Rise Of The West Sparknotes

William H. McNeill coined the phrase Rise of the West as a way to distinguish Western countries –specifically Western Europe and the Americas—from the rest of the world. In his book, Rise of the West (1964), McNeill asserts that the West’s technological and military strengths, and aptitude for war were central in shaping global relations during the Early Modern Period (1419-1788). Contrary to Rise of the West enthusiasts, who prioritizes a single, Euro-centric narrative, the study of Global Cultural Encounters investigates the “contacts and confrontations between different macro- or meta- structures of consciousness.” In other words, framing history as a series of symbiotic cultural encounters “acknowledges non-European perspectives on these meetings and weigh their significance more critically and comparatively.” Contrary to McNeill’s central argument, the study of Global Cultural encounter reveals that the West did not dominate in the early modern period and its military and technology strengths were not as pivotal for performing

Although McNeill acknowledges European germs’, which the indigenous population had no immunity against, role in significantly reducing the Aztec population, he attributes Spain’s success to its superiority over the Amerindians. Primary source from da Gama. Like da Gama, McNeill describes the Aztec civilization as weak because of their inferiority and docility to growing Spanish control: “inherently inadequate to cope with Spanish ideas, Spanish diseases, and Spanish power. Hence the higher political and cultural organizations of the Aztec and Inca empires disappeared almost overnight… The Indians numbly submitted to the leading strings imposed by Spanish missionaries and officials.” McNeill argues that the conquest was