Survey of world history notes

History Notes

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AGE OF EXPLORATION
The Age of Exploration, which lasted roughly between 1450 and 1600, is a term given to the
period of European exploration in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Driven by a desire for
inexpensive spices, gold, and other sources of wealth, Europeans sailed around the world and
sparked a global exchange of goods that changed the world forever. Portugal led the way,
followed by other major powers such as Spain, England, and the Netherlands. Sailors capitalized
on improvements in cartography, ship construction, and navigational tools to facilitate their
voyages.
The Age of Exploration started in the 1400‘s. Europeans were desperate to get spices from Asia.
Spices were used to preserve foods and keep them from spoiling. Spices, however, were
expensive and dangerous to get. Traders had to travel parts of the dangerous Silk Road (a land
route from Europe to Asia) to get them. Because the Silk Road was frequently closed due to
various wars, European rulers began to pay for explorations to find a sea route to Asia so they
could get spices more easily and for cheaper. Portugal was the first European country that sent
explorers to search for the sea route to Asia. Prince Henry the Navigator started a school of
navigation and financed the first voyages to the west coast of Africa. In the 1400‘s, however,
sailors were afraid of sea monsters and boiling hot water at the Equator, so progress was slow.
After Bartholomew Dias and his crew made it to Africa‘s Cape of Good Hope, Vasco da Gama
and his crew became the first to sail around Africa and through the Indian Ocean to India.
Spain, however, would soon take over the lead in exploration. When Portugal refused to finance
Christopher Columbus‘ idea to sail west to find the shortcut to the Indies, he convinced Spain‘s
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to finance it. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus
and his crew reached the island of Hispaniola after three months in the Atlantic Ocean. Although
Columbus believed he had reached Asia, he had actually discovered the entire continent of North
America and claimed it for Spain.
Spain quickly colonized North America. In 1513, Ponce de Leon discovered Florida while
searching for the mythical Fountain of Youth. The first permanent European settlement in the
New World was later established at St. Augustine in 1565. Meanwhile, Hernando Cortes crushed
the Aztec empire in Mexico and claimed all of Mexico for Spain. Francisco Pizarro did the same
to the Incan Empire in South America. Other explorers such as Francisco Coronado and
Hernando de Soto claimed other portions of North America for Spain. Vasco Nunez de Balboa
even claimed the entire Pacific Ocean for Spain. As the Spanish empire grew, explorers forced
native populations into slavery and to convert to Christianity. Meanwhile, France began to
explore North America. Explorations by Giovanni Verrazano and Jacques Cartier resulted in
French claims of much of Canada and the north Atlantic coast. England would soon attempt to
make its presence known by financing pirates such as Francis Drake to plunder Spanish
settlements and steal gold from Spanish sea vessels. England also established its first settlement

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in the New World at Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Territorial disputes and constant pirating
resulted in a series of major wars between the competing nations. In 1588, the British Army
defeated the vaunted Spanish Armada. The British victory proved a serious blow to Spanish
influence in the New World.
Although Spain still controlled much of the New World after the defeat, England and France
were able to accelerate their colonization. England soon established successful colonies
throughout the eastern portions of the United States, and France had colonies in Canada and the
middle portions of the United States.
Factors that Encouraged Europeans’ to Pursue Voyages of Exploration
There are many reasons why explores embarked on voyages of discovery. There was a whole
world out there waiting for someone to set foot on it. There were spices, gold and riches that had
been untouched. There was religion that needed to be spread and taught. Technology was
booming. Advances in traveling by boat had increased. The Europeans pursed voyages of
exploration to establish trade routes expand their religion of Christianity and for riches of gold,
silver and precious stones metals. As the saying goes…‖money makes the world go round.‖
Countries where European explores were from
· Portugal
· Spain
· France
· England
Technology
Around 1300's advances in ship-building technology led to ships that were sea-worthy enough to
travel safely in Ocean. Advances in navigation equipment helped also. More narrow ships,
triangle sails, compass and astrolabes were invented. Maps were more accurate. Because of these
advance, explores were much more driven to venture out into the unknown.
The fact that advances in technology was a major reason Europeans pursued exploration in the
1300‘s can be arguable. There are facts which can challenge such a stance.
In fact, just because advances were made during those times, other reasons could actually
dissuade the Europeans from explorations to new lands via ocean voyages.
While it is true, that there were some advances in ship building and navigational technology in
the 1300‘s, the European voyagers already had access to the compass from the Chinese, they still
relied heavily on the stars to navigate their ships on the ocean waters. Sea travel remained very

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difficult and dangerous on cloudy nights when stars were not clearly visible to help guide their
ships in a manner in which they were accustomed and more experienced.
Without a doubt, maps and charts were available, and very detailed at that. Most of the detailed
charts primarily showed the coastlines of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and not necessarily
those of the New World which was unknown at that time. The Arabs were the noted for their
map makings skills.
Without question, the European voyagers that lived to tell their tales of exploration also warned
others of bad weather, unexpected high seas, gale winds and hurricanes, as well as famine on
their vessels, and how their crews suffered from scurvy, a disease caused by lack of vitamin C.
Additionally, the great period of piracy was going on during the 1300‘s which was also a
negative factor that could have discouraged the European ocean voyagers‘ explorations due to
fear for their lives.
In conclusion, the technology of the 1300‘s may have played a small role in the factors that
encouraged Europeans to pursue voyages of exploration, but maybe it was nothing more than the
sheer adventure and excitement of traveling to a new land.
The desire to explore in different capacities is a basic human tendency. The desire for some to
explore geographically is stated in this article. The method of exploring by sea and the new
shipbuilding technologies is made clear as it was a springboard to promote trade, expand
religious views, explore new lands and advance the science of navigation.
Claudius Ptolemy
He was a mathematician , astronomer , geographer, and poet. He was able to map out the world.
He devised and provided instructions on how to create maps of the whole world. He put
everything into a grid; he had latitude measured from the equator. He was a key person back in
his time, although he did not create the map. He bettered them through his own methods of
measurement.
Trade Routes
Trading is when a person receives something in exchange for something else. Examples of
trading would be trading a warm fuzzy fur, in exchange for a barrel of salt. In modern times,
giving a friend a toy that you own and they like, in exchange for a toy they own and you like.
Trading has been around as long as people. ―As civilization developed, so did trade. In fact,
historians say that trade is a big part of what made civilization possible. Trade increased wealth
and brought isolated peoples into contact with each other, resulting in exchanges of knowledge.‖
―On May 21, 1498, da Gama and his ships anchored off the port of Calicut. The Indians were at
first friendly, but the Zamorin of Calicut was unimpressed by the cheap trinkets the Portuguese

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hoped to exchange for the riches of the subcontinent.‖ Never the less, Vasco da Gama was
successful and set back to sea headed home to Portugal with a ship full of spices and precious
stone. The most important aspect he victoriously returned home with was an eastern trade route.
Outreach and Spreading the Knowledge of Religion
Europeans had a belief in religion and Christianity. Yes, there were many factors that drove the
Europeans to get out there and explore their world, and one of those reasons was because they
felt they needed to reform and convert every individual they encountered into Christians. ―The
period between about 1500 and 1750 brought a dramatic change. During this time, Christianity
became the first religion to spread around the world.‖ Explorers had direction and navigation,
but they also believed in and relied on their faith to get them through their rough voyages. Due to
their faith, they spread their religion and beliefs from New World to New World.
Gold, Silver and Precious Stones and Metals
In any Society, wealth and prestige are very important and aggressively sought after throughout
an individual‘s life. Wealth has and will continue to make people do mind-boggling actions.
Throughout history and still around today, we have seen people murder, rape and humiliate
others for their own personally gain in wealth. Money is a necessity and money makes the world
go round. It always had, and it more than likely always will.
Silk and Spice Routes
The Silk and Spice routes were the two most well known trade routes in history. The name alone
indicates wealth. ―The Silk Route crossed Asia by land, its paths stretching over some 5,000
miles…Travelers then moved through the lands of Afghanistan and Iran and on to the
Mediterranean Sea.‖ From that point, the good were transported directly to Europe via ship.
The Spice Routes encompassed over 9,000 miles of water. The two most sought after spices,
cloves and nutmeg grew on the Indonesian islands. ―To reach Europe and the Mediterranean, the
merchandise was carried up the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea and overland via cities such as Petra,
Palmyra, and Alexandria.‖
Both trade routes included both land and sea travel. Explores traveled these dangerous routes
frequently to collect luxurious items such as spices, silk, scented wood, rare animals, plants and
ivory. These trade routes were also a valuable source of information and knowledge. It is no
wonder why the Silk and Spice Route went down in history as the two greatest trade routes. Both
routes are still used in present day.
Modern European explores had many essential factors driving them to set out on discovery
explorations. Explores felt safer because of the advances in map making, the advances in boat
design as well as compasses. Explores wanted to establish new trade routes, spread their religion

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and gain wealth, prestige and independence. Where would our nation be today if it weren‘t for
these great explores? History is what makes the present and the future.
THE BIRTH OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
Many nations were looking for goods such as silver and gold, but one of the biggest reasons for
exploration was the desire to find a new route for the spice and silk trades. When the Ottoman
Empire took control of Constantinople in 1453, it blocked European access to the area, severely
limiting trade. In addition, it also blocked access to North Africa and the Red Sea, two very
important trade routes to the Far East.
The first of the journeys associated with the Age of Discovery were conducted by the
Portuguese. Although the Portuguese, Spanish, Italians and other had been plying the
Mediterranean for generations, most sailors kept well within sight of land or traveled known
routes between ports. Prince Henry the Navigator changed that, encouraging explorers to sail
beyond the mapped routes and discover new trade routes to West Africa.
Portuguese explorers discovered the Madeira Islands in 1419 and the Azores in 1427.
Over the coming decades, they would push farther south along the African coast, reaching the
coast of present-day Senegal by the 1440s and the Cape of Good Hope by 1490. Less than a
decade later, in 1498, Vasco da Gama would follow this route all the way to India.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD
While the Portuguese were opening new sea routes along Africa, the Spanish also dreamed of
finding new trade routes to the Far East.
Christopher Columbus, an Italian working for the Spanish monarchy, made his first journey in
1492. But instead of reaching India, Columbus instead found the island of San Salvador in what
is known today as the Bahamas. He also explored the island of Hispaniola, home of modern-day
Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Columbus would lead three more voyages to the Caribbean, exploring parts of Cuba and the
Central American coast. The Portuguese also reached the New World when explorer Pedro
Alvares Cabral explored Brazil, setting off a conflict between Spain and Portugal in terms of the
newly claimed lands. As a result, the Treaty of Tordesillas officially divided the world in half in
1494.
Columbus' journeys opened the door for the Spanish conquest of the Americas. During the next
century, men like Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro would decimate the Aztecs of Mexico,
the Incas of Peru and other indigenous peoples of the Americas. By the end of the Age of
Exploration, Spain would rule from the southwestern United States to the southernmost reaches
of Chile and Argentina.

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OPENING THE AMERICAS
Great Britain and France also began seeking new trade routes and lands across the ocean. In
1497, John Cabot, an Italian explorer working for the English, reached what is believed to be the
coast of Newfoundland.
A number of French and English explorers followed, including Giovanni da Verrazano, who
discovered the entrance to the Hudson River in 1524, and Henry Hudson, who mapped the island
of Manhattan first in 1609.
Over the next decades, the French, Dutch and British would all vie for dominance. England
established the first permanent colony in North America at Jamestown, Va., in 1607. Samuel du
Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, and Holland established a trading outpost in present-
day New York City in 1624.
Other important voyages of exploration that took place during the Age of Exploration were
Ferdinand Magellan's attempted circumnavigation of the globe, the search for a trade route to
Asia through the Northwest Passage, and Captain James Cook's voyages that allowed him to map
various areas and travel as far as Alaska.
THE END OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
The Age of Exploration ended in the early 17th century after technological advancements and
increased knowledge of the world allowed Europeans to travel easily across the globe by sea.
The creation of permanent settlements and colonies created a network of communication and
trade, therefore ending the need to search for trade routes.
It is important to note that the exploration did not cease entirely at this time. Eastern Australia
was not officially claimed for Britain by Capt. James Cook until 1770, while much of the Arctic
and Antarctic were not explored until the 19th century. Much of Africa also was also unexplored
by Westerners until the early 20th centuries.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE
The Age of Exploration had a significant impact on geography. By traveling to different regions
around the globe, explorers were able to learn more about areas like Africa and the Americas. In
learning more about such places, explorers were able to bring knowledge of a larger world back
to Europe.
Methods of navigation and mapping improved as a result of the travels of people like Prince
Henry the Navigator. Prior to his expeditions, navigators used traditional portolan charts, which
were based on coastlines and ports of call, keeping sailors close to shore.
The Spanish and Portuguese explorers who journeyed into the unknown created the world's first
nautical maps, delineating not just the geography of the lands they found but also the seaward

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routes and ocean currents that led them there. As technology advanced and territory explored,
maps and mapmaking became more and more sophisticated
These explorations also introduced a whole new world of flora and fauna to Europeans. Corn,
now a staple of much of the world's diet, was unknown to Westerners until the time of the
Spanish Conquest, as were sweet potatoes and peanuts. Likewise, Europeans had never seen
turkeys, llamas, or squirrels before setting foot in the Americas.
The Age of Exploration served as a stepping stone for geographic knowledge.
It allowed more people to see and study various areas around the world which increased
geographic study, giving us the basis for much of the knowledge we have today.
Factors that led to European Exploration
Any number of factors led to European Exploration, dating back to the Crusades. The Crusades
were the first exposure of Europeans to Eastern products which were in high demand in Europe,
primarily sugar. Additionally, Marco Polo's book, A Map of the World contained glowing (if
inaccurate) descriptions of the wealth of Asia. An example:
Additionally, the rise of Nation States in Europe led to increased revenue for Monarchs who
were able to finance European voyages of discovery. Notable here was the marriage of
Ferdinand and Isabella which united Spain into a united country.
Another factor was the fall of Constantinople to the Turks on November 27, 1453,
Constantinople had been the primary market for Asian goods; however after it was taken by by
the Turks, Europeans searched for ways to circumvent the Muslims.
The beginning of international trade which was cause and result of Age of Exploration.
Europeans wanted more goods from the East without extra cost from "middle men".
Under the political causes English monarchs (kings and queens) sent explorers to New World so
they would become dominant country in settlement of North America.
Technological factors/advances that led to exploration of New World include the following:
Caravel - smaller and faster ship that had triangular sails that let it sail into wind. It allowed
explorers to travel farther out to sea.
The magnetic compass indicated north, south, east, and west.
The astrolabe measured the height of the sun above horizon to help plot their location and
course.
The telescope was important for sighting landmarks at great distances.

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Cartography, map-making skills, helped explorers share their knowledge with others - taught at
Portuguese School of Navigation.
The Impact of Age of Exploration to the world
Plants, Animals and Food
When the Europeans met with the Americans, both groups of people saw animals and plants that
they had never seen before. The Europeans‘ horses were large and majestic compared to the
small animals that the Americans were used to. Cows and pigs were also introduced from the
Old World, which brought beef and pork to America. Rice from Asia soon began to grow in
America. Likewise, plants and animals from America were brought back to the Old World.
Before the Age of Exploration, crops such as potatoes, cocoa and tobacco had never been seen in
the New World, nor had livestock such as turkey. The Age of Exploration brought delicious
flavors to both sides of the Atlantic, and almost every food that we eat today results from this
connection.
Ways of Life
The connection between the Europeans and the Americans allowed their ways of living to
completely change, usually for the better. The horses that were brought to America from Europe,
for example, allowed the natives move faster through the land, as well as catch up to animals
when they were hunting. Another helpful object that was brought to America was the banjo.
Originally an African instrument, Americans enjoyed the music that the banjo made and
produced them on their own. But this change affected the Europeans, as well. Since America was
so separated from the Old World, Europeans were able to be more free with themselves than
when they were being watched by the government and the church. They dressed differently,
acted differently, and believed differently. Catholic women in an area of Peru would wear
Muslim dress because they liked it, even though the church didn‘t like it. The Age of Exploration
opened up more freedom to everybody, and made life easier and more enjoyable for some
Europeans and Americans.

Ideas and Beliefs
The discovery of the New World seriously changed the way that the Europeans thought about the
world. They realized that the Bible, which they had believed contained all the information of the
world, didn‘t live up to their expectations. New objects, new peoples, new animals were being
introduced to the Old World, and the Bible said nothing about any of them. This started to make
people question religion, and whether it really was the answer to everything. Science also started
to become important, even rivaling the power of religion. This is about the time that discoveries

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were made about the world, such as Galileo‘s experiments with space and the gravity. The Age
of Exploration opened up the world to new ideas, changing the world for the better.
Disease
As soon as Cortes discovered the Aztecs living in what is now Mexico, natives of America
started dying left and right. A horrible sickness had travelled from the Old World to the New
World. This disease, smallpox, ended up killing ninety percent of all natives in the new world
over years since the Europeans arrived. But why didn‘t the Europeans die off from this disease as
well? The Europeans had been around dirt and filth for their whole lives, so they were always
susceptible to getting sick. Because it was always around them, their bodies built up immunity to
certain diseases, such as smallpox. But the Americans had never encountered disease like this; in
fact, America was basically a place where nobody ever got sick at all. So when the Europeans
arrived with these germs on their bodies, it spread through the unprotected natives like a wildfire.
The Age of Exploration wasn‘t completely positive, since so many natives died.
Slavery and the Triangular Trade
After the New World was discovered by the Europeans, more plants and crops were discovered
as well. These crops were in high demand back in the Old World, and thousands and thousands
were needed to be brought back from America. There were so many crops to grow and harvest
that they would capture Africans from their homes and bring them to the New World, forcing
them to work as slaves in the fields. This slavery went on for more than two hundred years.
Sample Quiz with Answers
What were 2 technological advancements due to the Age of Exploration and Expansion?
1) useful livestock introduced
2) triangular sail invented
What were the religious consequences of the Age of Exploration and Expansion?
Forced conversions to Christianity and spread of religions
What were 9 positive economical consequences that affected the Europeans?
1) new territory gained
2) much silver and gold gained
3) acquired new products and resources
4) influx of precious metals

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5) cultural exchange trade
6) global trade
7) profits, causing wealth to rise
8) acquired new products
9) introduction of the African slave trade
What was a negative economical consequence that affected the Europeans?
inflation
What were 3 positive economical consequences that affected the people the Europeans
encountered?
1) acquired new products and resources
2) cultural exchange and trade
3) global trade
What were 4 negative economic consequences that affected the people the Europeans
encountered?
1) introduction of the African slave trade
2) inflation
3) loss of land
4) depopulation
What were 6 positive social consequences that affected the Europeans?
1) outlets for rising population
2) population growth
3) introduction of the African slave trade
4) cultural exchange and trade
5) reinforced European feeling of superiority
6) Pride and confidence increased (growing nationalism).
What were 4 negative social consequences that affected the Europeans?

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1) high death rate of those who migrated
2) rivalry and conflict between European powers and native inhabitants
3) loss of cultures, clash of cultures, psychic trauma or culture shock
4) Huge empires became difficult to run.
What was a positive social consequences that affected the people the Europeans encountered?
cultural exchange and trade
What were 9 negative social consequences that affected the people that the Europeans
encountered?
1) loss of cultures, clash of cultures, psychic trauma or culture shock
2) introduction to the African slave trade
3) enslavement and brutal treatment
4) exploitation, forced labor (e.g. encomienda system)
5) reinforced European feeling of superiority
6) introduction of new diseases and death as a result of this
7) depopulation
8) transportation of European racial views to America
9) rivalry and conflict between European powers and native inhabitants
What were 2 positive political consequences that affected the Europeans?
1) population growth
2) reinforced European feeling of superiority
What were 3 negative political consequences that affected the Europeans?
1) Huge empires became difficult to run.
2) exploitation, forced labor (e.g. encomienda system)
3) rivalry and conflict between European powers and native inhabitants
What were 4 negative political consequences that affected the people that the Europeans
encountered?

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1) enslavement and brutal treatment
2) rivalry and conflict between European powers and native inhabitants
3) reinforced European feeling of superiority
4) exploitation, forced labor (e.g. encomienda system)

The Transatlantic Trade
The transatlantic slave trade was responsible for the forced migration of between 12 - 15 million
people from Africa to the Western Hemisphere from the middle of the 15th century to the end of
the 19th century. The trafficking of Africans by the major European countries during this period
is sometimes referred to by African scholars as the Maafa ('great disaster' in Swahili). It's now
considered a crime against humanity.
The slave trade not only led to the violent transportation overseas of millions of Africans but also
to the deaths of many millions more. Nobody knows the total number of people who died during
slave raiding and wars in Africa, during transportation and imprisonment, or in horrendous
conditions during the so-called Middle Passage, the voyage from Africa to the Americas.
The kidnapping of Africans occurred mainly in the region that now stretches from Senegal to
Angola. However, in the 19th century some enslaved Africans were also transported across the
Atlantic from parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa.
The trade
All the major European powers were involved in this enterprise, but by the early 18th century,
Britain became the world's leading slave trading power. It's estimated that British ships were
responsible for the forced transportation of at least 2-3 million Africans in that century.
So dominant were British ships and merchants that they carried away African captives not only
to British colonies in North America and the Caribbean but even to the colonies of their main
economic rivals, the French and Spanish, as well as to others'.
Geographical spread
The majority of kidnapped Africans weren't already slaves in Africa. They were free people who
were kidnapped to provide the labour that the European powers required to build their colonies
in the Americas. The largest numbers of Africans – almost 5 million – were imported into Brazil,
but enslaved Africans were sent to most of the colonies of South and Central America and the
Caribbean, as well as to what became the United States.

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Some Africans were transported to Europe and lived in such countries as Portugal and France as
well as in England.
The Triangular Trade
The transatlantic slave trade is sometimes known as the 'Triangular Trade', since it was three-
sided, involving voyages:
 from Europe to Africa
 from Africa to the Americas
 from the Americas back to Europe.
It's generally seen as a 'trade' since it revolved around transactions, or a form of exchange,
between the African sellers and the European buyers of captives. Indeed, it would have been
impossible for European slave traders to venture into Africa and procure African captives
without some African involvement – African kingdoms and societies were too strong and well
organised. Even when Europeans built forts on the coast of West Africa, this was on land given,
or rented, from Africans for this purpose.
Unequal relationship
However, African kings and merchants were engaged in an unequal trade, since African societies
gained little of permanent value, certainly nothing that led to significant economic development.
Europeans, on the other hand, generally exported manufactured items such as alcohol, textiles
and guns to Africa to be exchanged for African captives. The production of such items, as well
as the construction of ships, shackles and other items connected with the slave trade, certainly
contributed to the development of manufacturing in Europe.
The African labour purchased with manufactured goods was then used in the Americas to
produce luxury items and other things that were valuable and in great demand in Europe, such as
sugar, tobacco and cotton. In addition, the slave trade contributed to the growth of banking and
insurance in Europe and provided the finance to develop European capitalist economies further.
Africa may have supplied the human labour that was central to these developments in Europe,
but it didn't benefit from them itself. Instead, it lost millions of people, many of its societies were
ravaged and it placed itself in an enduring unequal relationship with Europe that created the
conditions for colonial conquest and its legacy.
Diaspora
While the slave trade had a major impact on the economic development of the modern world, it
also contributed to the emergence of a new African diaspora, particularly the spread of people of
African origin to the Americas. Today there are tens of millions of people of African origin who,

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as a consequence of the forced removal of their ancestors, live in the Caribbean, the United
States, Brazil and other countries in the Western Hemisphere, as well as elsewhere outside
Africa.
When these millions of people were physically removed from their homelands, they took with
them their languages, beliefs, craftsmanship, skills, music, dance, art and other important
elements of culture. As a result, today we're surrounded by the legacy of the slave trade in a
multitude of forms.
Racism
Another legacy of the slave trade is the continued existence of a body of ideas initially
formulated to justify it and which now underpins modern anti-African racism in all its forms.
These harmful ideas have no basis in fact but were and are designed to suggest that Africa and
Africans are inferior to Europe and Europeans in a variety of ways.
These views permeated the centuries of the slave trade and the enslavement of Africans and
continued to be expressed during the post-slavery colonial era. They still exist today in the form
of racial stereotypes and prejudices and racist violence, as well as Eurocentric views about
Africa, its peoples and their cultures.
Protests and resistance
The slave trade finally came to an end due to a variety of factors, including the protests of
millions of ordinary people in Europe and the United States. Its abolition was also brought about
by millions of Africans who continually resisted enslavement and rebelled against slavery in
order to be free.
Resistance started in Africa, continued during the so-called Middle Passage and broke out again
throughout the Americas. The most significant of all these acts of resistance and self-liberation
was the revolution in the French colony of St Domingue, now Haiti, in 1791. It remains the only
successful slave revolution in history and led to the creation of the first modern black republic.
Haiti's constitution was the first to recognise the human rights of all its citizens.
The Middle Passage
The voyage across the Atlantic ocean was called the Middle Passage. It could last four to twelve
weeks depending on the origin and the destination of the slave ship. The deck was the domain of
the crew members. The captives were packed in the hold where men and women were separated.
Food supplies and water were stored in the hull, the lower part of the ship. In some instances,
chained slaves were fed and forced to dance themselves into shape on the deck under strict
surveillance. Boiled rice or corn was the usual food given to the captives. Sometimes this diet
was improved with black-eye peas. Besides being underfed, illnesses were not properly treated
and the dead were thrown overboard. Suicides and revolts were frequent. Gastro-intestinal and

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skin infections were the most common diseases with scurvy. The death rate on the slave ships
was very high, reaching 25 percent in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Mortality
was also high among crew members. The Middle Passage was a particular ordeal for women.
They were exposed to sexual abuse and had to deal with menstruations or pregnancy in a filthy
environment. Those with nursing infants permanently feared losing their babies. The cries and
feces of the little ones added to the discomfort and were a source of conflict among the captives.
Newly arriving Africans underwent a painful period of adjustment known as ―seasoning‖ lasting
up to three years. As a result of brutal treatment. The shock of the New World, disease, and the
longing for home, between 25 and 33 percent of the newly arrived did not survive seasoning.
More than 20 million African slaves were stolen from their homes over the next few centuries,
and less than 10 million made it to the New World. Living conditions were horrifying for the
Africans. The rooms where they lived had ceilings less than five feet off the ground, making
standing upright impossible. They had to sleep on hard, wooden shelves to save room. 300 slaves
would be put in this tiny little room, so it was hot, uncomfortable, and even deadly. If one had a
disease, every person in the room would get it as well.
Many of these Africans would rather die than suffer these awful conditions. They would refuse
to eat food in order to starve themselves to death. But captains of these ships needed those slaves
alive, since each slave was only money to them. They did everything in their power to keep them
alive, including torturing a slave more if they refused to eat. But despite the fact that the captain
wanted these slaves alive, he still wouldn‘t allow better living conditions, and about 15% of all
slaves died on the Middle Passage.
How the slaves were kept before being shipped to the Americas
The slaves were mainly kept in slave farms or slave camps which were controlled by the
European slave traders who employed Africans to help them take care of the camps. In these
slave camps, the slaves were kept in chains and poorly fed. On top of this, they were constantly
beaten.
From the slave farms or camps, the slaves were then transferred to castles by the coasts of West
Africa. In these castles, the slaves were chained to one another and kept in dark and dirty rooms
called Dungeons. These dungeons were special cells built in the castles by the European slave
traders to keep slaves until it was time for them to be shipped out of Africa. The dungeons had
no windows and therefore no fresh air entered inside. On top of this, the slaves were given very
little food and given inhumane treatment. Many of them ended up dying as a result of the harsh
and inhumane treatment they received.
The end of the slave trade
First Denmark in 1803, and Britain in 1807, and then other countries in Europe and the Americas
abolished the transatlantic slave trade for a variety of reasons including changes in their

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economic requirements. However, an illegal trade continued for many years, and slavery itself
was not abolished in some countries until the 1880s. In Brazil for example, slavery continued to
be legal until 1888.
Slavery today
Slavery was supposedly ended in America after the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln passed the
13th amendment of the United States in 1865, banning it. But although slavery is now illegal in
every country around the world, there are still as many as twenty-seven million slaves in the
world today, with some even in America. Organizations like the American Antislavery Group try
to free slaves by raising awareness and trying to get the government to ban this. They keep
records on the progress that is being made, positive and negative. Hopefully, slavery will be
completely gone one day, and everybody will be able to live freely.
How slaves were obtained during the transatlantic slave trade
There were a number of ways that the Europeans obtained African slaves to be shipped outside
Africa. The most common sources of slaves included the following:
1. Slaves of war: Before and during the transatlantic slave trade era, Africans were already
involved in the slave business. Prisoners and captives of wars and conflicts between ethnic
groups were usually taken as slaves by chiefs and warriors. These slaves were then sold to the
Europeans during the transatlantic slave trade, making Africa play a very prominent role during
the slave trade.
2. Criminals and prisoners : Another source of slaves was prisoners or people who had
committed crimes against the gods or their various communities. During the olden days in
Africa, people found guilty of criminal activities or offending the gods were often punished by
being banished from their villages or by enslavement since at that time there were no prisons.
With slavery becoming a very lucrative business, many of these convicted criminals or ‗sinners‘
were punished by enslavement instead of banishment. African chiefs and kings sold these
enslaved criminals or ‗sinners‘ to the European slave buyers. The main reason why these
convicted criminals or ‗sinners‘ were sold into slavery was so that they could no longer stay
within their various communities and commit sins and crimes. Another major reason why these
offenders were sold into slavery was because of the fact that it was extremely lucrative selling
them to the Europeans.
3. Tribute slaves : Tribute slaves were slaves who were gifted to kings and chiefs by other
prominent people in society in order to show appreciation or to say thank you to the chiefs or
kings. During the transatlantic slave trade era, most chiefs ended up selling their tribute slaves to
the European slave traders.

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4. Kidnappings : Some slaves were innocent people who were captured during raids and
kidnappings. Seeing how extremely lucrative the slave trade business was with the Europeans,
some unscrupulous chiefs and ordinary Africans began raiding and kidnapping their own people
from their farms and other desolate places to be sold into slavery. Sometimes these unscrupulous
men would raid entire communities and villages and capture mainly women and children to be
sold into slavery.
5. Collateral slaves : There was also a group of slaves known as ―collateral slaves‖. These slaves
were innocent people who were given out to others as surety for loans so that when the person
who went in for the loan failed to pay the loan, the creditor took possession of the innocent
person. Most of these collateral slaves were sold by their masters to African middlemen (African
slave buyers) who in turn sold them to the European slave buyers.
6. Enticement: this was especially by being promised with house work jobs especially in Europe.
Refer to the case of Sarah Barthman.
7. Panyaring: debtors were sold as slaves.
8. Raiding: Communities would raid others in order to acquire slaves.
As a result of how lucrative the slave trade business was, slaves were sometimes even sold in the
open market.
It is worth noting that the European slave buyers rarely went inland to buy the slaves. They
mainly stayed at the coasts and waited for the slaves to be brought to them. The job of going
inland to get slaves was done by their African middlemen or agents who bought the slaves and
transported them to the coastal areas where the Europeans eventually bought them off the
middlemen. The reason the European slave traders couldn‘t go into the interior of West Africa to
get the slaves was because of the fact that they were afraid of catching certain diseases from the
local people. Also, they were afraid of being attacked by the Africans who disliked their
presence on African soil.
The Scientific Revolution (1550-1700)
Aristotelian System - The Aristotelian system was the broad term used to refer to the traditional
view of the world expressed during the age of Aristotle by the ancients, and maintained and
modified by the Church to fit with religious doctrine throughout the Middle Ages. The
Aristotelian system included accepted truths about biology, physics, and most notably,
astronomy. Many of these "truths" were proven wrong during the Scientific Revolution.
Doctrine of Uniformity - The doctrine of uniformity was an enormous step in the quest to
integrate physics and astronomy. Developed by Galileo in his Dialogue on the Two Chief
Systems of the World, the doctrine of uniformity states that corresponding causes produce

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corresponding affects throughout the universe. Thus, terrestrial physics may be used to explain
the motion of heavenly bodies.
Geocentric - The term geocentric describes the theory on the organization of the universe
presented by Ptolemy of ancient Greece, and incorporated into the Aristotelian system, which
claims that the earth is the center of the solar system and that the sun and other planets orbit
around it.
Heliocentric - The term heliocentric describes the correct theory, first posed by Nicolas
Copernicus, that the Earth is simply one of several planets which orbit the sun.
Inquisition - The Inquisition was the section of the Catholic Church devoted to the maintenance
of Church doctrine by the discovery and punishment of heretics. It was the Inquisition which
warned Galileo to abandon his theories after the publication of Messenger of the Heavens, and
the Inquisition which committed him to house arrest after his publication of Dialogue on the Two
Chief Systems of the World.
Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion - Though Johannes Kepler was unable to conceive a working
model of the universe, he did contribute the three laws of planetary motion, all of which were at
least somewhat accurate, and all of which were used extensively by Isaac Newton in his work.
They are: 1. The planets move around the sun not in circles, but ellipses. 2. Planets do not move
uniformly, but in such a manner that a line drawn from a planet to the sun sweeps out an equal
area of the ellipse of its orbit in equal time, even if the ellipse is not perfectly centered on the
sun. 3. The squares of the periods of the planets' orbits are proportional to the cubes of their
distances from the sun.
Royal Society - The Royal Society of London brought together the greatest minds of the region
in efforts to advance science through cooperation. The Royal Society of London, and other
scientific societies that grew up in Europe during the later seventeenth century, contributed
greatly to the scientific progress made during that period.
Universal Gravitation - The cornerstone of Newton's explanation of the organization of the
universe, the law of universal gravitation states that every particle of matter attracts every other
particle with a force proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance between them.
People
Francis Bacon - Bacon (1561-1626) was one of the great philosophers of the Scientific
Revolution. His thoughts on logic and ethics in science and his ideas on the cooperation and
interaction of the various fields of science, presented in his work NovumOrganum, have
remained influential in the scientific world to this day.

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Giovanni Alfonso Borelli - Borelli (1608-1679) was the foremost thinker of the era on human
mechanics. His 1680 work, On the Motion of Animals, is widely recognized as the greatest early
triumph of the application of mechanics to the human organism.
Robert Boyle - Boyle (1627-1691), a successful physicist at Oxford college, worked with his
colleague Robert Hooke to discern the properties of the air, experimenting with air pressure and
the composition of the atmosphere. Boyle proved that only a part of the air is used in respiration
and combustion, and is thus credited with the discovery of oxygen. Boyle's further work touched
on the beginnings of the study of matter on the atomic scale.
Tycho Brahe - Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a great astronomical observer, and made accurate
and long-term records of his observations, from which he derived his view of the structure of the
solar system, in which the moon and sun orbited the Earth and the remaining planets orbited the
sun. While incorrect, his scheme was as viable by the knowledge of the time as was that of
Nicolas Copernicus.
Otto Brunfels - A German, in 1530 Brunfels (1488-1534) was the first to produce a major work
on plants. However, he fell victim to a blunder made by many botanists of the time. In reverence
for the ancients, whose botanical studies were widely revered, in his study he attempted to
compare his findings to those of the Greeks and Romans. The differences in plant life produced
by the variation in geography meant that comparison was futile, and confusion resulted in the
field of botany, clouding the work of many of Brunfels' immediate followers.
Giordano Bruno - A renegade Italian monk, Bruno (1548-1600) published three works-- The
Ash-Wednesday Supper, On Cause, Principle, and Unity, and On the Infinite Universe and its
Worlds --in which he laid out his philosophy that the universe was of infinite size, and that the
Earth, sun, and planets were all moving constantly within it, and were by no means located at its
center.
Nicolas Copernicus - Copernicus (1473-1543) was an avid student of astronomy, and in 1543
published De RevolutionibusOrbiumCoelestium. In this treatise, he presented the heliocentric
theory, which rested on the revolutionary notion that the Earth orbited the sun.
Rene Descartes - Descartes (1596-1650) was one of the greatest minds of the Scientific
Revolution. The inventor of deductive reasoning, Descartes was a failure as a practical scientist,
but a success as a mathematician, uniting number and form in his work Geometry, which
described how the motion of a point could be mapped graphically by comparing its position to
planes of reference.
Leonard Fuchs - A Botanist of the sixteenth century, Fuchs (1501-1566) produced a guide to
collecting medical plants that is considered a landmark in the history of natural observation. His
woodcut prints are the most beautiful and accurate of the period.

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Galen - An ancient Greek physician, Galen's (129-199) work was the centerpiece of traditional
biology and anatomy that had lasted through the Middle Ages.
Galileo Galilei - Galileo (1564-1642) was the most successful scientist of the Scientific
Revolution, save only Isaac Newton. He studied physics, specifically the laws of gravity and
motion, and invented the telescope and microscope. Galileo eventually combined his laws of
physics with the observations he made with his telescope to defend the heliocentric Copernican
view of the universe and refute the Aristotelian system in his 1630 masterwork, Dialogue on the
Two Chief Systems of the World. Upon its publication, he was censored by the Catholic Church
and sentenced to house arrest in 1633, where he remained until his death in 1642.
Samuel Hartlib - Hartlib (1600-1662), a London scientist and socialite, first conceived of the
creation of the Royal Society of London, and was instrumental in its eventual founding in 1662.
William Harvey - Through dissection, Harvey (1578-1657) was the first to demonstrate that the
circulation of blood through the human body is continuous, rather than consisting of different
types circulating through the veins and arteries, as had been previously assumed by the ancient
Greek physician, Galen.
Johannes Kepler - Kepler (1571-1630) studied the orbits of the planets and sought to discern
some grand scheme that defined the structure of the universe according to simple geometry.
Though he was unable to do accomplish his goal, he did come up with the laws of planetary
motion, which explained the orbital properties of planets, and factored extensively into Isaac
Newton's later work. Read the SparkNotes on Newton and Kepler .
EdmeMariotte - A botanist of the seventeenth century, EdmeMariotte (1620-1684) sought to
explain sap pressure in plants by describing a mechanism by which plants permit the entrance
but not the exit of liquid.
Marcello Malpighi - A well known microscopist, Malpighi (1628-1694) studied insects in depth
and developed a theory of plant circulation which, though flawed, inspired interest in the field.
Malpighi's studies were immortalized when his name was given to the main excretory organ of
arthropods, the malpighian tubules.
John Napier - In 1594, John Napier(1550-1617) invented the mathematical tool of logarithms.
He spent the next 20 years of his life developing his theory and computing an extensive table of
logarithms to aid in calculation. In 1614, he published Description of the Marvelous Canon of
Logarithms, which contained the fruits of these labors.
Isaac Newton - Perhaps the most influential scientist of all time, Newton (1642-1727) took the
current theories on astronomy a step further and formulated an accurate comprehensive model of
the workings of the universe based on the law of universal gravitation. Newton explained his

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theories in the 1687 revolutionary work PhilosophiaNaturalis Principia Mathematica, often
called simply the Principia. This work also went along way toward developing calculus.
Ptolemy - An ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician, Ptolemy's geocentric views on the
structure of the universe dominated astronomy until the Scientific Revolution.
SantorioSantorio - Santorio (1561-1636) was one of the first to apply the evolving physical
philosophy of the Scientific Revolution to animal biology. His experiments laid the groundwork
for the study of metabolism and the physical and chemical processes of the human body.
Simon Stevin - Stevin (1548-1620) worked with geometry during the late sixteenth century,
applying it to the physics of incline planes and the hydrostatic surface tension of water.
Additionally, he introduced the decimal system of representing fractions, an advance which
greatly eased the task of calculation.
FranciscusSylvius - One of the earliest chemical biologists, Sylvius (1614-1672) introduced the
idea of chemical affinity to explain the human body's use of salts. He and his followers
contributed greatly to the study of digestion and body fluids.
Evangelista Torricelli - Torricelli (1608-1647) invented the barometer, to measure air pressure,
in 1643. This was a large step in the understanding of the properties of air, and the basic structure
of the barometer remains the same today. A unit of pressure, called a Torr, is named after him.
Jan Baptist van Helmont - Van Helmont (1580-1644) was an alchemist who largely abided by
the accepted truths of the Middle Ages, but in many ways broke from the past and moved
forward. He experimented on the role of water in the growth of plants, claiming that plants drew
all of their substance from water. He also demonstrated that gases, though they commonly
appeared quite similar, could be quite different in character. In fact, van Helmont invented the
word "gas."
Andreas Vesalius - As a student and professor in Belgium and Paris, Vesalius (1514-1564) was
educated in the anatomical works and theories of the ancient Greek physician Galen, whose
views on anatomy had long been the standard in Europe. Vesalius questioned Galen's authority,
and published On the Fabric of the Human Body in 1543. It is considered the first great modern
work of science, and the foundation of modern biology.
Francois Viete - Viete (1540-1603) was one of the first to use letters to represent unknown
numbers. In 1591, he invented analytical trigonometry using this algebraic method.
Otto von Guericke - In 1656, Otto von Guericke (1602-1686) invented the air pump, and did the
first experiments with vacuums. In the process he demonstrated many of the properties of gases,
such as the (until then) disputed claim that they did, in fact, have weight.

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John Wallis - Wallis' work, Arithmetica Infinitum, published in 1655, set the stage for the
invention and development of differential calculus: this work went on to be one of Isaac
Newton's major influences. Wallis (1616-1703) was the first mathematician to apply
mathematics to the operation of the tides, and also invented the symbol used to denote infinity.
Causes:
 Scientific method uses observation and experimentation to explain theories on the
workings of the universe.
 Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the universe .
 Galileo continues Copernicus' work by observing the skies with a homemade telescope.
 Isaac Newton built upon the earlier work of Copernicus and Galileo and used
mathematics to describe gravity as the force that keeps planets revolving around the sun.
 The invention of the printing press created numerous books and newsletters to keep
people informed of science.
 Powerful leaders of nation-states funded scientific development.
 Constant warfare among nation-states pushed for scientific development by placing an
importance on technology. - Great advances made by Portuguese navigators fueled an
interest in learning more about the stars.
 King John funded mathematics in Portugal, Queen Elizabeth created
 Gresham College , and King Charles II helped start the Royal Society and the Naval
Laboratories.
 Reformation led to the questioning of religion
Effects:
 The use of the Scientific Method resulted in discoveries in medicine, physics, and
biology.
 The Enlightenment changed the way people lived as political and social scholars began to
question the workings of society and government.
 Rene Descartes said that human reason was capable of discovering and explaining the
laws of nature and man.
 Thomas Hobbes based his theories on government on his belief that man was basically
greedy, selfish, and cruel.
 Locke's theories were that all men have natural rights of life, liberty, and property.
 Baron de Montesquieu states that government should divide itself according to its
powers, creating a judicial, legislative, and executive branch.
 Voltaire believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government.
 Jean Jacques Rousseau stated that people were basically good, and that society, and its
unequal distribution of wealth, were the cause of most problems.
 People began to question religion and looked to math and science to explain the universe.

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 -Women became more involved with the new science.
 Scientific colleges were created
Agrarian Revolution
18th - 19th century (1750-1850)
The Agrarian Revolution is the term given to the transformation in agriculture in England during
the Georgian period. Though the roots of the revolution go back as far as the late medieval
period, it was not until the 18th century that these transformations really accelerated and began to
drastically change the way people lived and, at the same time, changed the English landscape
forever.
One of the prime changes brought on by the agrarian revolution was enclosure, the act by which
large tracts of land were fenced in. In the Middle Ages most land was farmed by individual
farmers who each had a strip of a large, open field. Because land was used 'in common',
changing land use was not easily implemented, and changes in farming practice were slow to be
implemented.
Between 1730 and 1820 there were an astonishing total of over 3500 individual acts of
Parliament authorizing enclosure of agricultural land. This resulted in almost all of the Midlands
and the north being enclosed. Though often this enclosure created hardship for peasant farmers,
the landowners were able to implement new farming practices such as regulated stock breeding,
controlled crop rotation, and more efficient production on marginal farmland. But the social cost
of these changes was immense, as many poor farm labourers were rendered redundant, poor
farmers lost their land, and the rural working classes were often forced to mve to industrial urban
areas to find work.
Some of the changes brought on by the Agrarian Revolution involved planting crops
(particularly clover and turnips) to provide food for overwintering animals. Equally important
were the introduction of new farm machinery, such as the wheeled seed drill, which mechanised
the traditional practice of scattering seeds by hand. Another inovation was the horse hoe, a tool
to eradicate weeds between rows of crops. Iron tools replaced earlier wooden ones - the iron
plough was a big advance on the wooden plough, and was so much more efficient that it could be
drawn by horses instead of oxen.
Influential 'Gentlemen Farmers' such as Coke of Holkham Hall (Norfolk) and Viscount
Townshend made agricultural experimentation a fashionable pastime. Under the reign of George
III, who was passionately enthusiastic about agricultural reform, scientific research stations were
set up and agricultural reports were regularly produced on a county by county basis.

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The pace of reform accelerated during the Napoleonic Wars, when Britain was forced to get by
without imports from Europe. As a result, wide areas of land were farmed for the first time. This
led to higher yields and enabled Britain to more easily feed a growing population.
The British Agricultural Revolution refers to the period of change from the traditional to modern
farming systems in Britain that occurred between the mid-1600s and the late 1800s. Before the
revolution, the open-field system of cultivation was used which caused cattle overgrazing,
uncontrolled breeding, and spread of animal diseases. Mechanization and scientific principles
were adopted, which led to increased productivity and efficiency. As agricultural outputs became
increasingly more efficient, fewer workers were required, more food was on hand, and industries
cropped up as a result of the agricultural revolution.
Factors Fueling the Agricultural Revolution
Several factors facilitated the revolution, the first being acts of Parliamentary legislation
regarding land enclosure. A series of Parliamentary legislation in the United Kingdom promoted
land consolidation, either owned or rented. The aim of this system was to establish separate
chunks of land to allow efficient and economical utilization of land. The acts laid the foundation
for a land-owning system in Britain. Large tracts of land could be utilized for agricultural
purposes, and productivity increased. The formation of agricultural societies and annual shows
facilitated innovation and the spread of ideas. More efficient methods were adopted as
knowledge became widespread. Other factors were changing climatic conditions, increased
populations of livestock, innovations and higher yields.
Changes in Technology and Farming Methods
Numerous changes characterized the revolution as machines replaced people in the farms.
Notable innovations included the seed drill, which was invented by Jethro Tull and enabled seeds
to be planted deep into the soil mechanically. Previously, seeds had been planted on the top layer
and were quickly washed away or lost. The steam engine, improved and patented by James Watt,
popularized the use of steam power and facilitated the invention of the steamboat by Robert
Fulton. The Steamboat enabled faster and cheaper transport and facilitated the invention of the
steam-powered train by Stephenson. With better infrastructure, produce could now travel
throughout the country, a situation which further helped to boost trade.
Larger areas of land were further reclaimed through the draining of wetlands, the clearing of
woodlands, and the transforming of upland pastures. The crop rotation system, championed by
agriculturalists such as Charles Townshend, was widely adopted by farmers. In the system,
fodder crops such as turnips and clover were planted instead of leaving the land fallow. Clover
and Turnips were fed to cattle and also improved the soil fertility. Scientific animal breeding led
to the development of the Shorthorn cattle, suited for both dairy and beef production. The
Dishley Longhorn set precedence for more high quality and large-sized cattle to be developed.

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Robert Bakewell championed the selective breeding for sheep to develop larger breed with long
and lustrous wool such as the Lincoln Longwool and New Leicester.
The threshing machine, invented by Andrew Meike, improved the efficiency of harvesting grain.
Numerous other innovations included the Hay-tossing machine, the flying shuttle, the spinning
jenny, and Crompton‘s mule for the production of yarn. As more and more innovations were
made, agriculture increasingly became automated.
Role of Climate and Weather Patterns
In the mid-1600s, the climate in England became colder and wetter, and intelligent seed selection
became even more crucial for British farmers. New and superior varieties such as White-Eared
Red Wheat, Red-Stalked Wheat and narrow-eared barley, which had an extended season and
which could be stored in barns for lesser periods were developed. As more and more new crops
were introduced, yields increased in return. Wetter climates also meant that rivers ran throughout
the year and increased water supply.
Effects on Greater British Society and Trade
The effects of the revolution were immense and far-reaching. Now farmers were able to provide
enough for the population, and the surplus produce was traded. Better infrastructure meant that
produce reached local and international markets through exports. As food production increased, a
rise in population was experienced as more people could be sustained. A large population in the
UK became non-land holders as the tenure system of land came into effect, a situation which
created a large market for agricultural produce and help boost trade. Improved trade enabled
growth of the banking sector and development of loan facilities as economic assistance to
farmers, and therefore underpinning industrial revolution.
The Agricultural Revolution's Facilitation of the Industrial Revolution
The agricultural revolution in Britain was instrumental in the developments that characterized the
industrial revolution. The enclosure system had displaced people who subsequently moved into
cities. A further increase in population provided labor for the industries. The agricultural
revolution, which led to a greater abundance of food, had led to significant reductions in the
prices of foodstuffs. The population thus had more disposable income to spend on industrial
products. The need to sustain food production inspired more inventions in technology which
facilitated the industrial revolution. During the agricultural period, the United Kingdom became
economically prosperous and wealthy as farmers acquired capital to invest in industries and
technology. The innovations in Agricultural revolution, coupled with improved infrastructure
further fueled the industrial revolution.
Changes that Marked Agrarian Revolution in Britain
1. Abolition of follows systems and use fertilizer was adopted

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2. Application of better methods of farming which included Norfolk system/ crop rotation
3. Introduction of selective intercropping of crops like maize and beans which did not require the
same nutrients from the soil
4. Application of scientific principles in farming e.g. selective breeding of animals to improve
quality
5. Use of machines to supplement human labor e.g. iron hoes
6. Introduction of land enclosure system where land was enclosed by fencing following the
enactment of the enclosure act in the 18th Century
7. Practicing of large scale farming
8. Planting in rows which replaced broadcasting system
9. Land enclosure system which replaced pen field
Effects of Agrarian Revolution in Britain
1. Led to diversification of agriculture with cultivation of a variety of crops as well as practicing
selective breeding
2. Increased food production due to improved methods of farming
3. Increased population due to regular food supply which resulted in higher life expectancy
4. Large-scale farming under plantation farms replaced small-scale farming
5. Led industrialization due to availability of agricultural raw material
6. Led to expansion of local and international trade which boosted her economy
7. Led to improvement of transport systems such as roads
8. It enhanced research and scientific innovations in the field of agriculture
9. Led to rural-urban migration of the landless peasants due to enclosure system to seek jobs in
the factories
Industrial Revolution in Britain (1750-1850)
The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during
which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and
urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing
was often done in people‘s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked

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a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and
textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine, played central roles in the
Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of transportation, communication and
banking. While industrialization brought about an increased volume and variety of manufactured
goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment
and living conditions for the poor and working classes.
The 18th century saw the emergence of the ‗Industrial Revolution‘, the great age of steam, canals
and factories that changed the face of the British economy forever.
Early industry
Early 18th century British industries were generally small scale and relatively unsophisticated.
Most textile production, for example, was centred on small workshops or in the homes of
spinners, weavers and dyers: a literal ‗cottage industry‘ that involved thousands of individual
manufacturers. Such small-scale production was also a feature of most other industries, with
different regions specialising in different products: metal production in the Midlands, for
example, and coal mining in the North-East.
New techniques and technologies in agriculture paved the wave for change. Increasing amounts
of food were produced over the century, ensuring that enough was available to meet the needs of
the ever-growing population. A surplus of cheap agricultural labour led to severe unemployment
and rising poverty in many rural areas. As a result, many people left the countryside to find work
in towns and cities. So the scene was set for a large-scale, labour intensive factory system.
Steam and coal
Because there were limited sources of power, industrial development during the early 1700s was
initially slow. Textile mills, heavy machinery and the pumping of coal mines all depended
heavily on old technologies of power: waterwheels, windmills and horsepower were usually the
only sources available.
Changes in steam technology, however, began to change the situation dramatically. As early as
1712 Thomas Newcomen first unveiled his steam-driven piston engine, which allowed the more
efficient pumping of deep mines. Steam engines improved rapidly as the century advanced, and
were put to greater and greater use. More efficient and powerful engines were employed in
coalmines, textile mills and dozens of other heavy industries. By 1800 perhaps 2,000 steam
engines were eventually at work in Britain.
New inventions in iron manufacturing, particularly those perfected by the Darby family of
Shropshire, allowed for stronger and more durable metals to be produced. The use of steam
engines in coalmining also ensured that a cheap and reliable supply of the iron industry‘s
essential raw material was available: coal was now king.

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Factories
The spinning of cotton into threads for weaving into cloth had traditionally taken place in the
homes of textile workers. In 1769, however, Richard Arkwright patented his ‗water frame‘, that
allowed large-scale spinning to take place on just a single machine. This was followed shortly
afterwards by James Hargreaves‘ ‗spinning jenny‘, which further revolutionised the process of
cotton spinning.
The weaving process was similarly improved by advances in technology. Edmund Cartwright‘s
power loom, developed in the 1780s, allowed for the mass production of the cheap and light
cloth that was desirable both in Britain and around the Empire. Steam technology would produce
yet more change. Constant power was now available to drive the dazzling array of industrial
machinery in textiles and other industries, which were installed up and down the country.
New ‗manufactories‘ (an early word for 'factory') were the result of all these new technologies.
Large industrial buildings usually employed one central source of power to drive a whole
network of machines. Richard Arkwright‘s cotton factories in Nottingham and Cromford, for
example, employed nearly 600 people by the 1770s, including many small children, whose
nimble hands made light-work of spinning. Other industries flourished under the factory system.
In Birmingham, James Watt and Matthew Boulton established their huge foundry and metal
works in Soho, where nearly 1,000 people were employed in the 1770s making buckles, boxes
and buttons, as well as the parts for new steam engines.
The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and
cultural. The technological changes included the following:
(1) The use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel,
(2) The use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal, the
steam engine, electricity , petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine,
(3) The invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that
permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy,
(4) A new organization of work known as the factory system, which entailed increased division
of labour and specialization of function,
(5) Important developments in transportation and communication, including the steam
locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio, and
(6) The increasing application of science to industry. These technological changes made possible
a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured
goods.
There were also many new developments in nonindustrial spheres, including the following:

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(1) Agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger
nonagricultural population,
(2) Economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a
source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade ,
(3) Political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies
corresponding to the needs of an industrialized society,
(4) Sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities, the development of working-class
movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and
(5) Cultural transformations of a broad order. Workers acquired new and distinctive skills, and
their relation to their tasks shifted; instead of being craftsmen working with hand tools, they
became machine operators, subject to factory discipline. Finally, there was a psychological
change: confidence in the ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.
Factors that led to the Industrial Revolution in Britain
 The Agrarian revolution led to the accumulation of financial resources which were
needed for the Industrialization
 The new capital from India and West Indies was readily available for industrial
investment
 Many banks in Britain were offering loans to those who were interested in investing in
industrialization
 The Agricultural Revolution also provided a lot of food an raw materials needed fro
industrialization
 The need to transport produce from the Agrarian Revolution led to the improvement of
road networks and other means of transportation such as railways steamships
 This means of transport then helped in the industrialization as raw material and
equipment could be transported easily
 There was peace in Britain as it had dealt with feudal conflicts and peace ensured
stability and industrialization
 The were readily available raw materials like coal, iron, gold, amongst others
 Innovation and the need to explore also lead to the invention of many machines and ideas
which were useful for industrialization for example, the drill
 The Age of Walpole (1715-1733) which saw the removal of import and export duties led
to the rise in the demand of goods made in British industries abroad
 Cheap labour was also readily available from people retrenched from many farms as the
Agrarian Revolution was coming to an end
 There was also a readily available market for goods produced in British factories in
abroad

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 Some historians argue that the cost production was cheaper a energy was cheap in Britain
 Population growth in high social classes led to the spread of their ideas as their children
moved to every part of Britain

Effects of Industrial Revolution
Positive effects:
Due to industrial revolution there was the rise of industrialization
 In minimum span, less expenses it was possible too produce more goods of quality. Due
to the rise in production , people started getting goods and commodities In least prices.
People could standardize their lifestyle.
 Economic condition of the countries where in industrialization took place were
developed. Mainly England and other European countries became rich and they helped to
develop their countries and other countries too.
 Trade and commerce developed on the international level, it seems that the world has
become only one big market and so things became easily available at any corner of the
world.
Feeling of corporation was also increased. The whole world became one home for all citizens of
the world.
 In the industrilised countries , labor movements began to resist injustice and tyrannical
acts. Labour organization was established. Industrialists became rivals but in order to
abolish this parity , seats of socialism were sown. Labourmoevemnts , chartists
movments. Women right to equality started taking place in the European countries.
Saw in Europe the concept of constitutional and well fare state rooted deeply.
 Cities developed, population of educated people increased, their become aware of their
rights and so in England and France, democratic concept , powerfully prevailed.
 Due to industrial revolution new cities were set up. They became the centers of
commerce, business and industries. The rural vision people rushed to urban sectors as a
result population of urban areas increased tremendously.
 Mans life improved arts and cultural sectors of life dominated common man. Short story
and noval became very popular and literature became very rich. Painting and drawing
depicted the realities of common. In the 20th century, film industry was also developed.
and this due to a great advancement in technical programme.

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 Transportation and communication was developed due to industrial revolution.
Communication improved drastically.
 In the agricultural sector new technology was used so labours could be saved and
production of grain rose tremendously.
Summary on the Effects
Economic Effects of the Industrial Revolution
* new inventions and development of factories
* rapidly growing industry in the 1800s
* increased production and higher demand for raw materials
* growth of world wide trade
* population explosion and expanding labor force
* exploitation of mineral resources
* highly developed banking and investment system
*advances in transportation, agriculture, and communication
SocialEffects of the Industrial Revolution
* increase in population of cities
* lack of city planning
* loss of family stability
* expansion of middle class
* harsh conditions for laborers
* workers' progress versus laissez faire attitudes
* improved standard of living
* creation of new jobs
* encouragement of technological progress
PoliticalEffects of the Industrial Revolution
* child labor laws to end abuses

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* reformers urging equal distribution of wealth
* trade unions formed
* social reform movements
* reform bills in Parliament and Congress
World War One
World War I, also called First World War or Great War , an international conflict that in 1914–
18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States , the Middle
East, and other regions. The war pitted the Central Powers —mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary
, and Turkey —against the Allies—mainly France ,
Great Britain , Russia, Italy , Japan , and, from 1917, the United States. It ended with the defeat
of the Central Powers. The war was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and
destruction it caused.
Causes
World War I occurred between July 1914 and November 11, 1918. By the end of the war, over
17 million people had been killed, including over 100,000 American troops. While the causes of
the war are infinitely more complicated than a simple timeline of events, and are still debated
and discussed to this day, the list below provides an overview of the most frequently-cited events
that led to war.
Mutual Defense Alliances
Over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull them
into battle. These treaties meant that if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to
defend them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed:.

 Russia and Serbia
 Germany and Austria-Hungary
 France and Russia
 Britain and France and Belgium
 Japan and Britain
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing
Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then
Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.

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Imperialism
Imperialism is when a country increases their power and wealth by bringing additional territories
under their control. Before World War I, Africa and parts of Asia were points of contention
among the European countries. Because of the raw materials these areas could provide, tensions
around these areas ran high. The increasing competition and desire for greater empires led to an
increase in confrontation that helped push the world into World War I.
Militarism
As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the
greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their
navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military
establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism
helped push the countries involved into war.
Nationalism
Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and
Herzegovina to no longer be part of Austria Hungary but instead be part of Serbia. In this way,
nationalism led directly to the War. But more generally, nationalism in various countries
throughout Europe contributed not only to the beginning but the extension of the war in Europe.
Each country tried to prove their dominance and power.
Immediate Cause: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play
(alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian-nationalist terrorist
group called the Black Hand sent groups to assassinate the Archduke. Their first attempt failed
when a driver avoided a grenade thrown at their car. However, later that day a Serbian nationalist
named GavriloPrincip assassinated him and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which
was part of Austria-Hungary. This was in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this
region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-
Hungary declaring war on Serbia. When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia,
Germany declared war on Russia. Thus began the expansion of the war to include all those
involved in the mutual defense alliances.
Effects
 WW1 caused the downfall of four monarchies: Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and
Russia.

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 The war made people more open to other ideologies, such as the Bolsheviks that came to
power in Russia and fascism that triumphed in Italy and even later in Germany.
 WW1 largely marked the end of colonialism, as the people became more nationalistic and
the one country after the other started colonial revolts in Southeast Asia, the Middle East
and Africa.
 The war changed the economical balance of the world, leaving European countries deep
in debt and making the U.S. the leading industrial power and creditor in the world.
 Inflation shot up in most countries and the German economy was highly affected by
having to pay for reparations.
 With troops travelling all over the world, influenza was spread easily and an epidemic
started which killed more than 25 million people across the world.
 With all the new weapons that were used, WW1 changed the face of modern warfare
forever.
 Due to the cruel methods used during the war and the losses suffered, WW1 caused a lot
of bitterness among nations, which also greatly contributed to WW1 decades later.
 Social life also changed: women had to run businesses while the men were at war and
labor laws started to be enforced due to mass production and mechanization. People all
wanted better living standards.
 After WW1, the need for an international body of nations that promotes security and
peace worldwide became evident. This caused the founding of the League of Nations.
 WW1 boosted research in technology, because better transport and means of
communication gave countries an advantage over their enemies.
 The harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles caused a lot of dissent in Europe,
especially on the side of the Central Powers who had to pay a lot for financial
reparations.
World War II(1939-1945)
The carnage of World War II was unprecedented and brought the world closest to the term ―total
warfare.‖ On average 27,000 people were killed each day between September 1, 1939, until the
formal surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. Western technological advances had turned
upon itself, bringing about the most destructive war in human history. The primary combatants
were the Axis nations of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, and the Allied nations,
Great Britain (and its Commonwealth nations), the Soviet Union, and the United States. Seven
days after the suicide of Adolf Hitler, Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 7, 1945.
The Japanese would go on to fight for nearly four more months until their surrender on
September 2, which was brought on by the U.S. dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese towns
of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Despite winning the war, Britain largely lost much of its empire,
which was outlined in the basis of the Atlantic Charter. The war precipitated the revival of the
U.S. economy, and by the war‘s end, the nation would have a gross national product that was
nearly greater than all the Allied and Axis powers combined. The USA and USSR emerged from

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World War II as global superpowers. The fundamentally disparate, one-time allies became
engaged in what was to be called the Cold War, which dominated world politics for the latter
half of the 20th century.
Causes
World War Two began in September 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany
following Germany‘s invasion of Poland.
Although the outbreak of war was triggered by Germany‘s invasion of Poland, the causes of the
war are more complex.
(1) Faulty Peace Settlement:
The peace settlement made by Treaty of Versailles (1919) was faulty and contained the germs of
the Second World War. Both the manner in which the treaty was concluded as well as the
specific provisions that it contained led the defeated nations, particularly Germany, to feel
humiliated as a forcibly suppressed nation. This treaty was imposed by the victors on the
defeated and was not negotiated in a spirit of give and take. It had the germs of a new war.
(2) Defects of Treaty of Versailles—A Dictated Peace:
The provisions of the Treaty of Versailles were harsh. Ostensibly it was based upon the idealism
of US President Wilson‘s Fourteen Points, but in reality it was designed to cripple Germany. The
major terms of the 440 Articles of the Treaty were aimed at destroying the power of Germany.
Far reaching territorial changes had been affected by this Treaty. France had got back Alsaac and
Lorraine. Belgium had got Europe Malmedy and Moreset, Poland had got upper Silesian and
southern part of East Prussia.
Dazing had been made a free city. Saar valley had been placed under the control of an
international commission and France had been given the right of exploiting the coal mines of the
valley. Memel had been given to Lithuania in 1924. Union of Austria and Germany had been
forbidden. Germany had been made to renounce all her overseas possessions and colonies, which
were later on placed as mandates under the victorious powers. In short, Germany had been
deprived of nearly a million square miles of its area. The treaty had considerably reduced the
military strength of Germany.
The economic clauses of the Treaty were directed to make Germany pay for the war losses and
damages. In the treaty, Germany lost nearly 15% of its arable land and 12% of its industrial area.
Above all, it was burdened with reparation payments which were beyond its capacity. Even
politically Germany was made to accept Weimer Republic Constitution.
It was designed to make Germany accept western political institutions and practices which
however, were not in tune with the past political experience and values of the people of this state.

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It was indeed a dictated constitution destined to get buried in the years to come. Thus, the Treaty
of Versailles contained the germs of a future war. The developments of inter-war period helped
these germs to grow and lead the world towards the second global war, just 20 years after the end
of the first one.
The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles were:
 War Guilt Clause – Germany should accept the blame for starting World War One
 Reparations – Germany had to pay 6,600 million pounds for the damage caused by the
war
 Disarmament – Germany was only allowed to have a small army and six naval ships. No
tanks, no airforce and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-
militarised.
 Territorial Clauses – Land was taken away from Germany and given to other countries.
Anschluss (union with Austria) was forbidden.
2. Rise of Nazism in Germany:
Extreme and narrow nationalism of Germany, Italy and Japan was one of the chief causes of the
Second World War. The humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles made the German love for
nationalism stronger. The problems faced by Germany made the people more conscious of the
need for unity and strength. For this purpose, they willingly accepted the dictatorship of Hitler
and his policy of restoring the prestige of Germans by taking revenge upon those responsible for
humiliating Germany at the Paris Peace Conference.
3. Rise of Fascism in Italy:
The failure of Italy to secure the desired gains at the Paris Peace Conference made it thoroughly
dissatisfied and annoyed with the role of Britain and France. The economic depression of 1930s
gave a further blow to Italy‘s power. It was under these circumstances that Mussolini and his
Fascist Party came to power and held out the promise to make Italy rich and powerful.
The fascists advocated extreme nationalism, war and imperialism as the means for securing the
interests of Italy. The people of Italy found fascism a very attractive ideology because it
promised to them a glorious future. Italy under Mussolini began making attempts to expand its
power and secure new territories. Thus paved the way for the development of Rome-Berlin Axis
in international relations—a development that became responsible for the outbreak of World War
II.
4. Emergence of Militarism and Expansionism in Japan:
The ambitions of Japan had increased during World War I. At the Paris Peace Conference, Japan
had been quite successful in securing several advantages vis-a- vis China but these got almost
negotiated by the Washington Conference. Japan, thereafter, decided to expand its military

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power with a view to secure more territories of China. By 1930, Japan was in a position to
develop its military might and Japanese Imperial War Council started playing an active and
powerful role in Japanese politics.
Militarism and imperialism came to be accepted as the ideal means for expanding Japanese
power in the world. In 1931, Japan intervened in Manchuria and in spite of League‘s opposition,
occupied it. In 1937, Japan started an undeclared war against China.
When World War II broke out in 1939, the Sino-Japanese war was still in progress. Being a
partner in the Rome-Berlin Axis, Japan found it essential to enter the war. In 1941, it attacked
Pearl Harbour and made the Second World War a bloodier and more devastating war.
5. Failure of the League to act as an International Peace Keeper:
The League of Nations was created in 1919 for securing international peace. However, due to
several structural defects, like the provision for unanimous decisions, lack of adequate resources
etc., as well as due to the unhelpful environment, the League failed to work effectively as an
instrument of peace. It lacked the strong organisation needed to command respect among the
nations. Its Covenant was observed more in breach than in compliance.
The failure to act during Manchurian and Abyssinian crises proved its failure. The small nations
were quick to develop a lack of confidence in the League. Even the great powers made no
attempt to put into practice the provisions of the Covenant. The U.S.A. failed to become its
member. Both Britain and France tried hard to use the League for promoting their own self-
interests.
―To Germany, the League was a ―grouping of the victorious imperialist powers and of secondary
states assembled to preserve the fruits of their victory and to maintain the status quo‖. To the
USSR the League was ―a forum of imperialists assembled to thwart her new civilization.‖ With
such perceptions of its members, the League was destined to be doomed and the prevailing
international situation hastened this process.
The march of events in the post-1919 period proved the inadequacy of the League of Nations to
play its designated role as peace-keeper through collective security. The collective security
provisions of the Covenant were never really put into practice by the members. Each nation
sought to use the League as an instrument of its own national policy.
The rigid rule of unanimous decisions also acted as a major hindrance and prevented collective
security action on the part of the League. The unscrupulous behaviour of Japan and Italy, the
French obsession with its security and the British apathy, made things worst. Under the
circumstances, the collective security system of the League failed to provide protection against
aggression.

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The failure of the League to take suitable action against Japanese invasion of Manchuria
followed by the failure to check Italian aggression against Ethiopia proved the bankruptcy of
League‘s collective security system. The result was disastrous for all.
The main reasons for the failure of the League of Nations can be summarised into the following
points:
 Not all countries joined the League
Although the idea for the League of Nations had come from Woodrow Wilson, there was a
change of government in the United States before the signing of the treaty and the new
Republican government refused to join. As a punishment for having started World War One,
Germany was not allowed to join and Russia was also excluded due to a growing fear of
Communism. Other countries decided not to join and some joined but later left.
 The League had no power.
The main weapon of the League was to ask member countries to stop trading with an aggressive
country. However, this did not work because countries could still trade with non-member
countries. When the world was hit by depression in the late 1920s countries were reluctant to
lose trading partners to other non-member countries.
 The League had no army
Soldiers were to be supplied by member countries. However, countries were reluctant to get
involved and risk provoking an aggressive country into taking direct action against them and
failed to provide troops.
 Unable to act quickly
The Council of the League of Nations only met four times a year and decisions had to be agreed
by all nations. When countries called for the League to intervene, the League had to set up an
emergency meeting, hold discussions and gain the agreement of all members. This process meant
that the League could not act quickly to stop an act of aggression.
6. Failure of efforts towards Disarmament:
Another cause of the war was the failure of the disarmament efforts. The Treaty of Versailles
provided for the virtual disarming of Germany. Article 8 of the Covenant of the League called
upon the members to take steps for the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point
consistent with national safety. But the net effect was almost nil.
Many conferences were held, both inside and outside the League for securing disarmament, but
practically nothing came out of these. Mutual fear and distrust of one another‘s policies and the
concern for security, prevented progress towards disarmament.

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The British and French policies of keeping up the development of armaments provided Hitler the
much needed handle to justify the arming of Germany. Arming of Germany under Hitler
intensified the armament race and it came to be a major cause of the Second World War.
7. Problem of National Minorities:
The Paris Peace Conference failed to solve the problem of settling the minorities. US President
Wilson had advocated the need to base the peace treaty on the principle of self-determination.
But due to several social, cultural, religious, economic and military factors, it was found difficult
to operationalize this principle. Consequently, in many states minorities opposed to each other
were left under an alien rule. For example, a large number of Germans were left in Poland,
Czechoslovakia and Austria.
As a result a fierce discontent developed among the minorities in many states. Hitler took full
advantage of the situation and exhorted these minorities to overthrow their governments. For
helping the German minorities living in other states, Hitler used war, aggression and intervention
as the means. The occupation of Austria and Sudetenland was the result of this policy. The attack
on Poland was also justified in the name of helping the German brotherhood. The problem of
national minorities acted as a factor of the outbreak of Second World War.
8. The Harmful Politics of Secret Alliances:
Like World War I, the system of secret military or defence alliances was also a major cause of
World War II. The European states continued to depend upon secret military pacts and alliances
as means for strengthening their security. France entered into a number of alliances with other
states. It forged alliances with Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Yugoslavia.
This compelled Germany, Italy and Japan to follow suit by entering into mutual security pacts
and treaties. Formally, Britain decided to remain away from such alliances but it was expected
that it would side with Germany in case of a war between Russia and Germany and with France
in the event of Germany‘s aggression against France.
A large number of defence and security pacts, secret as well as public, were concluded by most
of the European states. Such security pacts, however, proved to be counterproductive in as much
as these strengthened the sense of insecurity and mutual distrust among the nations. By 1937, the
world stood virtually divided between two rival alliance systems—The Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
of the in satiated states and the anti- Axis alliance system of several other states.
9. Economic Depression of 1930s:
Another important factor which indirectly led to the collapse of the inter-war system and to the
outbreak of World War II, was the economic depression of 1930s. The pressure caused by this
development gave rise to the emergence of centralized and dictatorial regimes in Germany, Italy
and several other states of Europe.

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Such states resorted to imperialist and expansionist policies. Most of the interventions and
invasions which took place during 1919-1939 period were guided by economic motives. The
Fascist rulers sought to solve their economic problems through military conquests and expansion
of their military power.
10. Ideological Conflict:
Dictatorship vs. Democracy. Another cause of World War II was the ideological conflict
between dictatorships on the one hand and democracies on the other. Germany, Italy and Japan
(Axis states) stood for dictatorship, war and imperialism, while Britain, France and the U.S.A.
stood for democracy, peace and status quo. The ideological conflict between the former and the
latter prevented the adoption of a peaceful and balanced approach to the settlement of their
disputes.
11. Western Policy of Appeasement:
The policy of appeasement adopted by Britain and France towards Germany and Italy also
contributed largely to the outbreak of World War II. Britain, during the interwar years was more
concerned with the growing Red Menace (Communism) than Fascism and Nazism. The British
statesmen were interested in making Germany a bulwark against Soviet communism. They felt
that after achieving his desired goals in East Europe, Hitler would try to expand towards Russia.
Led by such a feeling, the Anglo-French powers adopted a policy of appeasement towards Hitler.
Their decision to tolerate and accept the growing power of Hitler encouraged the dictator to
rearm Germany, militaries Rhineland and capture Austria and Czechoslovakia.
Despite the fact that Britain, France and the USA had sufficient power to make the dictator desist
from aggression, they deliberately allowed Germany to commit aggression in complete disregard
of all international agreements, commitments and the Covenant of the League. The British and
French policy of appeasement of Hitler definitely encouraged Hitler to attack the Anglo-French
power in Europe.
All these causes were responsible for the collapse of the fragile inter-war international system,
and consequently these led to the outbreak of the World War II in September 1939—a new,
bloodier and more devastating global war which continued for six long years.
(12) Hitler’s Actions
Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Almost immediately he began
secretly building up Germany‘s army and weapons. In 1934 he increased the size of the army,
began building warships and created a German airforce. Compulsory military service was also
introduced.

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Although Britain and France were aware of Hitler‘s actions, they were also concerned about the
rise of Communism and believed that a stronger Germany might help to prevent the spread of
Communism to the West.
In 1936 Hitler ordered German troops to enter the Rhineland. At this point the German army was
not very strong and could have been easily defeated. Yet neither France nor Britain was prepared
to start another war.
Hitler also made two important alliances during 1936. The first was called the Rome-Berlin Axis
Pact and allied Hitler‘s Germany with Mussolini‘s Italy. The second was called the Anti-
Comitern Pact and allied Germany with Japan.
Hitler‘s next step was to begin taking back the land that had been taken away from Germany. In
March 1938, German troops marched into Austria. The Austrian leader was forced to hold a vote
asking the people whether they wanted to be part of Germany.
The results of the vote were fixed and showed that 99% of Austrian people wanted Anschluss
(union with Germany). The Austrian leader asked Britain, France and Italy for aid. Hitler
promised that Anschluss was the end of his expansionist aims and not wanting to risk war, the
other countries did nothing.
Hitler did not keep his word and six months later demanded that the Sudetenland region of
Czechoslovakia be handed over to Germany.
Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Britain, met with Hitler three times during September
1938 to try to reach an agreement that would prevent war. The Munich Agreement stated that
Hitler could have the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia provided that he promised not to
invade the rest of Czechoslovakia.
Hitler was not a man of his word and in March 1939 invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Despite
calls for help from the Czechoslovak government, neither Britain nor France was prepared to
take military action against Hitler. However, some action was now necessary and believing that
Poland would be Hitler‘s next target, both Britain and France promised that they would take
military action against Hitler if he invaded Poland. Chamberlain believed that, faced with the
prospect of war against Britain and France, Hitler would stop his aggression. Chamberlain was
wrong. German troops invaded Poland on 1st September 1939.
Effects of World War II
1. The beginning of Nato, the Warsaw Pact and subsequently the cold war, the defining event of
the 2nd half of the 20th century.
2. The founding of the United Nations.
3. The rise of America as a superpower and non isolationist.

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4. The spreading of Communism and the rise of the USSR to a superpower.
5. The beginning of the British-American "special relationship", as well as 75 years of alliance,
and due to sharing of things like technology, economic aid, military aid, and closeness is
virtually unheard between two countries in human history.
6. The fall of colonialism and traditional imperialism and subsequently the fall of the UK,
Germany, and France as military superpowers.
7. The splitting of Germany for 45 years, the building of the Berlin Wall, the economic
stagnation of the east and the "Economic Miracle" in the West.
8. The splitting of Korea, and the seeds of the Korean War.
9. The rise of the People's Republic of China, led by Chairman Mao, who defeated the Republic
of China in a civil war that continued after Japan's defeat, aided by the USSR, and the retreating
of the Chang Kai Shek led ROC to Taiwan.
10. The development of the nuclear bomb (and the nuclear age), and it's first and only uses in
warfare.
11. The Marshall plan, which aided Europe's recovery into prewar levels in very short time, as
well as Japan's and Germany's focus on a consumer economy that enabled them to rise to a top 5
economy In the decades after.
12. The wholesale death of millions of Europe's Jews, and the subsequent exodus to the newly
created Israel.
13. The democratization of West Germany, Japan and Italy.
14. The implantation of puppet governments subservient to the USSR in countries behind the
iron curtain, and their subsequent exploitation and control by the USSR for 45 years.
15. The destruction of many of Europe's greatest cities, as well as historical and cultural
landmarks, including Berlin, Moscow, Warsaw, Stalingrad, Danzig and Rotterdam, as well as the
bombing of London.
16. The invention of Jet engines and rockets by Germany, which began the space race.
17. The Nuremberg trials, which charged many of the surviving top Nazis(including Herman
Goerring, who killed mysteriously himself before being executed), as well as the Exodus and
subsequent cover-up by other countries(namely the USA and USSR) of top scientists with
questionable Nazi paths and commission of warcrimes. The most famous of these is Werner Von
Braun, the man behind much of Germany's v1 and v2 rocket technology. Von Braun used slave
labor from concentration camps to run rocket factories during the war, but was brought to

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America in 1945 and became the first head of NASA after having his past covered up and kept
from the public.
18. The democratization, and various levels of Americanization in many countries as the spread
of American soldiers and goods created international markets for American movies, music, cars,
weapons and many consumer goods that helped spread various aspects of American culture to
countries mainly Europe, but around the world as well.
19. Over 70 years of relative peace, only involving generally small conflicts. This is almost
unheard of in human, and especially European history. This is generally attributable to mutually
assured destruction (the concept that if one major power goes to war with another, nuclear
weapons will eventually be used, and both sides would be obliterated), and the role of America
as the so called "World-Police."
20. The creation of new technologies. The war encouraged both sides to make huge advances in
technology in the 6 years of war, including jets, rockets, radar, weapons, nuclear weapons and
energy, and various things that greatly influence our world still today.

THE COLD WAR
The Cold War, lasting from roughly 1945-1991, was a time of strong distrust between the United
States and their allies in the West, and the Soviet Union and their allies in the East. Affecting life
across the globe, it was a time of fear, competition, and hot wars. As technology was used on
both sides to try to prove superiority, radar became important.
Introduction
When did it start?
The Cold War was a time of tension between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or
the Soviet Union and the United States, and their respective ideologies. It followed the Second
World War and persisted from roughly 1945-1991. It was not declared in the same sense as most
wars, rather it progressed over time. Therefore there are different opinions on the exact
beginning of the War.
Some say the Cold War really began with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill‘s speech in
1946 in which he described an ― iron curtain ‖ which separated the East and the West, and their
respective ideologies. The East was the Soviet Union and its countries of influence and the West
included the United States and their allies, the major ones being Canada, France, Britain, and
Japan. The War involved the use of expensive resources on both of these sides.
The relationship between the two powers started to waiver between 1945 and 1947, but by 1947
the Cold War was visible.

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What is a Cold War?
A Cold War stands in opposition to a hot war which is made up of battles, like the World Wars.
The potential for conflict was more important in the Cold War. While the United States and the
Soviet Union did not battle each other physically, they did so through others in Korea, Vietnam,
and Afghanistan.
The actual battle grounds were more often competitions such as who could get to space first,
sporting events, and spying. It was more about proving superiority than actually fighting.
There were some instances when the two superpowers did openly meet each other though. Planes
that flew over the Soviet Union for information (such as radar location) were almost destroyed
and fifteen were actually brought down. Nearly 200 American aircrew either died or were taken
to Soviet prisons. And there were also instances where Soviet and American planes fought
during the Korean War.
The Cold War was a world war, some have argued even more so than the World Wars
themselves. It drew in many people and economies and saw fighting in more places than the
Second World War, including the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America, and Central
America. Millions of people did actually die.
The War ended in 1991 because there was no longer a Soviet Union.
The following reasons contributed to the advent of cold war :-
1. USA was the oldest democracy in the world. It was the country which gave the world the first
written constitution, a federal government, fundamental rights and independent judiciary. It was
the most powerful votary of the liberal democratic world order. In economic sphere it was the
biggest beneficiary and defender of capitalism. In contrast, the USSR adopted communist system
of government after the historic Bolshevik revolution under Lenin. Communism demands
centralization of power, unqualified obedience to the political authority. It emphasizes more on
equality rather than liberty. It also calls for state ownership and equitable distribution of
resources of a nation. When USSR declared its goal of establishing a system of global
communist system, USA perceived it as a direct threat to liberal capitalist world order where it
enjoyed a hegemony.
2. The first world war had caused great damage to European powers especially UK and France.
USA emerged as the strongest power in the world, both militarily and economically. After first
world war USSR had made rapid progress under communist system led by Lenin. After second
world war USA and USSR emerged as two superpowers, and stage was set for a future rivalry
for the world hegemony.
3. Stalin's effort to capture more territories in Europe after German collapse aggravated suspicion
against it.

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4. Delay by allied powers in opening the second front ( invasion of France) in the war was
interpreted as a tactical move by USA to bring USSR to a point of collapse.
5. In the aftermath of the world war 2 Russia tightened its grip over the Eastern Europe by
setting up pro communist governments in Poland,Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania and Romania. This
frightened the USA and its allies. Churchill's Fulton speech in which he said that ‗an iron curtain
has descended across the continent‘ is seen as an acknowledgement of biggining of the cold war.
6. A formal acknowledgement came in the form of ‗Truman doctrine‘ wherein it pledged to
support the free people across the world. This was a policy, in broad terms, aimed at containing
communism.
7. It is seen as an economic extension of the Truman doctrine. In the form of a European
economic recovery programme, it pledged to salvage war ravaged economies of the European
countries. The hidden agenda was to contain spread of communism, by creating a capitalism
based prosperous Europe, where USA would hold sway.

Discussion
The Cold War was a decades-long struggle for global supremacy that pitted the
capitalist United States against the communist Soviet Union. Although there are some
disagreements as to when the Cold War began, it is generally conceded that mid- to late-1945
marks the time when relations between Moscow and Washington began deteriorating. This
deterioration ignited the early Cold War and set the stage for a dynamic struggle that often
assumed mythological overtones of good versus evil.
At the close of World War II, the Soviet Union stood firmly entrenched in Eastern Europe, intent
upon installing governments there that would pay allegiance to the Kremlin. It also sought to
expand its security zone even further into North Korea, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Similarly, the United States established a security zone of its own that comprised Western
Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. From the long view
of history, it is clear that both sides were jockeying for a way to secure their futures from the
threat of another world war, but it was the threat that each side perceived from the other that
allowed for the development of mutual suspicion. It was this mutual suspicion, augmented by
profound distrust and misunderstanding that would ultimately fuel the entire conflict.
Interestingly, for the first few years of the early Cold War (between 1945 and 1948), the conflict
was more political than military. Both sides squabbled with each other at the UN, sought closer
relations with nations that were not committed to either side, and articulated their differing
visions of a postwar world. By 1950, however, certain factors had made the Cold War an
increasingly militarized struggle. The communist takeover in China, the pronouncement of the

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Truman Doctrine, the advent of a Soviet nuclear weapon, tensions over occupied Germany, the
outbreak of the Korean War, and the formulation of the Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization as rival alliances had all enhanced the Cold War‘s military dimension. U.S.
foreign policy reflected this transition when it adopted a position that sought to ―contain‖ the
Soviet Union from further expansion. By and large, through a variety of incarnations, the
containment policy would remain the central strategic vision of U.S. foreign policy from 1952
until the ultimate demise of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Successive American presidents and successive Soviet premiers tried to manage the Cold War in
different ways, and the history of their interactions reveals the delicate balance-of-power that
needed to be maintained between both superpowers. Dwight Eisenhower campaigned as a hard-
line Cold Warrior and spoke of ―rolling back‖ the Soviet empire, but when given a chance to
dislodge Hungary from the Soviet sphere-of-influence in 1956, he declined. The death of Stalin
in 1953 prefaced a brief thaw in East-West relations, but Nikita Kruschev also found it more
politically expedient to take a hard line with the United States than to speak of cooperation.
By 1960, both sides had invested huge amounts of money in nuclear weapons, both as an attempt
to maintain parity with each other‘s stockpiles, but also because the idea of deterring conflict
through ―mutually assured destruction‖ had come to be regarded as vital to the national interest
of both. As nuclear weapons became more prolific, both nations sought to position missile
systems in ever closer proximity to each other‘s borders. One such attempt by the Soviet
government in 1962 precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis, arguably the closest that the world has
ever come to a large-scale nuclear exchange between two countries.
It was also in the early 1960s that American containment policy shifted from heavy reliance on
nuclear weapons to more conventional notions of warfare in pursuit of a more ―flexible
response‖ to the spread of communism. Although originally articulated by President Kennedy, it
was in 1965 that President Johnson showcased the idea of flexible response when he made the
initial decision to commit American combat troops to South Vietnam. American thinking had
come to regard Southeast Asia as vital to its national security, and President Johnson made clear
his intention to insure South Vietnam‘s territorial and political integrity ―whatever the cost or
whatever the challenge.‖
The United States ultimately fought a bloody and costly war in Vietnam that poisoned U.S.
politics and wreaked havoc with its economy. The Nixon administration inherited the conflict in
1969, and although it tried to improve relations with the Soviets through detente – and even took
the unprecedented step of establishing diplomatic relations with Communist China – neither
development was able to bring about decisive change on the Vietnamese battlefield. The United
States abandoned the fight in 1973 under the guise of a peace agreement that left South Vietnam
emasculated and vulnerable.

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Although Nixon continued to negotiate with the Soviets and to court Maoist China, the Soviet
Union and the United States continued to subvert one another‘s interests around the globe in
spite of detente‘s high-minded rhetoric . Leonid Brezhnev had been installed as Soviet premier in
1964 as Kruschev‘s replacement, and while he too desired friendlier relations with the United
States on certain issues (particularly agriculture), genuinely meaningful cooperation remained
elusive.
By the end of the 1970s, however, the chance for an extended thaw had utterly vanished. Jimmy
Carter had been elected president in 1976, and although he was able to hammer out a second
arms limitation agreement with Brezhnev, the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan significantly
soured U.S.-Soviet relations. Seeking to place a greater emphasis on human rights in his foreign
policy, Carter angrily denounced the incursion and began to adopt an increasingly hard line with
the Soviets. The following year, Americans overwhelmingly elected a president who spoke of
waging the Cold War with even greater intensity than had any of his predecessors, and Ronald
Reagan made good on his promises by dramatically increasing military budgets in the early
1980s.
Nonetheless, by 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev had replaced Brezhnev in Moscow, and he quickly
perceived that drastic changes to the Soviet system were necessary if the USSR was to survive as
a state. He instituted a series of liberal reforms known as perestroika, and he seemed genuinely
interested in more relations with the West, known as glasnost . Although President Reagan
continued to use bellicose language with respect to the Soviet Union (as when he labeled it an
―evil empire‖), the Gorbachev-Reagan relationship was personally warm and the two leaders
were able to decrease tensions substantially by the time Reagan left the White House in 1989.
Despite improved East-West relations, however, Gorbachev‘s reforms were unable to prevent the
collapse of a system that had grown rigid and unworkable. By most measures, the Soviet
economy had failed to grow at all since the late 1970s and much of the country‘s populace had
grown weary of the aged Communist hierarchy. In 1989 the spontaneous destruction of the
Berlin Wall signaled the end of Soviet domination in Eastern Europe, and two years later the
Soviet government itself fell from power.
The Cold War had lasted for forty-six years, and is regarded by many historians, politicians, and
scholars as the third major war of the twentieth century.
The Impact of the War
1. Bipolar World to a Unipolar World
The legacy of the Cold War continues to influence world affairs today. After the dissolution of
the Soviet Union, the post-Cold War world became widely considered unipolar instead of
bipolar, with the United States the sole remaining superpower. The Cold War defined the
political role of the United States in the post-World War II world; by 1989, the U.S. held military

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alliances with 50 countries and had 1.5 million troops posted abroad in 117 countries. The Cold
War also institutionalized a global commitment to large-scale, and permanent, peacetime
military-industrial complexes, as well as the large-scale military funding of science.
2. Costs: Financial and Human Life
Because the two superpowers carried much of the confrontational burden, both Russia and the
United States ended up with substantial economic liabilities. Military expenditures by the U.S.
during the Cold War years were estimated to have been $8 trillion, while nearly 100,000
Americans lost their lives in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Although the loss of life among
Soviet soldiers is difficult to estimate, as a share of their gross national product, the financial cost
for the Soviet Union was far higher than that of the U.S.
In addition to the loss of life by uniformed soldiers, millions died in the superpowers' proxy wars
around the globe, most notably in Southeast Asia. Many of the proxy wars and subsidies for local
conflicts ended along with the Cold War, and the incidence of interstate, ethnic, and
revolutionary wars, as well as refugee and displaced persons crises, has declined somewhat in the
post-Cold War years. However, many of the political issues begun during the Cold War years
continue today.
3. Political Legacies
The legacy of Cold War conflict continues today, as many of the economic and social tensions
that were exploited to fuel Cold War competition in countries throughout the Third World
remain acute. The breakdown of state control in a number of areas formerly ruled by Communist
governments has produced new civil and ethnic conflicts, particularly in the former Yugoslavia.
In Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War has ushered in an era of economic growth and a large
increase in the number of liberal democracies, while in other parts of the world, such as
Afghanistan, independence was accompanied by state failure.
In the wake of the Cold War, nations freed from colonial forces and newly founded nations
inherited expenses, commitments, and resources for which they were not prepared. The
successor states also found themselves with contemporary national-security burdens, all of which
had to be financed, and new or revised civilian economies had to be instituted.
4. Nuclear Legacies
Benefits
Many specific nuclear legacies can be identified from the Cold War. Some are benign, such as
the availability of new technologies for nuclear power and energy, and the use of radiation for
improving medical treatment and health. Environmental remediation, industrial production,
research science, and technological development have all benefited from the carefully managed
application of radiation and other nuclear processes.

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The international non-proliferation regime inherited from the Cold War still provides
disincentives and safeguards against national or sub-national access to nuclear materials and
facilities. Formal and informal measures and processes have effectively slowed national
incentive, as well as the tempo of international nuclear-weapons proliferation.
Concerns
On the other hand, despite the end of the Cold War, military development and spending has
continued, particularly in the deployment of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and defensive
systems. Because there was no formalized treaty ending the Cold War, the former superpowers
have continued to various degrees—depending on their respective economies—to maintain and
even improve or modify existing nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Moreover, other nations
not previously acknowledged as nuclear-weapons states have developed and tested nuclear-
explosive devices. Because of potential risk to national and international security, nuclear-
weapons states have inherited substantial responsibilities in protecting and stabilizing their
nuclear forces. Risks of deliberate, accidental, or unauthorized nuclear devastation remain.
5. Public Insecurity
Public impressions and insecurities gained during the Cold War also carry over today. Strong
impressions were made and continue to affect national psyche as a result of perilously close
brushes with all-out nuclear warfare. In some cases, this resulted in aversion to warfare, while in
other cases, the result was callousness regarding nuclear threats. Peaceful applications of nuclear
energy received a stigma that is still difficult to exorcise. Heightened fear of nuclear risk can also
result in the public's resistance to military drawdown.
International Relations
United Nations Organization (UN)
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of
193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and
principles contained in its founding Charter.
Main Organs
General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the
UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the
only UN body with universal representation. Each year, in September, the full UN membership
meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and
general debate, which many heads of state attend and address. Decisions on important questions,
such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a

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two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Decisions on other questions are by simple
majority. The General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of
office.
Security Council
The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of
international peace and security. It has 15 Members (5 permanent and 10 non-permanent
members ). Each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to
comply with Council decisions. The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence
of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by
peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases,
the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to
maintain or restore international peace and security. The Security Council has a Presidency ,
which rotates, and changes, every month.
 Daily programme of work of the Security Council
 Subsidiary organs of the Security Council
Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy
dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as
implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It serves as the central mechanism
for activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and
environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert bodies. It has 54 Members, elected by
the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. It is the United Nations‘ central platform
for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.
Trusteeship Council
The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII , to
provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the
administration of seven Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the
Territories for self-government and independence. By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained
self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November
1994. By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to
drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required -- by its decision or
the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General
Assembly or the Security Council.
International Court of Justice

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The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is
at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of the six principal organs of
the United Nations not located in New York (United States of America). The Court‘s role is to
settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give
advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and
specialized agencies.
Secretariat
The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff
members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly
and the Organization's other principal organs. The Secretary-General is chief administrative
officer of the Organization, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the
Security Council for a five-year, renewable term. UN staff members are recruited internationally
and locally, and work in duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world. But
serving the cause of peace in a violent world is a dangerous occupation. Since the founding of
the United Nations, hundreds of brave men and women have given their lives in its service.
Major objectives of the UN
The UN set some objectives for itself.
A) To maintain international peace and security and to settle disputes between the member states
by peaceful means.
B) To develop friendly relation among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights
and self determination of peoples.
C) To solve economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems peacefully in cooperation with
other nations.
D) To promote respect or human rights and support freedom for all people, regardless of their
race, sex, religion, color or language.
E) To provide a meeting place where all members could work together to attain these common
ends.
To achieve the above aims, the United Nations has set the following principals
a) All member countries are sovereign and equal and should respect the right of other nations.
b) All members should settle their disputes by peaceful means.
c) They should refrain from any threat or use of force.
d) They must support the organization in all its activities.

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Successes of the United Nations
1. The First and foremost it has prevented the occurrence of any further world wars.
Instrumental in the maintenance of international balance of power.
2. It played a Significant role in disarming the world and making it nuclear free. Various
treaty negotiations like 'Partial Test Ban Treaty' and 'Nuclear non-proliferation treaty'
have been signed under UN.
3. Demise of colonialism and imperialism on one hand and apartheid on the other had UN
sanctions behind them.
4. UN Acted as vanguard for the protection of human rights of the people of the world,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
5. Despite crippled by Bretton Woods Institutions, UN has played limited but effective role
on economic matters. Supported the North-South dialogue and aspired for emergence of
new international economic order.
6. Agencies of United Nations like WHO, UNICFF, UNESCO have keenly participated in
the transformation of the international social sector.
7. Peace keeping operations, peaceful resolution of disputes and refugee concerns had
always been on the list of core issues.
8. Since 1945, the UN has been credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have
ended regional conflicts.
9. The world body was also instrumental in institutionalization of international laws and
world legal frame work.
10. Passage of various conventions and declarations on child, women, climate, etc, highlights
the extra-political affairs of the otherwise political world body.
11. It has successfully controlled the situation in Serbia, Yugoslavia and Balkan areas.
12. A number of peace missions in Africa has done reasonably well to control the situation.
Failures of the United Nations
1. UN opinion on Hungary and Czechoslovakia were ignored by the erstwhile Soviet Union
in 1950s.
2. Israel had been taking unilateral action through decades in its geographical vicinity and
nothing substantial has come out even by September 2010.
3. No emphatic role in crisis of worst kinds like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam crisis
etc.
4. UN was nowhere in the picture when the NATO rained bombs over former Yugoslavia.
5. Uni-polarity and unilateralism has shaken the relevance of the world body. Unilateral
action in Iraq was bereft of UN sanction.
6. Failed to generate a universal consensus to protect the deteriorating world
7. climate, even at Copenhagen in 2009.
8. Number of nuclear powers in the world has kept on increasing. UN Could not control the
horizontal expansion and proliferation of weapons and arms.

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9. Financial dependence on the industrialized nations has at times deviated UN from
neutrality and impartiality.
10. The world body has failed to reflect the democratic aspiration of the world. Without
being democratic itself, it talks of democratization of the world.
11. Aids is crossing regions and boundaries both in spread and intensity.
12. Domestic situation of near anarchy in Iraq and many regions of Afghanistan, despite on
active UN. The US President scheme of withdrawal has not able to bring any specific
solutions in the region. In fact, the situation has been further aggravated.
13. The UN totally exposed in the case of US invasion on Iraq in name for the search weapon
of mass destruction. US has withdrawn its combat forces but the law and order and
mutual distrust has worsened and at this juncture UN seems to be clueless.

THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS
Introduction
The Commonwealth was traditionally made up of Britain and her former colonies but today there
are members of the commonwealth, like Rwanda and Mozambique, who were not former
colonies of Britain. In its current form the Commonwealth can be described as an association of
independent countries who have freely come together to cooperate among each other for the
benefit of their citizens.
FEATURES OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Queen as Head of Commonwealth
One of the main features of the Commonwealth of Nations is that the Queen of England was
made the head of the organization and still remains so. When the British colonies attained
independence, many of them retained the Queen of England as their Heads of State until they
attained republican status.
Biennial Summit
Another major feature of the Commonwealth is the summit that is held by the organization every
two years to discuss matters of importance to member states. These summits are attended by
Heads of Government of member countries.
Common Official Language
One of the features of the commonwealth is that the members speak a common language. All the
members, in exception of Rwanda and Mozambique, use English as their official language.
India, on the other hand later adopted Hindi to replace the English language.

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Common Systems of Government
Another feature of the Commonwealth is their adoption of a common system of government.
After the attainment of independence, the member states that were former colonies of Britain all
adopted the parliamentary or the Cabinet system of government that the British, their former
colonial master were practicing.
Common Educational Systems
Another feature is that the member states of Commonwealth of Nations have similar educational
systems. The educational system of each member state was modeled on the educational system
of the British.
Common Legal System
The members of the Commonwealth also adopted the British legal systems. If one went to a
court in any member country of the Commonwealth, the procedures are not different from the
procedures adopted by any other member of the Commonwealth, maybe only in those member
states that were not originally colonies of Britain.
Exchange of High Commissioners
One other significant feature of the Commonwealth is that when member states exchange
ambassadors as is done between any other two sovereign countries, the appointees are not
designated as ambassadors. In the Commonwealth, they are referred to as High Commissioners.
The functions they perform as High Commissioners are not however, substantially different from
those performed by ambassadors.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Highlight six problems that are faced by the Commonwealth of Nations.
PROBLEMS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS
Compliance
One of the problems of the Commonwealth is that when member states refuse to comply with
decisions arrived at during a summit, the organization does not have the power to enforce it. In
the absence of this power to enforce, the organization rather depends on the commitment and
willingness of the members to comply.
Absence of a standing army
Coupled with the problem above is the absence of a standing army to help in the enforcement of
decisions and the power to put rogue members back in line. Though this is a problem, one can

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argue that it is even far-fetched. Member nations are independent of each other and there force
cannot be brought to bear on members.
Differences in ideology
The member states now ascribe different kinds of ideology and systems of government. Unlike
the Parliamentary system that was inherited from the British by their former colonies, the new
nations have switched to other systems of government like the Presidential system of
government. The use of varied systems of government does not help to unify the organization.
Importance of the Commonwealth
Over the years, the member states of the commonwealth have lost the vigor they once had
toward the organization. Member states now have the guts to boycott summit meetings or the
Commonwealth games. This has been attributed to the fact that they no longer hold it as
important as it once was.
Instability of regimes
Governments in some member states are unstable. This is especially so in those member states
who have refused to adopt and practice democracy. Frequent change of government in member
states does not allow for continuity in programmes and policies geared toward the interests of the
Commonwealth.
Membership of other organization
Aside their membership of the Commonwealth of Nations, member states also belong to other
organizations and regional blocs. For example, member states in Africa also belong to the
African Union, which is probably fulfilling some of their most pressing needs. Even those in
West Africa again belong to the Economic Community of West African States. This situation
draws away their interest in the activities of the Commonwealth.
The East – West ideological divide
After independence from Britain, some member states started to lean towards the eastern bloc led
by the then Union Soviet Socialist Republic. This eastern bloc pursues policies that are opposite
to those pursued by Britain. This difference in ideology is also seen as a problem confronting the
Commonwealth.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Commonwealth Scholarships
The commonwealth has helped in the educational development of students from member states.
For example, every year, scholarships are awarded to students from member countries to go and

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study in renowned universities in some developed member nations like Britain itself, Canada and
Australia. More recently, scholarships are awarded by the Indian government for students from
other member states to pursue further studies in diverse fields of endevour.
Cooperation
One of the achievements of the Commonwealth of Nations is the way it has promoted
cooperation among the various professionals within the Commonwealth. The lawyers have
cooperated at the level of the Commonwealth Bar Association and the academia have cooperated
at the level of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Other professional have continued
to cooperate within various Commonwealth associations.
Provision of employment
The Commonwealth Secretariat and other specialized agencies of the association like the
Commonwealth Telecommunication Organization, etc. have over the years been a source of
employment to the citizens of the Commonwealth, as long as they are properly qualified to do
the job.
Military training
The Commonwealth has provided military training to officers from the various member states in
the finest officers training institutes in Britain and Canada. Ghanaian officers, for example, have
been trained in Sandhust, in England.
Promotes the growth of democracy
Whenever member states are conducting their periodic elections, the Commonwealth usually
sends observers to those countries to observe the conduct of the polls. For such elections to be
credible before the comity of nations, the observer teams must have confirmed that the election
was largely free and fair.
Promotion of sports
The Commonwealth has achieved a lot in the fields of sports and games. The Commonwealth,
for example, has instituted a major sporting event called the Commonwealth Games where
athletes and sportsmen and women in other sporting disciplines have performed creditably.
Many sportsmen and women have used the commonwealth Games as a spring-board to the world
stage of games and athletics.
Assignment
1. Highlight six achievements of the Commonwealth.
2. Read more on other organisations including African Union and East African Community.