Alaric Michel

English Assignment Two How did we get here? Providing Historical Context
The group I have identified myself as affiliated with is European. I am put in the same group as anyone with a nationality from any of the fifty countries forming the European Union of today. Colonialism was where it all started, ultimately resulting in the European Union of today. It was the era from the 1500s to the 1900s during which powers such as Spain, Portugal, France, Netherlands and Britain established colonies in Asia, Africa and the Americas. It began with the Age of Discovery, in which the Portuguese and the Spanish started exploring Asia, the Americas and the coast of Africa. Several decades after, England, France and the Dutch Republic established their own colonial empires. This colonization created competition in between each nation that was settling overseas. Decolonization on the other hand, arrived at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th. This era was translated by the European colonies gaining their independence from their respective cities. The loss of some of the New World colonies weakened countries like Spain. Nevertheless, France, the Kingdom of Great Britain and others turned instead towards the Old World (including Africa and Asia). By doing so, the industrialization of the 19th century gave birth to a new era named New Imperialism. Simultaneously, another important era that appeared was the Industrial Revolution. Some fundamental changes were made in various fields such as agriculture, textile, transportation, economic policies, social structures in England, etc The changes that occurred between 1760 and 1850 destroyed the old customs and habits (riding

horses, walking) and replaced them with new ones (bicycles, trains, cars). This revolution actually brought to life the discoveries, ideas and philosophies (such as The French Revolution for example) previously elaborated by European philosophers such as Galileo, Descartes and others. Some of these advancements radically changed the course of history and the destiny of Europe. The agricultural techniques and practices led to an increase in supply of food and raw materials. Overall, the industrial organization and new technology resulted in increased efficiency and profit in commerce (colonies). The transportation and iron industry went through massive changes as well. The Iron later on improved into high-quality material with various techniques to fashion it. Seemingly, the Transportation Industry evolved in many ways. Railroads for locomotives and canals started being built in order to facilitate transportation throughout cities for example. The World Wars I and II then followed during the 20th century. I will, however, only include World War I in this assignment as it is more focused and centralized on Europe than World War II is. This war, also referred to as the European War, went on from the 28th of July 1914 to the 11th of November 1918. It contributed to the death of nine million combatants, especially due to the industrial advancements made in the previous centuries. Events such as this one resulted in major political changes, drawing the worlds economic Great Powers (The Allies, Triple Entente and The Central Powers) together. Ultimately, the war gathered and mobilised 70 million soldiers, including 60 million Europeans. It all started with the assassination of Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo, by a Yugoslav nationalist named Gavrilo Princip. The war officially started when the AustroHungarians started invading Serbia. From then on, things just got worse. The Germans invaded Luxembourg and Belgium before marching on France, which ultimately led

Britain to declare war against Germany as well. Later on, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and other countries joined the war. The beginning of the end of the war was translated by the collapse of the Russian Tsars government; ultimately bringing the Russians to terms with the Central Powers. The Allies on their side drove back the Germans, forcing them to agree upon an armistice on the 11th of November 1918. The Cold War took place a couple of years after the end of the 2nd World War. It was a period of political and military tension between the Eastern (Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact) and Western Bloc (United States and the NATO). This was due to the victory against Nazi Germany, which left only the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers. However, these two countries never engaged in direct military combat as they both had nuclear weapons, assuring mutual destruction. Some of the tensest times were the Berlin Blockade (Germany), the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Able Archer NATO military exercises. As stated on the website named History Learning Site, The Cold War came to end when the United States of America increased diplomatic, military and economic pressures on the Soviet Union. Communism as well as the USSR started seriously falling apart in 1989. By 1991, the Soviet Union was totally dissolved. The Cold War has left a significant legacy throughout Europe, especially as the Iron Curtain had been dividing Europe into two separate areas (from 1945 to 1991). One of the last main events that are important to the European group is the formation of the Council of the European Union. A representative of each country attends conferences, reunions, etc to represent their government in the European Parliament. The union of the nations involved began to officially unite in 1949. Creations such as the European Coal and Steel Community strengthened the cooperation. The six

nations involved in this initial treaty were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. As of today, these countries are referred to as the founding members. Then came the creation of the European Economic Community as the Cold War demonstrated that further European unification was needed for survival. It allowed people and products to move throughout Europe. With time, additional countries decided to join the union. In 1987, the Single European Act was signed in order to create a single market. In the end, what really permitted the European countries to be united once and for all was the elimination of the boundaries between Eastern and Western Europe (the Berlin Wall). The Treaty of Maastricht, which was signed in 1992, strengthened the democratic governing of participating nations, improved their efficiency, established an economic and financial unification and established a security policy for involved nations. This inevitably made Europe become one of the worlds superpowers along with the United States of America.

Bibliography
1. a. Colonialism: Author: Unknown Author Title and of Page: History of Colonialism Company or organization who posted the webpage: Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation Last date I looked at the Web page: November 3rd, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_colonialism This article discusses the history of Colonialism, from the Portuguese and Spanish exploration and colonization to the Independence in the Americas and the decolonization. The top-level domain doesnt look suspicious and the website seems legitimate. The person that takes responsibility for what is being published on this website is called Jimmy Wales. Nevertheless, there is absolutely no contact info or way to communicate with the publishers. I plugged into Google the following sentence The end of the 18th and early 19th century saw the first era of decolonization. The content in the sentence seems to be unique and original. Theres no publicity on it and every link provided just takes you to another page of the exact same website. Additionally, Wikipedia is internationally known and therefore trustworthy but the fact that anyone can edit and post information on the website makes it less trustworthy. 1. b. Colonialism: Author: Kohn Margaret Title of Page: Colonialism Company or organization who posted the webpage: Stanford University Last date I looked at the Web page: November 3rd, 2013 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/ The article is part of an online encyclopedia named The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The top-level domain is legitimate as it contains a .edu which indicates that it is mainly for purposes of education. It seems to be Stanford University that takes the responsibility for the information that is being put up. However, there is no way of getting in touch with the publisher. This sentence was plugged into Google and seems to be authentic and original: Like colonialism, imperialism also involves political and economic control over a dependent territory. Theres no publicity on this website whatsoever. The fact that the article comes from an Ivy League School adds credibility to the website in general. 2. The Industrial Revolution: Author: Unknown Author Title of Page: The Industrial Revolution Company or organization who posted the webpage: Yale University Last date I looked at the Web page: November 3rd, 2013 http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html

The Industrial Revolution is a theme studied in depth in this article. The top-level domain is trustworthy as it contains a .edu which indicates that the website is mainly for educational purposes. Joseph A. Montagna is taking responsibility for what is being published but we have no way of interacting with him. I plugged into Google the following sentence Advances in agricultural techniques and practices resulted in an increased supply of food and raw materials and found that the content is original. There are neither ads nor links. The article comes from Yale University which is one of the best universities in the world, making the website as a whole much more credible and reliable. 3. World War 1: Author: Unknown Author Title of Page: The World Wars Company or organization who posted the webpage: BBC News Last date I looked at the Web page: November 3rd, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/ This article is part of the BBC News website, which is one of the most trustworthy and well-known news channel websites. This simple fact makes the source already more than reliable. The top-level domain doesnt seem suspicious either. The registration is naturally available to anyone who wishes to consult it. Dr. Dan Todman is the person that takes responsibility for the information published. There is no information regarding the author but we can, if we wish to, contact the BBC. I plugged Modern Britons think of the war as a muddy, bloody mess - a futile massacre in which a generation of young men were slaughtered at the behest of asinine generals. into Google. It appears that the content is unique and authentic. Most of the links out are trustworthy but some arent. As the BBC website specifies, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. This website is one of the most trustworthy website that can be found on the web of today. 4. The Cold War Author: Unknown Author Title of Page: The Cold War Company or organization who posted the webpage: History Learning Last date I looked at the Web page: November 3rd, 2013 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coldwar.htm The article on the History Learning Site covers various themes about the Cold War (as well as pre and post Cold War). It covers a variety of fields such as the causes of the Cold War or The Truman Doctrine for example. The top-level domain is seems to be trustworthy. Furthermore, the registration info is available to anyone, which adds credibility to the website. Knowing that the registration is rather old and that the changes made over time are good ones, it is appropriate for me to say that this website is probably a good one. However, the ads reduce the credibility of the website as they seem dubious. The name or information of the owners website is non-existent but if we ever have questions the website suggests us to ask the question on Ask.com. The

content is original and unique. I also Googled this sentence: The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred. All the elements that make up this article and its website seem to be reliable and trustworthy. 5. The Council of the European Union: Author: Unknown Author Title of Page: The European Union: A History and Overview Company or organization who posted the webpage: About.com & Geography Intern Last date I looked at the Web page: November 3rd, 2013 http://geography.about.com/od/geographyintern/a/euoverview.htm This article discusses the various themes related to the Council of the European Union. Although the top-level domain doesnt look suspicious, the website is somewhat unappealing and confusing. At some point the person that does seem to be taking responsibility for what is being published on the website is called Matt Rosenberg. Nevertheless, there is absolutely no contact info or way to communicate with the publishers. I decided to plug into Google the following sentence, which seems to have a content that is original and unique: The precursor to the European Union was established after World War II in the late 1940s in an effort to unite the countries of Europe. Almost every single of the links out given from the website are extremely dubious and do not look trustworthy. However, in the end, the worldwide reputation of About.com makes the website reliable.