The Rise of the British Empire.

 Before delving into the story of the rise of the British Empire. Let's shed some light on the history of monarchy system of the British Empire. The monarchy system laid its roots in Britain's land with the inception of the last stages of the  early Middle Ages when different tribes and kingdoms were annexed. With the time different dynasties ruled over Britain and all of them are given below:

1. House of Wessex(9th to 11 centuries).
2. House of Normandy( 11th century).
3. House of Plantagenet(12th to 15 centuries).
4. House of Lancaster and House of York(15th century).
5. House of Tudor(15th to 17 centuries).
6. House of Stuart(17th century).
7. House of Hanover(18th to 20 centuries).
8. House of Windsor(2oth century to present).

The House of Wessex played an imperative role in the unification of different tribes and kingdoms of England, when King Ethelstan, the grandson of Alfred the great, united different tribes and kingdoms of England to make a single, united English kingdom. King Ethelstan is deemed the first king of England.

History of Parliamentary system of England:

A Parliamentary system was not established at the blink of an eye, but it went through several phases. Let's explain few of them:

1. Magna Carta: Magna Carta was signed on June 15, 1215 during the reign of King John of England.The Magna Carta diminished the power of the monarch and promoted the idea of government.
2. Model Parliament(1295): During the reign of Edward 1, a model parliament was constituted which consisted of nobles and commoners( Common people).
3. English civil war(1642-1660): It was a conflict between monarch and parliament. During this conflict, the cessation of the monarchy system and establishment of the Commonwealth are the most important to consider. But monarchy system was reinstated at the end of the civil war.
4. Parliamentry reform movements: During the 19th century different reforms were introduced such as Reform Acts etc which strenghtend the parliamentary system.
5. Constitutional Monarchy: By the 19th and 20th centuries, Parliament became the primary legaslative authority, and the monarchy system was in name only.
   

So, this was the parliamentary history of the British empire's which clearly delineates how the British Empire covered its journey of transformation from monarchy system into a partly parliamnetary system.

1. The Rise of the British Empire: After the decadence of the Dutch Empire around 1700s, the British Empire had no trade rival, but Napoleon breakthroughs projected him as an hindrance in their way. The story of the rise of the British empire began around 1600 with the fall of the Dutch Empire. The Thirty years' war created the new world order, and countries as we know them today. Great Britain was also mired in conflicts over wealth and power, which led country to the English Civil war and the Glorious Revolution. Theses revolutions and civil wars weakened the monarchy and consolidated the parliamentary system.These conflicts set up the rule of law and balance of power between the king and the parliament which later set the stage for Britain's rise. William Pitt and his son, William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli were some of the men who crafted the future of the British empire.

The Consolidation of the Parliament was imbued with the new ideas of the Age of Enlightenment which delineated distribution of power and the way of running a government. This brought improvements in the education sytem which increased literacy rate, during that period, the first encyclopedia along with dictionaries was printed. Major discoveries also helped Britain a lot because when strong education is used to bring about innovation, it effectively enhance human productivity. These didn't bring about instant success, with time, transition began to occur. Two most important things that brought about the rise of the British Empire were: a strong rule of law and numerous inventions. At its peak, the British empire was controlling 20 percent of land and over 40 percent of the world's exports. Therefore, a strong education along with the inventions paved the way for the rise of the British empire.

Industrial Revolution(1760-1830): The Industrial Revolution was a step that drove the British Empire to the pinnacle of glory.  

England's iron and coal reserves served as a catalyst for England's economy which was
witnessed in the form of the Industrial Revolution. Industrial revolution shifted the trend from the hand- crafted economy to the industrialized economy. It ended feudalism where labor worked in exchange for protection and a small part of production. The Industrial Revolution was not only bolstered by the invention of the steam engine but also by the transition of the means of production into factories. The productivity revolution commenced with the Agriculture revolution. Agricultural inventions increased productivity and curtailed the labor force. With the establishment of factories, people started migrating to the cities to get work. Therefore, the Industrial Revolution also promoted urbanization. It also introduced a capitalist-based economy and a wage system for the labor class. Most of the inventions that were achieved during the Industrial Revolution are:

1. 1712: Steam engine invented.
2. 1719: Silk factory invented.
3. 1733: Flying shuttle invented.
4. 1825; Railway construction initiated.

Power was possessed by the central government and the capitalists who controlled the means of production.

With the industrial revolution, Europe became self-dependent and curbed the imports from China and continued to import tea. China had no interest in European commodities and sought payment in precious metals. This sowed the seeds of the great British-Chinese conflict which triggered the Opium War.

The British Empire made its army strong enough, especially its Navy and set off to different parts of the World and established colonies. These expeditions also helped the British Empire in procuring wealth which bolstered their economy.

Napoleon's Breakthroughs:

When wealth and value gaps go deep in a country, the country starts seeing revolutions and civil wars. In France, when wealth and value gaps augmented, people started demonstrations which later took the shape of the French Revolution. After the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte assumed power and set to conquests. Napoleon was achieving success one after another, and he also stabilized deftly the languishing economy of France.Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany were under his subjugation. During his reign, Europe assumed France as an emerging superpower and rival to the British Empire. 

Napoleon's war is another topic to discuss at some other time. When Napoleon led an incursion against Russia to expand his empire, he was defeated. Russia and Great Britain were the winners.

The defeat of Napoleon cleared the way for the British Empire to become a superpower. 

The Congress of Vienna:

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the winners and the losers came to the table to talk about crafting a new world order. The only purport of the Congress of Vienna(1814-15) was to create a system of checks and balances among the European powers and considering of the factors which triggered the war in Europe. As a result of the Pact, nationalist movements sprang up which led to the unification of Germany, as well as it also destabilized the Ottoman Empire. One of its aims was the reinstatement of the Boubon dynasty in France.
The Congress of Vienna created a long period of peace and prosperity, as well as, it also eliminated the rival of the British Empire. The British Empire took greater advantage of the period of peace than any other country had ever taken.

In the end , we can say that the Industrial revolution and checkmating Napoleon in the war paved the way for the rise of the British empire. 

The Congress of Vienna(1814-15) was also a contributing factor in the rise of the British Empire. Education, the rule of law, good governance etc. are different factors that led to the rise of the British Empire. 

The Dutch Empire: Rise and Fall.

Overview of the Habsburg Empire:

The Netherlands was first under the subjugation of the Habsburg Empire. Before the rise of the Dutch Empire, Spain was the world's superpower and maintained their power over several parts of Europe including Austria and Hungary, parts of Bohemia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The Habsburg Empire also ruled over Croatia, some parts of Italy, and the Netherlands. 

From 1519 to 1556, the Holy Roman Emperor and the Head of the Habsburg Empire was Charles V.

 Spain was economically and militarily vigorous because of the wealth and power it procured during the Age of Exploration. The Spanish Navy was the most powerful in Europe and the Spanish coin became close to being regarded as a reserve currency. However, a transition began to occur during the mid-1500s.

The decline of the Habsburg empire transpired in many ways: revolutions against elites who possessed wealth and power, and revolutions against the Roman Catholic church in the wake of the Age of Reformation. The Habsburg empire was economically devastated, and bad economic circumstances had severe impacts on the lives which amounted to civil revolutions. Charles V failed to clamp down the revolutions and at last, he signed the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 which weakened the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg dynasty. 

After this, Charles V divided the empire into two: the Holy Roman Empire which he handed down to his brother Ferdinand, and the rest of the Habsburg Empire which included Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium to his son Philip II.

In the end, the Habsburg Empire encountered decadence because of the luxurious lifestyle that Phillip II and his son Phillip III preferred over the welfare of their populace. Terrible national finances, a suffering middle class, and big wealth gaps were some of the determinants of the Habsburg Empire's dark fate. Aristotle once said " If in a country there is no middle class, the country is soon going to collapse". 

The events of the 1500s were the causes of the fall of the Habsburg empire and also integral factors in the rise of the Dutch empire.

The Rise of the Dutch Empire:

During the " Eighty years' War, William the Silent, a valiant commander who, with the assistance of diverse provinces of the Netherlands, emancipated the Netherlands in 1581. After gaining independence, the Republic was set up and each province was given sovereignty. The rise of the Dutch Empire was by virtue of the statesmen rather than by a single monarch.

The Dutch Empire focused on improving education, ensuring merit, and refining culture which helped it to become a great nation. The Dutch empire also invented ships to set off to different parts of the world to accumulate wealth and gain power. The Dutch created the world's first mega-corporation, the Dutch East India Company, which carried out approximately one-third of world average trade. The Dutch government also augmented its spending on the military, which helped them to hold out British attacks for a long time. The Dutch empire also created the world's first reserve currency, the Dutch guilder, which was put into work via the Bank of Amsterdam.

As a result of these steps, the income per capita rose to over twice that of other European powers. Investment in education boosted their literacy rate. The two most important breakthroughs that the Dutch Empire achieved were:

1. The Dutch Empire upgraded ships. They used it for trade, explorations and naval warfare.

2. The Dutch Empire played a pivotal role in promoting capitalist economic principles.

The New world order: The Thirty years' war and the Peace of Westphalia:

The Thirty Years' War (1618-48) was a fight over wealth and power. On one side was the Catholic emperor of Habsburg Austria, who made an alliance with German Catholic territories, as well as Spain and the Papal states. On the other side was the German Protestant noble class, who made an alliance with Denmark, France and the Netherlands. The rivalry was on money, religion and geopolitics.

The Habsburg Empire lost the war which made them weakened. A treaty that laid the foundation of the new world order, the Peace of Westphalia, further decreased the authority of the Austrian emperor and as a result, many countries got independence with the ability to run government on their own within their geographic borders.

The Peace of Westphalia contributed to a long period of peace and prosperity. Thirty Years' War killed over one-quarter of the population of Europe.

The Dutch benefited greatly from the new balance of power and most importantly it protected them from the menace of the Habsburg Empire. The war implications hit badly the economy of France which galvanized rebellions. The Habsburg was even more devastated. The Dutch encountered fewer implications than both France and the Habsburg Empire.The period of peace took the Dutch empire to the pinnacle of glory and also helped them to disseminate their power across the globe.

The rise of the British Empire:

The Dutch golden age procured the Dutch to live a luxurious lifestyle. They began to spend money on buying luxury items which led to a feeble economy. Other powers rose and began to challenge them. A rising power can only challenge or wage war against an existing power when it becomes comparable in every respect to the existing power. The arrival of capitalism and the Age of Enlightenment led to an economic boom called the " Industrial Revolution", which originated from Britain's land.

After adopting a Luxurious life, an ineffectual and uncompetitive leader led to the descent of the Dutch Empire development:

1. The Dutch educational system was destroyed.
2. The Dutch became uncompetitive.
3. In the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution led the British to overtake the Dutch in every field whether it is economic or military.
4. Slower economic growth made it very difficult for the Dutch empire to control a spectrum of land.
 These all sowed the seeds of the decline of the Guilder as a reserve currency and the Dutch became decadent after they lost the war. After 1688, as the British empire began to rise, Dutch merchants shifted their attention to London, which helped London to become the International center of finance. William III, the Dutch Emperor moved to London, instead of focusing his attention on ruling over the Netherlands. When he died heirless in 1702, many provinces of the Netherlands which were united by William the Silent witnessed secession.
By the mid-18th century, the Dutch Empire was no longer the world's leading empire. Britain who had learned from the Dutch innovation began applying them to their education system to bolster their people's capabilities. These capabilities along with the use of capitalism laid the foundation of the Industrial Revolution.
Several wars that weakened the Dutch empire are:

1. The First Anglo-Dutch war(1652-54): This was a trade war.
2. The Dano-Swedish war(1657-60): The Dutch empire, as an ally of  Denmark defeated the Swedish who threatened profitable Baltic trade routes.
3. The Second Anglo- Dutch war(1665-67): This was another trade war.
4. The Fanco-Dutch war(1672-78) and the Third Anglo-Dutch war(1672-74): These war were also fought over trade.
5. The Fourth Anglo-Dutch war(1780-84): The British waged this war against the Dutch Empire because the Dutch Empire was backing the colonies in the American Revolution. This war resulted in the end of Guilder as a reserve currency.

These all led to the downfall of the Dutch empire. By 1750, the British Empire and France became stronger than the Dutch Empire and the next world superpower was the British Empire. The Dutch empire became financially weak. In 1795 the French revolutionary government overthrew the Dutch Republic and established a client state( A state that is economically, militarily and politically dependent on another country).

 

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Ming Dynasty: History and Achievements.

 China has seen the rise and decadence of many empires. But among them, the Ming dynasty is the one that played an important role in taking China to the pinnacle of glory and development.The foundation stone of ming dynasty was laid by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368 and it saw its fall in 1644 when Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng.

During its 276 years of ruling over china, the Ming dynasty introduced many reforms: Economic, agriculture, medicine, military, etc.

 During the Ming dynasty, state issued coins (from 1368) and paper money (from 1375). In 1425, paper currency was being used at a proportion of 0.014% under the Hongwu Emperor. But the currency experienced hyperinflation due to which its printing was ended in 1450.
  

The Ming dynasty rulers also paid too much attention to agriculture. The Ming dynasty also carried out trade with both Europe and Japan. China exported silk and porcelain to the european nations. Spain carried out trade with the Ming dynasty via Manila. Use of fertilizer and irrigation system was introduced in China during the Ming dynasty to enhance production.

China's navy was the world's largest navy. The Ming dynasty also set off on exploration and in return brought too much wealth. But when these exploration stopped, and the rulers indulged in luxury then the Ming dynasty decline started off.

In scientific field, the Ming dynasty overturn other nations and the fundamental reason behind it was the shifting of Confucianism into neo-confucianism. Neo-Confucianism laid stress on seeing the world through logical reasoning, scientifically and practically. Such kind of steps gave a bunch of assistance to China to bolster its economy and maintain its power all across the world. The printing press, which helped the Age of Reformation(1517-1648), was an invention of China. The Ming dynasty also achieved exceptional breakthroughs in maritime technology, such as the invention of ships,etc.

Now, let's delineate  the Ming dynasty achievements in medicine field. Education is deemed a pillar of a society to keep it prosperous and cohesive. The Ming dynasty established school to promote and train students who, in future, would be an important asset of China. The Ming dynasty also took some serious steps to overcome the danger of smallpox.

Now, let's put some light on the factors that played an imperative role in the decadence of the Ming dynasty:

1. corruption and inept government.

2. Inclination toward luxury

3.External threats.

4.Military weakness etc.