Global View of Modern History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Global View of Modern History - Essay Example The transatlantic slave trade is a well-documented event that represents the rise of European economic power. It occurred between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries in West Africa. Commercial interest drew Europeans to West Africa as trade networks expanded to and within the region. Europeans tapped the commercial value of slave trade which led to a huge migration of West African slaves across the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean basin (Bentley  and Ziegler, 559). The labour these slaves provided played a vital role in the enhancement of European agriculture, technology, and trade thereby allowing it an advantage over other civilizations (Pomeranz, 266). The Industrial Revolution was an important event that characterizes Europe’s step towards greater sophistication and technological advantage, which was critical in driving European power. Before the revolution, Europe’s backwardness lied in agriculture, means of production, land management, and inefficient use of fuelwood (Pomeranz, 32). The Industrial Revolution provided Europe with a technological lead over the rest of the world which was possible through Europe’s interaction with other civilizations. Further, it allowed the European society to transform into an industrial society characterized by mass production, paving the way for capitalism (Bentley  and Ziegler, 659). World War I is another significant event in world history, also known as the Great War, which represents a European conflict of large scale. World War I mainly involved European powers and their colonies, including the Allies and the Associated Powers and the Central Powers. The conflict which erupted as an Austro-Serbian dispute grew to involve Europe’s powerful empires. Again, the World War I represents the rise of European power because, with the defeat of the Central Powers, the European Colonialists were able to exercise power that created current conflicts such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.