England Rise to Power
England is part of the larger United Kingdom, bordering Wales to the west, Irish Sea to the northwest, Scotland to the north English Channel to the south, and North Sea to the east. The central and southern Great Britain Island, located in the North Atlantic form the mainland England. Smaller islands such island of Furness, Burnt Island, Furzey Island and Pewit Island are part of the more than 100 island that are part of England.
Before rising to power, England had experienced decades of war, like English civil war, and diseases such as Black Death epidemic in 1348, Political and religion conflicts and natural disaster such as the great fire of London in 1666. It wasn’t until 1707 when parliament of Scotland and parliament of Kingdom of Great Britain agreed to form political union that England got a new lease of life.
Under the newly formed Union, England Royal Society combined with Enlightenment from Scotland to create great innovation in Engineering and science. Such innovation led to the creation of the British Empire, becoming the largest Empire in the history of the world. This led to period great change in England, opening up industrial revolution. There were major changes in both cultural and socioeconomic conditions of England. Major economical sectors such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and engineering were industrialized. New rail and road network were developed to help in expansion and increased development. Water way networks were established, with the opening of northwest Bridgewater canal opened in 1761. Darlington and Stockton Railway became the first steam locomotive to be opened to public in 1825.
During this period, many people moved from rural England to work and live in the urban areas where industrial expansion was taking place. Cities such Birmingham and Manchester were expanded to accommodate the many industries that were coming up and people the ever increasing number of people. The Strength of England as a nation helped it to survive the French revolution and the Napoleon war.
Continued industrialization made London to become the most famous and largest city in the world. The British Military became very strong. During the World War 1, English soldier fought as part of the larger United Kingdom, although many soldiers died in the battle field. Two decade later, the World War II took place, with many English cities being destroyed. It was after the war that British decolonized many colonies under its control. Major development after this era was technological advancement that led to mass production of automobiles which became the primary mode of transportation. The development of jet engine opened up air travel.
After 1970, England has continued to move away from manufacturing to service industry. England boosts being one of the four trillion dollar economies. Agriculture is highly mechanized, producing over 60 percent of food consumed in United Kingdom. The country has a large reserve of natural gas, oil and coal and is a key importer of energy. England was a key founder of the European Union, formally known as European Economic Community. England is founding member of NATO and a permanent member of the United Nation Security Council.
Impacts of World War I
The World War I was a global military conflict that took place from1914 to 1918 in Europe. The war was sparked by the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip on June 28th 1914. A chain reaction was set off when the Austria-Hungary force retaliated against Serbia. This led to the declaration of the war. This event was simply an eye opener that prompted the declarations of WWI. The real causes of war were far more complex, including mutual defense alliance, imperialism, militarism and nationalism.
Major Powers involved in the World War I were Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, France, Britain, Japan and Italy with the United States joining later in 1917.Some of the most notable impact of the World War I was the modernization of the army. Telephone, armored cars, aircraft, wireless communications were some of the technological advancement introduced and improved during World War I.
World War I also brought major economical impacts. Government in the larger British Empire, France and United States were expanded. In order to keep the government powerful, new ministries were created and new taxes were levied. All these were meant to support the war, but most of these initiatives have remained in force to date. There was increased Gross domestic product (GDP) in countries like Britain and Italy although France and Russia experienced decreased GDP after the war. Another major impact of World War I in Europe was the birth of Soviet Union from the Russian Empire. The League of Nation was created to prevent another conflict like World War I.
Impacts of World War II
Just like WWII, the Second World War was also a global military conflict involving all great powers and most world nations. The war was organized into two opposing sides, Germany and Slovakia on one side and France, Britain and a host of other countries on the other side. Over one million soldiers were involved in the conflicts. By the end of war, over 70 million people had died, making World War II the most deadly war in the history of the world.
With the end of World War II, decolonization took place as most European colonial power gave independence to colonies. There was major shift in the way nations perceived each other. In Europe, border revisions were made and the Soviet Union emerged as a super power. United Kingdom was a major looser after the war as most of its cities were destroyed. Having spent huge economical resources in the war, and a ruined repetition, the British Empire was brought to its knees.
Just like World War I, the Second War II led to increased technological advancement. Computers, Jet engine and nuclear energy have roots to WWII. Major trading and monetary organization such as the World Trading organization, World Bank, and the International Monetary Organization were established. In an effort to stop any further war, the United Nation was formed in 1945. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted later in 1948.
West Dominance over the rest of the world
The present dominance of the West over the rest of the world has its roots from three major wars. War and military organization has largely played a major role in the dominance. The West, in pursuit of power has largely expanded technological elements in regards to military and political advances. From World War I through cold war, there has been significant impact of both civilian and military development. Military development has led to considerable civilian technological development and the subsequent rise in the standard of living.
In the late 1930’s, the pace of technological advancement and innovation was very rapid as the Germany Nazi and the Japanese threatened Europe and America. Military organization all over the world made use of civilian scientific experts to work on technological development that the military had initiated. Soon after World War I, the United States military for example, sought to make the military organization the most adaptable organization. The US navy worked hard, developing and testing war ship that could act as military carrier, where war planes could land and take off. By late early 1930’s, The US navy had developed two carrier, Saratoga and Lexington, both which could carry up to 100 aircraft. The British navy carriers at that time were capable of carrying less than 20 war planes. It was with this capabilities that the United States proved that it had more military power than opponents in the pacific and Europe.
During World War II, major military development took place in Britain. The military organization in Britain made major technological breakthrough when they developed the Radar system and Spitfire fighters. The technological innovation in Europe led to development of an integrated air defense system. The war ended in 1945 after America dropped atomic bomb on Japanese cities, proving that the West had gained a lot of power as a result technological advancement. By the end of World War II, most Japanese cities were in ruin.
The post World War II era experienced increased contest between super powers. The contest had mostly to do computer technology on which party could easily break the other party complex communications codes. As a result there were major revolution in computers and communications. These revolutions greatly impacted the civil society in most of their daily life. In late 1980’s the Soviet Union came to realize that, America was far ahead in terms of military, technical and communication revolution. The Soviet Union was also lagging behind in terms of technological development. This led to the collapse of the Soviet political system, as the cold war came to an end.
When the cold war ended, technological development returned to the civilian world, although military organization still plays major roles such development. Nation that emerged with more military power are notably the most powerful nation in the world, although many nations in the east notably Japan, China, India have continued to improve their technological capability. But the fact remain that military innovation have enabled the west to build and shape today’s world. This force has continued to act as the driving force that has continued to make the West have more dominance over the rest of the world.
Works Cited
Donald Kagan, Steven Ozmert, Frank Turner. The Western Heritage. Chicago: Prentice Hall, 2009.