Brief Developmental History of World to the Present Age

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BRIEF DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY

OF THEWORLD TO THE PRESENTAGE.

BY:-

ANAND

ROLL NO.:- U310006

COURSE: - PGDM-RM 2010-12

SADA COURSE ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED TO:-

Prof. K.T.CHANDY

XAVIER INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

BHUBANESWAR


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ABSTRACT

History gives us an insight of our past; the changes that occurred when we were not present .It also guides us

to lead our lives in such a manner that we should try to retain the best practices of the past and refrain

ourselves from repeating those blunders (which took place in past) that can have adverse effect on our

present and the future.

Development the word, represents the concept of change; the theory of dynamism. After all change is the

essence of life. In absolute terms nothing can remain the same for a long period of time. Every morning the

Sun rises in the east with a gentle smile, by the afternoon it attains its supreme glory, and then sets in the

west in the evening, leaving aside all its shine and giving space to the Moon to showcase her soothing attire.

Our World is our personal space; where we live, where we share and where we experience changes in our

lives. Earth our planet is inhabited by a plenty of living creatures, out of which we-the human beings or the

Homo sapiens, as we are scientifically recognised, are the most creative ones. Though we dont have a

written record of the inception of this universe or our planet but our minds could be given credit for

deciphering all such details which were based on observations, findings, experiments and analysis.

Human beings have evolved a lot in due course of time and have constantly contributed significantly in the

process of change that our world or the planet earth has evidenced.

In this report we are going to analyze the brief developmental history of the world to the present age. We

will discuss about the transformations that were brought in the world and will analyze its effects or affects

on the mankind.


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CONTENTS

y Aspects of history.....................................................1

y Different phases of history...................................... ..1

1. Prehistory.......................................................1

2. Ancient history..............................................2

3. Middle ages...................................................3

4. Modern history..............................................4

a. Early 20th century..........................................4

b.Late 20th

century............................................5

c. 21st century....................................................5

y Conclusion............................. ................................6

y References............................... ...............................7


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1.

Brief developmental history of the world to the present age.

The uniqueness of our planet, Earth, lies into the very basic fact that it is the only celestial body where thelife exists. This is also a truth that there could be no history without any life. Hence it is imperative to

discuss about the factors which have played a pivotal role in configuring the history of the world.

Man is the most prominent figure among the living creatures who are inhabitants of our world, and is the

major contributor of the changes that have been brought on earth. Man has invented, man has discovered.

Man has developed and designed themes, tools and techniques. Thus the growth and development of the

mankind from a primitive predator to a settled administrator is directly proportional to the developmental

history of the world to the present age.

y Aspects of history

The question arises that what is history? And what all aspects are needed to be highlighted in order to

elaborate the developmental history of the world to the present age?

History is the set of the past events pertaining to the economic, social, political, cultural (religion, art, music

etc.) and philosophical structure(s) or ideologies of the society or community we are discussing about. And

also the technical and scientific advancements made by the society. Therefore, to understand the basic

nuances of developmental history of the world we need to emphasise on all these aspects in different phases

of time. Adequate description of all these would give us a better insight to analyze the conditions that were

prevalent during different phases of history.

==================================================

Different phases of history

y Prehistory

The existence of our ancient forefathers dates way back to 400-250 thousand years ago. This age was known

as the Palaeolithic age-the age of primitive man, who was a hunter and a gatherer and had no permanent


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2.

settlements, thus leading a nomadic lifestyle. Gradually man learnt to make tools, generally made up of rock

or stone, and used them for variety of purposes like cutting, grinding, killing animals etc. The biggest

achievement of the man was the discovery of fire which brought a revolution in his life. Now he can cook

his food and was better equipped to protect himself from the attacks of the wild animals.

The turning point of the life of the man was the agricultural revolution which happened around 10,000 B.C. .

With the advent of agriculture, man got a permanent occupation and the scope of getting settled and

organised brightened. Man now started forming groups and structures which led to the establishment of

societies, states and civilizations. With agriculture came many other occupations (artisans, carpenters,

barbers, butchers etc.) and the people pursuing it acted as helping hands for each other. Hence the farmer

with the surplus food would support those who were not directly engaged in food production and vice versa.

Agriculture also helped in developing cities as the centres of trade and commerce, manufacture, and political

power. Cities did not have agricultural production of their own but it did had markets where one can come to

buy or sell his/her produce, thus, there were great interactions among several groups of people, where few

were producers ,others were customers, some took the role of intermediaries, some councillors, some

protectors etc. And hence came the concept of an organised state; the concept of politics and the

administrative roles.

All these developments laid the basis for different civilizations which symbolises the formulation of human

societies with unique characteristics like specific sets of ideas and custom; language, art and culture, religion

and philosophy, advance knowledge of science and technology( in the fields of metallurgy, astronomy,

monumental architecture etc),habits,values,behaviours,beliefs ,occupational specialization, urbanisation etc.

All these characteristics of the civilizations have led the human beings to todays modern world.

========================================

y Ancient history

This era is known as the Bronze Age as by this time bronze had replaced the stone as the raw component for

making tools and equipments. This age had set the beginning of recorded history, as this was the time when

the oldest form of writing also known as Cuneiform script (basically pictorial representation of things) was

used. This age was truly an age of civilizations all across the globe. During this era only the most fertile

areas of the world saw the development of the first civilizations. These were concentrated on four fertile


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river valleys: The Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in South Asia, and

the Yangtze and Yellow Riverin China .

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Mesopotamia saw the rise of the Sumerian city states. It was in these cities that the earliest known form of

writing, cuneiform script, appeared ca. 3000 BCE. Cuneiform writing began as a system ofpictographs.

Over time, the pictorial representations became simplified and more abstract. Cuneiforms were written

on clay tablets, on which symbols were drawn with a blunt reed for a stylus. Writing made the

administration of a large state far easier. This era also saw new military technologies, such as chariots, that

allowed armies to move faster. These developments lead to the development ofempires.

(Source: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_world).(from line no.8 to20, ancient history)

This period is also known for the development of the religious and philosophical ideologies. This period saw

the advent of concepts like Confucianism in China, Buddhism and Jainism in India, Zoroastrianism in Persia

etc.

Trade became the most important aspect of controlling powers. Both domestic and international trade was

promoted as it was an important mode of income generation. With changes in the administrative structures

the necessity to keep a huge army was felt, maintaining which was a costly affair. So many kingdoms or

empires followed the policy of military annexation of other states and capturing their lands and revenue,

hence, peasants and the farmers had to undergo immense pressure. All these factors further led to rebellions

against the existing empires which led to their downfall in future. This happened in almost every part of the

world. There were few strides made in the field of technology, art and culture in various parts of the world

during this time under diverse form of ruler ships.

=============================================

y Middle Ages/ Medieval age

This period starts its journey from the 5th

century and terminates by the end of the 15th

century. Major

changes which were witnessed during this age was the first ever sustained urbanization of the northern and

the western Europe. Simultaneously these were the good times for the Islam flourish in different parts of the

world especially in the Middle East and the Central Asia an also up to an extent in India. There was little

change of guards in China during this time.

This era was also an era of pandemic which killed tens of millions of people. The Black Death as it was

called was a kind of plague which started in Asia and then reached to the Mediterranean and

Western Europe which killed almost around 30-60% of the total population.


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4.

The middle age towards its end evidenced few radical changes in the society, especially the European

society which experienced the Renaissance that paved the way for the Industrial revolution, which

completely changed the socio-economic structure of the prevailing societies.

===============================================

y Modern History

This age just after the 15th

century was the age of revolutions and transformations. The most significant

development was the Renaissance(happened in Italy, Europe ) or the rebirth, the concept, the theory that

rekindled the minds of people to think, ask, and experiment things on their own rather than depending on

some particular organisation(church in this case). This was an age of Industrial Revolution, an era of

scientific advancements, age of discovery, age of experimentation. But with good things came bad things

too. The rich European nations sent their representatives to far flung areas on the pretext of trade and then

starting annexing those territories. Hence, Imperialism was prevalent almost everywhere during the first

phase of this era. The European countries had colonies almost everywhere in the world.

The industrial revolution changed the complete outlook of production. The new concepts like the factory,

mass production and mechanisation cropped up in Europe during this period.

This age also led to the beginning of the beginnings of modern democratic form of governance and new

revolutions viz. The French Revolution etc.

The world economy was hugely dependent on the fossil fuels (ex.-coal) to sustain the pace of development,

to run machines and the new modes of transport (viz. Railways and steamships). This also resulted to an

increase in pollution level which adversely affected the environmental conditions. This was the beginning of

a more polluted world.

Pollution now a day has become a major cause of worry, due to pollution the average temperature of the

earth is on an increasing spree and this can lead to melting of huge ice-bergs which can have dreadful effect

on those who are residing near the coastal regions.

y Early 20th

century


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The European powers were at their best in the beginning of the 20th

century, as they ruled over most of the

world directly or indirectly. Other axes of power were the United States and Japan. But there were constant

tussle between the rival camps which ultimately led to two consecutive World Wars. These world wars were

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highly devastating and they destroyed most of the empires and monarchies of Europe and weakened few

major powers like the Britain and the France. The Russian revolution of 1917 led to the rise of the first ever

communist state. The fascist groups gained controlled over the power channel in Italy, Germany, and Spain.

This period also felt jolt on the economic front as it experienced the worlds worst ever economic

Depression often called Great Depression.

The international forums like the United Nations Organisation also saw light of the day during this period.

Another major discovery during this period was the development of the nuclear weapon which is a great risk

for the mankind.

y Late 20th

century

By the end of the 20th

century the whole world was in the grip of a cold war between two superpowers the

United States and the Soviet Union. Things changed once the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991.

There were good progresses made in the field of space technology, computers, automobiles, medicines and

research. Thus, people now had better machines and equipments and appliances to lead a comfortable life.

All these developments led to globalization where it became easier for the global citizens to interact with

each other with the help of latest technologies and infrastructure.

The development of internet, software etc. also gave the life a new meaning.

But there were certain bare truths that could not be undermined.

For example, the society was already divided between the rich and the poor, the class and the mass. At one

hand there were businessmen and elite classes who amassed immense money and at the other hand the

number of poor and destitute also increased. Few had excesses and many had to struggle for the basic

amenities. The condition has got worse now, with an ever-increasing gap between the resourceful and the

resource less.

y 21st

century/ contemporary history.


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The 21st

century or the current age where we are all in these days can be termed as an era where scientific

developments are limited , people have got the technology to use it for his/her basic needs. Every sector is

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growing at a good pace but there are some genuine problems which a majority of population is facing thesedays too.

Many dont have an access to safe drinking water, food, health facilities, shelter etc. This socio-economic

disparity has led to the development of many ideologies that the majority of peace loving people disapprove

of.

Terrorism, Naxalism and other such concepts are really creating ruckus in the civil society, the concept

seems to be beneficial for a minority lot who considers this way as the ultimate solution to all their

problems.

On the economic front in the year 2008 the whole world suffered the worst days of recession which forced

many financial institutions, manufacturing units to shut down their operations and there were job cuts in

abundance. Now the conditions are better but in this globalized era, where interaction among the nations is

so high, a small mishap can create gigantic troubles.

Environment is another concern area for the people of world in this period. Due to excessive

industrialization and inefficient use of non-renewable resources like coal, petroleum, natural gas the

pollution level has increased manifold which has increased the threat of global warming. It can have

adverse effect on mankind.

The need of the hour is to go for more research and development for alternate sources of energy, train people

about the effective usage and encourage peoples participation rather than imposing thoughts on them.

====================================

y Conclusion

One of the unique characteristics of human beings is his nature to explore things and reach to conclusions

answering all the questions like what, who, why etc. Due to this feature man acquired wisdom and emerged

out to be the decision maker on this planet and controlled the natural assets and other creatures up to an

extent and became the supreme authority to bring changes in the outlook of the world. Though man has no


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control over the natural calamities or spread out of diseases and doesnt have any alternatives to certain

natural laws of ageing and death, but he has rightly configured a substantial space for him on earth.

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REFRENCE(S)

y http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_world(Referredto the website inthe first week of July 2010)

Documents

Brief Developmental History of World to the Present Age