The World To 1815

Civilization is created from accumulated experience and an accumulated understanding of material reality. Frank Smitha's book is about that creation. It's about idea and attitude. The book is a snapshot of thousands of years of human history that ends with the American and French revolutions. With civilization an association arose between religion and the authoritarianism that was a part of the politics of conquest. Wars of conquest burdened humanity across millennia. In China and...
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Civilization is created from accumulated experience and an accumulated understanding of material reality. Frank Smitha's book is about that creation. It's about idea and attitude. The book is a snapshot of thousands of years of human history that ends with the American and French revolutions. With civilization an association arose between religion and the authoritarianism that was a part of the politics of conquest. Wars of conquest burdened humanity across millennia. In China and Europe, dynasties came and went. This book describes these dynasties and what people thought of the world they knew. People were curious and questioned. Mozi questioned Confucius, the Taoists questioned all scholarship and opted for intuition. Religions changed. There was the rebellion to be known as Buddhism, and Buddhism also changed. Romans converted to Christianity, but the world of dynastic authoritarianism and empire remained.Science developed, and with this came the Enlightenment. Utopias were invented, but they were not to be. Instead, progress would be made through political action and conflict. The Enlightenment and middle class values would bring a new tolerance, new ideas of freedom and constitutional government. The book draws from more than twenty years of research - a lot of ground boiled down to 230 pages. The book is narrative, written with sympathy for ideological and political rebellion against the absurdities that marred much of human history.