The Hundred Years war

The Hundred Years war was a conflict that took place between England and France from 1337 to 1453. The causes of the conflict were the English claims over the French throne and the dispute over the succession of the English crown. The origin of the conflict was the duchy of Guyenne which originally belonged to the English kings but remained a fief of the French crown and the closest relatives of the Capetian king Charles IV who belonged to the English crown and hence the kings of England claimed the kingdom of France.

In the first half of the 14^th century England and France were the most powerful monarchies in Western Europe and France was the largest and richest country in Western Europe. England was also organized and it rivaled France. Technically the English kings were the vassals of the kings of France and the English kings which were Normans and the Angevin was also French. Thus, the French monarchs wanted to keep a check on the growth of English power. England too possessed holdings in France but by 1337 only the province of Gascony was in English hands. In 1328 Charles IV of France died without an heir to the throne and hence the crown passed directly to his closest relative his nephew Edward III of England. But the French rejected Edward III claims to the French throne and instead wanted a Frenchman for the crown of France. Thus, the French Crown went to Charles IV’s cousin Philip VI.

Thus, eventually, war broke out between England and France in which the English led by their king Edward III and his son defeated the French. However, by 1378 the French under King Charles the wise had taken back the lands ceded to King Edward in the treaty of Bretigny signed in 1360. The dispute over Guyenne and Gascony which belonged to England was also the high point of the conflict. Joan of Arc provided a decisive moment in the war and considerably boosted the French morale. The major battles of the war were fought at Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt, and the siege of Orleans in 1429. The emergence of Joan of Arc in the siege of Orleans turned the tide of war against the English. However, she was eventually executed by the English. At the Battle of Castillon fought on 17 July 1453 the English were decisively defeated by the French. Finally, in the treaty of Picquigny signed in 1475 the war came to an end with Edward III renouncing his claim to the French throne.

The victory of France in the Hundred Years War brought to an end the English dreams of a joint monarchy and the rise of national feeling in England and France. The war led to the transformation of France from a feudal monarchy to a centralized state. With the war’s end, England lost all its continental possessions leaving it with only the province of Calais

The Pre-Columbian history of North America

North America is usually considered as the northernmost part of the American continent which comprises the modern countries of USA, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Greenland and the Caribbean countries. The name America is taken from Amerigo Vespucci the Italian navigator and explorer who was the first to explore the continent of America. While discussing the history of North America scholars often overlook the history of North America before its discovery by Christopher Columbus in the late 15^th century. Though Europe, Asia, and Africa were marked by the rise and fall of empires and civilizations this was not the case with America. Before the arrival of European powers, significant civilizations and indigenous American cultures existed in North America. In this article, we will be discussing the Pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of the North American countries.

The continents of North and South America began to take its current form millions of years ago separated from Eurasia and Africa by thousands of kilometers of the ocean except for a tiny stretch of shallow water, the Bering Strait. The Bering Strait connected Alaska (northwestern North America) to Siberia in the Pleistocene era (last ice age). As the ice receded in the last ice age it allowed the movement of early humans. Between 15000 and 13000 years ago the ice cap began to retreat opening an ice-free north-south corridor eventually opening the way from Alaska to the interior of northwestern North America. However, the exact movement of peoples and the pattern of migration is the subject of much debate among archaeologists. The first humans to inhabit North America was known as the Paleo Indians. They lived by hunting and fishing and they hunted mammoths, Mastodon, giant sloths, and horses to extinction. This period was known as the Archaic period and it lasted roughly from 8000BCE to 1000BCE. Numerous archaeological cultures and sites have been identified such as the Clovis culture, Dorset culture, Woodland period, Adena culture, Olmec civilization, Mississippian culture. In the Arctic region of Canada, the indigenous tribes of North America were the Aleut, Inuit and Yupik peoples. The Pueblo peoples, Mandan, Hidatsa and other Pre-Columbian cultures formed large settlements, even cities such as Cahokia in what is now Illinois.

In Canada, the indigenous peoples are known as Aboriginal peoples including First Nations and Inuit whereas in the USA the indigenous peoples are known as Native Americans or American Indians and Alaska natives. The earliest humans in North America which are known through archaeological investigations indicate that they developed complex societal hierarchies, chiefdoms and they were organized in tribes. The Paleo Indians spread out through modern Canada and the USA and their dispersal is confirmed by archaeological finds. The Hopewell tradition, the Inuit, Yupik, Iroquois, the Mississippian cultures, Oasis America, and Adena culture in Canada and the USA are the main archaeological sites related to Paleo Indians. These pre-Columbian cultures and indigenous peoples of North America were discovered by the Vikings (Norse) in their expedition led by Leif Erikson in the year 1000AD.However, the greater part of Europe was unaware of these indigenous civilizations until the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

When the Europeans arrived in the late 15^th century many natives of North America were organized into tribes or confederations. Also, extensive Pre-Columbian sedentary societies existed in what is now the USA. In Mexico and Latin America, the Pre Columbian civilizations were the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, Mixtec, Huastec, Pure Pecha, Toltecs, and Aztecs. The early inhabitants of the Americas practiced agriculture and cultivated corn, potatoes, avocado, and pumpkins. They had extensive trade contacts in the case of Mexico but in the case of Canada and USA the natives built earthen mounds and developed large ceremonial centers. These mounds have been discovered archaeologically such as at Louisiana in USA(3700BCE-3100BCE).From the Europeans perspective American civilizations at the time of European contact were advanced in astronomy and mathematics and had well-populated cities.In Mexico and Cuba, the Taino, Ciboney, Maya, and Aztec civilizations were the most advanced cultures and civilizations and historians agree that the Mayans and Aztecs built large cities, had trade contacts, and possessed an advanced calendar and astronomical knowledge unrivaled by any other civilization. The architecture of the Mayans and Aztecs in Mexico is proof of their accomplishment in architecture.

By the time of the conquest of North America by the Europeans in the late 15^th and 16^th century by Britain, France, and Spain many of these cultures and civilizations had long faded into obscurity and many were forcibly assimilated by the Europeans. In the centuries of conquest by the Europeans, many of these native tribes, kingdoms and civilizations came to an end due to diseases introduced by the Europeans to which they had no immunity like smallpox and measles.

The Beginning of modern Japan

The beginning of modern Japan can be traced to the Meiji Restoration of 1868.Before the Meiji Restoration the Tokugawa shogunate of the Edo period (1600-1868) ruled over Japan which was characterized by a feudal social and economic system. In the 1500s power came to be decentralized in Japan characterized by warfare between rival feudal lords(daimyo) for almost a century. After the victory in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Tokugawa shogunate came to rule Japan from Edo.The Tokugawa shogunate thus began a dynasty that would rule over Japan till 1868.

The society in the Tokugawa period was centered on the class hierarchy established by the emperor. The emperor and daimyo(lords) constituted the upper class followed by the samurai (warrior class) and the farmers, artisans, and traders at the bottom. The feudalistic nature of Japanese society was based on the Confucian principles of social order. The peasants which comprised 80% of the population was burdened with taxes. The samurai (warrior class) had the choice to either give up military service or become daimyos (feudal lords). It was this social system that eventually led to peasant uprisings and samurai unrest against the feudal lords.

The economy of the Tokugawa shogunate from the 1680s to the early 1700s placed an emphasis on agricultural production leading to considerable growth. The expansion of manufacture and commerce contributed to the development of urban centres such as Edo, Osaka , and Kyoto. Japan also produced fine silk, cotton fabrics, porcelain, and paper which gave rise to trade. The increase of mercantile activity led to the rise of a merchant class in Japan. However, while merchants and tradesmen prospered, the daimyos and samurai faced financial difficulties. Several attempts were made for financial reforms in the late 18^th and 19^th century but the samurai (warrior class) continued to face financial difficulties. This coupled with the Western encroachment by European and Western powers who wanted to trade with Japan beginning with the expedition of Commodore Matthew Perry of USA in the 19^th century contributed to peasant rebellions and samurai uprisings in the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate.

A series of unequal treaties beginning with the treaty of Kanagawa which opened the ports of Japan to America led to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 in which two anti-Tokugawa clans of the samurai class joined forces to overthrow the shogunate and in 1868 the Meiji restoration proclaimed an imperial restoration in the name of the young emperor Meiji who was only 14 years old. During the Meiji period Japan prospered from being an isolated nation to one of the world’s industrialized nations along with Britain, USA, Russia, France, Italy, and Spain. The country experienced important social, economic and political changes with the abolition of the feudal system and the acceptance of a cabinet system of government. Japan also opened up to Western influence and trade and also witnessed the build-up of military strength leading to Japan’s rise as a world power.

Beginning in the 1890s Japan embarked on a process of rapid industrialization, modernization, and expansion. In 1894-95 Japan fought a war against China over the control of Korea and occupied Taiwan. In 1902 Japan signed an alliance with Britain and in 1904-5 Japan went to war against Russia and in the process annexed Korea in its empire. During the First world war, Japan was allied with USA and Britain and was hopeful of territorial gains at the Versailles peace conference in 1919. However, Japan was met with opposition from America. The failure of Japan coupled with economic depression led to public frustration with the political leadership in Japan after First world war. The military began to push for Japanese expansionism and imperialism in Asia just as Italy and Germany were doing in Europe.

Taking pretext of The Manchurian incident of 1931 the Japanese army conquered Manchuria in China and established a puppet government. Meanwhile, the imperial Japanese army consolidated its control over the political system and most political parties were abolished in Japan. Japan’s ambitions grew increasingly bold and it eventually led to the outbreak of the Second Sino Japanese war in 1937. The USA opposed Japan’s invasion of China and imposed economic sanctions on Japan. Japan responded by making an alliance with Germany and Italy known as the Tripartite pact in 1940 worsening its relations with the USA. In December 1941 Japan bombed the US naval base atPearlHarbour in retaliation to these economic sanctions and went to war against America. In the initial stages of the war, Japan won victory after victory but after 1942 Japan suffered military reversals at the hand of the Allies. By 1945 Japan had all but lost the war against America and in August 1945 with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by America Japan was defeated by the Allied powers.

After the Second world war, Japan experienced rapid political and social transformation under the Allied occupation of Japan by General Douglas MacArthur. The occupation decentralized power in Japan by eliminating the Zaibatsu and in the process transferring the ownership of agricultural land to tenant farmers. Japan was demilitarized and democratized. The Japanese military was disarmed and its colonies were granted independence. The international military tribunal of the Far East was established to punish war criminals and Japan’s new constitution came in to force in 1947 which guaranteed civil liberties, women’s suffrage and labour rights. The San Francisco Peace treaty was signed between Japan and USA in 1951 which normalized relations between USA and Japan.

Japan witnessed rapid economic growth after the Second world war and by the 1950s and 60s, it had the world’s most developed economy. The reasons behind Japan’s post-war economic growth included technology and quality control techniques, close economic relations with the USA and participation of the private sector in running small businesses. Life expectancy rose and Japan’s population rose to 123 million in 1990.Women were granted the right to vote and currently, Japan is the most advanced economy in the world. In 2011 Japan suffered the most devastating earthquake and the resulting tsunami led to the damage of nuclear facilities in Fukushima.

The History of feminism in the USA

Feminism is a movement which seeks to gain equal political, social, economic and cultural equality for women. Historically from ancient Greece to the modern world there has been a fight for equality by women and feminism has been shaped by these ideals. In the USA feminism can been divided in to three phases-first wave feminism which deals with property rights and the right to vote, second wave feminism with its focus on equality and anti-discrimination and the Third wave of feminism  beginning in the 1990s in opposition to the perceived domination of white, straight women.

In ancient Greece the Greek philosopher Plato was the first advocate of women’s rights and he held that they should be given the right to govern a state. However, Plato’s advocacy of women’s rights was not accepted in those times. In the Roman empire women’s rights were also restricted. This continued in the Middle Ages in Europe when women protested  against misogyny and their submissive roles. It was during the Enlightenment writers and philosophers like Margaret Cavendish argued for greater equality for women.

When America got its independence on 4^th July 1776 from Britain the cause for women’s equality had begun. In the 19^th century after the abolition of slavery in the American Civil war various women’s groups started pushing for greater participation of women in the public sphere. It was at this point that the first wave of feminism had begun in America. At the 1848 Seneca Falls convention abolitionists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott demanded the right to vote.

The First wave of feminism which demanded property rights and suffrage dominated the feminist thought for several decades. However, it was the 19^th amendment which marked a turning point in the lives of American women, and it was due to this amendment that they finally got the right to vote. Women began to enter the workplace in large numbers following the Great depression of 1930 as many male breadwinners lost their jobs forcing women to work in low paying jobs.In the Second World war women played an important role in the military and found work in industries which were previously only reserved for men. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s also led to women demanding greater participation in the workforce with equal pay for equal work. Eventually the Equal Pay Act of 1963 signed by President John Kennedy helped in eradicating gender discrimination at workplace.

The Second wave of feminism which began in the 1970s started the debate on sexuality, reproductive rights, domestic violence and marital rape.Betty Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir were the prominent figures in this wave of feminism. It was in the Second wave of feminism that abortion became legalised in USA and marital rape was outlawed. The Second wave of feminism had its impact on other countries like Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Israel, Turkey and Britain. The Second wave feminists viewed US popular culture as sexist and created their own pop culture to counter this.

The Third wave of feminism in the USA started in the early 1990s and advocated individualism and diversity and saw the emergence of new feminist theories such as sex positivity, vegetarian ecofeminism, transfeminism and postmodern feminism. A feminist subculture started in many American cities and it culminated with the sexual liberation of women in many countries around the world. Slutwalks were also the high points of this wave of feminism.

It can be said that the history of feminism in USA which started in the 19^th century and continues to this day has been one in which women have been able to achieve their rights. However, gender discrimination and the victimization of women continues in other parts of the world.

The Rise of Modern Europe

Modern Europe is characterized by the beginning of the decline and eventual disappearance of feudalism and growth of mercantilism, capitalism, Industrial revolution and the formation of nation states in Europe. Historians have marked the common features of modern Europe such as the Renaissance, The Protestant Reformation and the European colonization of the Americas, Asia and Africa. The beginning of scientific revolution, Enlightenment and the secularization of politics were also the main factors in the beginning of Modern Europe.

The Middle Ages in Europe witnessed the absolute authority of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. But by the late 15^th century and the early 16^th century its power began to be challenged. The Church was criticized for its corruption which subsequently led to the Protestant Reformation in Europe and the establishment of new Protestant Churches. In ideas the Renaissance saw a renewed interest in the writings of ancient Greece and Rome and the use of observation as the means of knowledge. These ideas further led to discoveries in the field of science by Galileo, Newton and Copernicus. They proposed the Heliocentric model of the universe which further revolutionized science. The invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg was a milestone in the field of printing.

By the late middle Ages there was a decline in feudalism and serfdom as the number of people who held land under the feudal system declined. In the Middle Ages the nobles held the land in lieu of military service to the king and the farmers paid a part of their produce to the nobles. But this changed with the beginning of the early modern period. Farmers directly paid rent in goods and money. This was the beginning of Capitalism. Around the same time, Britain, France, Spain and Portugal discovered the New World and Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to the Americas.

In religion the early modern period led to an end to the Wars of Religion in Europe and the rise of constitutional and liberal democracies in Britain, France and the unification of Italy and Germany in the 19^th century. The rise of capitalism and mercantilism is also associated with the modern period as the dominant economic theories. Capitalism believes in the private ownership of property and free trade. The origins of capitalism in modern Europe began when the feudal economy of medieval Europe began to shift substantially in 16^th century England as the manorial system had broken down and land came in the hands of fewer landlords with large estates. The serfdom system in feudalism eventually gave way to capitalism as the serfs who were previously bonded to the land in the feudal structure could directly pay a part of their produce in goods and money.

The economic theory of mercantilism became dominant in Europe from the Renaissance to the early modern period. Mercantilism implied an excess of exports over imports and that trade balances should be favourable. The colonial countries served as export markets and supplied raw materials to the mother country. Mercantilism was profitable to the mother country and not to the colonies. For example Britain ruled over India and its economy was so designed so as to maximize the exports of Britain while India became a source of raw material and imports for the British.

In the technological field the Industrial revolution which originated in England in the mid 18^TH century was marked by a gradual change in the methods of production. The invention of the steam power, water frame and the power loom mechanized production in England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution England was a largely agrarian and rural society but the industrial revolution transformed England and subsequently Europe in to an industrialized and urbanized economy. More efficient and mechanized methods of production allowed for greater production of textiles in Britain. The industrial revolution also had an impact on the transportation networks in Britain as road and railway networks became more efficient. George Stephenson invented the steam engine in Britain and the beginning of rail network started in Britain.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain and the French Revolution of 1789 in France saw the rise of constitutional and democratic institutions in Europe. The Glorious revolution was preceded by the English Civil war in 1642 which proclaimed a constitutional monarchy in Britain while the French Revolution of 1789 in France saw the overthrow of Louis XVI and the eventual establishment of people’s sovereignty in France. During the 19^th century Europe experienced the rise of nationalism inspired by the ideals of the French revolution. Though initially suppressed by the monarchs and rulers of Europe nationalism  found its expression in the liberation of people from foreign rule like the Greek War of Independence, The Italian war of Independence and the  unification of Germany after the defeat of France in the Franco Prussian war by Germany .

By the latter half of the 19^th century Britain and Germany rivaled each other in naval supremacy. Secret pacts and treaties were signed by the various European powers which ultimately set the stage for the First World War. The immediate trigger for the First World War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist. The war caused immense losses in men and material.

It was fought between the Allies (Britain, USA, France, Japan, Italy and Russia) and the Central powers (Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey). After the war the Allies emerged victorious and forced Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

The League of Nations was formed to establish peace after the First World War. But Germany being forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles and accept humiliating terms after the First World War saw the rise of dictatorship under Adolf Hitler. Italy also saw the rise of Fascism under Benito Mussolini and Japan also followed an aggressive policy in Asia which eventually led to the Second World war. Meanwhile the Russian revolution of 1917 brought the Bolsheviks to power in Russia and the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II and the establishment of the Soviet Union.

It can be concluded that Europe from being a feudal and religious society in the Middle Ages saw revolutions and ideas which ultimately signalled the beginning of democracy and scientific thinking among the masses. The beginning of constitutional democracy in Britain and the Ideas of liberty and equality became an inspiration for the American Revolution and the subsequent decolonization of Africa and Asia. Modern Europe owes its democratic institutions largely to these ideals.

The Cold war and American foreign policy

The Second World War had led to the allied powers join forces with the Soviet Union and USA in their fight against the fascist regimes of Italy and Germany in Europe and Japanese expansionism in Asia. But by 1945 major fighting in the European theater and Pacific theater began to come to an end. World War II in Europe ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allied powers in May 1945.In August 1945 with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan by USA the Second World War finally came to an end. In the final stages of the Second World War relations between the USA and the Soviet Union began to fall apart.

The Yalta conference and the Potsdam conference took place in the final stages of WW II.The Yalta conference was a major event in the Cold War. It was attended by Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Neither side trusted the other and Stalin was of the belief that Britain and USA delayed the Normandy invasion and Allied invasion of Italy to cause the Soviet army to struggle alone against Nazi Germany.

The Potsdam conference of 1945 was attended by Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Truman had just replaced Roosevelt as President of the United States. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the post war reorganization of Europe and peace treaty issues. It was at the Potsdam conference that Truman made Stalin aware of the atomic bomb program (Manhattan project) and that the Americans had developed the world’s first atomic bomb. Both Truman and Stalin were suspicious of each other’s intentions and it was at the Potsdam conference that the Cold War started.

The nuclear arms race between the USA and the Soviet Union and the ideological incompatibility were the main features   of the Cold war. The USA had stockpiled a large arsenal of nuclear weapons and it was the only nation in the world to have used nuclear weapons in warfare. In response to this the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test in August 1949 which further led to rivalry, distrust and suspicion between the two nations. By the 1950s both countries had developed enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other. Their rivalry also extended to the space race when in 1957 the Soviet Union successfully launched its first satellite Sputnik and sent the first human to space in 1961.In a similar move America made its first landing on the moon in July 1969.

Ideological incompatibility was another feature of the Cold war. The USA had a capitalist economy and the Soviet Union had a communist economy. The Russian revolution of 1917 had transformed Russia in to a communist nation while the United States was a modern liberal democracy based on the principles of individualism. Capitalism believes in the private ownership of property and free trade while communism advocates the control of state over the means of production.

American foreign policy during the Cold War wanted to contain the spread of communism and its spread by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had already expanded its sphere of communism in Korea, China, Vietnam and Eastern Europe. In 1948 America started the Marshall plan to help the countries of Western Europe in their economic recovery following the destruction of Second World War.President Harry Truman approved the Marshall plan  in 1948 and aid was given to Britain,France,Belgium and other West European countries.

On the military front the United States signed the NATO pact in 1949 with the countries of Western Europe .to provide them military aid in the case of a Soviet attack. To counter this the Soviet Union signed the Warsaw Pact with the countries of Eastern Europe in 1955.The high points of the Cold War were the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962, the 1950-53 Korean war, the 1956 Suez crisis, the Vietnam War, the Berlin blockade of 1948-49 and the Berlin crisis of 1961.The Soviet Union and the US also competed for influence in Latin America and the Middle East

By the early 1970s the USSR and US entered a period of détente (French word for easing of relations) when relations between the USSR and the US began to improve. However things took a turn with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 which again led to a strain in relations. By the early 1980s Mikhail Gorbachev emerged as a prominent figure in the USSR. He withdrew from the Soviet Afghan war and both Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to reduce their nuclear weapons and end the Cold War.Domestically, he embarked on a policy of Glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).

The various Eastern bloc nations broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991 and this finally led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of Cold War. The fall of Berlin wall in 1989 led to the reunification of Germany.Following the end of Cold War the United States emerged as the sole superpower in the world.The United States had to intervene militarily in the 1991 Kuwait war when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. A coalition of American and British forces defeated Iraq in the 1991 Gulf war. America launched an invasion of Iraq in 2003 and ousted Saddam Hussein from power. A new threat has emerged in the form of terrorism and America has been fighting this menace in the present times.