CHAPTER FOUR
THE LIFE CYCLE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Like its predecessors, western civilization from its inception was
essentially competitive. As it developed, the commercially, technically
and politically supreme Spanish, Dutch, French and British Empires
battled individually, or in rival alliances, for plunder, colonies,
markets and raw materials.
From the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, to the Victorian Jubilee in
1897, Great Britain became and remained top dog economically,
politically and to a large extent culturally. Britain was the workshop.
British shipping was omnipresent. The pound sterling was the chief
medium of foreign exchange. The British Navy patrolled the seas. English
was replacing French as the language of commerce and diplomacy.
During this British Century, from 1815 to 1897, Great Britain was
dominant among the European great powers, but it was never supreme.
Always there were countervailing forces. For centuries France had been a
major factor in the control and direction of European affairs. Defeat at
Waterloo reduced but did not destroy French influence. After 1870
Bismark's Germany began playing a major role. Russia, Austria, Holland,
Italy and Spain were also European powers. Overseas, the United States
of America and Japan were spreading their imperial wings.
With the explosive advances made by science, technology, productivity,
income and wealth accumulation, other countries were moving to the fore.
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