World History. The age of discovery and industrialization Essay

World History. The age of discovery and industrialization - Essay Example The resultant of this exploration was the Columbian exchange which was characterized by exchange of animals, cultural integration and the slave trade between Americans and Afro-Eurasians. As the Europeans explored the coastal shores of Africa and Asia, they took Africans as slave servants in their country. In brief, the discovery age, was a period that the Western countries venture into new territories which led to the discovery of new lands, cultures and economic activities. Another phase of western development was marked by a period of cultural development I the European culture. One of the features of this period was the invention of the printing press, which formed a transition from the early age of script writing to printing. The impact of this transition was that a new avenue to edit and author new books including the bible was developed. Protestant churches came into being after splitting of Catholicism and the people now had an option to form new denominations without being r estricted into a single religious domain. With the availability of printing media, scientific facts were documented and the 17th century became an era of scientific revolution in World History. Another turning point of the world history is the establishment of political set ups that started in the 17th century in western countries. During this period, absolute monarchies ruled by kings came into existence in France and this culture became widespread in the German and in the central Europe. This kind of culture accorded a lot of power to the king and he became the absolute ruler with the responsibility of guarding the welfare of the people. In the eighteenth century, the Russian empire came into being after the Peter 1 introduced autocracy and later adopted the European governing system. The spread of well-defined political structures of European countries to other countries marked a new beginning in the history of the world. Early Modern Period as a period of great economic exchange but not great cultural change The early modern period is perceived more of a period of economic exchange rather than a time of cultural integration. Economic exchange refers to the exchange of valuables and goods across the territory that was common during the middle of the discovery age. During the discovery period, the western countries set out to find new markets where they could obtain spice goods such as coffee and tea and in the long run discovered productive lands and rich coastal shores where business was suitable. In addition, they engaged in the slave trade to acquire a free source of labor in their field in the effort of maximizing their profits. The period of cultural exchange refers to the post-discovery age when the western countries had already started to settle in foreign lands and there was need to learn new cultures to enhance business and communication. The start of the monarch was the beginning of cultural integration in which most countries decided started the culture of kingship that originated in the central Europe. In the better part of the discovery age, the communities engaged with little exchange of cultural values, but later cultural influence was impacted due to the enhanced interaction as the business grew stronger in these foreign lands. For instance, the formation of the Kiswahili language in Kenya coasts was meant to facilitate business between the Bantu and Arabs and Portuguese. There is a significant difference between cultural exchange and economic exchange as relates to the historical development of the world. While economic exchange refers to the material trade between different cultures, cultural exchange