The narrative when discussing world history often focuses on the eventual domination of the Western world, its “rise.”This is often paired with the idea the the “rest” of the world, which basically means Asia and occasionally Africa, declined as Europe grew. There are those who argue with the logistics of Europe's rise, revisionists like Goldstone who argues that Asia and Europe were on equal footing for much of history, drawing numerous parallels between each regions various phases of development in his book, Why Europe? And those like Bryant who view Europe of almost always being ahead. However, there seems to be a trend in which development and growth are measured by European standards. Why should the rest of the world be held to the same time line as Europe to be considered developing? The “Rise of the West” and “Decline of the Rest” are based on an incredibly Euro-centric definition of growth. Simply because China, or India or parts of Africa didn't follow the same path as England, France and other Western nations doesn't mean progress and development was reversed or …show more content…
The French Revolution lead to the temporary abolition of slavery, universal male suffrage, national sovereignty, the nation-state, and a shift in imperialism, focusing on Asia and Africa with a mission to “civilize.” The nation-state has proven to be particularly important in the advancement of Europe, changing they way populations viewed themselves. Another potential product of the French Revolution was the rise of the nationalism, however this is heavily debated between the modernists, who believe the nationalism did begin with the French Revolution, and the primordialists, who see nationalism originating much further back, with the idea of nations coming from the Old Testament (November 23, 2015, Nationalism). Either way, nationalism, and other byproducts of the revolution spread throughout Europe, challenging the existing political institutions and upsetting the previous way of