The Western History Timeline

The western is a genre of novels and short stories, motion pictures, television and radio shows. It is set in the American West and usually covers a period of history from 1850 to the end of the 19th century. While westerns were almost wiped out by the 1980s in the United States, they have enjoyed some revivals since that time, with a resurgence of popularity in the 1990s. Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood both directed and starred in a few of the many films that re-energized the genre. A few other westerns – such as Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves (90) – have also been very commercially successful.

The Western Civilization Timeline

Western civilization arguably started with the ancient Greeks who created some of the first scientific concepts and began to create some of the earliest naturalistic images of human beings. Their philosophy, theater and science have had a profound influence on world history.

After the Greeks came the Romans who were expert warriors and administrators. They built a huge empire that extended across Europe and beyond. Their culture has had an even greater impact on world history, including the development of Western political democracy and science.

In the 1500s Christopher Columbus begins his exploration of the New World which would lead to the rise of European colonization and imperialism. The European enlightenment movement of the 1800s resulted in a yearning for greater democracy and national self-determination by those who were living under foreign empires, such as the British in North America or the Spanish in South America.

The American Revolution resulted in a new nation, the United States of America, which established itself as a fully-fledged society. This was a significant change in the structure of government which was to have an enormous impact on the world.

European countries began to build overseas empires which eventually led to a fierce rivalry among the many different nationalities that were ruled by these foreign powers. This gave rise to the French Revolution and later to wars such as the Napoleonic Wars.

This era was marked by a great increase in the population of Europe and an expansion of trade and communication throughout the world. The Industrial Revolution led to the creation of factories which produced goods such as textiles, iron, and cotton. The growth of industry in turn increased the amount of money available for education and other pursuits.

The western, which is a popular genre of literature, movies and TV has its roots in the gaucho literature of Argentina and tales of the Wild West in the United States. A number of western authors wrote books which were not only entertaining but informed by their actual experiences in the West, including Owen Wister and Zane Grey. Several of these writers, such as Eugene Manlove Rhodes and Andy Adams, were former cowboys or government scouts.