European Influence On American Culture

After 1500 there were many signs that a new age of world history was beginning, for example the discovery of America and the first European enterprises in Asia. This "new age" was dominated by the astonishing success of one civilization among many, that of
Europe. There was more and more continuous interconnection between events in all countries, but it is to be explained by European efforts. Europeans eventually became "masters of the globe" and they used their mastery to make the world one. That resulted in a unity of world history that can be detected until today. Politics, empire-building, and military expansion were only a tiny part of what was going on. Besides the economic integration of the globe there was a much
Forms were usually preserved. Although feudal lordship still existed in France in the
1780s, it was by then less a social reality than an economic device. Europe was divided roughly along the Elbe. To the west lay countries evolving slowly by 1800 towards more open social forms. To the east laid authoritarian governments presiding over agrarian societies where a minority of landholders enjoyed great powers over a largely tied peasantry. In this area towns did not often prosper as they had done for centuries in the West. They tended to be overtaxed islands in a rural sea, unable to attract from the countryside the labor they needed because of the extent of serfdom. Over great tracts of Poland and Russia even a money economy barely existed. Much of later European history was implicit in this difference between east and west. In the time span between the sixteenth and the eighteenth century states that were once powerful fell in rank, namely Spain,
Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Ottoman Empire. This led to the rise of the new great powers such as Austria-Hungary, England, France,
Prussia, and Russia. Factors to their rise were their
In Germany for example the capitalistic business world is strongly restricted by government regulations, decreasing the companies¹ profits, but benefiting society. In Brazil, on the other hand, where the so called "capitalism salvage" prevails, the business world lives of the people, leaving them in poor conditions. The ³Treaty of Utrecht² benefited most of central Europe by establishing a balance of power and restoring peace. Russia benefited of Sweden¹s decline, and a large bureaucratic machinery collected a lot of taxes. Ivan the Terrible build up an extremely efficient system of espionage, which preserved his own power and increased state revenues. Likewise, Prussia prospered from its modern legal system, its strong state apparatus, where bureaucrats were state servants with some duties and many privileges. Prussia was also known for its disciplined army with advanced weapons. One could say that Prussia was a very well organized efficient power. Austria-Hungary was also able to maintain its status as a great power for a long time. The bureaucracy remained efficient