HISTORY’S PRECEDENTS

Beginnings

• 50,000 years ago

– Language develops

– Human society begins to fracture

• Social groups first migrate along coastline.

– Migrations forced by weather and food sources

• Humanity has spread to all habitable areas of the earth

Rise of Dominant Societies

• Why some societies become dominant– Abundant varieties of domesticable flora

and fauna

– Rate of diffusion and migration • Easier within East-West bias due to climate

(Eurasia)

– Diffusion between continents

– Size of population and area• Large populations and area provided more

concentration to adopt innovations

Why some societies failed

• Fertile Crescent– Large forest with temperate clime

• Environment was fragile with low rainfall• Cleared forest for agriculture and to obtain timber

for construction and fuel• With no sustainment of vegetation, climate shifted

– Societies died out but the domesticated animals and plant had migrated to Europe

• China– Dominant due to food production, ecological

diversity and technology– Shift in political power brought new group in

power.• Ended “treasure fleet” associated with previous

political power• Suspended all oceangoing shipping

– By no competing or interacting with other social groups, China lost by not keeping abreast of innovations

Rise of the Empires

• Greece– Alexander the Great

• Conquest based on superiormilitary tactics and technology

• Rome– Direct descendant of Greece

– Conquest initially based on military power

– Access to luxury, opulence and trappings of power led to conquered subjects identifying themselves as Roman

– Rome eventually fell to its immense size

New Empires

• Holy Roman Empire

– More a confederation of separate Christian kingdoms than a true empire

– Emperor appointed by Pope

• Spain

– One of many kingdoms in the Holy Roman Empire

– Created by marriage of Isabella (Castile) and Ferdinand III (Aragon) and later conquest of Emirate of Granada in 1492

New World

• Columbus– Requested funding from five rulers

before Spain approved the voyage in 1492

– Discovery changed world power

• Spanish Empire uses new wealth to fund Navy as expression of power– Power dwindles due to inflation and

waste of money spent to increase power of Holy Roman Empire

• Other countries create empire by settling in new world

Sources

• Journey of Man – National Geographic –Spencer Wells

• Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond

• World in 1492 – No author identified

• Peoples and Empires – Anthony Pagden

• The Day the Universe Changed – James Burke

• Wikipedia – Spanish Empire