Improvements in technology helped European explorers navigate.

The desire for spices led Europeans to seek control trade network in Asia. By the late 1500s, the Dutch replaced the Portuguese as the major European power in Asia. In the 1700s, England and France vied for dominance. During 1500s and 1600s, China and Korea restricted contact with the outside world. The Japanese initially welcomed the western traders, but they later adopted a similar policy of isolation. European powers gradually built trading empires in Asia

Many forces-including nationalism, militarism, and imperialist rivalriespropelled Europe into World War I. This massive conflict engulfed much of the world for four years and ushered in a new age of modern warfare. Two huge alliances emerged: Central Powers, dominated by Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the Allies, led by France, Britain and Russia. Although the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914 ignited World War I, historians agree that all major powers share blame for the conflict. Trench warfare and new weapons contributed to a stalemate on the western front. In 1917, the United States entered the war, allowing the Allies to achieve victory. The Paris Peace Conference imposed heavy penalties on Germany and redrew the map of Eastern Europe. World War I

Since the end of World War II, the world has changed rapidly. The collapse of western colonial empires led to the emergence of nearly 100 new countries. Nuclear weapons, terrorism, and human rights are enduring issues in an increasingly independent world. Complex economic ties link the rich nations of the global north and the poor nations of the global Sout. Urbanization, modernization, womens movements and technology have brought dramatic social changes. Technology has revolutionized medicine and agriculture and helped create a global westernized popular culture.

1416-1796

1800-1914

1914-1919
Nationalism and Revolution Between 1919 and 1939, the desire for democracy and selfdetermination contributed to explosive struggles in many regions. New leaders in Asia built liberation movements. Arab nationalism led to Pan-Arabism, uniting Arabs against foreign domination. In India, Gandhi led a campaign of non-violent resistance against the British rule. In china, foreigners extended their spheres of influence. Later, Communists and Nationalists engaged in civil war. In th e1920s and 1930s, extreme nationalism and economic upheaval set Japan on a militaristic and expansionist path.

1910-1939
World War II

1931-1945

1945-Present
The collapse of the western colonial empires led the emergence of nearly 100 new countries mostly in Africa and Asia. China, Japan, and other Asian nations have achieved varying degrees of success in their efforts to modernize. The Asian tigersTaiwan, HongKong, Singapore and South Koreavaulted into the class of newly industrialized nations. Cold War tensions sparked long, devastating conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. In South Asia and the Middle East, nations cast off western rule and set out to modernize. Ethnic and religious rivalries fueled ongoing conflict among the people of South Asia. When secular governments in the Middle East did not yield promised improvements, some reformers rejected western models and called for reaffirmation of Islamic values. The long Arab-Israel struggle and other conflicts have focused world attention on the Middle East.

European powers embarked on a period of aggressive expansion known as the Age of Imperialism. Taking advantage of the slowly crumbling Ottoman empire, Britain, France and Russia competed to extend their influence over Ottoman lands. Western Powers carved out spheres of influence along Chinese coast. China tried unsuccessfully to resist foreign influence with belated efforts at modernization and reform. By the early 1900s, leaders in many colonized regions were forging their own nationalistic movements. As defense against western imperialism, Japan transformed itself into a modern industrial power and set out on its own imperialist path. By 1900s, western powers had claimed most islands in the Pacific and divided up most of Southeast Asia. Europeans forced subjects to accept western ideas about government, technology and culture.

Between 1939 and 1945, nations all over the world fought World War II, the largest and most costly conflict in history. The war shifted the balance of world power from Western Europe to the United States and the Soviet Union. The Axis powers-Germany, Italy and Japan-embarked on a course of aggression in the late 1930s. France and Britain first adopted a policy of appeasement but declared war when Germany invaded Poland. The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Allied powers joined to defeat Germany. To force Japan to surrender, the United States dropped two atomic bombs. The Cold War followed World War II, pitting the western democracies, led by US, against the communist bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union.