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I am
reading a tremendous 900-page book, "The Birth of the
Modern" by British
historian Paul Johnson. Johnson specializes in 900-page histories that are extremely informative and
eminently readable.
"The
Birth of the Modern" concentrates on the period from 1815-1830
-- just a 15 year
span wherein critical events transformed the Post-Napoleonic world from quasi-feudalism into
"modern" civilization.
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"...concentrates
on the period from 1815 - 1830 -- just a 15-year span wherein
critical events transformed the Post-Napoleanic world from
quasi-feudalism into 'modern' civilization
..." |
The
key events I've learned about thus far in the first 400 pages are
the important
treaties that shaped post-Napoleonic Europe, the beginnings of the anti-slavery movement in Europe
and gradually North America, the take-off of the
Industrial Revolution, creating self-sustaining economic activity in
Europe and America. The impact of
Beethoven's revolutionary (some would say "reactionary")
music on the principle pre-German states. And perhaps most importantly, the displacement of
indigenous peoples in North and South America,
the vast Asian hinterlands, and Australia.
This
period, which Johnson calls
"The End of the Wilderness" opened up men's minds to the
scope and nature of
their physical world and all of the riches therein. The growth of populations. (Though
Johnson doesn't mention this, all of this was
made dramatically easier because of the printing press!)
--
Rich Sheppard
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