“The Fall of the Western Civilization” By Douglas C. Fosdick and Richard T. Davis
Western history, sometimes referred to as western civilization, covers a period of time beginning with the rise of western civilization in the early 7th century and lasting until the 20th century. Western civilization traces its origins to Europe and the Mediterranean region. It is closely connected to ancient Greece, Rome and with Medieval Christendom that emerged in the Middle Ages from the Dark Ages to spread its influence into Europe and Asia. The European Renaissance was largely a development of the political and intellectual struggles of the later Middle Ages. The effects of this rise in western civilization were the rise of an international economy based on barter and wealth exchange and development of a world-scale trading system that brought about the development of towns and cities and made it possible for different cultures interact.
The most important aspect of western history for historians is the colonization of America by Europeans. This has become one of the biggest topics of discussion among historians. While some scholars argue about the true colonization of America by Europeans, others note that the United States of America was a colony of the British Empire. The British colonization of America is perhaps one of the greatest events in the history of the world as it marked the beginning of the great American Empire.
The European expansion into the Americas was mostly accompanied by the religious wars that broke out in the wake of the collapse of the Roman Catholic Church in the 7th century. In the years following the collapse of the Roman Catholic Church, the remnants of the Roman Catholic Church tried to convert its once widespread and influential church into an exclusive institution devoted to one religion – i.e., Catholicism. The result was the creation of two new religions – the Christian and the Muslim – whose fundamental doctrines diverged significantly from what the Roman Catholic Church had been practicing for so many years.
As these two new religions grew in popularity among the people of Europe, the middle ages arrived and the European nations were invaded and devastated by the Teutonic Knights of the Latin Church. The Latin Church, led by Charlemagne, put a strong emphasis on the preservation of Christian values in Europe after the Migration Period had left the Latin peoples with an increasingly Muslim population that had embraced Islam as their religion. These changes, which are the product of centuries of cultural development in Europe, helped shape the modern European society we know today.
The book thus traces the development of the western civilization from the Dark Ages into the Middle Ages. Authors Douglas C. caption and examine these changes and note the impact they had upon the developing cultures of Europe. Authors Douglas C. Fosdick and Richard T. Davis illustrate the expansion of the European power during this period by contrasting the decline and fall of the Roman Empire with the rise of the medieval Latin Kingdom of France and the reconquest of Italy by the Carolingians. They also chart the development of European law during the Dark Ages and show how different aspects of medieval law spread across the continent. All of these illustrate how various cultures interacted with each other and contributed to the development of modern civilization.
In this book, the authors briefly describe how the fall of the Roman Empire symbolized the decline of the western civilization. Then, they go on to compare the rise of the medieval Latin Kingdom of France with the rise of the Islamic Empire. They also chart the development of the western civilization across the Middle Ages with the rise of the Islamic civilization. Authors Douglas C. Fosdick and Richard T. Davis effectively capture the essence of the rich history of Europe in all its complexity and richness through this engaging text. “The Fall of the Western Civilization” is a welcome contribution to the study of world history.
