notable of these civilizations appeared around 4000 BCE in a region of the Middle East known as Mesopotamia. Located in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was an area of particularly fertile soil called the Fertile Crescent. It was here that the ancient civilization of Sumer first developed. Thanks to the annual flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the rich layer of silt these floods left behind, Sumer was ideal for agriculture. The community that rose around the area became one of the ancient world's first and most important cultures. The Sumerians used irrigation systems, built temples known as ziggurats, invented a form of writing called cuneiform, and developed a complex social class system. Around 2300 BCE, Sumer fell under the control of the Akkadians. Over time, the Akkadians were succeeded by a series of other peoples who came to dominate the Mesopotamian region. Perhaps the most notable of these peoples were the Babylonians, whose best-known achievement was the system of laws devised by Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi established a formal law based on the idea of retaliatory punishment.
The development of civilization was not limited to Mesopotamia. Similar to Sumer's development along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the ancient Egyptian civilization developed along the banks of the Nile. Again, thanks to annual flooding and silt deposits, the land around the Nile was exceptionally fertile and easily adaptable for agricultural purposes. By about 3200 BCE, the farming villages that had sprung up along the Nile joined together to form the kingdoms of Lower Egypt in the north and Upper Egypt in the south. Eventually, these two kingdoms were merged by Menes, an Upper Egyptian king who became the first pharaoh, or ruler, of the united Egypt. From this point on, the history of ancient Egypt is divided into three eras: the Old Kingdom (3100-2200 BCE), the Middle Kingdom (2100-1650 BCE), and the New Kingdom (1550-750 BCE). It is important to note that there is debate among historians concerning the exact dates of each kingdom, with some estimates varying by as much as two hundred years.
The Egyptians developed a complicated polytheistic religion with many gods of nature. They also created a written language called hieroglyphics, which used simple pictures to represent certain ideas or sounds. Like the Sumerians, the Egyptians also had a complex social class system. In addition, the Egyptians created a solar calendar and used a basic type of geometry to complete surveys of their land following the annual floods.
Farther to the east in the region currently known as Pakistan, another civilization formed along the banks of the Indus River. Early in their history, the peoples of the Indus River valley developed complex cities that were precisely designed and even included a simple form of indoor plumbing.
Most of our knowledge about the Indus River valley civilization comes from the period after the Aryans invaded the region. These invaders brought many cultural changes to the original Indus society, including, most significantly, a rigid social caste system. The influence of the Aryans also led to the emergence of Hinduism, which was based on a collection of Aryan chants and hymns called the Vedas. The Indus River valley civilization also gave birth to the religion of Buddhism.
Another major early civilization was founded in China. Many of the small agricultural towns that had developed along the Yellow River united under the flag of the Xia dynasty (ca. 2070 BCE) and, later, of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 BCE). This region quickly became the center of Chinese civilization. The people living under the Shang dynasty developed writing, excelled at craftsmanship, and built a thriving society. In the eleventh century, the Shang dynasty was conquered by the Zhou dynasty. Under the Zhou, the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucianism emerged, along with rival philosophies such as Daoism and legalism. Over time, these philosophies gave rise to the traditional Chinese culture.
Ancient civilizations also formed in the Western Hemisphere. Agricultural societies in Mesoamerica evolved into more complex civilizations, the first of which was that of the Olmec. In their time, the Olmec built pyramids, created writing and numerical systems, and established a calendar.
While those civilizations were thriving in the Western Hemisphere, different cultures blossomed in other parts of the world. The Hittites were one of the first cultures to use iron smelting to make weapons. The Assyrians became the world's first imperial power and made extensive use of iron weapons and other unique military tactics. The Bantu-speaking people migrated throughout southern and eastern Africa, spreading their language and practicing iron smelting. The Kush of northern Africa established themselves as a powerful iron- trading civilization. Like other African societies, the Nok of western Africa also practiced iron smelting and made terra-cotta sculptures. The Hebrews introduced monotheistic religion and freed themselves from slavery in Egypt. The Phoenicians invented an alphabet that would later influence the languages of Greece and Rome; they also established the colony of Carthage. The Minoans participated in long-distance trade and practiced bronze metallurgy. The Mycenaean people conquered the Minoans and assimilated into their culture.
2. The Great empires
With the fall of the Mycenaean kingdoms around 1100 BCE, ancient Greece came under the control of the Dorians. During the time of the Dorians, the classical Greek political unit, the polis, or city-state, emerged. The two most prominent of these city-states were Athens and Sparta. The government of Athens evolved into a direct democracy ruled by the people, whereas Sparta developed into a military state. Both city-states found a common enemy in the Persians of modern-day Iran and joined forces to defend themselves from invasion.
Eventually, Athens's successes in battle against the Persians made it the dominant city-state in all of Greece. This dominance would lead to a destructive battle between Athens and Sparta, called the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), from which Sparta would emerge victorious.
At the height of its influence, Athens made significant intellectual and artistic contributions to world culture. Great thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle made important advances in philosophical thought. Greek scientists pioneered new mathematical theories. Athenian artists also developed the concept of drama and wrote great works of both comedy and tragedy. The introduction of the ancient version of the Olympic Games had a significant impact on sports.
Like many other cultures, however, Greece was eventually conquered. In 363 BCE, the Grecian armies fell to Philip of Macedon. Philip's son, who would later be known as Alexander the Great, established a vast empire that spanned across Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria. After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, this empire quickly crumbled.
If any culture could be considered the successor of ancient Greece, it is Rome. The roots of the Roman Empire lie with the Etruscans, who migrated to the Italian Peninsula around 800 BCE. For several hundred years, the Etruscan kings ruled much of Italy, including a small city-state known as Rome. Eventually, Rome's wealthy landowning aristocrats grew frustrated with the Etruscans' monarchical rule and overthrew their king in 509 BCE to establish a republic.
The Romans developed a complex political system that gave the government power. More important, however, they also developed a strong, efficient military force that made conquest simple and effective. By 246 BCE, Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean region. Later, under the command of Julius Caesar, the Roman republic became a dictatorship and, eventually, a vast empire.
During the first century CE, Rome became heavily influenced by Christianity. Initially, Roman officials persecuted the Christians, forcing them to fight as gladiators and essentially condemning them to death in the Coliseum. Later, in 313 CE, the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and encouraged its spread across the empire.
Over time, centuries of continual resistance from Germanic tribes took its toll on Rome. After the last emperor was deposed in 476 CE, Rome fell into decline.
While Rome ruled in the West, the Han dynasty rose to prominence in the East. This dynasty ruled in China from 206 BCE to 220 CE and became the longest and most influential of all the great Chinese dynasties.
The Han consolidated their power in a strong central government and a complex bureaucracy. They also constructed walls intended to defend their territories from invasion. In addition, they expanded their empire outside of China, conquering and assimilating peoples in both Korea and Vietnam.
The Han dynasty also continued other dynasties' work in building roads for travel and trade. The most significant of these were the Silk Roads, a major trading route connecting China and the East with Europe and the West. The Silk Roads contributed to the spread of Buddhism in the region.
The Han dynasty was weakened by barbarian invasions and epidemics of disease. Civil unrest over these issues and the ever-widening divide between the wealthy and the poor led to revolts and the eventual collapse of the empire in 220 CE.
In India, two major civilizations shaped that region's development. The first, the Mauryan Empire, formed in northwest India around 322 BCE under the leadership of Chandragupta Maurya. The Mauryans established India's first centralized government. Maurya and his successors expanded the empire throughout almost the entire land of India. One of those successors, Ashoka, helped spread Buddhism across India and encouraged a de-emphasis of the caste system.
The Mauryan Empire was later succeeded by the Gupta Empire around 320 CE. The Guptas began a revival of Hinduism and reinstituted the caste system. Under the Guptas, women were subject to strict laws including ritual suicide (sati). Gupta mathematicians made significant contributions to universal knowledge, including the calculation of pi, the development of Arabic numerals, and the concept of zero. Eventually, continuous attack from outside forces led to the decline of the Gupta Empire, which finally collapsed circa 510-530 CE.
In the region of the Arabian Peninsula, the introduction of Islam in the early seventh century CE gave rise to more powerful and aggressive empires. After Muhammad established Islam in Mecca, the religion quickly spread among the Arabic people and led to the development of militaristic Muslim empires that spread into other areas by force. By 850 CE, Muslim influence extended throughout the Arabian Peninsula; across much of northern Africa; and even into parts of Europe, most notably Spain.
The first major Islamic dynasty was the Umayyad Caliphate. The Umayyad conquered many peoples and amassed great wealth. Eventually, however, opposition to their harsh rule led to their decline. After their fall, the Umayyad were succeeded by the ‘Abbasid Empire. As opposed to the Umayyad, who simply conquered and ruled by military force, the ‘Abbasid created a resourceful bureaucracy and established themselves as capable administrators of their kingdom. Agricultural success and commercial trade also increased the power and influence of the ‘Abbasid.
3. The Middle Ages
After the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire in 476, the eastern half became the Byzantine Empire. Located on the straits that separated the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople was ideally situated to act as a hub for trade routes from across the known world. This contributed significantly to the empire's ability to succeed and flourish for nearly a thousand years.
Also playing a critical role in Byzantium's development as a world power was Justinian, one of its most influential emperors. Justinian sought to improve the Roman laws by which Byzantium was still governed. To that end, he compiled the Justinian Code, which established a flexible system of laws designed to protect original Roman law while simultaneously bringing it up to date. Justinian also rebuilt Constantinople, which had been destroyed by rioters, and constructed the famed Hagia Sophia.
In 1054, conflicts over church authority and other practices resulted in the Eastern Orthodox Church splitting from the Roman Catholic Church, forming the Byzantine Church. The influence of the Eastern Orthodox Church later made its way into Russia when Prince Vladimir of Kiev made it the official church of that country. In its final years, attacks from Turkish forces crippled the Byzantium Empire and eventually caused its collapse. Byzantium was severely weakened by the widespread military gains of the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor in 1071. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, bringing the Byzantine Empire to an end.
In Western Europe, the fall of the Roman Empire led to a period of chaos from which various Germanic tribes emerged. These tribes ruled over different parts of the continent. In the region known as Gaul, a line of rulers known as the Carolingians, including such figureheads as Charles Martel and Charlemagne, built an empire that stretched from France to Germany and some areas of Spain.
During this period, the Catholic Church increased its power and influence through close relations with political leaders. Much of Europe also saw an uptick in the number of monasteries and convents across the land.
By the ninth century, Western Europe had become the victim of frequent attacks and violence from both Muslim and Viking invaders. Frightened by these vicious attacks, Europeans were desperate for the kind of protection governments could no longer supply. They found protection in a system of community organization known as feudalism. In the feudal system, peasants could enjoy the protection offered by local lords in return for a pledge of loyalty and faithful service.
In the thirteenth century, China experienced a significant shift in its political state when it was invaded and overtaken by an army of Mongols. Since 1206, Genghis Khan and his successors had been waging a war of conquest that expanded the Mongols' influence into Persia, Russia, and Central Europe. In 1270, under Kublai Khan, the Mongols conquered China and established a tribute empire. After establishing a new capital at Beijing, the Mongols strengthened their power with the help of foreign administrators and ushered in the era called the Mongol Peace, which is also known as the Pax Mongolica. While working to encourage increased trade with Europe along the Silk Roads, the Mongols inadvertently helped to spread the bubonic plague, which also traveled China's trade routes. Weakened by poor leadership and difficult economic conditions, the Mongol Empire collapsed in 1368.
In West Africa, wealth generated from the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade led to the rise of a number of prominent civilizations, including the kingdom of Ghana and the empires of Mali and Songhai. In the east, powerful cities such as Great Zimbabwe emerged thanks to increased trading made possible by their proximity to the Indian Ocean. During this time, both Islam and Christianity grew in popularity among Africans.
Seeking to take back Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land from the Seljuk Turks, a group of French and Norman nobles organized the first of what would be a series of Crusades against the Muslim Turks. Although none of the Crusades was ultimately successful, they did have a profound impact. The Crusades encouraged Western European economic growth, increased the power of monarchs across Europe and the political power of the Catholic Church, revitalized trade, and more.
The revival of trade, in particular, had a major impact on Western Europe. It increased the need for manufacturing and banking. Importantly, it also encouraged the growth of cities and towns where merchants could live, work, and store their goods. As the number of merchants in cities and towns increased, a new middle class began to appear. Known as the bourgeoisie in France, the burghers in Germany, and the burgesses in England, the emerging middle class would go on to play an important role in the development of modern societies.
The increase in medieval cities and towns also led to the rise of centralized national governments. In England, King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, which placed limits on his power and guaranteed the rights of the nobles and eventually the rights of all English citizens. In France, regional monarchies arose from the feudal system and were slowly integrated into a national government. Later, with the establishment of the Third Estate in the Estates-General, the common people of France gained the ability to participate directly in government.
This period was not without strife, however. Between 1346 and 1361, the bubonic plague, also known as the black death, swept across Europe, leaving thousands (probably millions) dead in its wake. About one-third of the European population died out as a result of this plague.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, a number of largely isolated civilizations developed in the Americas. At their height from 250 to 900, the Maya flourished in a region of Mesoamerica that spanned Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and parts of modern-day Belize and Guatemala. The Maya created a solar calendar; compiled the most advanced system of writing in the Americas; and, like the Gupta Empire in India, introduced the concept of zero.
The Maya were succeeded by the Toltec, a warlike people from southwest Mexico. The Toltec built their empire through violent conquest and made human sacrifices in honor of the war god. Their empire collapsed around 1200, only three hundred years after it first gained prominence in 900.
With the fall of the Toltec came the rise of the Aztec. The Aztec, originally a nomadic people from northern Mexico, established a permanent settlement at Tenochtitlan and formed an empire through alliances with neighboring peoples. Like the Toltec, the Aztec were regular practitioners of human sacrifice. Violent tendencies and internal discord weakened the Aztec Empire and made it ripe for conquest by the Spanish in 1519.
The Inca gained prominence shortly after the Aztec and built a vast empire in South America. Theirs was the largest such empire anywhere in the Americas. Although they never developed written language as did their Mesoamerican neighbors to the north, the Inca developed a device called a quipu, which was used to manage government records. Among their most significant accomplishments was the construction of a network of roads to facilitate long-distance trade. By the 1520s, civil wars had weakened the Inca Empire, to the extent that it was easily conquered by foreign invaders.
4. renaissance, reformation, and exploration
In the fourteenth century, a wave of renewed interest in the arts, sciences, and intellectualism swept across Europe. This era of rebirth is commonly referred to as the Renaissance. The cornerstones of the Renaissance were a strong belief in reason and humanity. Of particular interest during this period was the concept of humanism, which emphasized reason; reflected an admiration of the classical Greco-Roman civilizations; and dealt with the common, day-to-day problems that typical people faced. The Renaissance was also a time of great devotion to the revival of the arts and literature.
The Renaissance began in the city-states of northern Italy, which were more urbanized than many other European cities and quite wealthy from the increase in trade spurred on by the Crusades. This sort of wealthy urban environment was the perfect catalyst for an intellectual revolution. Among the major figures of the Italian Renaissance were authors like Niccolo Machiavelli and Dante Alighieri and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello.
Eventually, the ideas of the Renaissance spread northward. The Northern Renaissance meshed the characteristic humanism and realism of the Italian Renaissance with a more profound devotion to religion. Some of the key personalities of the Northern Renaissance are the authors Thomas More, William Shakespeare, and Desiderius Erasmus, as well as artists like Rembrandt and Albrecht Dürer.
The religious element of the Northern Renaissance would prove particularly influential throughout Europe. The philosophies of the Renaissance encouraged people to question the authority of the Catholic Church. This, in turn, led to a radical change in religious thought that eventually resulted in the Protestant Reformation of the early sixteenth century. Angered by what many viewed as the church's abusive use of its powers, religious people across Europe began turning away from Catholicism in favor of Protestantism and other forms of Christianity. This movement was led by reformers such as Martin Luther, who, in response to the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences, nailed his Ninety- Five Theses, or complaints against the church, onto the door of a cathedral in Germany.
As a result of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church lost much of its political power and was forced to undergo its own internal reformation. This internal reformation, which is known as the CounterReformation, led to, among other things, the establishment of Jesuit colleges across Europe, a ban on the sale of indulgences, and the formation of a church court known as the Inquisition.
As the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation were unfolding in Europe, the Ottoman Empire was rising to power in the East. After the Mongols defeated the Seljuk Turks, the Ottoman Turks seized the region of western Asia known as Anatolia, which had once been controlled by Byzantium. Many of the Ottomans considered themselves Islamic warriors, known as ghazi, and were intent on conquering nonbelievers and spreading Islam. Under the leadership of a ghazi named Osman Bey, as well as his successors, the Ottomans expanded their empire to include Constantinople, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and North Africa. They even managed to claim some territory in Eastern Europe. Although the size of their empire and the scope would change significantly over time, the Ottoman Empire would continue to exist in some form until 1923.
In the fifteenth century, during the Renaissance, Europeans also began to exhibit an increased interest in lands beyond their own. With the availability of improved technology and a strong desire for economic profit, the emerging nations of Europe began to turn their attention to exploring previously unknown parts of the world and establishing colonies and trading posts. Portugal and Spain were particularly aggressive in these ventures. Portugal was determined to find a sea route to India, finally doing so in 1498 thanks to Vasco da Gama, who arrived at India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa.
Spain, which had just expelled its Muslim occupiers in 1492, used its newfound wealth and power to fund a westward expedition helmed by Christopher Columbus that resulted in the “discovery” of the Americas, which Europeans referred to as the New World.
These explorative discoveries further increased trade and led to European dominance of the seas. Eventually, disputes about commercial maritime activities between the nations resulted in the Seven Years' War (1756-63). With global dominance on the line, Great Britain fought against France for control of the Indian Ocean and against both the French and the Spanish for control of the Americas. British victories on both battlefronts allowed them to become the dominant maritime power for more than a century.
During this period, the colonization of the Americas proceeded quickly. While Britain and France settled much of the eastern portion of North America, the Spanish set their sights on southern and middle America. Spanish conquistadors overthrew many of the native civilizations of this region, including the Aztec and the Inca.
As nation-states developed in Europe many of them came to be ruled by a monarchical government. Absolute monarchs ruled nations such as France, Spain, and Russia. Constitutional monarchies ruled other nations, such as Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Simply put, absolute monarchs ruled absolutely. They held supreme power over the state and in many cases claimed this by divine right; this meant they believed that God granted power directly to them and that they were answerable only to God. They were personally entitled to run the state however they saw fit, and they could lay claim to the sovereign property of the empire.
Constitutional monarchies worked a little differently. Although they were also headed by monarchs, constitutional monarchies were framed by laws that limited the monarch's power to varying degrees.
Some of the major monarchies that ruled Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries were those of Philip II of Spain, the Bourbons of France, the Hapsburgs of Austria, the Hohenzollerns of Prussia, and Ivan the Terrible and other notable czars of Russia.
As these monarchs solidified political power, Europe was again swept up in a revolution: in this case, the Scientific Revolution. New ideas in scientific thought emerged throughout Europe. Scientific researchers such as Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo, Isaac Newton, René Descartes, and Francis Bacon all made significant contributions to various scientific fields and helped further strengthen Europe's dominant position.
This revolution also extended to philosophy and other disciplines in the intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment. Most Enlightenment philosophies centered on the idea that human beings were essentially good and could be improved through proper education. These philosophies also encouraged the value of reason over faith. The Enlightenment played an important role in the development of the modern Western world, ultimately encouraging social progress, inspiring a shift toward a more secular society, and elevating the importance of the individual over the larger society.
5. The Age of revolution
From the end of the seventeenth century through the twentieth century, Europe and its colonies experienced a long series of revolutions that changed the face of the world. These revolutions demonstrated the growing desire for self-rule and independence from oppressive governments or colonial dominance.
The age of revolutions began with the bloodless English Revolution of the seventeenth century. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603 and the difficult reigns of both King James I and King Charles I, England was plunged into a violent civil war between Puritans (and other non-Anglicans) and the English Parliament. This led to the dictatorial rule of Oliver Cromwell. When Cromwell died in 1658, the English throne passed to Charles II, whose reign involved the passing of important social legislation, such as the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679. Charles II was succeeded by James II, who was later replaced in a bloodless coup transferring power to William of Orange and Mary, the sister of James II. This exchange of power, which came to be known as the English Revolution, led to the English Bill of Rights, signed by William and Mary in 1689. The bill further limited monarchical power by disallowing the English monarch to veto parliamentary laws, enact taxes without parliamentary approval, obstruct freedom of speech in Parliament, or infringe on citizens' right to petition grievances.
The people of France also grew increasingly dissatisfied with conditions at this time. In particular, the inequities of the Estates-General, in which the Third Estate, or the bourgeoisie middle class, was underrepresented and heavily burdened by the clergy and aristocrats of the First and Second Estates, outraged many commoners. Eventually, this dissent turned into a violent revolution that resulted in the end of the French monarchy and led to the formation of a new republican government led by the Jacobin Club. This arrangement was short-lived, however.
Following the execution of the deposed King Louis XVI, France experienced the horrific Reign of Terror, during which the republican government viciously executed anyone considered an enemy. When the leader of the republic, Maximilien de Robespierre, was himself executed, the republic was dissolved and a new government, called The Directory, was formed. Within three years, The Directory was overthrown by French general Napoléon Bonaparte, who installed himself as dictator in 1796.
For nearly twenty years, Napoléon waged a bitter war across Europe in an attempt to build a French empire. At the height of his power, Napoléon extended French territory to include most of the European continent, but key political and military mistakes led to his downfall and eventual defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Other revolutions also occurred outside of Europe. At this time in the colonies of North America, the American Revolution ended British dominance of the continent and led to the establishment of a new country, the United States of America. In 1791, the enslaved African people of the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean began a revolt. They succeeded in ousting the French and declared their independence as the new nation of Haiti. The Haitian Revolution marked the first time African slaves were able to free themselves from European colonial rule.
Various revolutions also took place in the Spanish-controlled colonies of the Americas. In the 1810s and 1820s, revolutionaries in South America rebelled against the Spaniards and won independence for the countries of Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, and Chile, as well as others. Brazil gained its independence from Portugal after the Portuguese monarch fled in 1822.
Around the same time that Spain lost control of its holdings in South America and Middle America, it also lost its control over Mexico. After gaining its independence in 1821, Mexico was governed by a series of rulers, including Antonio Lopéz de Santa Anna, Benito Juarez, and Porfirio Diaz, who ultimately failed to strengthen the country or significantly improve conditions. This led to the Mexican Revolution, in which revolutionary leaders Emiliano Zapata and Francisco “Pancho” Villa fought to bring democratic reforms to the country. The successful end of the revolution in 1919 brought a new constitution and a promise of land reforms, an increase in rights of women and workers, and improvements in education.
6. industrialization and imperialism
In the mid-eighteenth century, another revolution was beginning in Europe: the Industrial Revolution. This revolution had its roots in England, where agricultural advances made it possible to feed the population with less farm labor. Many farmers were displaced and migrated to the urban areas that were ideal for industrial operations. With government support and the influence of England's place in the global trade market, industrialization quickly spread throughout the country.
Eventually, industrialization also spread outside the country. Over time, other European countries, notably Belgium and Germany, also became industrialized. This phenomenon was mostly limited to Europe, however. Muhammad ‘Ali, an Ottoman ruler, helped industrialize the nation of Egypt. In the East, the governments of Russia and Japan also began to institute programs and policies that encouraged industrialization.
The Industrial Revolution brought many significant changes. It caused a noticeable upsurge in the rate of urbanization and helped further enlarge the already-growing middle class. Unfortunately, it also led to deplorable social conditions, including dangerous working conditions in factories, an increase in child labor, unreasonably low wages, long working hours, and poor housing conditions. On a global scale, the Industrial Revolution served to widen the divide between industrialized and nonindustrialized countries, it increased trade, and it renewed interest in the colonization of lands that could serve as sources of raw materials. This interest in raw materials, along with prominent European beliefs about racial superiority, fueled the spread of imperialism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many countries, particularly Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands, became major imperialist powers, establishing colonies in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific islands, and elsewhere.
Imperialism often had severe consequences for native populations. In many cases, the natives were forced to work on plantations that grew cash crops to be traded or sold abroad, or to work in mines that produced valuable natural resources for the imperialist nations that controlled them. This prevented the natives from growing the crops they needed to support themselves and their families. In addition, native markets were often flooded with cheap goods imported from the controlling nation, thus preventing growth in the local economy.
In East Asia, both China and Japan took steps (albeit very different ones) to avoid falling under imperialist control. China, which was increasingly influenced by Western imperialist nations such as Great Britain, responded with rebellions and other forms of resistance. Japan, in contrast, responded to foreign imperialist threats by industrializing and becoming an imperialist nation itself.
Many of the colonies established by the imperialist nations of Europe would remain under their control well into the twentieth century.
7. Early Twentieth century
The rise of imperialism increased tensions between the imperialist nations of Europe and, in the early twentieth century, led to a precarious and volatile scenario. Disputes over territorial control, a rising sense of nationalism, and increasing militarization all set the stage for major European conflicts. Issues among Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Britain, and Russia had Europe teetering on the brink of war.
At the same time, the final remnants of the declining Ottoman Empire in the East led to new independent nations with differing agendas and political viewpoints. In the Balkans, Austria-Hungary and Serbia were in a heated confrontation over Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated while on an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Just a month later, after diplomatic relations broke down, World War I was under way.
At the outset of the war, the central powers of Germany, Austria- Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire fought against the Allied nations of Great Britain, France, and Russia. Later in the conflict, Russia would switch sides, and both the United States and Japan would join the Allies.
The war itself was particularly deadly. New battlefield techniques, such as trench warfare, and advanced weaponry, such as machine guns and poison gas, made the front lines of the war particularly dangerous places. Approximately 15 million people were killed and about 20 million more were injured.
In March 1917, with his country severely weakened by its war effort, the Russian leader Czar Nicolas II stepped down and left his nation in the hands of a provisional government. Although faced with massive human loss and internal civil unrest, the provisional government was determined to remain in the war. In November of that year, the Bolshevik Party, a communist regime led by Vladimir Lenin, seized control of the government and, within a few months, pulled Russia out of the war. While Russia's withdrawal from the war seemed to pave the way for a German victory, American forces joined Europe and turned the tide of the battle. By November 1918, the Germans were forced to concede defeat and sign an armistice officially ending the war (November 11).
The following year, a peace conference was held at the palace of Versailles in France to work out the final terms. With little influence on the proceedings, Germany was forced to agree to the Treaty of Versailles, which required it to return French territory, give up its African and Pacific colonies, adhere to stringent military restrictions, accept responsibility for the war, and pay upward of $30 billion in reparations over a thirty-year period. These harsh terms would cause great resentment and economic difficulties in Germany and would fuel the forces that eventually led to World War II.
World War I also had serious repercussions for Russia. Lenin's takeover of the Russian government did not go smoothly. From 1918 to 1920 he and the Bolshevik Red Army fought a bloody civil war against the White Army. In the end, the Bolsheviks were victorious and Lenin rose to national power. In 1922, Lenin reorganized Russia into a group of self-governing republics united under a central government. He renamed Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, or Soviet Union). When Lenin died in 1924, control of the Soviet Union fell to Joseph Stalin, who quickly founded a violent totalitarian state.
While Russia morphed into the Soviet Union, much of Europe lay in ruins. World War I had taken a heavy toll, especially on those nations on the losing end of the affair. The Treaty of Versailles left Germany a broken nation and other countries, such as Italy, in perilously unstable conditions. These factors led to the rise of ultranationalist, authoritarian governments. In Italy, the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini rose to power in 1922. In Germany, the National Socialist Party, also known as the Nazi Party, eventually assumed control under the dictatorial leadership of Adolf Hitler. Hitler quickly transformed Germany into a totalitarian state. He instituted public programs designed to help revive the decimated nation. He also began to systematically deprive Jewish and other “non-pure” citizens of their individual rights, believing them to be responsible for Germany's problems.
In Asia, Japan, which had been economically struggling as a result of the Great Depression, abandoned its democratic government in favor of a militaristic one. It also chose to resolve economic issues via territorial expansion. Japan invaded Manchuria (1931) and China (1937). With these attacks, Japan ignited the Pacific phase of what was about to become World War II.
In the mid-1930s, Hitler, in clear defiance of the Treaty of Versailles, began to rebuild the Germany military. In 1936, he, Mussolini, and Japanese leaders signed an agreement uniting the three countries as the Axis powers. The stage for World War II was set. This conflict officially began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler's forces launched an air attack against Poland known as the blitzkrieg. Caught by surprise, Poland was easily conquered, and Hitler annexed the western half of the country. On September 3, France and England declared war.
In the early portion of the war, the Axis powers seized a significant amount of European territory, including France (1940). In 1941, Germany and Japan made pivotal decisions that would drastically change the outlook of the war. Germany, which had previously agreed to remain on peaceful terms with the Soviets, invaded Russia and forced the Soviets to the Allied side. On December 7, Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into the conflict.
Another significant event in 1941 was the implementation of Hitler's program of genocide, the Final Solution, designed to eliminate the Jewish population. As part of this program, Hitler eventually transported Germany's Jews to concentration camps, where they were either pressed into labor or executed. Hitler dealt this fate to other minority groups as well. By the end of the war, the Holocaust had claimed approximately 6 million lives.
On the European battlefront, Allied forces entered France at the Battle of Normandy in 1944 and eventually liberated France from the Germans. Within a year, the Allies forced the Germans to retreat to Berlin, where they surrendered on May 7, 1945, shortly after Hitler's suicide.
In the Pacific, several bloody U.S. victories in the Pacific islands pushed Japan back to its mainland. Hoping to avoid a costly land campaign, the United States attempted to convince Japan to surrender, but efforts were not successful. Believing they had no other options, in early August, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan: one on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered soon thereafter. World War II was over.
8. Post-World War II
Following World War II, Germany was initially divided among the victorious Allied nations, with Great Britain, France, and the United States controlling the western half of the country and the Soviets controlling the east. The Soviets installed communist governments in Eastern-bloc countries as a means of preventing further military attacks from the West. With the establishment of these satellite nations, the “Iron Curtain,’’ as Winston Churchill called it, fell across Europe and the Cold War began.
Anxious to prevent the spread of communism, the United States established the Truman doctrine, which aimed to contain communism by helping to protect susceptible nations. This sort of diplomatic warfare was the means by which countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain waged the Cold War. Both the Soviet Union and the United States, however, prepared for the possibility of a real war and, in addition to stockpiling other arms, built arsenals of nuclear weapons.
In 1949, Mao Zedong seized power in China. The following year, Mao's government agreed to an alliance with the Soviet Union that increased global concerns about the spread of communism. Just over ten years later, however, the two nations became divided over the leadership and direction of the Communist Party and ended their agreement.
The first real military conflict of the Cold War came in 1950, when communist North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. This action sparked the Korean War, in which American and United Nations troops pushed the North Koreans back over the South Korean border and into their own territory before Chinese forces entered the fray and pushed the U.S. and UN armies back to the former border at the 38th parallel. A cease-fire agreement established a permanent border there that would be surrounded by a demilitarized zone. The two Koreas would remain divided.
A similar conflict over the spread of communism erupted in Southeast Asia in the 1960s via the Vietnam War. Since the nineteenth century, Vietnam had been under French control. During World War II, the Japanese drove out the French. When the Vietnamese eventually expelled the Japanese, the French attempted to regain control of their former colony. This led to conflict that ultimately ended with a divided Vietnam ruled by the communist government of Ho Chi Minh with the Vietcong in the north and the democratic government of Ngo Dinh Diem in the south. Over time, the region became increasingly unstable, and in 1965, a total communist takeover seemed imminent. Seeking to prevent any further communist gains, the United States launched an attack against the North Vietnamese. The war effort proved unsuccessful, however, and, in the face of growing antiwar sentiment, by the end of 1973 the United States pulled its troops, allowing the North Vietnamese to take over the country.
Like Vietnam, in the years following World War II, other countries previously under imperialist control gained independence. In 1947, India broke from Great Britain and became the world's largest democracy. The split also resulted in the formation of the Islamic country of Pakistan. In later years, other Southeast Asia countries, such as Burma (later Myanmar), Indonesia, the Philippines, and others were also freed from imperialist control. In Africa, the countries of Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya all gained independence from Great Britain. The Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) freed itself from Belgian rule in 1960. The French colony of Algeria and the Portuguese colony of Angola also gained independence.
Another important event that would help shape the world after World War II was the formation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948. For some time, displaced Jewish peoples had been immigrating to Palestine. Their growing numbers became a concern for Arabs living in the region. In the wake of the war, the United Nations created Israel, giving the Jewish inhabitants of the area 55 percent of Palestine. This immediately caused hostilities between the Israelis and their Arabic neighbors. Although Israel won the initial skirmish, the conflict has continuously persisted.
Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, many of the satellite nations established by the Soviet Union gradually turned away from communism. By 1989, the Soviets lost control of East Germany. These losses significantly weakened the once-powerful Soviet Empire. In 1991, following the election of Boris Yeltsin as president, the communist regime of the Soviet Union began to collapse. When the defeated President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned on Christmas Day 1991, communist control over the Soviet Union came to an end.
9. A Globalized World
In the years since World War II, the world has become increasingly globalized. Far-reaching forms of media, such as radio, television, and the Internet, have created a global, interconnected culture.
Another key factor in the emergence of a globalized world has been the development of world trade. Trade agreements such as the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Latin American Free Trade Agreement (LAFTA), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have all encouraged free trade among nations around the world.
Globalization has also made us more aware of some of the major issues we face as a world community. In many ways, our dependence on energy sources has increased significantly. In particular, our dependence on oil has played a major role in shaping the modern world. In 1960, many of the Middle Eastern countries responsible for most of the world's oil supply joined together to form the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Although OPEC's policies initially had a significant impact on the world economy, its influence was later diminished as the result of both overproduction and internal discord surrounding the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War.
Some environmental issues, most notably global warming, have also become concerns. Scientists have learned that air pollution generated by fossil fuels has damaged Earth's atmosphere and led to what is known as the greenhouse effect, which causes global temperatures to rise. Although there have been many attempts to address this issue, climate change persists and continues to cause global problems, including strong storms and flooding.
Among the few positive results of the Cold War were technological achievements. Most important, the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union significantly increased space exploration. In the latter half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, space programs have led to walking on the moon, the building of space stations, and the launching of space probes that significantly increased our knowledge of outlying planets. The Cold War also gave us our earliest communications satellites. Since that time, communications technologies, particularly the Internet, have revolutionized the way we live and connect with one another every day.
Unfortunately, the rise of the global era has not been without some serious challenges. In recent years, global terrorism has become a major concern. Especially since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, global awareness of terrorist activities has grown significantly. The war on terror continues to be a major concern for countries around the world.
In spite of the challenges, the modern era has produced many positive changes. In many places, civil rights have been secured through the efforts of reformers and human rights organizations. In the United States, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led African Americans in their struggle for equal rights in the 1950s and 1960s. As the twentieth century drew to a close, human rights had become one of the most important topics in the global political arena.
Civil rights pertaining specifically to women have also been an issue of particular interest around the world. In the Western world, new laws protect women as they enter the professional world and take on larger roles in politics. Although the women's rights movement has not been as successful outside the Western world, progress continues to be made.
As the world has become increasingly globalized, a global culture has emerged in which both capital and technological ability are of key importance. One of the most dominant aspects of this global culture is the spirit of consumerism, which has been fueled by industrialization and continually rising standards of living. Although the globalized world has faced many challenges, it has continued to adapt and thrive.