Civilization: The West and the Rest

The Age of Discovery and Conquest was a period between the late 15th and 18th century (Early Modern period) when European powers began exploring, colonizing, and settling what is now the Americas. Their imperial projects comprised the search for trade routes, missionary work primarily by the Catholic Church, scientific exploration, and slavery.

The Century of Humiliation (1839-1949) is a period in Chinese history when China was subject to European (mainly British) and Japanese colonialism.

The term “civilization” is linked to several Latin words such as “civis” (citizen) and “civitas” (state, or city-state). “Civilization” refers to the structure and state of human organization (political, social, cultural, economic, technological). The actual word “civilization” is derived from French and was “first used by the French economist Anne-Robert Jacques Turgot in 1752” (2). The author provides a broad and vague definition of the term.