History of Man's Achievements

The theme of this category is the history of man’s achievements as an account of the interplay of man with his environment and his fellowmen, in meeting his basic needs. Those needs include food, clothing, shelter; the maintenance of law and order; religious expression; protection of the family and the community from internal fighting and outside attack. In the interplay of man with his environment he had to gain an understanding of that environment and then master it, because river valleys offered fertile soil, a water supply and some protection from outside enemies, hence, man developed his earliest cultures in river valleys. While achieving the basic needs outlined above, he responded to his environment in a creative manner: he learned to draw pictures, compose poetry, improve his architecture and express his emotions through music, dance and drama. As man’s knowledge increased, he learned to preserve it by imparting it to the oncoming generation and by writing it down. When the peoples of any nation had gained considerable control over their environment, had built cities and could record their achievements in writing, we say that they had achieved – civilization. Here we deal with primitive man and the peoples of the ancient world, up to the fall of the Roman Empire in 476. The pattern by which cultures developed, sketched above, will appear and reappear over and over. Until the age of the Greeks, the major civilizations developed in the fertile river valleys of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. The achievements of the Greeks were stimulated by their contacts with other cultures; their achievements were supported by the wealth they derived from trading around the Mediterranean Sea. The achievements of the Romans resulted chiefly from their absorption of the cultures of the peoples they conquered. Their development of legal codes and their feats of engineering came out of their attempts to govern a far-flung empire. History brings out the fact that many civilizations were developed in ancient times, but a number of them have disappeared. At various places a population has studied, improvised, invented and reached a summit of achievement, then declined or been absorbed by a conquering foe. Thus, objectives for reading this history of ancient peoples may be the desire to detect the reasons why each past civilization rose and declined and which of its achievements became part of our civilization. B.C. 4500 c.B.C. 4241 – Calendar introduced into Egypt c.B.C. 4000 – Sumerians invade the Fertile Crescent c.B.C. 3400 – Recorded history begins in Egypt c.B.C. 3100 – Menes unites Egypt B.C. 3000 c.B.C. 3000 – Cretans develop a unique civilization c.B.C. 2500 – Development of written Cretan language c.B.C. 2100 – Hammurabi’s Code of Laws—Babylonia B.C. 2000 c.B.C. 2000 – Achaean invasion of Greece c.B.C. 2000 – Dravidians establish Bronze Age in India c.B.C. 1580 – New Kingdom begins in Egypt c.B.C. 1350 – Hebrews move into Palestine c.B.C. 1280 – Ramses II rules Egypt c.B.C. 1184 – Trojan War in Aegean World c.B.C. 1025 – Saul chosen king of the Hebrews B.C. 1000 B.C. 776 – First recorded Olympic Games — Greece c.B.C. 750 – Beginning of Greek colonization c.B.C. 660 – Japanese nation founded by Jimmu Tenno c.B.C. 550 – Birth of Confucius in China B.C. 509 – Beginning of the Roman Republic B.C. 483 – Death of Buddha in india B.C. 460-429 – Periclean Age in Athens B.C. 323 – Beginning of the Hellenistic Age B.C. 30 – Beginning of the Roman Empire 1 A.D. c.100 A.D. – Paper invented during the Han Dynasty — China 212 A.D. – Roman citizenship granted to all freeborn persons in the Empire 325 A.D. – Teachings of Christianity summed up in the Nicene Creed 476 A.D. – End of the Roman Empire

Middle ages in time, spans a period that began about 500 A. D. The earlier period sketches the rise of Western Civilization, the civilization that flourished in the countries of western Europe and later in the countries of the New World. The Middle Ages, was a period when the barbarians of northern Europe were establishing themselves throughout the former Roman Empire which they had wrecked and overrun. The period ended with the rebirth of interest in Greco-Roman civilization that later became the Renaissance. During the first 500 years of this period the lamp of learning burned low, but the Christian Church and feudalism kept the flame alive. The doctrines and practices of the Church, with its centre at Rome, were the major unifying forces in western Europe and in restoring some of the law and order that had characterized the Roman Empire. Feudalism was likewise a formidable force for maintaining law and order while the Roman and Germanic cultures were being blended. Based on landholding and supported by serf labour, feudalism furnished the basic pattern of life in the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages witnessed the rise and spread of a powerful rival to Christianity, the Moslem religion and culture. The crusades, staged to combat the influence of the Moslems in the Holy Land, failed to restore Palestine to the Christians, but they made Europeans aware of the superior material civilization that had been developing in the Far East, while Europe struggled. India and China, but especially China, were far more advanced than Europe in such material comforts as beautiful clothing, fine dishes and attractive foods. The crusaders, returning to their homes in Europe, helped to spread in the West the superior standard of life enjoyed by the wealthy in the East. During the thousand years of this period, various peoples strove to evolve forms of government suited to their needs. Through a long series of faltering steps, attended by wars and other setbacks, the English gradually developed a pattern of representative government, that became our heritage and ultimately influenced the forms of government adopted by many of the other emerging nations. By the end of the period, England, France and Spain had emerged as nation-states, Germany and Italy, on the other hand, existed as geographic regions on the map, but they did not become nations until the nineteenth century. 500 A.D. c. 500 – Catholic Church supplants Roman Empire 527 – Justinian begins reign in Constantinople c. 618 – T’ang Dynasty begins in China 622 – The Hegira of Mohammed 700 A.D. c 711 – Arab Moslems enter India 732 – Moslems defeated at Battle of Tours—France 800 – Charlemagne crowned emperor in Rome 843 – Treaty of Verdun divides Charlemagnes empire in France 900 A.D. c. 900 – Feudalism supreme in Europe 962 – Otto of Saxony crowned Holy Roman Emperor — Rome c. 1050 – Rapid development of towns in Europe 1066 – Battle of Hastings — England 2095 – Council of Clermont instituted the crusades in France 1100 A.D. c. 1133 – Legal reforms of Henry II in England c. 1192 – Origin of shogunate rule in Japan c. 1200 – Development of universities in Europe 1215 – Magna Carta signed by King John — England c. 1259 – Kublai Khan rules China 1295 – Edward I calls model Parliament — England 1300 A.D. 1394 – 1460 – Henry the Navigator — Portugal c. 1397 – Delhi looted by Tamerlane — India 1453 – Constantinople taken by the Ottoman Turks c. 1454 – Gutenberg Bible printed in Germany 1492 – Columbus found the New World 1498 – Vasco da Gama reached India

This brief category deals with two of the most famous movements in human history, the Renaissance and the Reformation. Together, they bring the Middle Ages to a close and constitute a transition to the Modern Period. The Renaissance was a time of intellectual and cultural achievement in the West, when many men produced outstanding works of art, literature and philosophical reasoning. It began in the 1300’s and ended during the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, when Europe was experiencing the Reformation and a series of religious wars. Its home base was Italy, but it reached France, Germany, the Low Countries and England. It was relatively unimportant in Scandinavia, Portugal and Spain. We can understand the Renaissance period because we can compare it to the Space Age. In spite of the fact that we live in a world of marvelous machines and scientific inventions, the Space Age burst upon the average person with great suddenness when Sputnik was skyrocketed into space. As other sputniks, rockets and a variety of satellites were launched abroad and in our country, their names and the names of the space scientists who had produced them became known to us. So did the personalities of the astronauts who were launched into space. These men and the inventors of the machines which will carry men to the moon and planets, will be known to future generations, much as the leaders of the Renaissance became known to the peoples of their day, who followed their reasoning as thinkers and benefited one way or another from their varied achievements. The Renaissance electrified the minds of medieval men by opening up avenues of thought and expression that revolutionized their world. The shock was felt first in Italy, when her merchants and scholars brought back manuscripts and records they had discovered in Constantinople —at that time, it was the storehouse of many items from the Greek and Roman civilizations. As Renaissance men pondered the ideas of ancient Greeks and Romans, studied the remains of their architecture and sculpture and read their drama, they were fired with enthusiasm and a desire to excel the ancients. The wave of their achievements in literature, painting, sculpture, architecture and the physical sciences, spread outward and inspired other men, to advance the Renaissance front. This migration of culture occupied several centuries, but as a result of the Renaissance, European society underwent various changes and the new ideas touched almost every area of life. Accompanying the Renaissance, but not necessarily connected with it, was the movement called the Reformation. As old concepts about the earth, the sun and the universe were challenged and investigated, so were the practices and doctrines of the Christian Church, examined and disputed. Churchmen demanded that reforms be instituted. As is often the case with social movements, the Reformation resulted in something no reformer had in mind at the beginning: a division among the adherents of Christianity that has remained permanent. The Roman Catholic Church remained firm in its beliefs and religious unity, whereas the body of dissenters — the Protestants — was split into many separate church groups. The Reformation so stirred the peoples of Europe, that for almost 200 years thereafter, groups of men and even whole nations, were involved in wars which they fought in the name of religion. 1415 – Council of Constance denounces John Wycliffe as a heretic—England. 1508 – 1512 – Michelangelo paints frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling— Italy. 1517 – Martin Luther posts his ninety-five theses; starts a Protestant revolt in Germany. 1521 – Emperor Charles V outlaws Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms—Germany. 1543 – Copernicus reveals his theory of a sun-centered universe — Poland 1545-1563 – The Council of Trent meets; clarifies Roman Catholic doctrine — Italy 1555 – Peace of Augsburg ends a Catholic-Protestant war in Germany 1643 – Torricelli invents the barometer — Italy

This period spans from 1485 to 1823 A. D. —from the time of the Renaissance to the year in which the Monroe Doctrine was stated. During those 338 years, many of the major countries of Europe won their way to statehood and independence. So did the colonies of England and Spain in the Americas. This period witnesses great changes in the political thinking and political institutions of the western world. During this period, Englishmen evolved the first modern system of parliamentary government and acquired a world-wide empire. The world’s first all-new democracy was founded in North America by freedom-seeking peoples from England and the Continent. By means of a bloody revolution, Frenchmen disposed of kings who claimed to rule by divine right. The states we know as Germany and Italy began to draw together. Russia broke its isolation and grew into a strong power, partly European, partly Asiatic. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution stirred many men to examine the individual rights of man and to seek democratic procedures in government. Surprisingly, the civilization which flourished in western Europe between 1485 and 1823 was filled with vitality and vigour. It believed heartily in itself; it believed in progress. The discovery of the Americas led many men to seek their fortunes and to carry their way of life to other lands. Millions of Europeans expended their energy in the building of overseas empires. In the meantime, the European economy changed from a local and agricultural base, to dependence upon industry and international trade. Machines took the place of men’s hands in manufacturing. Besides ushering in an industrial revolution, the great inventors, musicians, writers, scientists and thinkers of this period, contributed ideas which remain a significant part of our modern civilization and culture. 1400 1455 -1485 – Wars of the Roses — England 1457 – Henry VII establishes the Tudor Dynasty in England 1500 1519 – Cortes begins the conquest of Mexico 1534 – Ties with the pope broken by the Act of Supremacy in England 1588 – England defeats the Spanish Armada 1589 – Edict of Nantes issued by Henry IV of France. 1600 1603 – The Stuart Dynasty begins to rule England 1607 – Jamestown founded, England’s first permanent settlement in the New World 1613 – Beginning of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia 1648 – Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years’ War in Germany 1682 – Peter the Great begins his reign in Russia 1689 – English Bill of Rights establishes rule by Parliament 1700 1740 – Frederick the Great begins his rule of Prussia 1776 – Declaration of Independence signed — United States 1787 – United States adopts a democratic Constitution 1789 – The French Revolution and a reign of terror burst upon France 1800 1803 – Napoleon sells Louisiana to the United States 1806 – Holy Roman Empire brought to an end 1815 – Napoleon defeated at the Battle of Waterloo 1815 – The Congress of Vienna tries to return Europe to the old regime This category surveys the rule of strong Tudor monarchs, weak Stuart rulers and the final establishment of constitutional government in England. Parliament became the real ruler of England; sovereigns could reign but not rule. During this period, Great Britain began building what became the world’s greatest empire of the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, France was dominated by absolute monarchs until a bloody revolution was staged and Napoleon ultimately ruled, while he conquered much of Europe. His dream of empire was finally shattered by the British navy and a four-power alliance was formed by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia in the hope of keeping the world at peace. While England and France were emerging from the Middle Ages as strong centralized nations, the German and Italian states remained weak and disunited. Germany had hundreds of independent states until Napoleon cut them to thirty-eight. Italy had powerful city-states but no sense of unity. The foundations of a Russian Empire were being laid during this period, but the Russian people did not share in the democratic reforms which were beginning to sweep over Europe. Spain and Portugal dared to explore new trade routes, discovered the New World and acquired the makings of an empire. Philip II, who ruled both countries for years, was forced to acknowledge Dutch independence.

This category deals with the period from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to the First World War in 1914, This span of the world’s history, stretching across most of the nineteenth century, was crowded with significant events. Some of those events, created by the development of the Machine Age and the spread of European imperialism, created problems which still are unsolved.

We read of man’s struggle to bring about change, you will find herein several episodes to challenge your interest. Paramount was the struggle for democratic government in England. There the power to rule shifted from a small aristocracy, to representatives of the people in Parliament. În this same period, England spread her web of imperialism until her empire included, one fourth of the world’s peoples. France also broadened her base of democracy, but not without revolution and bloodshed.

Guided by aggressive statesmen, Germany and Italy won unification as a result of victory in wars. On the fringe of Europe, Russia was less influenced by the currents of European culture and the liberal ideas of freedom. As the twentieth century dawned, Russia was still ruled by an autocratic czor.

During the nineteenth century, the Orient was disturbed by European imperialists who sought to conquer China. Japan soon learned the material practices of the West and extended an imperialistic sway over China, who was trying vainly to free herself from European domination. The United States made a dramatic entrance upon the stage of world politics, by insisting upon an Open Door Policy in China; by it, many nations might share in the China Occident trade.

The United States came of age during this period and became a world power in the later 1800’s. Believing that it was her “manifest destiny,” she extended her domain to the Pacific, acquired overseas possessions  and spread her wings over this hemisphere, by applying the Monroe Doctrine. The peoples of Latin America won their independence from Spain and Portugal and emerged with a number of republics, which could hardly be called democracies.

In this category we note that the strides which led to the Machine Age, were taken by inventors during the late nineteenth century. Discoveries were made in medicine which increased man’s life span. Man entered the twentieth century certain, that he was on the right road to the good life on earth.

Political rallies of the 19th century, brought out the enthusiasm of the American people. The festive atmosphere was indicative of their desire to strengthen the spirit and practices of democracy in their new nation.

1750

1763 – Treaty of Paris — France

1787 – Constitutional Convention meets in Independence Hall — Philadelphia

1789 – Constitution becomes the law of the land — United States

1800

1803 – Louisiana is purchased from France by the United States

1814 – The Congress of Vienna assembles

1823 – The Monroe Doctrine is stated — United States

1832 – Great Parliamentary Reform Bill in England

1848 – Karl Marx writes the Communist Manifesto

1850

1854 – Crimean War begins — Russia

1857 – The Sepoy Mutiny in India

1861 – Italy becomes a nation. Alexander II’s Emancipation Proclamation in Russia. The War Between the States begins — United States

1862 – American education aided by the Morrill Act

1869 – Opening of the first continental railroad in the United States

1871 – The German Empire is proclaimed

1878 – The Congress of Berlin meets — Germany

1889 – First Pan American Conference meets at Washington

1898 – The Spanish-American War

1899 – Open Door Policy for China is stated