Unit V (1750 to 1900)

At the beginning of this era, the ideas of the Enlightenment challenge traditional ideas about political legitimacy and lead to the American and French Revolutions. Independence movements spread across the Americas and Caribbean. The Industrial Revolution transforms the social and economic foundations of people’s lives, and creates the need for vast amounts of raw materials and markets in which to sell manufactured goods. A new wave of imperialism sweeps the globe, and penetrates areas formally inaccessible to Europe, such as China, Japan, and Africa. Challenged by the new changes in economic and political thought, long standing civilizations struggle between reforming their ways and retaining their traditional identities. Russia, the Ottoman Empire, China and Japan all deal with these struggles, with varying degrees of success. Global competition for colonies and the building of large armies to maintain them bring the world closer to war.