Chapter 23 sequence

Before this chapter, when we discussed the history of thousands of years before 1500, we focused all our attention on the Eurasian continent.The reason for this is as stated in Chapter 1, Section 3: Eurasia has been at the forefront of world affairs for thousands of years; and the fact is that the history of mankind before 1500 years was basically a regional history rather than a global one. History.Once humans dispersed across the continents, their primitive technological level severely limited their range of activities.In the following thousands of years, human beings lived and moved in isolated areas.The peoples of Australia and North and South America are completely isolated on their respective continents, and Africans are also largely, if not completely, isolated from the rest of the world.

During the millenniums of human history that were largely regional .This mutual influence promoted the relatively rapid development of Eurasia.On the contrary, isolation and lack of external catalysts hindered the development of non-Eurasian regions.This is why most of the historically significant advances in human civilization originated in Eurasia before 1500, and why the world today must essentially be the Eurasian world.Therefore, before this edition, we focused on the study of nations and civilizations in Eurasia. In the 15th century, the regional phase of world history came to an end as Europe's overseas expansion brought the peoples of the regions into direct contact with each other.Traditionally, Westerners believe that this is the result of external shocks.They highlight Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan, emphasizing their discoveries and their ensuing impact.However, this attitude is inappropriate for global history.A global perspective takes into account not only the expanding West but also the regions into which the West has expanded.Although the peoples of these regions are not as industrious as the more outstanding Eurasians in history, they still constitute a part of human beings that cannot be underestimated, so their development must be considered.In addition, non-Eurasian states, peoples, and institutions are as important as Westerners in determining the outcome of Western expansionism.For these reasons, the last two chapters of this book deal with the history of Africa, North and South America, and Australia.